snakes

[Pitbull]

as a natural quarry for some species has anyone caught a snake down south ( im in scotland so not a problem ) i lived in leicester for 13 years so know there are adders about there in the larger parks . just wondering as i have read the thread where people worried about there birds catch mice. would you run in quickly to dispatch it or would you **** yourself more than your bird go home tell your story to your friend and then find out its just a little grass snake ?????? Just a thought

[Nero]

Adders are rear fanged and would have to chew on your bird for awhile to be able to inject any venom, but i would be careful anyway, by the time that it could inject venom i would have thought that a bop would have killed it in that time. Hope this helps.

[Pitbull]

cheers nero, never had to worry about it my self but just wondered if any one had caught one,

[UKJay's Nursey]

Adders are rear fanged and would have to chew on your bird for awhile to be able to inject any venom, but i would be careful anyway, by the time that it could inject venom i would have thought that a bop would have killed it in that time. Hope this helps.


have you ever seen a british adder strike?? they do not need to chew down firsdt to release venom they usually strike and inject, this is how so many hikers etc end up in A&E this year suffereing bites to the ankles the british adder(common viper) will usually stike it prey and then follow the scent of the of the trail it leaves and then just eats it when it finds it again

(not all adder and vipers are rear fanged)the common adder(Vipera berus) is classed as solenglyphous (hinged fangs) that can stike inject and withdraw

adder venom is more toxic in March/April after the snake has been hibernating
best thing to do is just stay clear of them if possible(they only will strike if trod on,captured or attacked) and remember they are protected and the wildlife & countryside act 1981 so is still an offence to kill or injure them

sorry for rant just want to make sure people are protected :oops: :oops:

[DeathFromAbove]

In the whole time i've spent out in the countyside over the many years i've never seen an adder let alone get bitten by one, crazy i know, would love to see one tho.

[UKJay's Nursey]

when i lived in essex theyre used to be loads on the grasslands near the beach and on the caravan site so was used to seeing them and at our local hosptial we always had a large supply of antivenom stored ready for the season where teenagers would try to catch them and un suspecting hikers would stray into the long grass

here is some pics so others can identify them

http://www.creative-dreams.co.uk/artwork/VDMalecoiled.jpg
male

http://www.creative-dreams.co.uk/artwork/Vbfemalecoiled.jpg
female
http://www.creative-dreams.co.uk/artwork/Vbhmarking.jpg
juvenille

[DeathFromAbove]

cheers for posting the pics nursey - nice lookin snakes. from what i hear they're usually quite shy snakes and try to avoid being seen so it's prob not surprising that i've not seen any out on my travels lol

[MattSpar]

as a natural quarry for some species has anyone caught a snake down south ( im in scotland so not a problem )
I have a friend who lives on the northern shore of Caithness (about as far north on the mainland as you can go). Adders abound around his croft. It's common to see a dozen or more sunning themselves on the concrete floor of his kennels. Adders are very localised in their distribution, some areas are well known for them, whist others, equally suitable to our eyes, have none.

[PreyViper]

in this case nero is right! adders and vipers in general can administer a lethal amount of venom in under 0.8 seconds. this has been proven... if adders had to chew on there prey first then chances are they would have died out by now.. spending 70% of there lives in holes or tree roots ur bird would be very unlucky to come across 1... having said that if you come across 1 then remember that it will try to get away from u as much as u will from it!

[Blaze]

Il be honest............Id f*****g **** myself........Dont like snakes at all

[UKJay's Nursey]

in this case nero is right! adders and vipers in general can administer a lethal amount of venom in under 0.8 seconds. this has been proven... if adders had to chew on there prey first then chances are they would have died out by now.. spending 70% of there lives in holes or tree roots ur bird would be very unlucky to come across 1... having said that if you come across 1 then remember that it will try to get away from u as much as u will from it!


sorry you lost me ;-)

the common adder does not chew to exact venom

[Nero]

Sorry for any cofussion on this matter. Nursie is right they can inject venom at a srike but it would be very unlikely that your birds would come in contact with one. As for people being bitten the venom is very unlikely to harm you unless you have a heart condition or are allergic to the venom. No-one has died from the venom in the past 20 years. These snakes are very placid and only ever strike if trodden on, or agrivated. If you would like to see one in the wild the best place to see them are around compost heaps in the summer. If you go round a farm that has a good compost heap you can dig through them and nearly always find them. These snakes would sooner hide than bite. Sorry for the mistake.

