This is an update on what I did the past weekend. On Saturday 28th of May it was the international save the frogs day. This event takes place on the same day, in many countries around the world and is organized to raise awareness about the global amphibian decline (http://www.savethefrogs.com/day/). In Sweden the event was organized close to Ottenby Bird Station on the island of Öland where there is an ongoing project to re-introduce the locally extinct Europeean Green Toad (Bufo virids). The project is collaboration between governmental bodies such as Länsstyrelsen, the foundation Nordens Ark and a large environmental project (Called Life) concerning the environment in and around the Baltic sea.
The day started off with talks from Susanne Forslund (Länsstyrelsen) and Professor Claes Andrén (Nordens Ark). Susanne gave a talk about the difficult conditions many of the worlds amphibians face. She also talked a bit about general amphibian biology and the biology of the Europeean Green Toad in particular. The children were to remarkably environmentally aware. They understood many of the things that affect wild populations such as pollution, disease and climate change!
Susanne Forslund from Länsstyrelsen in Kalmar Län.
After Susanne had given her talk there was a short intermission and then Claes gave his very child oriented and educational talk that covered most of the 13 species of amphibians occurring in Sweden.
Claes Andrén.
The children were listening to the talks given by Susanne and Claes while participating in an arts contest at the same time. They painted pictures and were eagerly involved in conversations with Susanne and Claes.
I firmly believe that environmental awareness among the next generation is the best way to ensure that humanity will take a sound and intelligent approach to the environmental problems we face now and in the future. As you all know some funny and unexpected things may happen when kids are involved. At the end of his talk, Claes asked the children if any of them were going to work with science and biology when they grew up. One boy said that he would, but that he would save the polar bear because polar bears were not doing good “as we all know”. The boy on the image below answered that he would not study biology; instead he would become a detective.
After these talks were over a few of us went out to try to find some animals. We had heard that there were adders in the area. We started off searching near one of the ponds that have been constructed to provide play areas for the European Green Toad.
In the foreground: Pond constructed for the European Green Toad.
In the background: Bird Watchers Hide.
The first find that indicated that there were adders around was a shed found by Daniel Claesson (left) and Fåkkel (a.k.a. the peacock, right) close to the edge of the pond. They were extremely proud to show their friendship and their find.
We continued to search for animals on the meadows nearby the lighthouse called Långe Jan. The image shows a pier and the nearby meadows where all our finds during this day were made.
It didn’t take long before Danne (if I remember correctly) found the first adder. It was a beautifully colored black and grey male that recently had shed it’s skin.
Male adder found close to the lighthouse called Långe Jan at the southernmost tip of Öland.
Same snake as above. Note the blurred figures of two birdwatchers in the background. Ottenby is one of the most well known spots for bird watching in Sweden.
While I was lying on my belly imitating a seal and trying to get some decent shots of the snake, Danne and Fåkkel found a Juvenile adder. This snake had recently fed, probably on a Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris).
Juvenile adders have a beautiful brown color.
After this find we also turned up a small L vulgaris under a rock that was marginally larger than the newt itself.
L vulgaris
After this mini-excursion we returned to conference venue, had some food and prepared for the evening.
The evening started in the same way as the morning did with talks from Susanne and Claes. These talks were directed towards a more mature audience and the 60-70 listeners got some information on why they are trying to re-introduce B virids on Öland. We also got some briefing on the success so far. After that Claes held a talk about..
After the talks we went out to try to find a toad to finish save the frogs day. We didn’t stay long enough to be present when one toad was found. However, I found a Moor frog (Rana avralis) before we left.
The drive back to Dannes house took much longer than expected because Danne who has grown up in Kalmar, close to Öland missed a turn and we ended up driving 60-70 km detour!
The day after me, Fåkkel, Dennis, Håkan and Elin went to the Castle ruin of Ismanstorp to herp for Smooth Snakes (Coronella austriaca). I found the first (and prettiest) of two found that day.
Now, those of you who have followed my posts on fieldherpforum in the past (for instance the post: Coastal northwestern Greece and the Pindos mountains 2011) are familiar with Fåkkel’s absurd behavior. I spent four days with Fåkkel during the past week and if anyone spends that much time with him you can be certain that he will display some incomprehensible behaviors. This time was no exception. During the photo session he took his chance (see image below). As pre usual I have no idea about the motifs for this behavior but as you know, some birds are good mimics of other animals behaviors. I would guess that this is a dominance behavior displayed by for instance dogs. However, I am not sure. It may also be of a more sexual nature…
After a pleasant albeit weird photo session (due to Fåkkel’s strange behavior) we left Ismanstorp and started the drive back home.
Wed 2 May - 3:36
