Now where and when to try next year for V.ammodytes ????. I need help. Confidentiality assured so any advice much appreciated.
Well, the general advice would be to come earlier,
if one can afford it. (You said you couldn't...) And one really doesn't
have to travel as far as Greece or Bulgaria, see below:
Photo: Igor Vilaj, 28 April 2013, Hrvatsko Zagorje
(It's a hilly region in Northern Croatia - most people would hardly expect it to be a Vammo paradise, but actually
it is - only the poorly informed "fools" stubbornly insist on rushing to the Adriatic coast & islands... The mainland
Vammos from the hills are not only more abundant, but also much bigger, if that means anything to you...)
Later it becomes progressively more difficult, but still not impossible. In September they're back, but in more
modest amounts, everywhere. (Unless one gets extremely lucky: my friend Ivo Peranić found some 20 or so within
just a few hours on the island of Pag on a warm day in October last year... But that's happened to him only once
in his life. Normally one should have more modest expectations in autumn, either on Pag or anywhere else.)
@ Mario: Yes, Mario,
on the island of Pag - believe it or not... They're not rare there, you just had bad luck...
If you need help, just contact me next year in early spring, and you'll get all the info I can give you - even for
the cursed summertime... Come to Zagreb, and we'll find something for you even at the very outskirts of the
city, even if it gets unpleasantly hot. (No guarantee, of course - doing our best (
anyone's best) doesn't mean
a 100% success.)
Even the Julian Alps yielded no vipers.
In my experience, and not only mine, high mountains are, quite generally, not the best places to search for
Vipera ammodytes, even in midsummer heat. They simply prefer somewhat lower altitudes.