Catalonia - October, 2016
Some trips are made to be successful, some are not. But I generally do everything a long time before to be sure I'm not going somewhere with no information. This time, I did...
I want to thank all my friends who helped me giving me some of the places they know while I was on the road as I asked them very late for that.
My good friend Thibault went to my home for a few days. We first wanted to go to Italy to check if we can spot some Spectacled salamanders but we finally changed our mind 24 hours before we left to go to Catalonia. Mostly because I wanted to see Vipera latastei or at least, give it a try.
Sunday, the 23rd of October
We left pretty late the house to reach Le Grau du Roi in Southern France as we planned to spend the night there. But before that, I wanted to stop at a sandy place near Orange, as it has been raining the whole day there. I already went there and had the chance to see some Pelobates cultripes this summer.
After a few Eurasian marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) and Spiny toads (Bufo bufo spinosus) on the way, we met a nice looking but lonely Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita)... I was hoping to see more of these guys there... So was Thibault who did not see many this year and was relying on this trip to see some.
It didn't take long before we finally see the reflecting eyes of our amphibian target, the Western spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes) ! The first one was on our way to the pine forest and we found two more inside.
Monday, the 24th of October
After a night in Le Grau du Roi where we enjoyed the shower and beds of my uncle's apartment, we drove to the Spain frontier.
We made a stop on the last rest area before Spain as it was the last place I was able to communicate for free with my phone. Moreover, it was kind of lunch time.
What a surprise to see that we parked the car right next to a bushy area full of Catalonian wall lizards (Podarcis liolepis).
That might be a little bit surprising that we spent more than an hour taking pictures of these lizards in front of many people eating their lunch but that's not a lizard we see every day around Lyon. And we did not know that we were about to see much more all along the trip.
Next stop was a rocky area at El Moianès comarca where I hoped to find my main target, the Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei). The place was perfect for it and we had a pretty nice weather (not too sunny but with not so many clouds).
There were a few Catalonian wall lizards (Podarcis liolepis) at almost every rock, and the first legless species we found was not a snake but a lizard... The Slow worm (Anguis fragilis).
As most of the herpers in such a rocky place, we've been invaded by a compulsive obsession for rock returning. What led us to some nice Midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans).
We finally reach a nice looking stream where we found several Iberian water frogs (Pelophylax perezi) and heard a few Stripeless tree frogs (Hyla meridionalis). The surprises came from the rocks hiding some scorpions and a very nice looking Southern smooth snake (Coronella girondica).
During the night we went road cruising for a while. Just enough to see Spiny toads (Bufo bufo spinosus) and a beautiful Stripeless tree frog (Hyla meridionalis). We drove back to the stream area to sleep, where we found Fire salamander's larvae (Salamandra salamandra).
Tuesday, the 25th of October
Well, this day resume is pretty small as we woke up with rain and mist, which never left us during the day. We drove to Parque del Garraf, another rocky area where Vipera latastei is known.
The only herps we found there were dozens of Moorish geckos (Tarentola mauritanica) under a bridge...
What a boring day... Nicely ending up with a Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) on the road.
Wednesday, the 26th of October
We slept near Ministrol de Montserrat hoping we'll have better weather conditions but sadly, the mist did not left during the night. However, the rain did.
We tried many places but found nothing but Catalonian wall lizards (Podarcis liolepis), Moorish geckos (Tarentola mauritanica) and Iberian water frogs (Pelophylax perezi). Not a glory day until we decided to move to the beach.
There, a very fast and nice looking lizard was supposed to live. It did not take long before I found the first lizard of that dune area, which was not the one I was looking for. It was a Catalonian wall lizard that run fast to a small plant. While looking at the lizard hiding under the plant, I noticed there were a second one, that looked quite different. That was a juvenile of Spiny-footed lizard (Acanthodactylus erythrurus). Exactly the one I was looking for !!! That was the first ever for me so despite the low number of species and animals found until then, that made my day. That's why we paid for a night in a camping (but also because of the shower) and a diner in a restaurant.
Before we went there, we noticed a pond within a bushy area, but we sadly discovered it had some Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta) living in it.
Thursday, the 27th of October
When I woke up, it looked like the sun was back but we were about to discover that it wasn't at the places we were supposed to go. We wanted to go back to Parque del Garraf to give it a second try.
On the way to the place we wanted to look, we noticed an artificial pond where I found a small Viperine snake (Natrix maura).
This pretty snake was enjoying the rare and last pieces of sunlight of the day. Just the time to take some pictures and the cold mist was back again...
But thanks to a friend that gave me a secret spot (I think you'll recognize yourself) during the night at the camping (were I enjoyed Wi-fi to check that), we had a plan B.
We left Parque del Garraf and a nice juvenile of Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) to drive to Montseny massif. Up there lives a very rare and endemic newt that only lives in a few streams; the Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi).
It took some time until Thibault finally found one that was, by the way, the only one we will be able to find.
We did see some amphibians after that as we met several Fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra).
Proud of the faithful afternoon, we drove back to the first place we went during this trip at El Moianès comarca. On the way, we found a really wonderful Ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris) crossing the road, by a cold night.
Friday, the 28th of October
For our last day in Spain we had the whole morning to look for everything reptilian as the sun finally showed up. As always, Catalonian wall lizards and Moorish geckos were all around but we also found a bat under a rock, which happened to me for the first time. As bats are very sensitive animals, I did not take any picture of it and put it quickly back under the rock.
After a few minutes, I found a juvenile of Viperine sake (Natrix maura) and a few minutes later, a piece of a Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei) shed.
Sun made the day very hot and it became really hard to look for reptiles. The last one we found was a big Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus). The really last herp of the trip was found between two rocks. It was a Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) reminding me that this might be the only amphibian I'll be able to see for weeks when I'll be back home.
Surely, this wasn't the best trip I've ever made but having the opportunity to see so many reptiles and amphibians in late october gave me a big smile and I hope it'll stay for weeks.
SPECIES LIST
Midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) Spiny toad (Bufo bufo spinosus) Montseny brook snewt (Calotriton arnoldi) Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) Stripeless tree frog (Hyla meridionalis) Western spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes) Iberian water frog (Pelophylax perezi) Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)
Spiny-footed lizard (Acanthodactylus erythrurus) Slow worm (Anguis fragilis) Southern smooth snake (Coronella girondica) Viperine snake (Natrix maura) Catalonian wall lizard (Podarcis liolepis) Ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris) Moorish gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta)
