On another mountain near town Salzburg

[Mario Schweiger]

Sunday we spent on a mountain east of town Salzburg in the northern limestone alps.

I have been there together with some friends and colleguages from Vienna.
It was very hot and a nearly cloudless sky, so no really good conditions for herping.

We have been up short after 8.00 a.m.

You may have a look to the landscape, by clicking the button below (JavaScript must be enabled)



A Vipera berus baby at about 9.00 a.m. was the only viper during the whole day!

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We saw some Zootoca vivipara, but most of them have been hiding in the tall grass very quickly.

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A large brown frog was sitting in some vegetation during noon outside

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In a very small ditch two little grass snakes have been hunting? for the dozens of Mesotriton alpestris larvae

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But the highligth of the day we found short before we returned to our car

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It had really this bluish green color. It was not the sunligth reflected. Best you may see it on the flanks around the hind limb.

Mario

[Ilian Velikov]

Great photography again,Mario! Good to see more than vipers from you! The bluish Zootoca and the crazy little grass snake are just amazing!

[Jürgen Gebhart]

One little vipera is better than nothing!!!
The zootoca is awesome!!!!

[Gerald Ochsenhofer]

Hi!

Some more pics, also from the day before in Passau (visited the allochthonous P. muralis nigriventris population there):









Especially the juveniles could not be unsettled:






Fast reaction..






After visiting this site we went southwards near the Salzach floodplain - forests to take a look at a really impressive renaturation project:































It has been a very nice Trip! Once more it turned out that mountains are the best place to be in Summer..
@Mario - the "yawning" natrix pic is really great

[Jürgen Gebhart]

Hello Gerald,

I like the Passau area also very much!!!! Excellent nigriventris shots!!!!

[Christoph Riegler]

Hello everybody,

please find more fotos after following this link:
http://www.herpetofauna.at/gallery/2009 ... Genneralm/

Best regards

Christoph