Patience rewarded
Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:17 pmI went out today to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Though headed elsewhere, I couldn't refrain myself from stopping for a quick glance at one of my usual sites that I passed along the way:
Right off the bat I found these two basking next to each other:
I figured something might be in the air and decided to put my plans on hold and stay hoping to catch some of the action. Unfortunately, however, I spooked her when I changed my footing immediately after taking this photo so I gave them a break and spent half an hour saying hello to some of the other denizens of the area - more adders, grass snakes and viviparous lizards. When I came back for a second look I found him cruising. She was nowhere to be seen. I gave it another rest and came back for a final look 15 minutes later. I now found her cruising and just as she disappeared beyond the crest he appeared. He was cruising back and forth all over the place obviously trying to pick up her scent, came within 40-50 cm of me without paying any attention to me. A number of times he seemed to pick up her trail and follow where I'd seen her but every time he lost her scent and veered off track before the crest.
It was quite frustrating to watch. Finally, after half an hour when he disappeared out of sight (in the wrong direction) I decided to look for the female. I made my way to the top of the crest and found her basking just beneath it on the other side. The whole time he had probably never been more than 8 or 9 meters away from her, several times within two!
I was just about to give up on him when he finally showed up and approached her.
For a moment there it seemed he was just going to continue on his way after climbing across her but then he made his way back and they disappeared out of sight from my extremely awkward vantage point until suddenly his tail popped up, hemipenis protruding. It disappeared again and a few seconds later both tails appeared, intertwined and seemingly dancing. I leant forward to see past the trunk obstructing my view, one of the branches in the heap I was standing on gave way and I spooked her a second time. He followed, dragged along by his private parts.
Thankfully she didn't move far and when she stopped it was at a spot to which I had a clear line of sight. I stayed with them for the next hour appreciating the lizards darting about, grass snakes moving by and birds singing around me before moving on - a full 2½ hours after stopping for a five minute glance
... They were still at it
Right off the bat I found these two basking next to each other:
I figured something might be in the air and decided to put my plans on hold and stay hoping to catch some of the action. Unfortunately, however, I spooked her when I changed my footing immediately after taking this photo so I gave them a break and spent half an hour saying hello to some of the other denizens of the area - more adders, grass snakes and viviparous lizards. When I came back for a second look I found him cruising. She was nowhere to be seen. I gave it another rest and came back for a final look 15 minutes later. I now found her cruising and just as she disappeared beyond the crest he appeared. He was cruising back and forth all over the place obviously trying to pick up her scent, came within 40-50 cm of me without paying any attention to me. A number of times he seemed to pick up her trail and follow where I'd seen her but every time he lost her scent and veered off track before the crest.
It was quite frustrating to watch. Finally, after half an hour when he disappeared out of sight (in the wrong direction) I decided to look for the female. I made my way to the top of the crest and found her basking just beneath it on the other side. The whole time he had probably never been more than 8 or 9 meters away from her, several times within two!
I was just about to give up on him when he finally showed up and approached her.
For a moment there it seemed he was just going to continue on his way after climbing across her but then he made his way back and they disappeared out of sight from my extremely awkward vantage point until suddenly his tail popped up, hemipenis protruding. It disappeared again and a few seconds later both tails appeared, intertwined and seemingly dancing. I leant forward to see past the trunk obstructing my view, one of the branches in the heap I was standing on gave way and I spooked her a second time. He followed, dragged along by his private parts.
Thankfully she didn't move far and when she stopped it was at a spot to which I had a clear line of sight. I stayed with them for the next hour appreciating the lizards darting about, grass snakes moving by and birds singing around me before moving on - a full 2½ hours after stopping for a five minute glance
... They were still at it
