With nice conditions this morning I thought that I would have a quick check on the adders again since next weekend I am away on a course. I wasn’t expecting anything different from yesterday with the same three males being present but not having shed their skins. Upon arrival not only had all three males just sloughed their skins but a further three smaller males who had also sloughed their skins had joined them! Despite a number of visits this spring I had not seen any of these three “new” smaller males. I wonder where they came from all of a sudden? Perhaps being smaller snakes they did not spend any where near the amount of time basking as the larger males. Not that I was complaining and soon two of the males were courting and guarding a large orange female. Whereas another smaller female was basking all by herself far away from where the males had congregated.

Now the adders will be beginning their mating I cut down my visits considerably, not that any of the adders I saw today had any idea I was there in any case.