At last...some warm and sunny spring days!
Although our wetlands are still rather wet on the higher ground some of our springtime creatures have emerged and others arrived and we're delighted to see them...
Adder alley male - Graham Osborne
At least 9, possibly 10, adders were out and about sunbathing on Sunday and entertaining visitors on both adder alley and rather aptly on the zig zag path. One of them seems to have 'checked in' to our minibeast hotel towards the top of the zig zag path.
Whilst we know the hotspots for our adders, we're not sure just how many are here and how mobile they are around the site so we've started a project to try and find out more about these splendid snakes. Every adder has a unique pattern on the back of its head, although some are a little more distinctive than others, and we're trying to gather photos of each individual and create a 'passport' highlighting their distinguishing features. By recognising them individually we can start to learn a bit more about our population in terms of numbers, age, distribution and movements.
At the moment, most of the adders we are seeing are the males, who emerge from hibernation first and start to warm up before sloughing (shedding their skin) ready to look their finest as the females emerge a few weeks later. Whilst the background colour can be variable it is the colour of the zig zag markings that will tell you whether it is male or female - in males the zig zags are always black and in the female brown. This colouration develops as they get a little older and you can't tell with the juveniles.
This is a typical freshly sloughed male with black zig zags on a silver-grey background (photo by Anna Allum)
And here is a lovely female. (Pete Hughes)
And finally a juvenile (Graham Osborne)
The adder that we've been seeing on adder alley has been one of the first to emerge over the past few years - indeed we've had photos of him every year now since 2013 (when he was already a decent-sized adult). He is one of the biggest adders that we have seen and often it is the female's who are larger but the black zig zag markings and early emergence confirm that he is a male.
If you do take photos of adders on the nature reserve, please do share them with us - email them in to pulborough.brooks@rspb.org.uk - and let us know where and when you saw it. It is always exciting to take photos of wildlife, especially of creatures like adders, but do always remember that the welfare of the wildlife must always come first so please ensure that you are not creating any disturbance.
Some of the areas that our adders enjoy basking in are closed to visitors to ensure they do not get disturbed but we do invite you to join us on one of our special 'Snakehunt!' events when we do go a little more 'off piste' to search for all 4 of our species of reptiles.
I must put in a mention for some springtime birds as well - chiffchaffs have arrived and are singing and the first wheatears of the year were seen this week too!