Getting an Adder moving towards you takes a bit of patience as they’ll usually head for cover when humans approach. Most people photograph them early morning when they are torpid and usually coiled, while trying to warm up. I was on Thorne Moors in South Yorkshire when I came across five adders all basking in the morning sunshine. I sat still about 10m away so as not to disturb them, and used my “bird” lens. As they warmed up they became active and went off hunting, and luckily one decided to go hunting in my direction. He slithered through the bracken litter and I focussed on his head. Soon he was too close for my lens and cruised right past my feet without seeming to notice me.
Taken with a Nikon D500 and a 300mm f4 lens with a 1.4x converter. 1/1250 second f5.6 ISO 1000 (31 March 2017)
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There are usually some great adder photos on the Muir of Dinnet NNR blog at this time of year with enthusiastic descriptions of what is being seen. Well worth a look, I think.
https://muirofdinnetnnr.wordpress.com
Sorry, could have given a better link – https://muirofdinnetnnr.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/snakes-and-sunshine/
1. If you want to see adders and take photos those at RSPB Minsmere seem well habituated to human presence
2.Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) and Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK) are asking people to send in reptile sloughs (shed skins) that they find in the UK. These sloughs will be used to build up a ‘Reptile Genebank’ – a resource that can be used for long term studies into the effects of population isolation. DNA can be extracted from the sloughs, revealing much about the population in which the owner lives. https://www.arc-trust.org/genebank
3, My hobby horse: Ban maize game cover for pheasants and use small seeded species (they would be better for birds). Now the winters maize cobs have been slashed and ploughed in the rats that they have gathered and supported over the winter in unnatural numbers are spreading out over the countryside and eating anything they can find, even up trees etc. We have grass snakes and a lizards but they must be under great pressure at this time. Not just from the patrolling Pheasant remnants of the shooting season. (and the new neighbors 5 cats. There should be a law about how many of those you should be able to keep too.)
Thanks Mark