I have added a reptile to my ssspecies of animals found on the Blorenge

 

Last weekend, I added a long-sought-after animal species to find in Wales to my lissst. I have been walking the Blorenge mountain for years and always been hopeful in the spring and summer months to find what is called in Welsh a  Neidr Fadog. In English, this species of reptile is known as the Adder (Vipera berus).

I was taking a walk on the Blorenge and was following a female Stonechat that was moving from perch to perch, teasing me with quite close views. I then looked down and came to a sharp fullstop. Less than three meters away was a male Adder basking in the afternoon sunshine on the edge of the heather heathland.

I could not believe my luck and was overjoyed; it had only taken me over fifty years to see one of these magnificent snakes.

These snakes are surprisingly small compared to Grass Snakes. Adders are the UK's only venomous snake. They apparently rarely bite and only when provoked, picked up or stepped on. None of these were actions I had any plans of doing.

I gave the snake total respect and kneeled down on the edge of the heather well out of the way of its striking range. The viper did notice me and turned quite gracefully, raising its head up.

I was using my Olympus OM-1 (Mk1) with the Zuiko 300mm Pro lens and 1.4 converter attached so I could take pictures of this enigmatic reptile from a respectful distance, minimising any kind of disturbance.

While taking pictures, I used the in-built OM-1 focus stacking feature to improve the depth of the field of view.

I spent about fifteen minutes with the Adder during which it hardly moved. After I had taken quite a few pictures, I retraced my steps and left the Adder in peace to enjoy the remaining sssunshine.

Please don't message me asking for exact locations. Thanks.