Southern Portugal
Lisbon, Setúbal, Beja & Faro district

'During this trip I only had two days to search
for reptiles and amphibians, Friday
September 16th and Monday September 19th.
The weekend of September 17th and 18th was
dedicated to my friends' wedding in Albufeira.'

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Friday 16th of September

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The search for the Italian Wall Lizard
in Lisbon City

'I arrived at this spot around 11.00 AM.
The weather conditions were ideal. This alien
lizard species should be somewhere around in
this area, according to the information I
received. This lizard originally comes from Italy
and along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Due to fruit and vegetable trade thrives this
lizard in many European countries, there are
even populations in the USA, Russia and
Azerbaijan.'

^{Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon}

^{Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)}

'I searched for 2 hours and despite the good
weather, I didn't find this alien lizard species nor
any other reptile or amphibian in this area.
Luckily there were dozens of flamingos to
observe, feeding at the water's edge.'

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data during the search.}}

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The search for the Madeira Wall Lizard
in the Port of Lisbon

'The next species I was looking for is also an
alien species. I arrived at this spot around
1.30 PM. The weather conditions were still
ideal. This lizard is native to the Madeira
Islands. Due to shipping of goods this lizard
lives on the Azores Islands and in the ports of
Porto, Lisbon and Gran Canaria.'

_{Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)}
^'Juvenile'

_{Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)}
^'Male'

_{Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)}
^'Female'

_{Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)}
^'Sub-adult'

_{Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)}
^'Juvenile'

_{Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)}
^'Sub-adult'

'I didn't find the alien lizard species, but the
Geniez’s Wall Lizard is thriving in the harbour of
Lisbon. In less than an hour I spotted dozens of
lizards, from juveniles to adults.'

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data during the search.}}

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The search for the European Fringe-fingered Lizard
at a location in Setúbal District

'Before I continued my journey to the south of
Portugal, I had one more place to stop.
I really wanted to find an European
Fring-fingered Lizard. I found a good location on
GoogleMaps. On the satellite image seemed it as
an ideal habitat for this species of lizard.
So I drove there and started my search around
3.15 pm. The area looked like it had a heavy rain
shower during the night and it was still quite
cloudy when I arrived, but the area seemed very
promising. So I hoped for the best.'

^{Scorpion (Buthus gabani)}

_{Natterjack Toad (Epidalea calamita)}
^'Male'

^{Unidentified beetle species}

^{A Fringe-fingered Lizard burrow}

_{European Fringe-fingered Lizard (Acanthodactylus erythrurus)}
^'Male'

_{European Fringe-fingered Lizard (Acanthodactylus erythrurus)}
^'Juvenile'

_{Spanish Psammodromus (Psammodromus occidentalis)}
^'Juvenile'

'I was lucky that most of the clouds cleared up.
In an hour and a half I saw there dozens of
juveniles Fringe-fingered Lizards and few adults.
Also I had the luck to find a
Spanish Psammodromus. I found the scorpion,
beetle and Natterjack Toad under some rubbish.'

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data during the search.}}

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The search for sleeping Mediterranean Chameleons
in Faro District

'This was my second attempt at this location to
search for chameleons. The last time was in April
2019 during daylight without success. But they
must occur here because I had read it on wildlife
information boards and I had been given this
location. So I had high hopes. I started the search
in the dark at 8.30 PM. The chameleons will be
sleeping and then they will be very light in
coloration. The light colours will stand out
against the dark vegetation.'

^{Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica)}

_{European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas)}
^'Juvenile'

'I searched more than 2 hours but I didn't find
any sleeping Chameleons in the srubs nor trees.
I only found some geckos along houses with stony
walls. At the coastline I found some different crab
species. On the Monday I will return to this spot
with daylight to proceed my search for Chameleons.'

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data during the search.}}

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Weekend from 17th till 18th of September

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My friends' wedding.

This weekend was dedicated to my friends
wedding in the area of Albufeira. I didn't
searched for reptiles or amphibians that weekend.

_{In the morning there was time for myself with running and}
^{climbing the cliffs around the coastline of Albufeira.}

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Monday 19th of September

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Continuing the search for the Mediterranean Chameleon
in Faro District

'I arrived at 4.00 PM in the area. The weather
was fine. This was my last attempt to search for
chameleons during this trip.'

_{Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus)}
^'Juvenile'

_{Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus)}
^'Female'

^{Nature is recovering from a forest fire}

^{West African Fiddler Crab (Afruca tangeri)}

_{'Bottom left'}
^{- Iberian Magpie (Cyanopica cooki)}
_{'Bottom right'}
^{- Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)}
_{'The yellow bird in the middle of the group with birds'}
^{- Black-headed Weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus)}
_{And other unidentified little bird species in the group}

^{Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)}

^{Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)}

^{A pile with two species of terrapins}
_{'the one on the left side'}
^{- Magreb Terrapin (Emys orbicularis occidentalis)}
_{'The rest of the terrapin pile'}
^{- Iberian Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa)}

'After a two and half hour search,
I stopped the search. Unfortunately I didn't find
a single chameleon in this area. Among the
bushes and fallow ground I found some
Large Psammodromus. In a big pond I found the
terrapins. The Magreb Terrapin was a new
sighting for me. Furthermore, the coastline was
populated by crabs. The pond, the fields and the
woods were populated by various bird species.'

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data during the search.}}

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The search for the Portuguese Fire Salamander
in Setúbal District

'On my way to the last stop for this trip I
unfortunately came across a freshly roadkill
Ladder Snake and a Southern Smooth Snake.
After these short stops I arrived at the location at 10:30 pm.

_{Ladder Snake (Zamenis scalaris)}
^{'Roadkill †'}

_{Southern Smooth Snake (Coronella girondica)}
^{'Roadkill †'}

_{Spiny Toad (Bufo spinosus)}
^'Sub-adult'

_{Spiny Toad (Bufo spinosus)}
^'Sub-adult'

'The Ladder Snake roadkill was found in a
different area. I found the snake along the route
in the area of Beja District. The rest of the
sightings were at a location in Setúbal District.
Despite the good weather conditions,
one and half hour search and finding
some toads here and there, I didn't find
any salamanders. The next morning I flew
back to the Netherlands.'

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data 'Ladder Snake'.}}

^{_{Click on the button for meteorological data during the search.}}

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Species found

Amphibians:
<sup>- Spiny Toad (Bufo spinosus)
- Natterjack Toad (Epidalea calamita)</sup>

Reptiles:
<sup>- Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica mauritanica) 
- Geniez’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)
- European Fringe-fingered Lizard (Acanthodactylus erythrurus erythrurus)
- Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus algirus) 'western lineage'
- Spanish Psammodromus (Psammodromus occidentalis)</sup>

<sup>- Ladder Snake (Zamenis scalaris) † 
- Southern Smooth Snake (Coronella girondica) †</sup>

<sup>- Magreb Terrapin (Emys orbicularis occidentalis)
- Iberian Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa leprosa)</sup>