A surprise whilst hunting for the UK's only VENOMOUS REPTILE!
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Sometimes its difficult to find any reptiles in the UK, but on this wildlife walk that was not the case. Come along as I search for Adders on the Norfolk coast and manage to find a bonus reptile surprise!
#wildlife #reptiles #nature
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My husband was bitten in our front garden last year just he walked up the path to get into our car. He never even saw it, just felt a tug on his jeans which he thought was a bit of brambles catching him. It must have been hidden in the small flower border that runs alongside our front pathway. Because he thought it was a bramble he didn't think anything of it. By 11pm that night his leg was throbbing and hurting so he got up out of bed and looked at it to find the distinctive bite mark and two holes that when touched were still bleeding slightly.. A trip to A&E the next morning confirmed it was an Adder bite. At that point he felt ok but was warned he would start to feel the effects of the venom in the next day or so as it's quite a slow acting venom in adults that are bitten (unless you have an allergic reaction) so was advised to not do much activity which would help his system cope with venom at a slow rate, bit by bit. Well he did start feeling the effects that day and thereafter. He had chills, fevers, and felt thoroughly awful for a good 2 weeks and it took even longer before the bite actually healed over. The bite itself felt numb for some time then suddenly one evening weeks later all the feeling came back and he said the pain was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He was lucky he was told that the snake had bitten the front of his leg and not the calf muscle otherwise he may have had to have the anti venom... It's not strictly true that their bite is not that serious as my husband knows all too well. We're just thankful that it wasn't our 7yr old daughter that got bit!
Fourteen people had died from Adder bites , so they CAN kill ..... most of the time people will survive adder bites if they seek medical attention .... but if you're a young child, or an older person, then you're more vulnerable to the adders bite, and help should definitely be sought..
They'll only bite in self defence/afraid/stepped on. They avoid confrontation. Glad he is ok!
@@barryh.4220
The last human death was a child, in 1975. Tragic, but highly unlikely to happen.
I agree whilst deaths are rare the actual venom is not to be made light of, its part of the European viper family which can deliver some very painful bites with long lasting health effects which can take months to recover from. The other issue is that if you have to have anti venom its actually quite common to have serious reactions to the anti venom which can make your situation worse. This happened to a friend of mine who ended up very ill from both the bite and then the anti venom. He was a very fit person but took him months to recover. The best solution is not to get bitten.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing 🐍
As a 10 year old 70 yrs ago we went looking for Slow Worms on the local railway embankment . We found what we thought was one and put it in a box and took it to school for show and tell. Unfortunately we had found a baby adder . Needless to say we were told to take it back to where we found it , which we duly did after school , released it and it happily disappeared into the under grow . We were always frightened of bumping into its parent after that.
That's amazingly similar to my experience. I had several slow worms kept as pets when I was that kind of age, also just over seventy years ago. I found them all near a small pond in the garden of an abandoned country house on the outskirts of London that had been used as a prisoner of war camp in WW2. It was only us kids that used to visit it back then before it was sold for redevelopment. We also used to find grass snakes occasionally. One day, I found what I thought was an injured grass snake and took it home. When my mother saw it, she screamed, knock it out of my hand and promptly chopped it's head off with a spade. She was furious with me for bringing home an adder and told me never to touch one again.
Great story thanks for sharing!😁👍
Great story John! enjoyed reading that 👍
Lol 😁g
Yawnn
Most people in this country really don't realise how amazing our native wildlife can be. There's some fascinating stuff happening right on your doorstep if you just bother to look for it!
So true ! Literally on our doorsteps at my home ! Toads and grass snakes
Yes! Most people just talk about the common animals you see foxes, badgers,rabbits and the such. Depending on where you live you can come across boar,red stags,fallow bucks,adders,grass snakes eagles and the such!
