First real trip of 2012

[Vlad Cioflec]

This weekend i visited three nature reserves in southern Dobroudja for some mammalwatching, a little birding and of course lots of herping.
I got a lifer bird, the Pied Flycatcher , saw six mammals (European Souslik, hedgehog, fox, European hare, red squirrel and wildcat) and best of all, i found my first live snakes of the season!

Pelophylax ridibundus

Lacerta viridis

Podarcis muralis

Podarcis tauricus

Testudo graeca

Zamenis longissimus

Vipera ammodytes

Dolichophis caspius

Now it's time for me to hit the sack; i'm beat . Hope you enjoyed!

[Stéphane Aubry]

Nice pics ! I like the Dolichophis caspius

The Vipera ammodytes is a bit frustrating

[Peter Oefinger]

Very nice - the tauricus shot is cool, also.

[Ilian Velikov]

Nice stuff Vlad. I like the caspius the most Despite of being so common it's one of my favourite European snakes. It's interesting that you saw a wildcat! Dobroudja is quite flat and bare with not much forest. Are you sure it wasn't one of those domestic cats gone feral? If you are sure about the sighting - congratulations, it's a really cool find. Wildcats are pretty hard to find and observe!

[Vlad Cioflec]

Hey guys,

Just logged in from work to thank you all.

And let me reassure you that the few forest of south-western Dobrudja still harbour wild, beautiful and quite big cats.
Not to mention jackals and wolves. I`ve talked to local shepherds and hunters before making camp in the reserves this weekend and on several other occasions and my advice to anyone planning an overnight stay in the core areas is to consider sleeping in their car. Just my two cents.

Stay safe and happy herping!