Went into the Barn where I store my building materials, firewood, etc., this afternoon and these two "chaps" greeted me - one must be female!
normally they are 2 meters long and I believe that they are not dangerous as they only ?,
When I saw them they where raised up about a meter from the ground and curled together, (being friendly towards each other I presume) - I think the term is "coupling"(* - see below)
I rushed back into the house and grabbed my D300 which was unfortunately in "bird mode" - (single spot exposure/single cell focus and at f4), so unfortunately the DOF is limited - by the time I had changed the setting they had slithered into the barn under the firewood - my wife was nearby and saw them - guess who is now never going back into that barn?
for those interested - I think this is the snake -
All about the Western whip snake in France
They eat small birds amongst other things and there is a Bluetit's and Redstart's nest very near by - ("It is an extraordinary hunter; its prey varies with local availability and it will take small mammals, small birds, frogs, lizards etc. It has also been known to eat adders and even its own species. ")
*"Coupling takes place in May and can result in violent fights between males for a female, this can also occur between the sexes. During copulation the partners roll and twist themselves around each other, keeping their heads raised upright, photos below . Between 5 and 20 eggs are deposited under stones, old tree stumps or in rotting vegetation in June/July, the young hatching 6 to 8 weeks later."