Here are some feeding lizards from me.Not very good shots but I don't care,either!:)

L.viridis with an insect larvae.

P.muralis scavaging on a dead earth worm.

M.kotschyi with a big mosquito 

V. ammodytes ruffoi - picture is in situ and full frame. I was crawling on my stomach (that boulder hurts...) and I have to say, that although I had 100mm, it was not a comfort distance in that position. I think catching would have been much less stress; for me. ;)

> I think catching would have been much less stress;
> for me. ;)

Aha! A new topic for discussion: impact of catching snakes on the survival of the catcher ;-))).

 

;-)

next one: 60mm macro with tripod, no crop and not from my local spot.

berus is sooo easy ;-))) 

;-)))

I'll start from old to the newer ones :-)

Ophisops elegans

Hyla arborea

H.turcicus

E.quatuorlineata

All these were taken with my old compact camera.
more and better coming soon ;-) 

Ok: 60mm macro, no crop

better? 

Both very impressive, the quat and the viridiflavus...! 

Ilias, was that quatuorlineata in spring or what happend to that white tail? 

L.viridis

A.oertzeni

And now with the dslr:

P.tauricus

B.bufo

M.kotschyi (it let me go eventually very close!)

more soon 

@Daniel
I don't remember, I think it was early June
Seems that it had a shedding problem(?) 

I thought this could be dirt from hibernation but ...
I saw this a few times and mainly on the tail.
 

Not a big fan of in situ pics, except flipped herps. After all, it`s called feildherping, not herpwatching. :)

But here are a couple i like:

and a link to some really cool as found shots:

http://fieldherping.eu/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=234

Happy herping!
Vlad
 

> After all, it`s called fieldherping, not herpwatching.
? ? ? 

You mean something like Dominium terrae???
I better not comment on that one. 

@Jeroen:

Fieldherping is all about getting out there, and getting our hands dirty.
Flip huge rocks, run through spiny bushes, crawl in the smelly mud, you name it; whatever it takes to find targets that we dream of night and day, in order to get a GREAT PICTURE that will remind us for the rest of our of lives how fun it is to be out and about chasing lifers.

Herpwatching is just sticking to paths, being content with a short glimpse of a herp, taking a pic here and there and enjoing the fresh air. :)

It`s like the difference between birding and birdwatching.

And this is the European FIELDHERPING Community, a place for hard core herpers.
 

Double post, sorry 

ok, seems to me that im not a fieldherper!

attached my old friend sw1. unfortunatly he is dead now (most probably) - last time I saw him was 16.4.08 - when I made this pic.

> Dominium terrae
:-)))

@ Vlad: OK, I get it, but if your fieldherping always holds the picture above any other (conservation) consideration...

Although I am of course a passionate freak, I'd be happy to herpwatch as much as possible, in order to be able to avoid leaving a trail of destruction through a habitat. I'm sure that's not what you meant, but given the "temperament" of the "conduct" thread, that's going on now, I just felt some care in choosing the right words might be useful.

Anyway, of course it's fun to really get in there, but you made it sound a bit like "real men don't do herp watching" [accompanied with some Rambo-type facial expression and a few Conan the Barbarian grunts]. 

BTW, best to keep this kind of discussion in the other thread, no?

@ Daniel: that's a nice friend you've got/had! If he's dead, I guess you'll have to make some new ones. 

P.milensis

N.natrix

L.viridis

nice natrix cluster.
let's start the day with some pics how a snake starts his day ;-)

http://s6.directupload.net/file/d/2004/garhppeq_jpg.htm 

Hi Ilias,

Could you possibly tell me where you found the two Lacerta viridis. Superficially the first one looks a bit like L. trilineata, but it is hard to say on the basis of a photo.

Kind regards,
Henrik Bringsøe 

Here's some of my favourite in situ shots, mate-guarding in sand lizards.

Daniel, is this another friend of yours? :-) It seems you knew his house and waited for him to come out :-D


Henrik, the first was at Thessaloniki, it's a place with both viridis and trilineata. It is too much blue for trili (whole throat). Trilineatas in this area have near no blue at all. (I know the head and neck looks quite big).


See pics from the same area (also in situ but bad):
L.viridis:
female http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w93/Ehidna/Reptiles/DSC03506.jpg
male http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w93/Ehidna/Reptiles/DSC05554.jpg

L.trilineata, pair:

The second L.viridis you asked about, is from central Chalkidiki


Liam, nice mate-guarding :-D 

Thanks for the clarification and the additional photos, Ilias. I have never been so much involved in the viridis/trilineata complex in Central and North Greece. It is much easier in the Peloponnese where only L. trilineata occurs! But you are right that we do not see such a pronounced blue coloration of the throat in L. trilineata.

Regards,
Henrik Bringsøe 

Ilias, yes another friend - maybe also dead. but so far I have high hopes that I´m wrong. next spring will give me the answer. i did not waited for him, I saw him comming and just stand still.
but here something for Liam ...

This is my favourite in situ picture of 2009 (early morning in Northern Greece, no crop).

An unforgettable moment in Central Switzerland last year.

