Adders in caithness

[mey999]

Are there Adders in Caithness

[Dadie]

Short answer is yes!
Have a wee look in the biodiversity section.....

[bekisman]

Don't know if it counts (being North Sutherland) but I've seen 'em on Strathy Point a few years ago..

[Mystical Potato Head]

Definately,had one slither over my foot at work(Harpsdale) last summer.Came out from under a length of H Beam.

[mop top]

I have seen them in Berriedale around the Langwell Gardens area.

[mey999]

Thanks for your replys ,will wear my wellies from now on cheers

[changilass]

Wellies aint gonna save you.

I got bit on the top of my leg, granted it was in long grass and bushes, putting up a fence at the time.

It felt like I had been stabbed, then a dull pain for the rest of the day. For a tiny wee bite, it left an awful big area swollen for nearly a week.

[essex boy]

My misses nearly sat on one once! By who would have come off worse!!!

[George Brims]

When I was wee we came home to find one sunning itself on the back doorstep once, and the same summer there were several more seen around the farm (Strath, in Watten). We would often seen them out in the moor but only that one year were they bold enough to come about the farm.

[bekisman]

When I was very young (and stupid) I used to lift up rusty sheets of corrugated iron and catch the grass snakes and put em in big jars to have a look at, before letting em go,,sometimes I'd find four or five of them and had a hell of job putting them in the goldfish bowl, trying to stop them getting out by putting my hand across the top, I'd then show them to my pals.. that was until the father of my friend shouted "you blithering idiot, those are adders, you silly sod"... whoops!

[Stefan]

Not seen any myself but there will be some about. Likelyhood you get bitten is minute, they wouldn't attack if they didn't feel threatened, so unless you hurt them (by mistake of course), they will just slither off. That's why those grass snakes that turned out to be adders never bit the previous poster... Adders have a distinct pattern on their back whilst grass snakes don't.
Here is a picture I found online with three grass snakes and one adder. If you do get bitten consult your GP as adders are poisonous.

http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/uploads/a/amigo1/16063.jpg

[Aaldtimer]

Fascinating part of Springwatch tonight on BBC was a feature about a 74 year old woman who had studied Adders for decades, and could recognise 600 of them by the names she had given them!
Apparently their life span is over 30 years.:eek:

[oldmarine]

Something I never knew. I never saw one the three times I wan in Caithness.

[crichton]

Hi,
we came across one in the hill today, near Loch Caluim. It was sunning itsef and did stayed while my mate took a couple of snaps with his camera. It was about 500mm long and darker than those shown in the photo above.

[Sandra_B]

I saw one at Brubster years ago.

[Lavenderblue2]

We saw them a few times when we used to cut peats in the Winlass Hill.

[tori]

:O I need 2 Get Myself One Of Them Wonder What My Girlfriend Will Say lol