Last couple of weeks (2013-03-31)
Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:47 pmThese images were taken at my favourite location during the last couple of weeks. Rocky outcrops and a small Tallus slope dominate the main hibernation area. Snakes are most readily found basking inside thickets of thorny bushes that grow along the edges of the slope. However, on rare occasions they can be found out in the open.
The temperatures this spring have been fairly low and I have only found small numbers of snakes basking on sunny days. Today the air temperature was about 2°C and the only snake I found had a body temp around 9°C when I found it. This series of images are portraying that snake, an approximately 45 cm long male adder.
The other part of the locality is an ancient relict fortress. During the last couple of years this has been a productive site and I have found numerous snakes there. However, this year I haven’t seen any snakes there yet. I have visited the site on 9-10 different occasions and on most of these I have found snakes in the main area but so far I have failed to spot any in this other part. I believe that the reason for this is increased predation. What has happened is that all bushes that grew along the edges of the stone wall (fortress) have been cut down and since that was done ravens and crows have appeared on the site, sitting in the trees close to the fortress. Ravens and especially crows are the main predators on snakes in Sweden.
This is what the site looks like.
The temperatures this spring have been fairly low and I have only found small numbers of snakes basking on sunny days. Today the air temperature was about 2°C and the only snake I found had a body temp around 9°C when I found it. This series of images are portraying that snake, an approximately 45 cm long male adder.
The other part of the locality is an ancient relict fortress. During the last couple of years this has been a productive site and I have found numerous snakes there. However, this year I haven’t seen any snakes there yet. I have visited the site on 9-10 different occasions and on most of these I have found snakes in the main area but so far I have failed to spot any in this other part. I believe that the reason for this is increased predation. What has happened is that all bushes that grew along the edges of the stone wall (fortress) have been cut down and since that was done ravens and crows have appeared on the site, sitting in the trees close to the fortress. Ravens and especially crows are the main predators on snakes in Sweden.
This is what the site looks like.