I saw my first adder at Chafford Hundred Warren Gorge. We were participating on one of their events; family fishing and was not catching anything. So we decided to go bug hunting and there were lots of bugs and I found an unusual fly. When we investigated it later it turned out to be a Scorpion fly. Trekking deeper into the nettles a long stick moved … an adder, shocking but amazing to see.
At Minsmere on a hot day, you can get adders on the adder trail, sun bathing heating themselves up as they are cold blooded. One day about noon we went to check the trail. We were walking down there and someone was searching already. They found one! It was coiled up in a bramble bush; the adder was brown to show it was a female. This is my first adder at Minsmere.
Female Adder at Minsmere
This is another one we saw at Minsmere recently. We were at the North wall trying to find the Stone Curlew, but the vegetation was too high. So we went on and was watching and listening for the ping of Bearded Tits. On our way we saw some movement in the grass and something black started slithering away. I then realised it was a snake and took some photos, this confirmed it was an adder because at first I thought it was a grass snake.
Black Adder at Minsmere
My last adder story was at Canvey Island. We were on a guided walk hosted by Mike Dilger. On the walk we were all walking on the grass to walk quieter so we could listen easier and not disturb anything. Whilst I was walking my dad suddenly stopped, SNAKE! My dad’s foot was above an adder and had noticed it just in time. This is the closest that we have got to an adder and was one of the highlights of the walk.
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