vipersgarden.at

Before I will start with my reports, here a short climpse on the patchwork distribution on reptiles in the Quarner region

Especially the islands show a herp distribution, which is not explainable in contrast to the distribution on the mainland around the islands.

Here an overview map of the region.
Istria: green
Cres/Losinj: orange
Krk: purple

At 2 a.m. we (Hannes Hill, Ivonne and I) started in Salzburg. Via Villach (Austria), Udine, Trieste (Italy) we drove to Rovinj at the west coast of Istria (Croatia). There we arrived around 8 in the morning.
At the restaurant at the Limski channel we met Richard Kopeczky, Gerald Ochsenhofer and Christoph Riegler (members of www.herpetofauna at). They drove down from Vienna the day before.
During the breakfast they told us on their herpetological observations on thursday: Podarcis siculus und melisellensis, Lacerta bilineata, Pseudopus apodus, Hierophis (viridiflavus) carbonarius and Vipera ammodytes.

So the weather was very fine , we had the hope to see many amphibians and reptiles during the next days.

Our first stop was at the ruined town Dvigrad, left in the 14th century after most people have died from Black Death.
At the parking area a freshly road killed western green lizard, Lacerta bilineata.
In the ruins we found the black whip snake Hierophis (viridiflavus) carbonarius, Algyroides nigropunctatus, Podarcis melisellensis and the Italian wall lizard P. siculus as well as Lacerta bilineata.

Leaving Salzburg, together with Günter Prem from the reptile zoo in Salzburg at 7:00 a.m.
Arrival at Krk about 3:00 p.m.
From Triest we had rain, in the Kvarner bay there was a really thunderstorm. After rain stopped at about 4:30 p.m. and the sun was shining, we visited a pond near the town Krk. But instead of the European Pond Turtle, Emys orbicularis hellenica, we expected, we saw two large (25 to 30 cms) female Red Eared Sliders, Trachemys scripta elegans. At a stonewall nearby some Podarcis siculus campestris and Algyroides nigropunctatus.

At 6:30 p.m. my friends from Switzerland, Anita and Alain Aegerter arrived.

The first excursion this morning brought us to the middleage church Sv. Kresan in the western part of the island. There we saw Podarcis siculus, Algyroides nigropunctatus, Hierophis gemonensis and Vipera ammodytes. In two ditches nearby Pelophylax balcanicus, the Balkan waterfrog and the Grass snake Natrix natrix.

During late morning we drove to the central part of the island. In the sunny oak forest we found European Glass Lizards, Pseudopus apodus, the Black Whip Snake, Hierophis carbonarius, Balkan Whip Snake, Hierophis gemonensis, tortoises Eurotestudo hercegovinensis, the Longnosed Viper Vipera ammodytes and Slow Worms, Anguis fragilis.
Around high noon I watched and pictured Podarcis siculus while mating.

In the morning we drove the roads Krk - Punat - Vrbnik - Ponikve - Cizici.

In a pond north of Punat we saw beside one European Pond Turtle two Red Eared Sliders. This species seems to become more frequent from year to year (released by Croatian people, but also by tourists). There´s much fear, Trachemys will aid to the decline of the native turtle. Not so much by food resources, but the much larger sliders bar the Emys to rest on sunplaces. But this places are very important for thermoregulation and to completely dry up there shells (reductance of algae, ectoparasites etc.).

Along an aisle nearby we observed the four lined rat snake, Elaphe quatuorlineata, the Giant Green Lizard, Lacerta trilineata, Hierophis gemonensis and Vipera ammodytes. This is one of the few places on the island, both Podarcis species, P. siculus campestris and P. melisellensis live syntop together.

At the Ponikve lake, beside many Grass Snakes, Natrix natrix, we saw thousends of fresh metamorphosed Common toads, Bufo bufo spinosus. It was hard to do a step without scrunching some.
At bushes hundreds to thousends of butterflies have been mating. Very many have been laying dead on the ground already.

In the afternoon we visited the ruin church Sv. Marak on a small peninsula at the east coast of the island. Under stones Anguis fragilis and Lacerta trilineata

Early in the morning we visited a small pond at the Prniba peninsula between the town Krk and Punat. On top of a rusty barrel two European Pond Turtles were basking.
So the Bora, a strong cold wind, coming down from the mountains, was blowing much stronger than the days before, we decided to visit the Suha Ricina valley.
From the bent on the road Punat - Baska we drove down a gravel road, not made for cars really. From the end of this road we walked to the "waterfalls". Unfortunately the wind was blowing in the valley too. So we just found an adult and one baby four lined snakes, one Balkan Whip Snake and a few Lacerta trilineata.

So, beside the herpetofauna I´m interested in the Flora too, I spent a lot of time making pictures of blooming orchids.

In the afternoon the opposite direction to the far south to the church ruin Sv. Jeromin and the gorge Zala Draga. Also here only a few herps: Lacerta trilineata and one Hierophis gemonensis.
In a ditch hundreds of Pseudepideladea viridis (Green Toad) tadpoles, getting their hindlegs at the time.

In the morning, the "Salzburg-people" and Alfred Wallner left, after fishing some Gambusia affinis from a pond near Punat.
Günter Prem, Anita and Alain Aegerter and I walked through the sunny forests between Punat and Vrbnik: Lacerta trilineata, both Podarcis species, Hierophis gemonensis, Elaphe quatuorlineata and Vipera ammodytes.
From the late morning to the early afternoon we visited the nice town Vrbnik and finished the day and the stay on the island in our appartment with juicy steaks.