Yahilles
New member
- Joined
- May 24, 2007
- Messages
- 529
- Reaction score
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- Age
- 30
- Location
- Poznań, Poland
- Country
- Poland
- Display Name
- Janusz Wierzbicki
I want to show you pictures of herping in Beskid mountains in Poland. Mainly pics from last three days but for start i'd like to upload here pictures from 2007 and 2009 trips in same region.
Hope you survive it.
In 2007 we found two fire salamanders - they look like Salamandra salamandra terrestris but, if i'm correct, they should not appear there. Salamander larvae are very easy to find in streams, in spring my friend who live there, observe mating alpine (Mesotriton alpestris) and carpathian newts (Lissotriton montandoni) - in 2007 we found their larvae living with salamander larvae in one stream.
This year - first we went to muddy pool where newts and firebelly toads (Bombina variegata) breed. This time we took field aquarium (thanks for idea, juraj!). Forgot to shoot the pool, sorry, but its 2-3 meter long, 30-40 cm wide (divided to 3 pools) and in some area - shadowed. There we found damsefly larvae, pre-morph firebelly toad tadpoles and young tadpoles and alpine newts larvae - friend said that this spring there were no breeding carpathian newts.
Next place is well-known for us small spring, near hiking path, where tourists like to set a fireplace and fill the water in spring with crushed glass. Spring ends in small pave well from where someone probably gets water to house as we saw there some device in well. In well were 20-30 salamander larvae and we managed to get out 15 of them and put back to spring, we also put more stones and moss on cascade to secure more larvae from flowing into well and created smaller water body between spring and cascade. I killed some leeches living there too. Water was ice cold, that aquarium glass misted over. Food for larvae were mostly Gammarus (water scuds), that live there in high numbers. Frogs (Rana temporaria) also like to visit the spring.
End we explored new area. Long road, stream along and cut trees.
VERY lucky find- just morphed salamander!
Little frog
Road turns, stream flows straight through quite big pipe... Some hours after that, in night, i found there another morph!
At the end of pipe i spotted another larva.
Under stone i FINALLY found another, some weeks older salamander morph
Return home - very nice frog lady.
On break i moved some stones and found dozen of Anguis fragilis, but they escaped fast so this is the best picture.
Night falls. Our first spot on road - i guess in english it's european common toad, but translating from polish name - grey toad, Bufo bufo. I found these anurans in dark cause they're eyes were shining when i turned my flashlight on them.
Rana temporaria
Another well - we got from it another two morphs or advanced larvae that could not leave this tank.
At night in stream nearly 20 larvae emerged from moss.
This year, no adult salamanders, but it was good trip.
Stream
I collected some mosses. My first-morph-newt got a new furniture in it's little home
Hope you survive it.
In 2007 we found two fire salamanders - they look like Salamandra salamandra terrestris but, if i'm correct, they should not appear there. Salamander larvae are very easy to find in streams, in spring my friend who live there, observe mating alpine (Mesotriton alpestris) and carpathian newts (Lissotriton montandoni) - in 2007 we found their larvae living with salamander larvae in one stream.
This year - first we went to muddy pool where newts and firebelly toads (Bombina variegata) breed. This time we took field aquarium (thanks for idea, juraj!). Forgot to shoot the pool, sorry, but its 2-3 meter long, 30-40 cm wide (divided to 3 pools) and in some area - shadowed. There we found damsefly larvae, pre-morph firebelly toad tadpoles and young tadpoles and alpine newts larvae - friend said that this spring there were no breeding carpathian newts.
Next place is well-known for us small spring, near hiking path, where tourists like to set a fireplace and fill the water in spring with crushed glass. Spring ends in small pave well from where someone probably gets water to house as we saw there some device in well. In well were 20-30 salamander larvae and we managed to get out 15 of them and put back to spring, we also put more stones and moss on cascade to secure more larvae from flowing into well and created smaller water body between spring and cascade. I killed some leeches living there too. Water was ice cold, that aquarium glass misted over. Food for larvae were mostly Gammarus (water scuds), that live there in high numbers. Frogs (Rana temporaria) also like to visit the spring.
End we explored new area. Long road, stream along and cut trees.
VERY lucky find- just morphed salamander!
Little frog
Road turns, stream flows straight through quite big pipe... Some hours after that, in night, i found there another morph!
At the end of pipe i spotted another larva.
Under stone i FINALLY found another, some weeks older salamander morph
Return home - very nice frog lady.
On break i moved some stones and found dozen of Anguis fragilis, but they escaped fast so this is the best picture.
Night falls. Our first spot on road - i guess in english it's european common toad, but translating from polish name - grey toad, Bufo bufo. I found these anurans in dark cause they're eyes were shining when i turned my flashlight on them.
Rana temporaria
Another well - we got from it another two morphs or advanced larvae that could not leave this tank.
At night in stream nearly 20 larvae emerged from moss.
This year, no adult salamanders, but it was good trip.
Stream
I collected some mosses. My first-morph-newt got a new furniture in it's little home