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It loves to bask on sunny grass slopes, walls or logs and
feeds on the insects and spiders that live there. Pressure
on the countryside in the using up of waste land has red-
uced its numbers but I believe the new habitat is the
motorway verge once they become established with the right
grass sward and insect life.
Adder or Viper (Vipera berus)
This shy snake is mainly confined to its last stronghold,
the sea wall areas of Essex. Records are few this year
but one adder was seen near Rochford in 1979. Two at
Peldon and one in Epping Forest in 1980. Again they are
fewer in Epping Forest either due to more people being
about or the disappearance of grassy plains. When disturbed
one often sees only the last of the snakes tail making
identification difficult but as a rule if it is generally
black, reddish black or black and white it is an adder.
If still the black zig-zag line is plain but during sloughing
this may not be clear.