The weather in the North East has been resolutely depressing so far this year, often wet and nearly always cloudy. I guessed the snakes would be fed up with it as well so spotting sunshine in the forecast on Tuesday I headed north hoping they would be out basking.
This early in the season you would expect that most of the snakes would be males (they emerge from hibernation earlier) but the first one I saw was large and brown, so more likely to be a female.
The snakes hadn't yet shed their old skins so the males were looking rather dowdy. Once they have moulted they will be gleaming black and silver but this is how they are now.
Here's another with a slightly greenish tinge.
I read that adders don't eat after emerging from hibernation until they have shed their skins but this one has a suspicious looking bulge which might suggest it had a quick snack.
While I watched it was tasting the air with its tongue.
The snakes spent an hour or two sunbathing, readjusting their coils every now and then, before slithering back into the undergrowth.
The site I visit is getting more overgrown each year. The snakes don't seem to mind but it makes it harder to get a clear view for a photo.