Most of it has been wiped out and Britain has the lowest amount of species in Europe and is the most deforested
I am a Yank living in Florida . I first learned about Adders from reading that Thomas Hardy novel” The Return of The Native.” in high school. They remind me of the Pygmy Rattlesnake
Your enthusiasm is infectious and shows how much passion you have for our wildlife. Brilliant 👍
Yes this is a great channel & very informative 👍
The Adder is the most venomous snake in the UK, if you do get bitten you will certainly know all about it ! However, ALL snakes in the UK are actually venomous.......it is just that for the Grass and Smooth snakes their venom is very mild for us.
@@garymoore2535grass snakes don’t bite humans they hit you whith their heads
We now live in Slovenia and slow worms are regularly found in our land around the house. When strimming the vegetation I keep the tool cut high and a sharp lookout for the reptiles. Any I find get picked up and moved to safety. They have amazing strength and speed. Sometimes they try to bite, though more like a strong pinch and without breaking the skin. I occasionally come across adders. These tend to be ebony black and usually fully grown, though I find small dead ones on the roads in and around our village. Last year our dogs got very excited when two large adders were either mating or having an argument on the grassy path by the side of our house. Once I found a dead adder on the patio beside the house. Judging by the damage to it´s skin I suspect a bird of prey had dropped it, there are a pair of buzzards that nest in the nearby forest and regularly fly overhead. The dead snake and the two arguing were all jet black and in the 60cm + length size. range.
Big respect for anyone making educational content on here ❤
Great info thanks, nicely presented.. ❤
Thank you!
Oh Liam how wonderful for you to bring us such wonderful footage of the adder. What a beautiful snake. And that slow worm, I liked the way the fly was hitching a ride. We have lots of lizards and quite a few venomous snakes here in Australia. That adder was incredible, thank you so much for this great shot of wildlife. ❤
As someone who doesn’t get out anymore, I love these types of videos, thanks for bringing us along 🙂 🍻
OK my Friend, good morning fantastic and beatifull thank 💯💢💯👍♥️🤗
I was walking through a small ancient wood in my hometown in July 2016. My attention was drawn to my only Adder sighting. To me, it looked like a nest had just hatched. There was a mass of writhing youngsters intertwined with each other like a movie with Indiana Jones. There was an adult about 2 feet behind. Mind blowing.
These videos are awesome, informative and just great. I always enjoy them
I have a family of them living in around my garden and compost heap..Sussex UK😊
Found six under a bit wood when I worked on the railway adders are nice looking snakes
Thank you for that great Adder footage. As a very young child apparently, I saw one but my parents quickly removed us away from our picnic area to avoid my curiosity upsetting both me and the Adder! That's what I was told 😊.
Anyway, now having lived in NZ for many years very enjoyable to watch such a video that brought back tales of my childhood.
Good for your parents, while unlikely to be deadly to an healthy adult, what Liam failed to mention is that fatalities are usually small children or those with health problems. I think children under 6 are the most vulnerable, and the most likely to be curious and risk getting bit.
Hi Liam brilliant video great footage of the adder never seen one in the wild only grass snakes and I didn’t know slow worms could live that long love how interesting you make your videos keep up the great work and videos Bernard
I really enjoyed this video, Liam narrates very well and his footage is great. We must preserve and protect our wildlife!
I'm 68 and I have only once seen an adder in the wild. It was summer 1971, I was an Army Cadet on camp in Otterburn, During an exercise we were out in the training area and came across it in the grass. It must have been young as it was about 30 cm long.
We just left it to it's own business and carried on with our exercise.
Great footage of a beautiful Snake! I'm so glad you were able to catch it, and thanks for posting it for us all to see.
What a great little film! Thank you so much for sharing it. Really enjoyable.
It was good wasn't it. I had fun,fun,fun all the way through I do hope he has or makes others.
I'm a Norfolk native myself and I actually didn't know we could get slow worms around here, that's really cool. Thanks for the video man!
I have a small colony in my back garden here in Norwich. They over-winter in the compost heap. Sadly the local cats like to kill them for fun, other wise I think there would be more of them.
@@norfolkdragons866 Aw that's brilliant! Bloody shame about the cats though.