[RabbitHawker]

Some BOP really like snakes, especially RT's . There was a great clip on National Geographic of a RT taking a rattler, so they should cope just fine with our adders. I'd leave the bird to it rather than risk a bite myself.

[Graham Stuart]

I was out with my FHH a few years ago and needed a **** my bird made an attempt to catch my old chap in her claws, luckily i turned quick and she missed which resulted in me ****ing down my leg which i thought was better than having my meat and 2 veg devoured by the bird...:lol: i think she thought it was a python:wink:

[Barbary Boy]

barney,h/hawks have been known to take slugs as well?

[Graham Stuart]

Thats bellow the belt(well actually there are some f**king huge slugs up here in scotland mate):lol:

[Wilded]

My first year passage red-tailed male caught caught a copperhead and 2 rat snakes his first year. Several of my buddies have caught rattlesnakes and copperheads. It seems passage birds are keen on grabbing them. We run in and try to get control of the snakes head imediately and kill it. One bite and all your work on the bird is gone. Snake boots in our area are a real plus. :)

[Saker-Clive]

I found a female 18 months ago on one of the golf courses I shoot and fly on; I let the club know that there were adders about and they wanted to get rid of them:twisted: I contacted English Nature and they sent them a load of bumph about them, telling them, they are not allowed to touch them and they are there because the habitat and food supply was there. I marked a tree so we knew where they were and for over a month, we saw her within 10 feet of the tree everytime we went there.
amazing creatures if people only stopped and watched them if they saw them; instead of trying to kill them. Saw one again this spring in the same area:D so they are definately breeding.

[Harrisii]

snakes will feature in the diets of wild harris' and redtails and they will have an inherant way of coping with them. also, the flying season does not fully co-incide with adders main activity period of summer. although theoretically they could come accross them in early spring.
i should think that encounters would be very few and far between and that the birds would deal with them should they come accross them if the snake hasn't made a sharp exit first.
feather will also provide the birds with a good protective layer and would stop the bite reaching the flesh of a hawk. the grip of a hawk would also render the snake pretty much deed in seconds.
but i am sure encounters do occur from time to time. can only see one outcome though. snake dinner.

[NGuruve]

i highly doubt tha there is anything to worry about if your bird grabs a snake it would be a huge fluke if it managed to bite through the feathers ao would be dead before it could strike any soft areas

[Coedhirion]

i highly doubt tha there is anything to worry about if your bird grabs a snake it would be a huge fluke if it managed to bite through the feathers ao would be dead before it could strike any soft areas
Errr...feathers, on legs and feet!!!
my friend has seen a redtail take a snake in GB. Something that I would be interested to watch, but not with my bird !! I gather they kinda wiggle their wings to distract the snake, (may be to get it to strike at the wing feathers??) just a thought... then while the wings are flicking they catch hold with the feet. Got a good pic of a Swainson's Hawk with a snake too.

[Minty]

Il be honest............Id f*****g **** myself........Dont like snakes at all

Me Too. I recently saw my first one since i was a kid of only 8 in Glorius scotland. It just was sitting infront of me and at the last moment slithered into a hedge.
I thought if i had a bird on my Fist would it have Baited? And then what, a Mangled Adder or a Mangled Bird?
Do not like snakes and Spiders give me the willies if one is in the house its Mrs Avalon who has to Dispatch it.
Southern Softie? Ok in this case i admit it!:grin:

[Debbie]

Down here in Dorset we have loads of Adders and Grass Snakes.

