Northern Greece has always been an all-time favorite location for European herpers. The borders with a number of different Balkan countries as well as with Turkey provide a wide variety of herpetofauna species, with several of them being restricted to only certain areas in Greece; the Rhodope mountains and Thrace are some of the most remarkable hotspots in the country. Species that are ridiculously widespread and common across the rest of Europe are only limited to the Rhodope mountains and a few other mountains in all of the country (e.g. Adder Vipera berus, Sand lizard Lacerta agilis, Viviparous lizard Zootoca vivipara), while others, with a more eastern distribution, are only found in some locations of Thrace (e.g. Ottoman viper Montivipera xanthina).
Regardless of the awful season, it was about time I did a reptile-twitch focused trip to that part of the country. I knew that simple hikes around suitable habitats would be enough to find some lifers. With birder-friend Valia living in Northern Greece we organised an absolutely chaotic 2-week camping trip to several locations across Macedonia & Thrace; Kerkini lake, Rhodope mountains, Drama prefecture, Vistonida lake, Nestos delta and Koroneia-Volvi National Park were all in the schedule. Due to a series of unexpected events we only managed to do 2 days of Kerkini and a short visit to a lake in Drama region. Talk about bad luck...
Kerkini
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| The iconic forest near the Strymonas delta of Kerkini: habitat of Rana dalmatina, Lacerta viridis, Natrix natrix, Testudo hermanni and a shitload of free-grazing cows |
On the first day we decided to head to Kerkini, where we were supposed to camp close to the villages around Strymonas river for 3 days. This was mainly a birding trip, so there were no specific herp goals other than getting some in-hand Dice snakes (Natrix tessellata). After taking the train from Drama city and doing some classic birding from the train's window (and obviously looking at potential habitats to visit) we got off at Vyroneia village where we spent about an hour for some lunch at a tavern next to the riparian forest of Strymonas and were greeted by a single Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri). Chasing it around the tavern surely got us some weird looks by the locals. Anyways, after finishing lunch we crossed the bridge of Vyroneia in order to get to the other side of Strymonas river, where we had decided to search inside the forest to avoid the heat. On our way there we found a roadkilled Grass snake (Natrix natrix) and a recently squashed European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis), which was also a gravid female on her way to lay eggs - not a pleasant sight. At the beautiful riparian forest we managed to find Herman's tortoises (Testudo hermani), Agile frogs (Rana dalmatina) and Eastern green lizards (Lacerta viridis), as well as Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) at the nearby river and in some small ponds. When it comes to birds, shrikes, woodpeckers and orioles were numerous inside the forest.
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| Beautiful male Herman's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) |
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| Eastern green lizard (Lacerta viridis); subadult male transitioning from juvenile to adult coloration |
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Agile frog (Rana dalmatina)
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Having consumed all of our water, we soon got dehydrated and the only way to get water was to walk to the nearest village. A dry mouth and a strong headache were enough to spoil my mood so we had to head to Gonimo village and get a few bottles from a tavern. We returned to our campsite in the dark where I caught the first alive snake of the trip, a juvenile Grass snake (Natrix natrix) which was probably on the process of hunting agile frogs.
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| Stunning young Grass snake (Natrix natrix) |
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| Young White storks (Ciconia ciconia) in Gonimo village |
After what seemed like hours of trying to set up our tent for the night and getting stung by tons of mosquitoes, I went on a night search for amphibians and grass snakes along Strymonas river on my own. The habitat was perfect for the hard to find Balkan spadefoot (Pelobates balcanicus) and as I found out later, we had camped very close to a spot known for hosting a large population of the species. Nevertheless, I caught two rather large partially melanistic Grass snakes (Natrix natrix) that probably hatched together. Both were in shed and retained the typical 'persa' stripes on their back. Valia soon realised that getting eaten alive by mosquitoes at our campsite wasn't very pleasant and joined me. In addition to the partially melanistic Grass snakes, we also found a typical 'persa' individual as well as juvenile Green toads (Bufotes viridis), a roadkilled Balkan spadefoot (Pelobates balcanicus) and several croaking Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri). We also decided to take our stuff and camp at a more mosquito-free area at the other side of Strymonas.
