Introduction and some pictures

The admin would like to ask all our members to give a short introduction of themselves here - also please include a picture of yourself, so we will recognize you in the field.

Introduction and some pictures

Postby Michael Wilms » Tue May 12, 2015 1:11 am

Hello,

my name is Michael Wilms and I'm from South-Western Germany.
I'm interested in herps and especially in snakes since many years. After I kept several diffenrent snakes my interests went more and more in finding them in nature and take pictures, what I like today much more than keeping them.
In the last few years I regularly go herping in an radius of ca. 150-200 kilometers of my home in the german states Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hessia and along the border to France and to Switzerland.
I visit here regularly habitats of Viper berus, Vipera aspis, Natrix natrix sp., Natrix tesselata, Coronella austriaca and Zamenis longissimus.
My interests are not only in finding the herps (especially snakes) and take pictures of them, but also compare the habitats of different locations where the same snakes live and to re-find specimen, which I already took pictures of.
Especially with Vipera berus and Vipera aspis I try this by taking good pictures of their individual (head) maculation.

In 2013 I made a 3,5-week trip to Croatia, nearly all the time the focus was on herping. To get informations I read a lot of trip reports, also here. Many informations from this trip reports and from this board were very useful and helpful!
That is one reason, why I decided to eventually register me here and after two years I wrote trip report, which I also want to provide here. You could say, I want to give something back!

To introduce me and my insterests (or better my passion) I will post some pictures I took in the last years (most of them in the last two years).

First some Natrix natrix helvetica from just around the corner of my home. In 2012 I also found babies there near their nest and rests of eggshells. I observed, how they spread and some of them first swam so some water lily pads and laid on them.
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Then some Natrix tesselata from the german river Nahe (Rhineland-Palatinate).
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Some Coronella austriaca from around the german river Nahe (Rhineland-Palatinate) and around the german state Hessia near it's capital Wiesbaden.
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Zamenis longissimus from round the german state Hessia near it's capital Wiesbaden. I also visited them along the german river Neckar (Hessia / Baden-Wuerttemberg), but it was just two weeks ago and I did not have time to have a closer look at the pictures.
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Vipera berus from the northern Black Forest (Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany). I also visited them in the southern Black Forest (Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany), but that was just this spring and I did not have a closer look at the pictures either.
The black one I found the whole summer of 2011 always on the same 4 sun spots according to where the sun was and I knew it's hiding place. Unfortunatly it did not come back next spring to this place.
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Vipera aspis from the southern Black Forest (Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany).
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Vipera aspis from the french Vosges mountains. In 2014 I visited them at the breeding or mating season and took pictures of it. I also found a beautiful orange or nearly red colored one.
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I observed a mating of 2 male and 1 female V. aspis (also french Vosges mountains).
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Then I even observed how the orange colored male several times also tried to join them mating. But one of the 2 normal colored males did not let him. Here you can see him come closer to them for two times and lying around next to them waiting for his chance.
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If you like this V. aspis mating pictures and the ones of the orange colored from the french Vosges mountains and you are interested in it, I think I have some more. So I could send them in a new extra thread, if you want.

My pictures from Croatia I will also send in an extra thread, like I told you at the beginning.

Here is only a little impression of my Croatia trip, of which a trip report will follow.
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So, I hope you now have an idea of what my passion is. ;)

And I also hope, this is not too long or too much for the first time.
It got more than I thougth! ;)
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Michael Wilms
 
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Hometown: Pirmasens-Gersbach
country: Germany

Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Andre Schmid » Tue May 12, 2015 3:35 am

Welcome here on the board :) Nice pictures.

Greetings from - to BaWü ;)
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Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue May 12, 2015 7:38 am

welcome here Michael.

the orange-red aspis is a stunning animal :o
Mario (Admin)

Please visit also my personal Herp-site vipersgarden.at
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Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Jeroen Speybroeck » Tue May 12, 2015 7:40 am

Welcome & thanks for the nice intro!
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Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Tue May 12, 2015 8:41 pm

A decent introduction and excellent photos, comme il faut, thank you. So, welcome to the club.
Which reminds me... actually I've never gone through the trouble of introducing myself... I've just
thought that being a disciple of the top/supreme admin (Mario) was enough of a recommendation...
Well, maybe one day...

In 2013 I made a 3,5-week trip to Croatia, nearly all the time the focus was on herping. To get
informations I read a lot of trip reports, also here. Many informations from this trip reports and
from this board were very useful and helpful! That is one reason, why I decided to eventually
register me here and after two years I wrote trip report, which I also want to provide here. You
could say, I want to give something back!

Please, give us the report, can't wait. And next time you might decide to come to Croatia, feel free
to contact me beforehand. People like you are always welcome and treated as friends/soulmates, no
question about that. They can even get the insiders' information on the "secret" V. ursinii sites...
And (unfortunately) the still remaining minefields or "mine-suspect areas", in case one is interested...
Berislav Horvatic
 
Posts: 1132
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Hometown: Zagreb
country: Croatia

Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Michael Wilms » Wed May 13, 2015 11:49 am

Ok, I now posted the pics and a link to the whole Trip Report.

And next time you might decide to come to Croatia, feel free
to contact me beforehand. People like you are always welcome and treated as friends/soulmates, no
question about that. They can even get the insiders' information on the "secret" V. ursinii sites...
And (unfortunately) the still remaining minefields or "mine-suspect areas", in case one is interested...


Actually I come to Croatia for a second trip in just 10 days for two weeks. :D
But this time with my girlfriend, so I can not go herping all the time.. ;)
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Michael Wilms
 
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Hometown: Pirmasens-Gersbach
country: Germany

Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Wed May 13, 2015 11:55 am

Well, not ALL the time, but still... en passant...
Berislav Horvatic
 
Posts: 1132
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Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Michael Wilms » Wed May 13, 2015 12:06 pm

Well, not ALL the time, but still... en passant...


That's true!! :D

I write you an email at the moment.. ;)
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Michael Wilms
 
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Hometown: Pirmasens-Gersbach
country: Germany

Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Jürgen Gebhart » Thu May 14, 2015 9:12 am

I never get tired of Vipera aspis pics!
The red one is awesome!!
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Re: Introduction and some pictures

Postby Edmond Themeli » Thu May 14, 2015 10:33 am

Those viper pics are stunning :D
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