NE Zealand, Denmark, December 14

[Kristian Munkholm]

[Kevin Esser]

So cool to see a baby Natrix in december!

I got to see Podarcis muralis on sunny winter days or amphibians once in a while, when it is not too cold...
but I have never seen a snake during december in Germany.

[Kristian Munkholm]

10 days ago, I hadn't here in Denmark either.

Until this year my latest Danish snake of the year was November 16, latest reptile, November 23 (juvenile agilis).

Second latest snake (and reptile) this year was an older grass snake, November 7. After that, we didn't really see the sun for a couple of weeks and I stopped trying. Then, on November 22, the sun was shining and, knowing sunny days in November and December tend to be few and far between, I made a point of getting out and enjoying it. To my surprise I found this healthy looking juvenile out basking in front of a known den. I returned 6 of the next 7 days, found it out on 5 of them, November 29 - at a temperature of 1 C - being the latest.

After that, it turned gray again, and though I tried a couple of times over the next week, when there were at least a few of rays of sun more or less shining through, it seemed the dream of a Danish December snake would remain just that.

Fast forward to December 14 when the sun returned, and temps rose 5 C. I had to try, and indeed, there it was, still looking healthy.

Since then, we've had two days with sun and temperatures above freezing, but alas. Sunday, Dec 19, when conditions, for at least an hour, looked even better than Tuesday, I was busy and didn't make it to the spot until half an hour after the clouds had moved in and by Monday I guess it was just finally too cold and too late. Good for the snake, I guess, hope it's underground now and makes it safely through the winter. If we do get any warm sunny days in January (very unlikely, sunny January days tend to be cold, warm days overcast and windy) I will give it a go, though, for any chance to add that final month to my Danish snake season.