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liamrussell View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote liamrussell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 6:21pm
Originally posted by will will wrote:

it was phenomenal footage, though no sign of the adder actually striking the chicks and then waiting for the bite to take effect - it made me wonder if the feathers presented some kind of barrier to the fangs. The adder certainly looked reluctant to make a meal of the second chick.

I think this is because it's a bird. When an adder strikes and releases a rodent it follows a scent trail on the ground to find it once the venom takes effect. If it bit a bird which flew even a few metres before the venom took effect it might be tricky to find.

I think a lot of arboreal vipers tend to hang onto prey once bitten.


Edited by liamrussell - 11 Jun 2014 at 6:27pm
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will View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote will Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2014 at 6:33am
could be, Liam, I hadn't though of that, thanks.

There was a lot of adder stuff last night which was good to see, but did CP really say that adders emerge from hibernation, feed, shed and then start to look for a mate? as we know, they fast until all the sex stuff is over, unlike grassies.
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Richard2 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richard2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2014 at 8:23am
Yes, I noticed that. Chris Packham was right about this a few days ago when he said that the adder that came to the nest might have been in search of its first meal of the year.

But it is easy to make little slips in live performances. The adder coverage was good last night. It was interesting the way that female struck at the blackbird. And I thought that the commentary early in the series when the bittern was seen eating a dead chick and regurgitating it for the others was exemplary.


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