2016 (TX, NM, AZ, and Croatia)

[achillesbeast]

Herping for me has all but ended this year (with the exception of potentially finding herps in their hibernacula during winter hikes).

It was a fantastic year of herping for me. I spent the majority of my time herping west TX, with occasional trips to Arizona and New Mexico. I'll do my best to concisely summarize most of the trips below.

I spent a large portion of January through February hiking several mountains and looking for new hibernacula that I have yet to discover. I often go alone or with my brother accompanied by my dogs. I like to photograph birds, when I can, on my hikes.

Anubis in the Mountains by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

American Coot by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Anubis in the Hatchets by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Cactus Wren by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mockingbird by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Little Hatchet Mountains by Frank Portillo, on Flickr



I found several lizards throughout the winter months, but my first snake came in the beginning of March. I went to a spot in NM where I have found several Crotalus atrox hibernacula. On this particular day, I didn't find any C. atrox but I did find a large striped whip snake basking outside of a known C. atrox/C. ornatus den.

Striped Whipsnake (in situ) by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Striped Whipsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Lake Valley by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

This same weekend, I departed to Germany and Belgium to do research for my dissertation. While in Belgium, I got out a few times with my then fiance, and photographed some birds.

Full House by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

European Pond by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mute Swan by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

After the Europe trip, I did my usual herping and hiking around NM and west TX. By now, herps were moving a little more.

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mountain Patch-nosed Snake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Striped Whip Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Round-tailed Horned Lizard by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Greater Short-horned Lizard by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Around mid April, I made a short trip to Arizona with my brother and a friend visiting from NY. We didn't see much movement but the finds were good.

Green Ratsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

I spent the month of May exploring west TX as I usually do. My expeditions took place from El Paso County to Val Verde County. I would mostly herp alone or was joined by my brother and/or good friend Tom. No matter how many times I have seen certain species, I will never tire of finding them or photographing them.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Night Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black Tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

New Mexico Blind Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Red Spotted Toad by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Couch's Spadefoot Toad by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Blind Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Night Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Coachwhip by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake in habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Great Plains Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

I probably enjoyed the most luck/success of the year during the month of June. I had several epic nights where the highs would last until 4-5am. There was a night with 4 Trans-Pecos copperheads (1 DOR), the morning I found a regal ringneck crawling along my friend Tom's porch, etc. Most of these trips I was accompanied by my good friend Tom, and of course my dogs. We had some really fun nights.

Texas Horned Lizard by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Desert Box Turtle by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Night Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Horned Lizard by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Copperhead by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Copperhead by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Regal Ringneck Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Regal Ringneck Snake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Big Bend Black-Headed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Big Bend Black-Headed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-Tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mojave Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Long-nosed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Checkered Garter Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Long-nosed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Copperhead by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Desert Kingsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

There was one week at the end of June/beginning of July that was especially epic. During a Monday morning, after several nights of good rain, I decided to go out hiking. My cousin and dog Anubis came along. It was an unusually humid morning in west TX. For the first two hours we didn't see anything and took a break towards the top of the peak. On the descent, my dog was sniffing out a pile of rocks beneath a shrub. I looked down and saw a female banded rock rattlesnake. I was thrilled. She was quite a good looking snake. On Wednesday, I departed to the Davis Mts, one of my favorite and most targeted herping locations. There was a ton of night snake movement for some reason, I saw seven night snakes and six C. atrox. At 11pm, as I arrived to a popular herping road, I noticed a small grey figure on the road. I got out and immediately saw it was an alterna. I was thrilled. My heart beat immediately shot through the roof. Then I noticed something was wrong, the snake was alive but dying. I was crushed. This was my third Lampropletis alterna. I had yet to see a live representative of the species. The next night, my friend Tom joined me on another excursion to the Davis Mts. This was a particularly good night, species diversity and abundance was quite high. We concluded the night at around 6am. The following night, snake numbers were not particularly high, but it was to be a special night. My friend Tom and I headed to a series of rock cuts in Val Verde County. We checked a couple of cuts on our way there. I have been walking rock cuts for several years now and I honestly didn't expect much. We arrived at our targeted rock cuts at around 10:30 pm. It was very warm at around 90 degrees. I checked one side of the cut and didn't see anything so I crossed the highway and shined my light. I immediately caught glimpse of a grey and orange snake 25 feet or so up the cut. I have found five fake/toy alterna so I have been fooled plenty. I saw the snake moving and realized that I was not fooled nor delusional. After nearly a decade of searching, I had finally found the snake I have wanted to find most. All those years of not being successful made this moment that much sweeter. Needless to say, I scaled those 25 feet in an eye-blink. I grabbed the snake and began to sprint towards the other side of the cut where Tom was. We celebrated and continued our night. We found four other snakes that night. How sweet it was. The following night, I departed to the Davis Mts with my dogs, and had another pretty successful night.

