So I have been out a lot over the past few days looking for woodland amphibians which have appeared in vast numbers. Slovakia is a good country for amphibians by European standards, with a list of 21 species if I am not mistaken. Many of these are lowland amphibians, which I hope to visit next week as I am currently based in an area between forested hillsides.

During a break in the rain yesterday I had a short walk following a small stream and saw good numbers of Fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) enjoying the weather. Most of these were standing next to the stream or around ditches but some were also wandering around the forest and footpath. By night large numbers of Common toads (Bufo bufo) and Common frogs (Rana temporaria) were again found, although less than previous nights as the wintery temperatures had returned to below 5c and then down to 0c.

I only have a few weeks left in Slovakia before I move on to Greece at the end of April so hopefully the weather will allow more findings of other species which still seem to be sleeping at the moment!