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Sick

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:32 am
by Kristian Munkholm
I usually say I don't get sick. When, on rare occasion, I do catch a common cold it tends to build up slowly over a couple of days. Friday afternoon it hit me like a sledgehammer.

Saturday morning it was worse. I spent half a day in bed with the man flu, mucus dripping from my clogged up nose, sneezing explosively and feeling sorry for myself. By the afternoon I guess I was a little better. At any rate I decided to get up, get dressed, and go shopping for groceries. Five minutes after getting into the car I suddenly found myself on the freeway headed in the wrong direction. The weather was cool and cloudy so I didn't really expect much, went for a short walk to clear my head anyway. Not a bad decision...

Found 13 adders - new record for the spot - incl. the first female of the year. Also the first grass snake and the first slow worms of the year.

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Re: Sick

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 5:52 pm
by Kristian Munkholm
At this time of year so much is happening it's interesting to follow day by day, when possible.

I did the same round today at the same time of day in somewhat similar conditions - 1-2 degrees colder, but a bit sunnier. Adder wise the result was similar, 9 specimens, 8 of them also seen yesterday, 1 fresh out of brumation at the den. Whereas yesterday all adders were basking fully exposed 2 of the 3 melanistic ones were almost fully concealed today with the scales just barely showing through the grass, typical behaviour later in the season, and I guess indicative of the main advantage of melanism in northern snakes.

The real difference, though, was in the grass snakes, just 1 at the main den yesterday, a total 16 today, including 6 just outside the main den and 6 in the immediate surroundings.

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Re: Sick

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:21 pm
by Alexander Pieh
I want to catch a cold too :lol:

Re: Sick

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 9:27 pm
by Alexander Pieh
Dear Munkholm,
I wish you many further findings and fast recovering
Alex

Re: Sick

PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:49 pm
by Gerald Ochsenhofer
Cool pics!

Re: Sick

PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 2:03 pm
by Christoph Stenger
Nice finds - helps you get well very much. ;-)

I especially like the toad pic - although I am still a viper aficionado

Re: Sick

PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 9:24 pm
by Kristian Munkholm
Thanks guys :)

...& yes, I'm fine again - a little field time works wonders.

Tempo mating season started today in my local ditch. Blue arvalis this weekend?

Re: Sick

PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:12 am
by Jeroen Speybroeck
Kristian Munkholm wrote:Thanks guys :)

...& yes, I'm fine again - a little field time works wonders.

Tempo mating season started today in my local ditch. Blue arvalis this weekend?


Probably, judging by how it moved up from Flanders until N Netherlands over the last days.

Re: Sick

PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:07 pm
by Kristian Munkholm
Jeroen Speybroeck wrote:
Kristian Munkholm wrote:Thanks guys :)

...& yes, I'm fine again - a little field time works wonders.

Tempo mating season started today in my local ditch. Blue arvalis this weekend?


Probably, judging by how it moved up from Flanders until N Netherlands over the last days.


No luck today, unfortunately...

Tried three spots.

First - nothing.

Second - plenty of calling males, a couple of egg masses, one amplexed couple, no serious blues (a few lightly tinged...)

Third - a couple of lonely males, no blues.

Tomorrow could be the day at the second spot, but alas... I don't have the time.

Finished the day off with a quick reptile round instead. That was more succesful - got all five natives. Sand lizards were first for the year :)