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Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 11:22 am
by 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:

Hierophis-gemonensis_01.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_02.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_03.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_04.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_05.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_06.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_07.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_08.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_09.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_10.jpg

Hierophis-gemonensis_11.jpg


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

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Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:24 pm
by Mario Schweiger
nice observations :)
but sometimes they are really hard to spot
SIMG1898.jpg

DSC_8036.jpg

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:46 pm
by Kevin Esser
but sometimes they are really hard to spot


True!

Hierophis-gemonensis_12.jpg

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:00 pm
by 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.

Malpolon-insignitus_01.jpg

Malpolon-insignitus_02.jpg

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 10:21 pm
by 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 :mrgreen:
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

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:34 am
by Mario Schweiger
test

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:40 am
by Hans Dampf
test

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 5:29 pm
by 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.

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2023 10:10 pm
by Gerald Ochsenhofer
Cool! Using a 100mm lens you must have really approached in slow motion :D

Re: Croatia - Snakes in situ

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 8:12 pm
by Tomas Klacek
Nice pictures and even better observations. These malpolon shots are very cool, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to other species :)