At last!

[Kevin Byrnes]

It was lovely and sunny this morning and so I decided to haul my arse off of the sofa and go to an Adder site that I hadn't visited for a few years. The weather enroute almost made me turn back but I kept going and was rewarded with a cold,breezy but sunny site. I walked through the scrubby undergrowth checking areas where I had had previously seen Adders but was disappointed with the results so I moved round to some old lead workings and almost gave up but then nearly stepped on one, (must have lost my touch due to lockdown). I stood for a while and heard a rustle in the nearby bracken, slowly turned my head and out came a pair of Adders fighting, I have travelled all over Europe photographing reptiles and always wanted to see "dueling"Adders and here they were, at last! I stood there quietly and watched at least 7 Adders moving through a small patch of undergrowth, one coming close and almost sliding across my foot. Another pair began combat, allowing a few more photos and then it all calmed down. I then noticed a female curled up amongst the plants and realised why they had been so agitated

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

Untitled by Kevin Byrnes, on Flickr

[Robert Madl]

Congratulations, one of the absolutely highlights of snake behaviour! Thanks for sharing. It's too bad that the adder populations declining in different regions due to habitat loss and possibly climate change. Did the situation of the adder change in Wales as well in recent years?

[Mario Schweiger]

nice observation. I love combats

[Avery Leatherwood]

Somdeday I have got to see this in person!

[Gerald Ochsenhofer]

Cool, I envy you

[Francesco Tri]

Congratulations, one of the absolutely highlights of snake behaviour! Thanks for sharing. It's too bad that the adder populations declining in different regions due to habitat loss and possibly climate change. Did the situation of the adder change in Wales as well in recent years?

what if climate change is due to a deliberate process of melting the poles in order to exploit oil coltan reserves etc??