Banded Rock Rattlesnake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Banded Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Night Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Smith's Black-headed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Long-nosed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Baird's Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Gray-Banded Kingsnake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Grey-Banded Kingsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Grey-Banded Kingsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Hooknose Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

As soon as I arrived in El Paso after my epic trip, I departed to Croatia to get married to my wonderful lady. The first week was mostly about the wedding. Getting documents and exact dates arranged. During that week, I had a few short outings with my wife. Of course, I did a little herping whenever it was possible. On a short trip to a local river, I found a European smooth snake crossing a dirt road. That was particularly exciting for me because it was one of the European snakes I really wanted to find and photograph. On a different occasion, my wife and I found many European Yellow Bellied Toads in small puddles within a mountain. These were neat little frogs that I had never seen in the wild. After the wedding, my wife and I departed to Krk, an island with Mediterranean-like habitats. We had a lot of fun together hiking, exploring, and relaxing at the beach. We would usually hike in the mornings. We found two species of whip snakes, which at the time I thought was one species (I was later corrected by a German aquaintence who is more familiar with European herpetofauna). My wife flipped the juvenile Balkan whip snake and I found the quite large and aggressive, but beautiful Green whip snake. I also lost two snakes. One of them was a green whip snake. The second, I wasn't able to get a good enough view of. My wife also found an adult Eastern Hermann's tortoise, which was quite exciting.

European Smooth Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Habitat in Northern Croatia by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Drava River by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Yellow-Bellied Toads by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Yellow-Bellied Toads by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trakošćan Castle by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Eastern Hermann's tortoise by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Balkan Whip Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Green Whip Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Green Whip Snake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Čižići by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Kalnik by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Once I returned to El Paso, my brother and I made a few trips to NM and West TX. One of the trips to NM was quite frustrating. We found a freshly hit L. pyromelana in the black range. It was a beautiful snake and a shame to find it in such condition. The week after the Black Range, my brother and I went to the Davis Mts and some other west TX regions. One of the nights was particularly fun as we found three live Lampropletis splendida. I also was also fortunate enough to photograph an unusually tolerant bat.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Common Buckeye by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Canyon Treefrog (In Situ) by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Myotis by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Desert Kingsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Desert Kingsnake Portrait by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Chekhov's Beam by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

I spent the latter part of august and September checking out various places in NM, TX and one short trip to AZ. Most of the species I saw were commonly encountered throughout the year but beautiful examples of those species. One of the highlights for me during this time period, was finding two little neonate C. l. klauberi basking after a rainy night. Another highlight was flipping a baird's rat snake on a weather-wise, miserable morning.

Desert Box Turtle in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mojave Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mojave Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Lyre Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Lyre Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Black-necked Garter Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Santa Rita Mountains by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Banded Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Great Plains Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Glossy Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-Tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-Tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Red-tailed Hawk by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Texas Banded Gecko by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Baird's Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Desert Kingsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Beautiful Mojave Rattlesnake

Mojave Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Another very memorable trip occurred at the end of September. This was to be my last west TX trip. I would still continue to herp El Paso and Hudspeth counties during October, but would not venture East of those counties after this particular trip. My lab colleague joined me on this excursion. We began our first night in the Davis Mts. We found a large female Mexican hognose, but unfortunately, she was dying. She was alive at the time the photos were taken but she would not survive the night. The second night was our most successful, and for me, the most successful of the year, in terms of sheer abundance. It was also a night that included five rattlesnake species, which is always neat. Perhaps the most exciting moment of the night came at 4am when we found a colossal C. atrox crossing a road. This was the largest rattlesnake I had ever found. On this particular stretch of road, I have seen several very large black-tailed rattlesnakes and diamondbacks. I'm not sure what it is about this particular region. It may simply be coincidence, but I have seen several beasts on this road. This C. atrox was absolutely massive. I measured the snake several times, it was approaching six feet in length. This animal was practically impossible to hook and to grab by the tongs; it was simply too heavy and too thick. I realize that C. atrox of this size may be found regularly in south TX, but in west TX it is truly a rare sight to see a diamondback over five feet in length. The last night was the least successful of the trip. It was a cold and wet night. Only three snakes were found, but one of them was a Tantilla culculata found by my lab mate.


