Country diary: adders find their place in the Scottish sun

Aigas, Highlands: Emerging from hibernation, these snakes seek out a warming rock to get energised for the hunt ahead

Warmth is what it takes, that’s all. Every spring that first burst of sun in clear skies brings our adders back to life. In common with most other reptiles the world over, Vipera berus has to warm up. They are cold-blooded and have been hibernating underground for more than six months. Their metabolism will have all but closed down. They need to fire it up again.

I once found one inside a dry-stone wall I was repairing – cold, curled and comatose. I carefully put it to one side before returning it to the depths of the wall to complete its hibernation.

With the warming soil, adders wake up and very slowly slither out to see what the new world has to offer. One assumes that they must be very hungry, but hunting for mice or voles takes action – which requires a warm-up to get the cold blood flowing. So they head for a rock in full sun. They wait until the stone has absorbed some heat and then out they come, into full view, each basking reptile gloriously happy to be warm.

So out I went one afternoon a couple of weeks ago, a day of full sun to a cheering 19C. Up on to the moor, to a large exposed rock where I have seen adders many times over many years. I knelt to feel the stone. Perfect: a deep warmth issuing to my palm. But not a snake to be seen. I walked on, keeping my jack russells, Nip and Tuck, obediently to heel. Ten minutes later Tuck growled.

There on a rock a few feet away, neatly coiled like a braided rope, head resting on the fattest coil, black eyes gleaming and bifid tongue flicking, was the most exquisite male adder I have ever seen. His long dorsal zig of pure jet zagged against a ground of pale lemon like winterkilled grass. He was magnificent. I stepped back and hauled the dogs in to my feet. He had seen us, no doubt about it, but wasn’t budging. This was his moment, his warm-up. He had waited a long time for that day.

Contributor

John Lister-Kaye

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Young country diary: searching for an adder with my eagle eyes
Colne Pointe nature reserve, Essex: These shy and mysterious animals are one of my favourites, but I had never seen one before

04, Sep, 2021 @10:00 AM

Article image
Country diary: beavers adjust to the first proper Highland winter in years
Aigas, Beauly, Inverness-shire They had to hurry to cache enough food before the ice took over, an underwater stash of nutritious bark kept fresh for winter snacking

John Lister-Kaye

19, Mar, 2018 @5:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: A warm and safe place for slow worms to breed
Allendale, Northumberland: With three wooden compost bins in my garden, I’ve made sure that it is an attractive place for them

Susie White

30, May, 2022 @4:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: love and fear in the company of adders
Waxham, Norfolk: Delight in their exquisite pattern and weird otherness comes with insecurity at their closeness

Mark Cocker

02, Apr, 2019 @4:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: this is the perfect place to feel the force of spring
Cressbrook Dale, Derbyshire: A riot of green meshes with songs of the whole wood

Mark Cocker

21, May, 2019 @4:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: the turn of the toads
Allendale, Northumberland: Croaks emanate from a reedy island, low vibrations like the purring of a big cat

Susie White

12, Apr, 2019 @4:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: there's nothing sentimental about the robin's song
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: The ‘pious’ redbreast is a creature of propaganda. There is no compassion in its call

Paul Evans

07, Mar, 2019 @5:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: the moment when spring becomes an unstoppable force
Kirkham Abbey, North Yorkshire: More snow came, but the genie was out, and the dawn chorus continued even as the flakes swirled

Amy-Jane Beer

24, Mar, 2018 @5:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: geese and gulls face off over nesting sites
Emsworth, Hampshire: Canada geese have repeatedly exerted their dominance over this pair of seabirds

Claire Stares

03, May, 2019 @4:30 AM

Article image
Country diary: a mountain blackbird briefly elevates our almost-mountain
Walbury Hill, Berkshire: Migrating ring ouzels are not alone in appreciating these steep slopes goosebumped with anthills

Nicola Chester

29, Apr, 2019 @4:30 AM