Patio adder

Some neighbours phoned to say a small adder, Vipera berus, had ensconced itself under the sill of the door to their patio.

I went to have a look and it was, in fact, a young female. She did not look too pleased when we removed the decking in front of the sill, but we managed to manouevre her into a waste-paper basket and transport her to the wood edge at the end of the garden where she slithered rapidly away no worse for wear.

This is the first time an adder has been recorded from the immediate neighbourhood and I have certainly never seen one within a 2km radius since we moved here in 1971. One was also reliably recorded from the Pestalozzi Estate across the valley earlier this week and I wonder if they are increasing due to climate change, legal protection and other factors. Our neighbours, happily, were delighted to have such a venemous friend.