Germany: May to July

[Sandra Panienka]

I haven't posted pictures in a while and thought I'd share some of the finds from May, June and July. These are mainly species found close to my hometown and the surroundings. For Rana dalamatina and Alytes obstetricans I had to do more extended trips. The Alytes trip in June for sure was the most spectacular trip this year and I am very happy that me and two friends of mine were allowed to participate.
I already showed some of the pics in my facebook account, hope you still enjoy them.


Salamandra salamandra terrestris



Triturus cristatus











Ichthyosaura alpestris






I'm not so sure about this weird colored larva as there is also Lissotriton helveticus in that pond. The crest seems to be very low and the tail quite pointy.



Lissotriton spec.
Probably a young L. helveticus, as we encountered a female in one of the surrounding ponds.




Bufo bufo





Bufo viridis

















Bufo calamita













Alytes obstetricans





















Bombina variegata







Rana temporaria









Rana dalmatina







Pelophylax ridibundus






Pelophylax kl. esculentus




Zootoca vivipara



Anguis fragilis

















Lacerta agilis








Natrix natrix












Coronella austriaca







Some birds:

Eagle Owl


Young European Green Woodpecker


Male and Female Montagu's Harrier


Grey Heron



Some Beetles

European Cockchafer


Lesser Stag Beetle







European Stag Beetle



Dragonflies








Butterflies

Comma


Skipper


Meadow Brown


Small Heath


Short-tailed Blue


Short-tailed Blue


Short-tailed Blue


Short-tailed Blue


Common Blue


Common Heath


Meadow Brown


Flying Marbled White


Marbled White


Skipper


Burnet



Spiders




















Crickets

[Mario Schweiger]

Great series of herps and other stuff!
Thanks for sharing.

The individual on the last portrait of Anguis sp. have an ear opening So sympatric occurence of two species

Mario

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Excellent! I love those long posts you make!

[Sandra Panienka]

@Mario: Thanks! Which Anguis portrait do you mean? The old male with the dent behind the head?

@Jeroen: Thanks, I even added four more pictures.

[Andre Schmid]

Huh...a lot of GREAT pictures ! Thanks for sharing

[Ray Hamilton]

Great selection of creatures. I really like the first Grass Snake shot.

You have some amazing photos. Ray.

[Jürgen Gebhart]

Superb, Sandra! Especialy Alytes series!!

[Laura Bok]

Wow, what an opulence of pictures! Some of them are documentaries, some of them have that very special artistic touch, what I like very much. But my absolute favorite is the Alytes-serie,s too - that is a natural document in a quality which couldn´t be better! Truly amazing, I would love to witness something like that again in the not too distant future...

Looking forward to your next compilation ,
Laura

[Peter Oefinger]

Wow! Cool Natrix natrix (helvetica?). Also love the short tailed blue - don't have this in our area....

[Sandra Panienka]

Thanks for all the kind replies!

Wow, what an opulence of pictures! Some of them are documentaries, some of them have that very special artistic touch, what I like very much. But my absolute favorite is the Alytes-serie,s too - that is a natural document in a quality which couldn´t be better! Truly amazing, I would love to witness something like that again in the not too distant future...

Thanks, Laura! I guess at the moment I am almost trying to document everything that I observe when I am outside in the field. Most of the time I just point, focus and shoot. ;O)
I also really hope, that I can repeat the Alytes adventure in the near future. That was just one of the most amazing experiences ever, because there were so many of them around and calling, very beautiful.

Wow! Cool Natrix natrix (helvetica?).

Hey Peter, the first Natrix is probably Natrix natrix natrix. All the others are helvetica. I live in a region where I don't have to travel a lot to find both.