I'd headed North to get a recent fix of #PixelTherapy, hoping to film more content for the planned sequel to my recent video; Snakes of Okinawa and Other Interesting Critters. There was one spot in particular I was interested in checking out as I had passed by it during my recent long distance walk between the Northernmost and Southernmost Capes in Okinawa, Hedo and Arasaki. It was just a little verge on the side of a road with a drainage ditch and a concrete back wall, nothing special. For some strange reason it seemed to be overrun with Green Tree Frogs, and where Green Tree Frogs gather so do the predators who dine on them! Habu Pit Vipers and Ryukyu Odd-Toothed Snakes or 'Akamata' as they are locally known. On that day of the walk I saw two Himei Habu, the most prevalent of Pit Viper species in Okinawa and one Akamata, the latter with a smaller Kajika Frog tightly gripped in its mouth, and it was disappearing, slowly.

Also known as the Ryukyu Odd-Scaled Snake this reptile has an incredibly iridescent sheen to its scales when the light hits it just right.

I was hoping to get a glimpse of predation by Himei Habu Pit Vipers on the otherwise occupied mating Green Tree Frogs which seemed to be teeming all over the place on the night of my initial visitation. Also as I had few images of the Green Tree Frogs anyways it would also be a matter of killing two birds with one stone. So armed with my video rig, Sony A7S2 with ATOMOS Ninja Flame SSD Recorder, and a stills set up, Canon EOS 5DSr with Laowa 60mm f2.8 2:1 and EX800 twin flash also from Laowa. Man I was ready for all eventualities. Now if I could only find the right place! Things certainly look different when you've got your head down, focusing on a 100miles+ walk! Eventually I found the right spot. I hadn't driven 3/4's of the way up the island for nothing.

A mating pair of Green Tree Frogs. Love on the Hop!

Exiting my van I could hear the crescendo of croaks, amorous amphibian overtones by the sounds of things, as these Frogs only had one thing in mind, while the predators had another. Careful not to shed too much light on the scenes and be 'that' person who spoils all the fun I could see my dim light reflected back at me by so many little eyes littered around and along the shallow stagnant water ditch that seemed to be the focal point for this aggregation. It wasn't long before I found the first predator either. At some 40cm the first Himei Habu I happened across was possibly a young adult. Attaining a maximum of 80cm they are a short and sometimes very stout snake. Many a time I've encountered them on walks in the jungles and been pretty amazed at just how much girth they can attain.

I imagine they were assembled here from the chorus of Frogs transmitting their either willingness or desire to mate. The air was thick with the dulcet tones of what could be assumed to be the top smoochy sounds of the amphibian airwaves. Alas on this night I never saw any act of predation. I managed to film a couple of Himei Habu navigating the water course potentially in search of sustenance. Thankfully on this watch though the Frogs seems to get away with their congregation without incident, well at least while I was there. Highlights of this short filming trip will be appearing in my next wildlife themed short film for Okinawa.

The Himei Habu is Okinawa's most prevalent and often encountered Pit Viper.

Once I'd filled my needs for imaging from this spot I'd decided to head home but on the way would stop at another personal favorite herping location. I'd been fortunate enough to witness and encounter a number of amphibian and reptile species there from the Ryukyu Odd-Tooth Snake (Akamata) to Andersons Crocodile Newt.

Stopping at the first of two 'hot spots' in this first location bought me again face to face with numerous Green Tree Frogs either engaged in or looking for a partner to engage in the procreation of baby Green Tree Frogs, no snakes that I could see though at this time. I'm sure they were there, laying in wait for one errant and unassuming frog to make a wrong move. And then, chow time.

Moving to the second spot within this location I started looking through leaf litter in the roadside ditches that line the meandering tarmac. A pretty extensive fresh water feature close by lends itself as a natural congregation area for amphibians and reptiles. Hoping to spot something special like the Andersons Crocodile Newt I scoured around 200m of ditches. This is potentially the furthest South I've also ever encountered Kuroiwas Ground Gecko. Coming up toward the end of the ditches I started losing hope that this night would end up as a mediocre adventure in my quest to encounter and film some of the more iconic species Okinawa has to offer. And then I saw it.

A small movement in the corner of my eye. What looked like a leaf stem stopped. I noted the scaled texture of it, and then it moved again. I could see it was like a grayish brown coloration on top with yellow underneath. This is not a snake I'd seen before. Excitedly I leaned in closer to get a better look at the critter. At about 20cm long and no thicker than around 5mm this was an Amami Odd-Scaled Snake, sometimes also referred to as the Amami Takachiho Snake. And it was a beauty. When I closed in on it for images it kind of balled itself into a defensive knot. Being non-venomous I guess its only form of defense was to make it as difficult as possible for something else, a predator, to swallow.

The one thing that stood out from this beautiful snake was that when the light hit it just right it would reflect an incredibly iridescent sheen, especially on the top of its head. At times this was also noticed. although at a reduced rate and intensity, via the scales along its flank. This individual in question didn't seem to be going anywhere in any hurry and sat for me to get my fill of imagery in both video and still formats. Wary not to go overboard with the flash photography, not knowing if this has a negative impact on their vision, I took about 15 images and some 4 minutes of video footage using constant light options.

I then bade farewell to the little guy making sure it was again hidden in the roadside ditch as I'd found it. In our 'meeting' we'd progressed up and out of the ditch onto some rocky areas where any attentive Owl, snake or other potential predator could quite easily pick this guy off from. Going our separate ways I'd been able to tick yet another of the myriad species Okinawa has within its natural history treasure trove from the list. Onwards and upwards.

"If you are not filled with overflowing love, compassion and goodwill for all creatures living wild in nature, You will never know true happiness."

Paul Oxton