Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Baltic Republics

Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Joel Rahkonen » Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:40 pm

Hi!

I am new on this forum and this is my first post. I introduce myself shortly. I am a biology student in Jyväskylä, Finland. My hobby is photographing nature, especially reptiles and amphibians. I also like visual arts. Often reptiles, amphibians and fishes are my subject.

I visited Åland Islands (on the Baltic sea between Finland and Sweden) in April 2011. It was a succesfull trip. Here are some pictures. I was looking for Coronella austriaca, that lives only there in my country. I found many Coronellas but the photographing was difficult. The snakes were basking on a rocky terrain. The scared me very easily and hide between the rocks.
Here are some Coronella habitat photos.
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There were three large Corononellas on this place. One of them came back to bask on the sun. I believe it was a female, quite large sized, maybe 70 cm long. It may have been attacked by a bird of prey as it has scars on it's flank.
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Natrix natrix and Coronella austriaca.
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I also found one small Coronella (about 30 cm).
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I saw many Vipera berus. This one was the only I had success with photographing.
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Vipera berus habitat.
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Suddently this least weasel (Mustela nivalis, in finnish "lumikko") came to see me between the rocks.
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Natrix natrix hissing. This species is common on the sea shores.
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A view to Baltic Sea.
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I hope you like the photos!
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:40 pm

Yes, great landscape and nice snakes :)

Mario
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Please visit also my personal Herp-site vipersgarden.at
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Gabriel Martínez » Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:43 pm

Hi Joel!

It seems that you found a good place for snakes! Nice photos, I specially love the austriaca sunbathing with the Natrix. Adder photos very cool too and Mustela nivalis very very cute! ;)

Cheers

Gabri
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Martti Niskanen » Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:22 pm

Great post, Joel. Really nice that you posted habitat shots as well.
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Brendan OConnor » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:08 pm

Great photos and story.
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Paul Lambourne » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:42 pm

Fantastic habitat, put me in mind of Averstal, Switzerland. Lovely to see snakes, particually berus :D in situ.

Thanks for posting.

Cheers Paul
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Ilian Velikov » Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:05 pm

Great photos, Joel! I like them all, but the animals in habitat are my favourites..also I always get exited to see such nice photos of hard-to-photograoh animals like the weasel! Nice to hear there are more people with biology/arts combination of interests! I'm a herp-addicted artist, too (animator/illustrator) :mrgreen: Can we see your sculptures somewhere?
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Tom Hoogesteger » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:28 pm

Hei Joel, nice to see you here. That picture with natrix and coronella together is fantastic! I think I recognise some places. ;) Your report make me want to visit Åland again as soon as possible, but I'm afraid I won't have time until next spring. :evil:
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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Joel Rahkonen » Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:27 pm

Thank you all for the comments! Åland Islands is a fantastic place. It is great to cycle around the island, make short expetitions on sea shore and hills, and find the animals, especially rare Coronella. Åland Islands is also one of the few areas where Triturus cristatus lives in my country. I saw many roadkill specimens, however no T. cristatus alive. I have to make a come-back next year to find this species. : )

Ilian: here is a photo of a snapping turtle sculpture. A catfish and a terrapin are under construction. I have also made a frog and a snake but at the moment I have no pictures. Where could I see your works? : )

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Re: Coronella austriaca in Åland Islands, Finland (April 2011)

Postby Ilian Velikov » Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:45 pm

The snapping turtle is great! Thanks for sharing!

Where could I see your works?


http://ilianvelikov.blogspot.com
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