Very nice finds! :) I'm still missing the spadefoots on my list! 

Well done. I like the syriacus picture. Just a small question: is syriacus rarer (in terms of distributional spread) than arvalis in Romania? 

Well done Vlad,
I have a question aswell: did you find the syriacus at this habitat at night or did you manage to uncover it during the day? Matt 

I`m gald you all liked my little report.

Haven`t slept much these days, so i was not very generous with the narrative, but here is the truth:

We found spadefoots in 2 distinct localities. One only delivered lots of freshly killed adults. We visited in the morning, so i`m guessing it`s best to look for them at night there.

The live ones (around 10) were rescued from a concrete hole thingy filled with water. We didn`t flip any.

So, if you are interested in finding them in Romania, i`ll guide you to the exact spot :)

Jeroen, you are right. This Spadefoot is much rarer than the Moor Frog. Lots of populations are now extinct, both along the Danube and on the sea coast...

I wish i could see an arvalis this year, as it is the only romanian herp i`m missing. But with the baby coming and all... maybe next year; or the one after that. :)

So, to wrap things up ; this last 2 weekends i`ve tagged two lifers, both trapped in some kind of abandoned man made structure. Use Wikimapia, find this kind of traps located in suitable habitat, and give them a go, a few times in spring and also mid autumn.

Good luck!
Vlad
 

Thanks Vlad, I know its very rare to uncover a spadefoot unless you have lifted something directly above its burrow. Pelobates syriacus appears to be a poorly known species (compared to fuscus and cultripes that is), the papers on their biology I have found are always in a language I don't understand, such as your own.
It is my main target when I go to Limnos (Lemnos) Island in a few weeks time, if it rains it should be a sure shot, if not its going to be difficult.
Matt 

In my limited experience, syriacus is just as hard/easy as the other Pelobates spp. Of course, local abundance plays a role.

I think I gave Bobby details about a very good mainland spot in Thrace, which you will pass anyway. I'm confident that a nocturnal strawl should deliver some.

Furthermore, the authors of a SEH report on Evros province pointed out that the wader birds in the Evros delta feed for a significant portion on the (huge) tadpoles of the species. I believe that when we were there, the delta was still more "sensitive" (a lot of military control), so nocturnal exploration was (still) out of the question, but if you càn go there at night in spring, my guess would be that it's nearly impossible nót to find it (along with tons of Bufo, Hyla, ...). Besides that, it's of course much easier with some rain.

Conclusively, I seem to remember that Ilias knows some "traps" (like Vlad's) on Limnos. 

Hi Jeroen,
Yeh I know about the Thrace Pelobates spots. But I think we are going to leave this species for Limnos where we will spend more time. Ilias does know some wells were we are 'sure' to find some trapped or at the very least, some tadpoles. But I would not be happy if these were our only observations. For example if you compare to last year in Lesbos, after a thunderstorm and a powercut across the whole island I went out at night looking for them and this is how I want to find them, without the island being in darkness from the powercut of course ;-)
Matt 

Jeroen, could you please send me an email about the Pelobates spot as Ilias says it is perhaps too dangerous to go there at night. Thanks. 

I would like to record their voice as well, so I'd also like to search them by night ;-) 

Coming up. 

Nice shots...

It's present on that region Triturus karelinii? 

Triturus karelinii was recently found in the Danube, on the bulgarian shore. So i`m guessing a few individuals could eventually find their way to the southern parts of Romania. But for now there is no evidence of their presence here.

I herp mainly in the south and along the Danube ( http://en.balcanica.info/4-88-1 ), so i`ll be sure to keep an eye out for `unusual` doborgicus, who knows...

-Vlad-