I saw them along the cliff tops between West and East Runton when I visited, once in the early 80's and then again in 2019.
They live in our compost heaps in St. Leonards.They vary quite a lot in colour,I had a very dark umber/silvery one a few years ago.Very handsome.
Slow worms are easy to attract. Get yourself a nice warm compost heap, or lay out some corrugated iron on the ground. Both are 'warm' places that they love. Put the corregated iron down in a place where it will be first to catch the morning sun. They're probably about, even if you haven't seen them.
Thanks + I didn't know we had slo-worms in the UK. I have never seen a wild snake in the UK so pleased for you that you have.
If you see any large flat rocks or planks of wood in overgrown grass, lift it up and you may see a slow worm, or multiple.
@@Daniel-S1
you didn't know we had slow worms?
Wonderful as ever! The North York Moors are a brilliant place to observe adders, as you get scrub and heather and then open shingly patches, and the snakes break cover and zig zag across.. I think the fact that they're so hard to see is a testament to the effectiveness of their camouflage.. Great among ferns etc. Nice one Liam! 🌟👍
Look under broken headstones in the old churchyards in North Yorkshire moor churchyards
I didn't know they lived so far up North does that mean we could have them in the Lancashire countryside too?🤔✌️
@@jamiecurran3544 I don't know.. I have spent a lot of time in Manchester and not seen adders in the countryside but I would be surprised. I think the problem is SEEING them. They are so effective at hiding, especially amongst ferns etc..
@@williamrobinson7435 True unless you've got a keen eye n spend all your time looking for them it's like finding a needle in a haystack!😂, a bit like trying to capture the perfect UFO footage that doesn't look like its been filmed on a potato, it's usually a freak occurance/lucky capture!😁✌️
@@jamiecurran3544 i just spotted one in scotland so yes you can likely see them in lancashire
Thank you Liam. That Adder was a great find & I'm so glad you got to see an Anguis Fragilis 💕 Mine in my garden should be starting to come out now but it's turned cold again. Awesome video 🐍💕🐍
See adders and slow worms every year here in the wyre forest, slow worm was crossing the path outside my house at the weekend.
Looks like you had an awesome day - so exciting when we get the footage we had hoped for. great work Liam.
Slow worms are awesome, I got see them myself for the first time last year in Switzerland. Still need an adder though, that's on top of the target list next time i'm in Europe!
Good luck, I hope you are successful in finding an adder!
The first time I ever fed a lizard was in Finhaut.
Hi Liam. What an absolutely brilliant video. You captured lots of footage and lots of patience. Well done and thank you. I’ve not been here for a few years so it’s good to see your new videos. 👍🏻👍🏻
Welcome back! I'm glad you are enjoying these more recent videos, there's quire a few for you to choose from, and the next longer video will be out Friday too. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing this amazing experience! I haven't seen an Adder for a few years now. This is a fantastic little film. 👍🏼
That was some absolutely amazing footage of the adder thank you 🙏🏼
Absolutely amazing creatures. The feeling when you can get to see an target species you project that sense of pleasure extremely well on camera .
Nice one Liam 👍
Living here in Cornwall we’ve seen Adders and have seen a fair few Slow Worms in our garden. They have an amazing colouring don’t they.
Super video, many thanks
What a brilliant video, thank you so much. Stunning adder, absolutely beautiful.
Very glad I’ve found this channel! Always had a huge interest in the wildlife of the UK and thought about starting a channel like this myself but for now will enjoy all the amazing videos you’ve made 👍🏼
Well done for spotting & filming these elusive snakes! I have only ever seen one once briefly before it raced away undercover. Love your vids keep em coming!👍🐍
Thanks Jacob. I have only ever seen them fleetingly before so I was chuffed to capture this one on film for so long. Cheers
Yep, I spotted several adders last Summer on Hounslow Heath and merely waving to a friend to come and see or walking closer to them made the adder slide away quickly. Only once, on a sweltering hot day about 20 years ago in Scotland, did I manage to walk closely among a group of adders basking on a scree slope.
