Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Lanthanotus]

One week ago, Friday night it was warm and I thought spring is finally coming. Just a day before I had seen the first toads of this year, hundreds of them, all busy working on the new generation. When I woke up Saturday morning it was all white and frozen solid. So it continued the week, with Monday being particularly cold and even bigger bodies of water developed once more a crust of ice and snow. I feared for "my" beloved amphibians because I have seen a lot of winters/springs within the last two decades when a cold spell reaped them in the hundreds and thousands.

Yesterday it finally got milder and today it is warm and sunny, so I dared to visit the same small pond I posted about a year or two ago. To my surprise I only found two dead bodies (most likely killed by the frost from their apperance) and some few more remains of toads that probably where eaten by crows. All the eggs/spawn seems to be okay, despite it was laid a week ago and had to endure the comparably heavy frost (down to -7 degrees C, I know, I know, but here in the south of Hessen this is quite cold). In addition, the cold rain during Wednesday and Thursday seems to have called the newts from their hibernation while the majority of the toads (Bufo bufo)was already gone again. I observed two toad females and a few dozen leftover males, still on the hunt for a mating partner. The newts (Ichtyosaura alpestris, Lissotriton vulgaris) also were busy searching for mates as the males arrived earlier than the females, so there were a lot of males looking out for just a hand full of females yet.

Enjoy the photos

[Doug Watson]

One week ago, Friday night it was warm and I thought spring is finally coming. Just a day before I had seen the first toads of this year, hundreds of them, all busy working on the new generation. When I woke up Saturday morning it was all white and frozen solid. So it continued the week, with Monday being particularly cold and even bigger bodies of water developed once more a crust of ice and snow. I feared for "my" beloved amphibians because I have seen a lot of winters/springs within the last two decades when a cold spell reaped them in the hundreds and thousands.

Yesterday it finally got milder and today it is warm and sunny, so I dared to visit the same small pond I posted about a year or two ago. To my surprise I only found two dead bodies (most likely killed by the frost from their apperance) and some few more remains of toads that probably where eaten by crows. All the eggs/spawn seems to be okay, despite it was laid a week ago and had to endure the comparably heavy frost (down to -7 degrees C, I know, I know, but here in the south of Hessen this is quite cold). In addition, the cold rain during Wednesday and Thursday seems to have called the newts from their hibernation while the majority of the toads (Bufo bufo)was already gone again. I observed two toad females and a few dozen leftover males, still on the hunt for a mating partner. The newts (Ichtyosaura alpestris, Lissotriton vulgaris) also were busy searching for mates as the males arrived earlier than the females, so there were a lot of males looking out for just a hand full of females yet.

Enjoy the photos

I did enjoy those photos I have been longing to see some spring wildlife here and at home. We had a warming about two weeks ago where it got up to +9 degrees C during the day and I thought spring was on the way but it quickly dropped down to -18 C during the day again and it has been struggling to get above 0 C since then. the last two days have been above freezing so I am hopeful it is coming to an end and I am ready. March 12 used to be my first day of spring when I start to see and hear Robins and Redwing Blackbirds. If they are out there they are frozen stiff. We still have about a month before we can see sights like yours but that is what comes from living in the 2nd coldest capital in the world.
Keep those amphibian shots coming I love them.

[Halichoeres]

Great photos! Thanks for posting!

[Ravonium]

Nice photos. I am quite jealous of the amount of reptiles and amphibians you have where you live.

[Lanthanotus]

Nice photos. I am quite jealous of the amount of reptiles and amphibians you have where you live.

It's not that many,.... Germany in total just has like 36 species (all herps combined) and where I currently live we got around like 20 of those, though some are incredibly hard to find due to habitat restrictions (it's a very urbanized region I live in). Any, the last two days were exceptionally warm and sunny and so I spotted the 1st sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) for this year. Juvenile from late last year (was a very cold and wet summer), the adults usually come above ground 2 to 4 weeks later.

[Lanthanotus]

Despite the late hoar frost, the year has been good on reptiles so far. The adult sand liazrds are out and in mating colors, the females are heavily gravid, most likely from late matings last year rather than this year's season that should just start now.

I work as an educator and we got some fallow ground next to our institution (which is a rare type of land in this part of Germany). This particular male lives on the terrace, right between the running and playing children. It's very calm, trusts its camouflage and knows its fleeing distance.


