Hérault - September 10-11th 2006

10th September - extreme west of the Camargue

Leaving Perpignan on a train and arriving in Montpellier where I met up with Jean-Pierre Vacher and Xavier Rufray, we went to the east of the department where to our shock no Malpolon monspessulanus were found, only one large dead male, 4 Viperine snake sheds and one Viperine snake, also one Podarcis muralis was observed.

Adult viperine snake, the only snake of the trip

Photographing the snake. Xavier Rufray on the left and Jean-Pierre Vacher on the right.

We went north of Montpellier and failed to observe anything other then only one Lacerta bilineata which jumped onto my face as it escaped from a tree into a rock pile.

11th September - North of Montpellier

Having found some very nice habitat the day before, we returned north of Montpellier and for a long time saw nothing apart from a Coronella girondica shed. Not even a lizard was heard scurrying off into the bush, nothing, how strange. As we headed back to the car and about to go home, I noticed a scurry, and ran towards it, I saw a nice green lizard, Lacerta bilineata, as Jean-Pierre and I surrounded the tree in which it was playing hide and seek with us, Jean-Pierre and I seemed to be talking about a different lizard, and as it turned out, there were two, the bright green one managed to escape whilst we caught the younger one:

A little bite to Jean-Pierre.

Lovely patterns typical of young Lacerta bilineata

Observed species: 6

Natrix maura
Malpolon monspessulanus (DEAD)
Podarcis muralis
Lacerta bilineata
Tarentola mauritanica
Coronella girondica (SHED)