Croatia - Snakes in situ

[Kevin Esser]

Hierophis gemonensis

The Balkan Whip Snake is underrated in my opinion.
Of course, it has a large range and in suitable habitats it is sometimes very common.

Nevertheless I am happy about every sighting.
Due to its abundance and the relatively small flight distance, in situ pictures are possible quite often.
Here are some pics from my recent Croatia trips:

https://www.natura-rica.com/

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[Mario Schweiger]

nice observations
but sometimes they are really hard to spot

[Kevin Esser]

but sometimes they are really hard to spot

True!

[Kevin Esser]

Malpolon insignitus

Due to their speed and high escape distance, it is very difficult to get in situ pictures of Eastern Montpellier Snakes.
My collection of in situ pics is therefore much smaller.

[Gerald Ochsenhofer]

Very cool shots and I totally envy you for those pictures of Malpolon! Actually getting decent in-situ pictures of Malpolon is one of my main future targets
Which focal length was required for that Malpolon pictures?

I also got the experience that in terms of in-situ pictures of Croatian snakes, apart from V. ammodytes, H. gemonensis is one of the most easy and "thankful" photo motives and i luckily also managed to click some; usually with 300mm on both DX and FX.

"Recent" Croatia trip -> when was that?

Cheers!
Gerald

[Mario Schweiger]

test

[Hans Dampf]

test

[Kevin Esser]

Thank you, Gerald!

Actually both times I was chasing lizards with my Canon 70D and 100 mm Macro lens, when I spotted M. insignitus.
I just moved very slowly and somehow got unexpected close to these shy and fast snakes. Pictures are slightly cropped.

Both Malpolon and almost all the H. gemonensis shots are from my last trip to Croatia, May 2022.

[Gerald Ochsenhofer]

Cool! Using a 100mm lens you must have really approached in slow motion

[Tomas Klacek]

Nice pictures and even better observations. These malpolon shots are very cool, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to other species