2 very rare sights + excellent pictures, Thomas! So jealous... 

yes, these are the pics we are waiting for!
the next one please ;-) 

Thanks for the sand lizard Daniel

The most interesting thing about these in situ pictures is the behaviour can show: sleeping chameleons, burrowing lizards, fighting adders etc, something you just don't get from staged pictures. I think the amount of reptile behaviour shown in this topic is greater then all the rest of the posts on the forum put together.

And with that, here's a great crested newt testing the air before leaving a pond towards the end of the breeding season.

very nice and interesting photos! 

you can also play games :-D
what can you see here?
http://s3.directupload.net/file/d/2005/q95ib9zh_jpg.htm 

nice game! :-)
A C.austriaca and a black adder, but what's that under austriaca? is it a slow worm?? 

not bad, but wrong! 

All of them wrong?
ok, maybe a longissimus instead of berus? 

the number was right.
the area is northern germany 

oh ok! then N.natrix :-D 

Great, now the others can not play anymore!
;-) 

Crazy shot, Daniel! 

this is my favorite of that spot (hibernaculum)

you're right Daniel I messed up the game, sorry :-)
Very interesting spot for hibernation... 

Great thread, Daniel! I love your L. agilis + Zootoca picture - I have never seen this in nature.

Some pictures I like:

Photographing the Trachylepis was a good training of my own patience

The juvenile Ps. algirus was nosy enough to make this shot possible:

Regards
Peter 

Arrrrgh... Trachylepis!

I have mixed emotions towards that one. First, I just spotted 1 at Ephesus (Tyrkey), than I crusaded Symi for days without any luck and this year one just went and never came back on Samos. Season will surely have to do something with that, but nevertheless, I'm impressed with clear shots of that one. 

Calling treefrog male (Hyla arborea) in the Netherlands. One of my favourite sounds in the world ;-)

it's funny when you talk to them Bobby! :-D 

It's always nice to have a little chat with these little guys, you should see me when I'm on the search for midwife toads or pool frogs ;-)

Here some more, on of the couples of midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) that were in amplexus, right on our doorstep in central-France.

A rare sighting in the Netherlands, mating yellow-bellied toads (Bombina variegata). Eventough the picture is sadly heavily overlighted I still like it because it was a memorabel night.

A pond on the trail in the Belgian Ardennes, larvae of fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) and a alpine newt male (Ichtyosaura alpestris).

Mating sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) on the Veluwe in the Netherlands, togerther with Peter and Birgit Oefinger.

Great topic-idea & pics!! Those photos make me want to have a 300mm - macro with vr/is for the next season ;-)

A few additions (all shot with 105mm):

oxycephala in Mne, i think this was the hardest one (for my knees);-)

B. bombina in austria (+ 1,7 TC)

...

Fun in the morning sun ;-)

beautiful photos! 

Gerald, is that vaucheri in your last shot? 

Yes, it's vaucheri from somewhere between Arcos de la Frontera and Barbate in Andalusia 

My favourite picture of 2009

I like all those pictures.
I add some from my trips to Albania.
Wall lizards You can find - no You meet all over the country.
From sea level up to 2200m. This is THE land of Podarcis muralis. And they are always interested what the stranger is doing.
http://www.euroherp.com/Resources/forum_image/thumbs90/83-1273938398.jpg
http://www.euroherp.com/Resources/forum_image/thumbs90/83-1273938432.jpg 

Last week on Krk, Croatia I saw this juvenile Hierophis Viridiflavus on top of a dry stone wall, Before it started moving I managed to get pretty close.

Hierophis Viridiflavus. 

4x Vipera Seoanei in SW France.

Podarcis Muralis with prey around Bolzano, Italy.

Podarcis Muralis Nigriventris in Tuscany, Italy. 

>Last week on Krk, Croatia I saw this juvenile Hierophis Gemonensis (or is it H. Viridiflavus)

it's a H.viridiflavus ;-) nice shot 

Thanks Ilias, what are the differences between the 2 species in juveniles?
H.G. look the same as a juvenile as an adult, only smaller and H.V. juveniles have a real juvenile "dress", is this correct? 

>H.G. look the same as a juvenile as an adult, only smaller and H.V. juveniles have a real juvenile "dress", is this correct?

yes it's correct. They are quite different ;-) 

Thanks again Ilias 

The gathering of Vipera seoanei is pretty nice!

This section has really cool pictures all in all.

Here's my contribution, a female Vipera aspis basking on the place where there used to be a plate (for Coronella study), but I removed it. It was near a shrub, and the grass was still flattened down and dry. Perfect basking place for a viper! This picture was taken last Tuesday in Alsace.

This thread delivered some nice shots, so let`s give it another go, shall we?! ;)

One question for GertJan re. your contribution of 22 May 2010:
Did you manage to follow that Italian P. muralis for some time after it had grasped the centipede? Do you know whether it really swallow that beast? I think centipedes are rarely considered attractive preys!

Kind regards,
Henrik Bringsøe 

No, unfortunatly it went away into the dead material it was was running over, I did try because I was curious about it too. 

Nice pics guys. Heres my contribution. Grass snake and a couple of Green lizards from spring 2010

Georg 

Very nice pictures here. Here is one of my favorites "in situ" photos.

oh it doesn´t work ;)