Great footage. I've never seen an adder in the wild so am very grateful for this.
Well all your hope & patience paid off, nice footage of an amazing British creature to be proud of.
Thanks
Thank you very much! I appreciate your support :)
I Love Snakes and have seen all the snakes of Great Britain, the Adder, the slow worm and the grass snake,I like to go looking for them in the summer usually you will find two or three slow worms at a time under some tin sheeting the farmer as discarded.
Nice job Liam , thanks.
Cheers Roddy!
It’s always a special thing when I see an adder.Absolutely beautiful creatures.
Fantastic shots. I love Adders, had a good number on the moorlands we’re I grew up. Nature is simply amazing and I love to see the new life this time of year.
Always a good watch Liam
Fascinating video, the adder has such beautiful markings, a work of art really. Think the crow did have a frog though it looks a bit like a small starfish..lol..thanks, great work.
A great video. I stumbled across an adder whilst walking besides a grassy embankment in North Wales. It was great because I had the kids with me and we watched it and filmed it for ages. Eventually it climbed the embankment and disappeared into the bracken . Awesome 👍
❤ the footage 🎥 of the beautiful male adder 🐍
Great footage Liam thanks!😁👍
Lovely video, thanks. Your enthusiasm is infectious!
Thank you so much for this film.😊
You're welcome!
Fabulous, mate. Great to see him. Many thanks for the video!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed watching.
Fantastic video Liam and with great footage, wow 😮
Great footage Liam, haven't seen a adder since my boyhood day's. Thanks.
Cheers. I had a lot of luck that day!
Your determination and love of wildlife is a credit you you ❤
Absolutely fantastic, thank you,, we're going on holiday in a few weeks, and there's supposed to be Adders in the area, so a very timely video, for me,, thanks again, and here's hoping I don't get bitten,, ha ha,, 🐍🐍
That was brilliant! Thank you🎉
Thank you, Liam, that was great.
Good filming thank you.
Cracking bit of footage buddy, well done and thanks for sharing 👍🏼
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment! Cheers
@@AShotOfWildlife you’re welcome, will be looking out for more of the same 👍🏼
The old spoil heap at Lowca, Cumbria has lots of slow worms living on the side below the rugby pitch, behind the row of terraced houses.
Thank you. There does seem to be pockets where slow worms are quite common. I have lived in Norfolk for most of my life and without exaggerating, I have found thousands of common lizards but this is the first time I have found a wild slow worm in this county. I have found a lot of slow worms in Cambridgeshire though. Thank you for visiting the channel!
Great job, well done that man. Only ever seen two in the wild, both times along canal banks. Thanks for sharing. John
Cheers John. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Fantastic. Just fantastic! Well done on the video mate.
Thank you!
Hi Liam , thanks for sharing this video , I would love to see an Adder with my own eyes , I’m 62 and have never seen one , I am a gardener by profession and I have seen many Sloworms in people’s gardens , from large adults to tiny babies . I love your videos , entertaining and educational . I have never seen a Hare either , have you ever filmed any ?
Keep up the good work . 😃
I live on the Burren, west Ireland, where Slow Worms were introduced in the 80's. Spent my childhood wanting to see one, searching every summer, no luck. Finally saw one decades later... Right outside my door, sunbathing!
Great video. For Adder hunting the place to be is a place called Strensall Common just north of York. This open to public MOD land has in the past 10 or so years become a slight problem with the number of Adders. On a sunny day you can't help but see them. They even are seen on a regular basis crossing the common road. Dog walkers are now advised not to walk their dogs on this land due to a increase in snake bites and the potential of killing the dog.
An old house we lived in had slow worms nesting in the rockery in the garden and the brambles at the end of the garden. My wife always wanted me to get rid of them but eventually she grew to ignore them, except when one was found curled up on the sky box in the lounge . Our middle daughter had to get rid of it before the cat did.
As for adders, there’s a wood near us with fern undergrowth. If you go for a walk early in the morning as it’s just warming up, you’ll quite often see them sunning themselves.