Lots along the beach areas as well as in the New Forest and often see them along the river banks and on the golf courses.

A mate of mine who fish's alot says on the whole they like yto keep themselves to themselves and truth be known we are probably more at risk of getting bitten than our birds are.

My friends dog got bitten this summer and sadly did not make it.

If you look cloesly at the adder and the grass snake they do have totaly different markings but fear always makes us just run screaming with panic lol

I love snakes myself been helping a mate with his Burmese Python who is really lovely but at 12 feet and twice the weight she should be is one hefty lump lol

Debbs

[Gos212]

as a natural quarry for some species has anyone caught a snake down south ( im in scotland so not a problem ) i lived in leicester for 13 years so know there are adders about there in the larger parks . just wondering as i have read the thread where people worried about there birds catch mice. would you run in quickly to dispatch it or would you **** yourself more than your bird go home tell your story to your friend and then find out its just a little grass snake ?????? Just a thought

Pitbull,

I live about 30mins North of you and up until I moved here I would have agreed with you about not worrying about Adders but got loads of them here ! My fem Red has been attracted to the ground a few times with what Ive assumed was Adders. Shes never taken any though. I try to stay away from the area Ive seen them, Ive been more concerned about the dog than the bird.
Anyone ever heard of dogs gettin a bite ?

[Gos212]

Sorry Debbie, just read your post !!!

[Peregrine960]

I put up a link to a video under bird talk / broadwings I think....lol just in case here it is again http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1116_051116_predator_video.html

[Claire]

the common buzzard we had at my old centre once caught a grass snake, during a display of course but luckily out of sight made a change for him from hunting earthworms and beetles lol

[Anthony Appleyard]

And the flag of Mexico shows an eagle killing a rattlesnake.

[Hosehead]

My bird took a Copperhead which is a pit viper early in the season this year. She bound to the head first thing and dispatched it quickly. Birds have evolved knowing what to do so I don't worry much about her. Around here I worry more about kids and dogs because of their curiousity.Kurt

[Shannor]

I'm curious to know whether chaps would provide a little extra protection against snake bites?

[Hells99]

Some peeps on here use chaps for squirrel - do they hinder the bird at all, anyone?

[Gary Timbrell]

Il be honest............Id f*****g **** myself........Dont like snakes at all

Boy am I glad I live in Ireland!

[Gary Timbrell]

I was in Amarillo for the NAFA Meet in 2000 and someone's redtail caught a rattle snake and that was around Thanksgiving. I wore riding boots after that.

[GosFlyer]

regarding snakes in scotland, i do a lot of deer culling in jock land especially in the spring, and i see dozens of adders the best way to get bit is to stand on ones tail but other than that they are pretty placid. the wildlife warden we work for has seen a raven bring an adder back to the newly fledged young, it dropped it onto the field alive and then had to keep the four young away from it until she dispatched it. once dead it lasted less than a minute. what footage it would of made if he had the right camera with him.this was at st mary's lock scottish borders.:rolleyes:

[Chris Kimble]

A friends female redtail caught a rattlesnake a few years ago while we were hawking in northern oklahoma. She whent down a ways out in a tall grass field and was holding very still, so it took us a while to find her. when we did, we were quite suprised to find her holding a rattler. She had it about 1/3rd of the way down the body and it was very much alive. we quickly dispatched the snake and began to inspect the bird, who had been bitten on the top of her foot. within minutes the leg was swollen so badly that we had to cut the anklet off. we rushed into the closest town and found a vet, who gave her a shot of deximethazone sp?... she was standing on the bitten foot within 30 minutes and showed no side affects after that.

BTW- Hells99, the squirrels chaps you are refering too if made properly do not seem to affect the birds anymore than regular anklets. worst case senario is the bird could get hung up in some vines briefly. I've never experienced any problems with them, but they have saved my birds a few squirrel bites!