Emory Rat Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Long-nosed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Long-nosed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Smith's Black-headed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Four-lined Skink by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Four-lined Skink by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mohave Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Prairie Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

The King by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Crevice Spiny Lizard by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Big Bend Black-headed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Big Bend Black-headed Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

I spent a lot of time working on my dissertation during October, but I still made the time to go out a few times a week, mostly to locations near my city. Highlights for me were the three little western hognose I found. I really enjoy finding Heterodon. I found quite a few Mexican hognose this month, all DOR, which was consistent with the theme all year. I found 9 DOR Mexican hognose throughout the season.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Desert Kingsnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Sonoran Gopher Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Massasauga by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mohave Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake (in situ) by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Same animal as the previous photo

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake in Habitat by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Hognose #1

Western Hognose Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Hognose #3

Western Hognose Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Hognose #2

Western Hognose Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

I found my last two snakes of the season during early to mid November. I have continued to hike but haven't seen much since.

Western Coachwhip Snake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

I will conclude this post with photos of different landscapes I explored this season, shots of other critters and birds, and a few photos of my ever present herping/explorer buddies, my dogs.
I am sure that 2017 holds new and exciting adventures. Upward and onward.


Yellow Mud Turtle by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Giant Desert Centipede by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Diplocentrus lindo by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Flight of the Crows by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

American Coot by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Pronghorn Family by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Golden Eagle by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Swans and Cormorant by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mute Swan by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

European Yellowjacket by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Southern Arizona by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

West Texas by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Supermoon by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Davis Mountains by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Wild West Morning by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Oasis by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Chiricahua Mountains by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Mountain Road by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Anubis and Daisy by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Brady by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Anubis: King of the Mountain by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Daisy Hiking by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Summit by Frank Portillo, on Flickr

Cheers.

[Jimi]

Nice images and stories, thanks for sharing. Lovely assortment of SW snakes, even when "mundane" species like atrox. Those Tantilla, we sure don't see many pics of them here.

Did you like Croatia a lot? I've dreamed of herping up some nose-horned vipers there, they have some gorgeous localities.

What breed is Anubis? Standard boxer, or...?

cheers

[achillesbeast]

Nice images and stories, thanks for sharing. Lovely assortment of SW snakes, even when "mundane" species like atrox. Those Tantilla, we sure don't see many pics of them here.

Did you like Croatia a lot? I've dreamed of herping up some nose-horned vipers there, they have some gorgeous localities.

What breed is Anubis? Standard boxer, or...?

cheers

Jimi,

Thanks! I love the southwest. I'm glad you enjoyed my photos.

I quite like Croatia. It's very beautiful country and very different from the deserts I normally roam. Vipera ammodytes were actually my top target but I wasn't able to find any. I agree that they are beautiful snakes. I didn't get to herp a lot the way I normally do, but I did try for Vipera a few times. Hopefully, I can find some ammodytes this coming summer when I head back over to Croatia.

Anubis is a boxer/American bulldog mix.

Cheers,

Frank.

[Will Wells]

Very nice shots Frank!!!

[achillesbeast]

Very nice shots Frank!!!

Thanks, Will!

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Another year to be jealous of!

Hopefully, I can find some ammodytes this coming summer when I head back over to Croatia.

Summer can be tough, especially in the warmer areas. You may want to try clearings in woodland at medium elevation. It's a fairly common/abundant species.

[achillesbeast]

Another year to be jealous of!

Hopefully, I can find some ammodytes this coming summer when I head back over to Croatia.

Summer can be tough, especially in the warmer areas. You may want to try clearings in woodland at medium elevation. It's a fairly common/abundant species.

