After one of the wettest and coldest Aprils on record I haven’t visited my regular adder site for five weeks so with some half decent weather I decided to pay them a visit today. Early on it was quite cold and windy, during which I saw several Kestrels hovering around and then a large Buzzard (Buteo buteo), this is worrying as I’ve never seen this species around this adder site before and they are big reptile predators and it appears there is a nest close by. As the weather gradually improved I came across a tiny neonate adder (Vipera berus) from last year sitting out in the open. As the weather got better with the wind decreasing and sun coming out I spotted an adult male adder basking next to a pile of stones, I last saw this specimen during the April 2011 heatwave some distance away from here. To finish off the search I came across a nice female, which I regular saw last summer close to the same spot. This is the first female I have seen at this site this year, but wonder if the peak time for mating for the adders this year will be May rather than April which was very cold.
Next week I’m off to Corfu (yes again!) for the Gerald Durrell week with the Durrell School of Corfu, after a horrid month of the coldest April temperatures in 100 years there now seems to be a heatwave. I’ll surely come across some familiar herps on the guided walks so I will be sure to post some photos.