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| One out of two absolutely gorgeous partially melanistic Grass snakes (Natrix natrix) found; note the blurry eyecap, indicating that the snake is about to shed |
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| Dorsal view of the same Grass snake; note the faded 'persa' stripes |
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| Juvenile Green toad (Bufotes viridis) |
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| Adult male Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri), busy trying to attract a mate |
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| Grass snake |
The next morning we woke up to a beautiful landscape with dozens of cormorants, white storks and herons flying above our heads. Our goal for today was to get to the Strymonas delta after a quick stop at Megalohori village for some food and water. On our way there we found Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) in the small ponds along the road as well as several Eastern green lizards (Lacerta viridis) catching the first sun rays of the day. Valia also observed a fatal combat between two males, out of which one died in front of us! We soon reached Megalohori, had some breakfast at a local cafeteria and then walked to a nearby riparian forest. Herman's tortoise (Testudo hermanni), Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri), Eastern green lizards (Lacerta viridis) and two basking Balkan terrapins (Mauremys rivulata) were seen there.
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| Female Herman's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) |
Our next stop and our main destination for the day was Strymonas delta, an actual bird paradise thriving with herons, grebes, pelicans, cormorants, storks, waders, bee-eaters and many others. We even saw a Coypu (Myocastor coypus), an invasive giant-rat-like mammal equivalent to a beaver, originally from South America. When it comes to herps, we found European pond terrapins (Emys orbicularis), Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri), Eastern green lizards (Lacerta viridis) and to my bad luck Valia spotted a large snake, presumably an Eastern montpellier, disappear into the thick bushes when I wasn't there. I also caught a beautiful dark Grass snake (Natrix natrix) in a small pond and flipped another one under a big log.
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| Beautiful dark Grass snake (Natrix natrix) with a white collar and stripes |
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| European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis) |
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| Strymonas river |
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| Habitat of Emys orbicularis |
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| Pond habitat of Pelophylax kurtmuelleri |
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| The iconic water buffaloes of Kerkini in the company of Pygmy cormorants and egrets |
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| Invasive coypu (Myocastor coypus) |
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| A tree full of fruits... or starlings? |
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| Grass snake (Natrix natrix) in shed |
After it got dark we had to return to our campsite by following the trails along Strymonas. Another good opportunity to find Balkan spadefoot (Pelobates balcanicus) in its habitat, though we only found Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) and Green toads (Bufotes viridis). This was our last day in Kerkini; in the morning we would take the train back to Drama city.
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| Balkan frog (Pelopylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| Green toad (Bufotes viridis) |
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| Green toad (Bufotes viridis) |
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| Agile frog (Rana dalmatina) found close to our camspite (Picture by Valia) |
Mylopotamos lake – Drama prefecture
Although the trip to Kerkini had destroyed us, the day after we returned to Drama we decided to walk to a small artificial lake located at the village of Mylopotamos. Due to the fact that I missed finding a Dice snake at Kerkini, I was hoping to at least get one in this perfect habitat for the species. While we didn't end up finding any alive snakes, we found dozens of European pond terrapins (Emys orbicularis), Balkan terrapins (Mauremys rivulata), Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri), Eastern green lizards (Lacerta viridis), a DOR Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) and Agile frogs (Rana dalmatina) in a nearby forest. Unfortunately, it turned out that I had to return to Volos the next day so all of our plans for Northern Greece were postponed.
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Fields of Drama |
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| Shy Eastern green lizard (Lacerta viridis) |
Volos
After leaving Northern Greece, I was stuck in Volos for about 4 days as I wasn't able to book tickets and decided to take advantage of it, so I met with local herper Christos for a few hours of herping in a hill outside of Volos city. Despite the high temperatures, we found Snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus kitaibelii), Balkan green lizards (Lacerta trilineata) and my first Balkan whip snake (Hierophis gemonensis) - worth the feel of myself melting in the form of sweat!
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| Balkan whip snake (Hierophis gemonensis) |
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| Balkan whip snake (Hierophis gemonensis) |
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
Species seen:
Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri)
Agile frog (Rana dalmatina)
Balkan spadefoot (Pelobates balcanicus) (DOR)
Green toad (Bufotes viridis)
Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata)
European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis)
Herman's tortoise (Testudo hermanni)
Eastern green lizard (Lacerta viridis)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata)
Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii)
Grass snake (Natrix natrix)
Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) (DOR)
Balkan whip snake (Hierophis gemonensis)