Grass snake is the only one I haven’t seen ….yet.
Where I live in Bucks, I’m quite luckily as there’s still loads of old woods which are sympathetically managed. Seen newts, frogs,toads, eels and crayfish , both English and American. Local wildlife rangers are trying to stop the invasion of American crayfish but it seems to be a losing battle..
It'll be grey squirells all over again, its already happening.
I encountered a beautiful Adder in the unisex toilet at Hengesbury Head, a lady appeared from the cubicle and said, "excuse me what are you doing", I pointed to her feet and with a shriek she exited with a surprising fleet of foot!
Wonderful video, thank you. I saw a baby adder in Sennen a year ago, and one out in the open at my grandparent's house in Devon many years before.
Slow worms are a common sight in my garden. Although I've seen many in my garden and in the wild.. I've never witnessed any at a staggering 30-40 centimetres in length.
I wild camp as much as I can. Last year I was lucky enough to camp on the beach up against a cliff face between Hastings and Westfield. Walking along a beaten track I noticed something Baskin in the sun. Upon closer inspection I noticed it was an adder. In that moment I felt incredibly lucky to witness such a stunning creature. As soon as it felt me approach It slivered off track and into the brush before I could capture its majesty. A rare but beautiful addition to our wildlife!
Beautiful footage - many thanks.
I came across a young Sloworm basking in the sun on a path between grasses/plants last year. So chuffed to see it. I'd love to see an Adder!
Thank you, I really enjoyed watching this. I was quietly fishing a stream in the middle of rural Oxfordshire about 30 years ago. It was a lovely still summer afternoon and the only sounds were birdsong and the occasional dragonfly. I was shocked when an adder slid past my stool about 4 feet away. I knew what it was and I was petrified it was going to bite me. 😆
Some great footage of the Adder and Slow Worm.
I've not seen a Slow Worm since I lived in Sussex. And I'm going back some 45 years now.
As for Adders and Grass Snakes, where I lived in Sussex there was a large, uncultivated grassy field opposite where we lived. It belonged to the local school but was never used for anything. One sunny day, my 3 older brothers and myself went to the field just to have a _look about._
Well, we must have seen a dozen or so Adders there and probably double that of Grass Snakes. They seemed to be everywhere.
Once we'd gotten back home, we decided to make a plan to go back to the field the following week and to see if we could catch a snake or two.
The following weekend came and we were ready. But as luck would have it, we didn't see a single snake. And for reasons I can't remember, we never went back looking for snakes again.
However, some 4 years later, the school decided to set up a farm on this field so whatever became of the snakes, is anyone's guess.
Nice post, i came across 2 adders last year just opposite my residence, whilst taking my dog for walk, both sunbathing, it was a lovely warm morning when it occurred, left them without disturbing them.
Thank you so much for this wonderful film of the male adder, I think they are beautiful, and as you said treated with respect they rather run than attack., I was told that coming up to Autumn they can sometimes be out in the sun but are more easy to tread on as they don't move so fast. I was lucky enough to hold a grass snake many years ago, much to mothers horror she was scared of snakes and worms I never found out why, thankfully she didn't pass her fear on to me, but I respect them in their own habitat.
What mothers or snakes?
Ime in South Devon and Ime extremely lucky I've had a dozen or so Slow worms in my garden for the last 25 years, most of the time I've seen them warming up under roof slates on a south east facing slope. I've also seen the very rare but very pretty Sand lizard... but I had to travel to Hampshire to see them 🦎
How cool! Great informative upload Liam, love the footage of the slow worm. 👍
Well done. Brilliant video. Love the channel.
Thank you!
Back in the early 1980s when I was a child there was a site in my home county of Bedfordshire where slow worms and lizards were very common. I captured some of them and took them home to study in vivariums at my home. The slow worms loved eating white slugs which I collected from my garden to feed them along with earthworms, but never ate the black slugs. I don't know why they disliked black slugs. I later released the slow worms and lizards back at the site I found them. This site has been since been destroyed unfortunately by developers. i also knew a site in Bedfordshire with ponds where there were frogs, toads, great crested newts (they were common at this site), smooth newts and many species of dragonfly. This site has also been ruined and when I visited a while back none of these animals could be found. Watching this reminded me of those days.
