We left here feeling very happy about the Schreibers lizards and headed west to our accommodation where we watched a Griffon vulture Gyps fulvus circling over the house, we unpacked our bags and had a quick look around the immediate area where Matt quickly found Fire salamander Salamandra s berandezi and several P muralis.
We had to get some supplies for the week so Suzanne drove the car down the rather narrow drive but failed to notice a stone sticking out, a bang and loud hissing noise soon confirmed our fears and we were disappointed to find no spare tyre. A few phone calls and couple of hours later a recovery truck turned up but without the replacement car as promised. Suzanne was straight on the phone and gave them hell when they said we would have to drive 60km in the morning to collect a replacement, rather difficult without a car.they finally backed down and promised taxi for us in the morning.
After collecting the new car we headed for the Tendi valley hoping to find the Gold striped salamander Chioglossa lusitanica, we found a likely looking place and began to turn a few stones at the waters edge.Matt was first to find them and found some juveniles in the water.
Within a few minutes we had all found a few individuals plus a Common frog Rana temporaria
In the evening the people that own the house very kindly took us to a nearby site where their children regularly catch newts, it is a water trough that then runs into a small stream. The water trough was full of Midwife toad Alytes obstricans,Alpine newts Icthyosaura alpestris and Palmate newts Lissotriton helveticus
A Slow worm Anguis fragilis was also found here, and then the son lifted a tyre and shouted "Salamander"
I then turned a large log to reveal 5 Salamanders Salamandra s bernadezi and a Midwife toad A obstetricans
A night search around the house area gave a few Salamanders and Midwife toads
Tuesday
Today we drove to the Picos de Europas to look for the Iberian rock lizard Iberolacerta monticola, a species high on my tick list.We stopped en route to check a water trough finding once again Palmate newts L helveticus and Midwife toad tadpoles A obstetricans.Matt and Carl were happy to see lots of vultures soaring overhead as they were keen to get some good photos of them this trip.
We moved on up to our destination and soon found one of Matt's targets a Midwife toad A obstetricans with eggs.
Moving to a rocky area we searched fruitlessly among the boulders for a while when Suzanne said "Are these lizards green? I think this might be one" . We quickly ran over to find this jewel sunning itself.
We soon found around 20 individuals of varying ages and were surprised to see how fearless of people they were.
Turning a few stones revealed a couple of Slow worms A fragilis
Wednesday
An early and sunny start to the day and a 2.5 hr drive to search for vipers, the sat nav tried to take us up a ridiculous dirt track over a hill which meant an extra half hour to the journey and the weather had turned very windy and cold. We parked the car and I found an Asp Vipera aspis immediatly with Carl finding another a few minutes later, we searched on but found only a few skinks C striatus and an Ocellated lizard Timon lepidus which escaped. I was intrigued to find for the first time A Red striped oil beetle Berberomeloe majalis
We moved from here to another viper location hoping to find a Lataste's viper Vipera latastei but despite spending hours searching the broken wall that covered the hillside we failed to find any vipers. In a series of small ponds I found Viperine snakes Natrix maura, Marbled newts Triturus marmaratus and a few Iberian water frogs Rana perezi.
After checking the sat nav we then moved onto a nearby water tank where we found lots of Midwife toad tadpoles A obstetricans, Palmate newts L helveticus,Alpine newts I alpestris Fire salamander larvae S salamandra and a few Western green lizard juveniles Lacerta bilineata
We left here and headed for a nearby lake where Matt and Carl had fun photographing Storks and Red footed falcons but the day was rather hot by now and I found an Iberian water frog R perezi in the shallows.
Thursday
Seoane's vipers Vipera seoanei were the target for today and so it was back to the Picos to search the slopes below some of the mountains there. Our journey was lengthened by having to follow 2 large coaches through the winding roads and as the morning crept on so the temperature began to rise, we arrived at our location and quickly made our way into the scrub area and began searching. Matt was the first to find with a Smooth snake Coronella austriaca beneath a stone and then a shout from Carl ten minutes later that he had heard a snake in a low bush. We moved a few branches and then Carl found it beneath a stone a beautiful brown Seoane's viper V seoanei.
Matt and Carl wanted some Vulture photos and so we took a ride up the cable car at Fuente de and were not disappointed, we stood on the viewing platform and watched several Griffon vultures G fulvus gliding past at varying heights. A passing Egyptian vulture raised the excitement level but it was too far away, luckily it returned later and they were able to get some shots of it. The flocks of Alpine choughs Pyrrhocorax graculus here were very entertaining as they made full use of the updraught and any scraps of food thrown to them were easily taken on the wing. Suzanne and I walked along to a pond we had visited in 2013 and once again found plenty of Alpine newts I alpestris plus a couple of Common toads Bufo bufo with several strings of spawn.
Friday
Plan A for today was to revisit the beach area to look for V seoanei but it was raining when we awoke so plan B was to return to the Tendi valley and continue our search for S alfredschmidti, Suzanne decided to stay at home so 3 excited boys headed off on a lads outing. We carried on past the spot where we had stopped previously and soon found a likely looking area. Within a few minutes a shout went up from Matt that he had found some, I hurried over to find him holding 2 beautiful S alfredschmidti, very nice but I needed to find one myself, I quickly solved this by turning a log and found my own specimen.
There seemed little point in carrying on just to find more of them so we decided to return to the house as the weather was improving and head off to the coast. We drove slowly down the road and I paused at a small clear roadside pool, I got very excited when I saw 3 newts and thought that I had finally found Bosca's newt Lissotriton boscai but they proved to be Palmate newts L helveticus. I got back in the car and stopped again at a location mentioned in another trip report, it was a very small pool of mud and plant material in the same stretch of water but something moved at the surface as I looked at it. I stuck in my hand and pulled out a handful of muck but then saw a flash of red, I looked up at the car and my grin told the whole story, moving the mud aside revealed three Bosca's newts L boscai
We returned to the house and collected Suzanne feeling very happy with ourselves and drove to the by now very hot coast. We walked along a stream peering over the bank every now and then hoping for a Grass snake Natrix n astreptophora but found only B bufo tadpoles , the rest of the party left out a bushy section but I was not to be put off and was rewarded by the sight of a large snake tail waving in the current. There was only one option and that was to jump in and grab it at the same time, I soon had the pleasure of holding it up and shouting "Snake!"
We then made our way to the cafe for a well earned cool drink pausing en route to photograph a few L bilineata
We walked along the beach and then through the dune area hoping to see the Schreiber's lizards but found only many naked men enjoying the sunshine and each other's company.
A great holiday with great company and we stayed in a beautiful house, the total for the week was 22 species with 4 of them new to me.