Thanks for the helpful tips.

[Jimi]

medium elevation

Jeroen, just to get my bearings and store the datum away for future reference - what numbers would you put on this? Say, 800-1500m? A tad higher? In that part of the world, what is "stupidly high to look for snakes?" Where I live, about 8000' is a useful cutoff for all but a few squamate taxa. 7000' is a useful practical cutoff if you want decent abundances. But, valley bottoms are all over 4000' here, and peaks are over 11,000' so...low and high are relative. The sweet spot here for max diversity and abundance is something like 5500-6200'. What are the corresponding elevations in the Balkans? The full range is sea level to about 3000m right? That's, uh, a lot of ground to cover! Do you mostly stop looking for "non-alpines" at maybe 2300m???

If you judge this conversation too detailed for public viewing, no worries. I can do my own research, or just PM with you. But I'm curious and can't be alone.

Aside - still think you're done w/ North America for a long while?

Sorry OP, for the slight hijack. If you go back to Croat-land, might do you some good.

cheers

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

medium elevation

Jeroen, just to get my bearings and store the datum away for future reference - what numbers would you put on this? Say, 800-1500m? A tad higher? In that part of the world, what is "stupidly high to look for snakes?" Where I live, about 8000' is a useful cutoff for all but a few squamate taxa. 7000' is a useful practical cutoff if you want decent abundances. But, valley bottoms are all over 4000' here, and peaks are over 11,000' so...low and high are relative. The sweet spot here for max diversity and abundance is something like 5500-6200'. What are the corresponding elevations in the Balkans? The full range is sea level to about 3000m right? That's, uh, a lot of ground to cover! Do you mostly stop looking for "non-alpines" at maybe 2300m???

If you judge this conversation too detailed for public viewing, no worries. I can do my own research, or just PM with you. But I'm curious and can't be alone.

Aside - still think you're done w/ North America for a long while?

Sorry OP, for the slight hijack. If you go back to Croat-land, might do you some good.

cheers

Well, yes, that was pretty vague of me, wasn't it?

While the ultimate record is 2500m (according to these guys , I remember 3 ammodytes sightings at 1600m, in the Greek Pindos mnts. as well as eastern Montenegro, but I would label those as rather high up records.. The former was actual in a spot where we were looking for Vipera graeca (and failed, in contrast to some years earlier). My very first ammodytes was in Croatia in July 2002. We got away from a coastal Podarcis melisellensis spot towards inland, hoping to find rocky outcrops in woodland for Iberolacerta horvathi. At 800-1000m, we stopped at textbook example of a spot for horvathi and succeeded. While I was leaning against the rocky roadbank slope (would you guys would call a cut, I guess), my girlfriend pointed out that shouldn't step on the snake that was stealthly making its way up the slope, trying to grab a lizard breakfast. There he was, a beautiful male ammodytes. The Croatian ammodytes belong to the imho better looking nominal subspecies, whereas in Greece (except NE) you het the duller ssp. meridionalis (while nothing beats the eastern montandoni).

It was this particular little anecdote of my first summer that made me make the above suggestion. A similar tale comes from July 2010, when we found 2 or 3 in a small stone quarry in the woods of Slovenia at 630m. A week before we had already found one or two at a similar yet larger site in S Austria at the northern range limit of the species. That's about all the ammodytes searching and finding I remember from summer months. Spring is definitely better - in my report from Montenegro there's a graph that shows ammodytes to be the 2nd most often encountered snake species (excluding the two Natrix water snake species of SE Europe).

Let me add a few pics.

This is what a twitcher's dull brown lizard target looks like in Europe, Iberolacerta horvathi.


A bit less dull, but often overrun by Podarcis siculus - P. melisellensis


Here's the Montenegro 1600m girl.


Here's the Greek high-up place, where we searched for Vipera graeca, but found ammodytes.


Found up there =>


Also this aberrant one with an aspis-like snout.


Unfortunately, I have done most of my (limited) Croatian travelling in days without decent photo gear, so no pics of Croatian ammodytes. Last time I herped in Croatia did deliver this Vipera ursinii, though, at a site that burned down a few years later.

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Aside - still think you're done w/ North America for a long while?

