Wirral Adders

Hello there. I just stumbled accross this forum whilst
doing some research. I was hoping that I may be able to
call upon your knowledge to help me track down some
Adders.
I live on the Wirral peninsula and until recently I was
under the impression that the Wirral did not contain any
snakes. This was until I was informed that there is a
resident population living in an area of heathland called
Caldy hill. I was hoping that I might be able to get out
there and take some photographs of the little fellas.
I've been up there a number of times now without success
and tbh I don't really know where to start when it comes
to tracking down Adders. Is it simply pot luck or is
there method to the madness. I am aware that they often
come out to 'bask' in the sunshine to warm themselves up
and that they are usually seen sat by pathways in a sunny
spot.
What is the best time of day/year to see them? Is anyone
on here aware of this population on Caldy hill?
Or am chasing shadows.

Hi Dave,

On the public information sign at the entrance to Caldy
hill it actually specifically mentions Adders and Common Lizard as being resident.

hi

i was born and raised on the wirral and thought the various heaths/commons around caldy, thurstaton etc only supported common lizards. hope i'm wrong.

will be very interested in your findings though.

if you don't have any luck you might have to travel to north wales or there is a small population near market drayton thats about an hour away.

happy herping

tim

thank you all for your responses. I shall keep you
updated on anything I find. The only reason I am
searching there is due to the fact that it specifically
mentions adders on the sign at the entrance to the hill.
It seems like a perfect habitat for them. Just on a
different note, there is a mixture of gorse bushes and
bracken - where are they more likely to be found?

PS - I know I am new on here but you wouldn't be able to
let me know a rough location near Market Drayton where I
can go and look for Adders. I would love to see one in
the wild. I understand though if you would prefer to keep
it a secret.

Regards

Dave




Edited by Dava

hi again

i did a quick google for adders on caldy hill after your post. there are a few statements to the tune of "adders can be found on the heath" but no specific references or sightings that i could find, so i'm still a bit skeptical but hope i'm wrong. keep us posted.

adders can be very difficult to find when you are looking somewhere new and on your own. i'm not the most experienced adder spotter myself but my advice would be that both gorse and bracken are good but more importantly, try to find areas that are slightly raised, well drained, face southish and are sheltered from cooling breezes by, for example, a line of trees. these areas create there own little micro climates and tend to feel a couple of degrees warmer than surounding areas which is especially beneficial to reptiles emerging in late feb and early march.

however, you may have already missed the best time as many adders may already be dispersing to where they could start turning up anywhere where there are surface dens and food.

it took me a long time to find my first adder at my local site and eventually i took the decision to go looking for lizards, which i love anyway and could see easily, then see what else turned up. i found a few random adders that way before stumbling across a hibernation area last spring which was in a place i had walked past hundreds of times over the previous year or so! i've also started seeing gras snakes there too.

i will pm you with info re market drayton.

tim