Heavily gravid female, basking in the evening sun at a pine tree.



Males in full mating color





Slow worm, Anguis fragilis, a quite common but rarely seen animal. Most times you can see single individuals basking in the early morning or late afternoon after rain falls  - and unfortunately they are often run over by bicycles or even walkers. Actually I just "missed" this animal by just a two finger's width when cycling by.

[Syndicate Bias]

Maybe for you guys, we still have freezing temperatures today. Guess winter is all year long these days

[Mini Minmi]

Last week I went for a walk in the woods with my parents and boy could you tell it was spring! We could barely hear each other the frogs were so loud in their mating calls! I sadly did not have my camera with me but they were everywhere. I'm not sure what type of frogs they were, they were about an inch long (without the legs) and dark grey. There were a few that were reddish brown instead of grey but looked exactly the same so I'm guessing one color is male and the other female. Maybe they were chorus frogs. But wow they were loud, it was amazing.

[Ravonium]

Nice photos again, Lanthanothus

Despite the late hoar frost, the year has been good on reptiles so far.

Where I live, there's no such thing as a 'good year for reptiles' 


As of now, spring is just beginning where I live. I may post some photos in the coming weeks.

[Newt]

Some recent weeds and wildflowers:


Violets - Viola eriocarpa, V. affinis, and V. striata.


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Crucifers - Barbarea vulgaris, Dentaria multifida, and Alliaria petiolata.





Buttercups - Ranunculus sardous and Thalictrum thalictroides.






Mints - Glechoma hederacea and Lamium amplexicaule.






And because I know you guys don't really care about flowers, here's a snake! Nerodia sipedon.

[Lanthanotus]

[...]

And because I know you guys don't really care about flowers, here's a snake! Nerodia sipedon.

[...]

Haha, well.... I am more interested in animals, herps especially, indeed, however I really appreciate the mere looks of flowers and I know the one and the other plant and its uses , thanks for sharing. Nevertheless, nice shot of the snake, very nice species.... a particularly fat individual,... gravid?

[Newt]

It is a small juvenile "spreading" to make itself look bigger. Here's another individual of the same size not spreading:





These guys are close cousins of your grass snake, and in fact used to be included in Natrix. They are a little bit stouter and much more aquatic, though.

[Halichoeres]

Nice photos, Lanthanotus and Newt! I really love this thread.

[Newt]

Thanks Hal! Nothing to do with spring, really, but I found these brachiopod fossils while photographing flowers in an empty lot. I don't enough about brachiopods to even begin IDing them, especially as I don't even know what period they're from (the matrix was loose fill probably brought in when the lot was leveled, and even assuming local origin it could be Silurian, Ordovician, or Mississippian in age).





Seeing these it struck me as funny that these were living animals for a brief few years, fossils for countless millennia, and now that they are exposed to the elements will be weathered into oblivion in another brief few years. A strange story arc.

[ZoPteryx]

The spring feeder birds have finally arrived!

Evening Grosbeak


Lazuli Bunting


Black-headed Grosbeak


Blue Jay (actually a holdover from winter)


And a very confiding Pine Siskin

[Newt]

Nice birds! You must be out west. I'm jealous of your grosbeaks; we have a couple of species here but I hardly ever see them.


American Toad metamorph



Camel Cricket



Red-winged Blackbird



Blue Dasher



Midland Watersnake

[ITdactyl]

Aside from awe, I've always felt a bit of envy every time there's a new post here.  You have all there wonderful environments and wildlife that you get to showcase.  I thought I'd never have that here since there are few "wild" places left near our residence.

And then I took a walk (figuratively speaking, I was on crutches) and spotted a pair of shrike, a flock of egrets, night heron, swallows, a nesting pair of fantails, small fruitbats, a small wader I couldn't identify and another small green songbird (that I couldn't ID).

I should stop complaining and get a camera....

[Ravonium]

Newt: That is probably the most dazzling cricket I've ever seen 

Zopteryx: Wow   That is an amazing selection of birds you get to see in your area. In the part of the world I live in, we don't even get any grosbeaks.

[Newt]

ITDactyl - that's how it begins! It's amazing how much you see once you start looking.


Ravonium - You like him? I'll mail you a box-full...

[Ravonium]

Ravonium - You like him? I'll mail you a box-full...

It'd probably be seized by HMRC for potentially being an invasive species