Never really done, of course.
I have to wait for any trips for a bit until the kids get a bit older/manageable, I'm afraid. Depends a bit on what my girlfriend can cope with. But I'll be back. First desired destination are however rather Madagascar, NE Australia, Taiwan, Borneo, ...

[Rman]

Very nice! Love the alterna.

[achillesbeast]

medium elevation

Jeroen, just to get my bearings and store the datum away for future reference - what numbers would you put on this? Say, 800-1500m? A tad higher? In that part of the world, what is "stupidly high to look for snakes?" Where I live, about 8000' is a useful cutoff for all but a few squamate taxa. 7000' is a useful practical cutoff if you want decent abundances. But, valley bottoms are all over 4000' here, and peaks are over 11,000' so...low and high are relative. The sweet spot here for max diversity and abundance is something like 5500-6200'. What are the corresponding elevations in the Balkans? The full range is sea level to about 3000m right? That's, uh, a lot of ground to cover! Do you mostly stop looking for "non-alpines" at maybe 2300m???

If you judge this conversation too detailed for public viewing, no worries. I can do my own research, or just PM with you. But I'm curious and can't be alone.

Aside - still think you're done w/ North America for a long while?

Sorry OP, for the slight hijack. If you go back to Croat-land, might do you some good.

cheers

Well, yes, that was pretty vague of me, wasn't it?

While the ultimate record is 2500m (according to these guys , I remember 3 ammodytes sightings at 1600m, in the Greek Pindos mnts. as well as eastern Montenegro, but I would label those as rather high up records.. The former was actual in a spot where we were looking for Vipera graeca (and failed, in contrast to some years earlier). My very first ammodytes was in Croatia in July 2002. We got away from a coastal Podarcis melisellensis spot towards inland, hoping to find rocky outcrops in woodland for Iberolacerta horvathi. At 800-1000m, we stopped at textbook example of a spot for horvathi and succeeded. While I was leaning against the rocky roadbank slope (would you guys would call a cut, I guess), my girlfriend pointed out that shouldn't step on the snake that was stealthly making its way up the slope, trying to grab a lizard breakfast. There he was, a beautiful male ammodytes. The Croatian ammodytes belong to the imho better looking nominal subspecies, whereas in Greece (except NE) you het the duller ssp. meridionalis (while nothing beats the eastern montandoni).

It was this particular little anecdote of my first summer that made me make the above suggestion. A similar tale comes from July 2010, when we found 2 or 3 in a small stone quarry in the woods of Slovenia at 630m. A week before we had already found one or two at a similar yet larger site in S Austria at the northern range limit of the species. That's about all the ammodytes searching and finding I remember from summer months. Spring is definitely better - in my report from Montenegro there's a graph that shows ammodytes to be the 2nd most often encountered snake species (excluding the two Natrix water snake species of SE Europe).

Let me add a few pics.

This is what a twitcher's dull brown lizard target looks like in Europe, Iberolacerta horvathi.


A bit less dull, but often overrun by Podarcis siculus - P. melisellensis


Here's the Montenegro 1600m girl.


Here's the Greek high-up place, where we searched for Vipera graeca, but found ammodytes.


Found up there =>


Also this aberrant one with an aspis-like snout.


Unfortunately, I have done most of my (limited) Croatian travelling in days without decent photo gear, so no pics of Croatian ammodytes. Last time I herped in Croatia did deliver this Vipera ursinii, though, at a site that burned down a few years later.

That was very enjoyable to read. The aberrant ammodytes looked very interesting. I actually thought it was a different Vipera species upon first looking at the photo. Thanks for sharing. I will try to go during May instead, and hope to find at least one ammodytes.

[achillesbeast]

Very nice! Love the alterna.

Thank you.

[RoadCruiser]

Thanks for posting such incredible images! What type of camera, flash, and lenses are you using? Again, amazing photos.

Rick

[achillesbeast]

Thanks for posting such incredible images! What type of camera, flash, and lenses are you using? Again, amazing photos.

Rick

Thank you, Rick. I use a canon 6D, Altura flashes with diffusers, and a Sigma 105mm F2.8 macro lens. I only started using that sigma lens towards the latter part of the season and absolutely love it. For wider angle shots I use a Canon EF 17-40mm lens.