Literally just stumbled across this channel, love it bud!!
Welcome to the channel mate. I hope you continue to enjoy all the videos I have made/will make in the future. Cheers!
Thanks for this beautiful video.
Thank you John.
a really nice video. I had no idea slow worms lived that long. thankyou.
Excellent as always 🤗
Thank you Angela!
I was fortunate to see an adder while on holiday in Dorset last year, it was one of my greatest moments. I had wanted to see a snake wild in the uk since i was a child. It was also a sad moment for me as i really wanted to share the photos of the moment with my dad as he loved nature but unfortunately he'd died of cancer earlier in that year.
Sorry to hear that Kevin that is sad but i'm sure he would have been happy to hear you are hanging out and loving our nature
I really enjoyed watching this. Frogs and Newts were in abundance when I was younger now you don't see them and I have only every seen one snake in the wild.
I have only just seen yours video so I am subscribing so I don't lose you again
Brilliant video 😊
Went to Suffolk earlier in May and saw 4 adders - 2 of them were black
We have those in Norway too and one time I tried to measure one, and it bit me. It was black but it had the zig-zag, so it was an Adder. I measured it to be around 70 cm long and I felt the venom. My arm was swollen for a whole day. Nice video mate. Thank you.
Yep, You will have them in Norway ..... they are the only snake found in the arctic circle.
@@barryh.4220 Yes, and I love them.
I've only ever seen Adders on the Quantock Hills in West Somerset,they are extremely elusive.
Amazing mate. I walk my dog around those parts, never new adders were there. Great vid 👍👍
Really enjoyed that video, thank you.
Thank you!
Wow the pattern on the adder is so cool!
Bless you 💖
You have done well to capture the Adder footage + so close up!
Good job sir 👍
There is a beach in Wales called Three Cliffs Bay that was one of my favourites to visit + surf as a kid.
Mainly because of the long walk to reach the bay + the amount of wildlife hidden all around, that most folks didn't even notice.
Absolutely beautiful, stunning views + I would always run on way ahead of my family to watch the different types of birds, animals, snakes + reptiles darting across the sandy foothpath + hiding in the foliage.
Might make for a nice day out for you in the Summertime 🤔
Sunsets were always magical there as well 🥰
Thank you kindly for your content 🙏
I always appreciate your excitement + eagerness when you're out + about 😂
Brilliant to see 🤗
I can stop + lose time so easily just observing Nature, even if I find a lil Shieldbug 🤣
I love all creatures great + small 💖
Sending love-light blessings to you and yours 😇
❤️🌈🙏
Excellent footage Liam
Whilst hiking in the South Wales hills I was just getting to the top of a hill dodging numerous cow pats when adjusting my footing to avoid the next one I noticed a slight bit of movement from it and realised just in time that this coiled object was in fact an adder basking in the morning sun as there were bikers and a family with a dog coming down the trail I stopped and told them where he was and the family leashed the dog and the bikers gave it a wide berth.
Luckily after a few minutes while I took a water break a few yards away from him he scurried off trail into the tall grass but to anyone hiking in Britain I would say be careful as because we have so little actual predators in this country and beautiful views it can be so easy to let your guard down
Great video. (I can't believe I haven't seen this channel before!)
I look forward to bingeing on your videos man!
(I LOVE finding new content when UA-cam hasn't recommended it) (They need to sort that issue out!)
Great videos man :) LOVE it!!
Thank you for watching this video!
If you would like to support the channel even more, please consider my Patreon which can be found here> www.patreon.com/ashotofwildlife
Always making me feel at home x
My late parents lived when retired in Abbey Park next to Beeston Regis Common..used to walk the common with dogs, often very pretty and plenty of adders and birds.
lovely vidieo of wildife thank you