April is in my opinion the best month for herping in Greece. It generally has very mild daytime temps, plenty of humidity, some rain and steep temperature drops at night, which makes for perfect conditions, as almost every reptile is out trying to thermoregulate to get ready for the active season that usually starts late in the month or in May. They will do so either next to permanent refugia (bushes, rock/trash piles, under boards or other garbage, to name a few). The low temperatures are also very helpful not only in catching animals but also taking in situ footage as their speed and reflexes are not very sharp. A lot of mating takes place in April as well, as adults of both sexes will spend the winter in the same refugia.
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| Spring season in full effect, with the iconic sight of all the blooming flowers and the lush, green grass. |
Due to COVID lockdown, I was unable to get my driver’s license the previous fall, however, I was still very determined to add new snake species to my life list, and at long last get some decent pictures of a large Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus) and nothing could stop me from trying. So, I herped almost every day in various degraded and agricultural sites in Attica using public transport. I walked an average of two dozen kilometers for each full day of herping to go from one flip site or good habitat to the next, and sadly most sessions were complete failures, nevertheless, some beautiful and noteworthy animals were found either way. In this trip report, I will present a snapshot of the endless flipping and hiking days of April 2021, two short sessions in the Messogeia region that occurred very incidentally and were performed on a whim, but ironically were my most productive outings of the month.
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| A random subadult Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) I found around the house a day or two before the outings I am about to describe. |
The previous day, an old friend of mine shot me a text message at random saying that he was interested in my work and would like me to take him herping and birding sometime, since he shoots with a DSLR too. I instantly agreed and we scheduled to meet up in Athens city limits next to some towns, where our parents would meet and drop us off nearby. We arrived there very late (11AM) due to some complications, and the weather was perfect – 18 degrees with densely overcast skies. I had been to this place so many times that when we started, it was all completely routine. After flipping a few dozen pieces of cover to no avail apart from rodents and Etruscan shrews (Suncus etruscus), I found a couple individuals of Xerotyphlops vermicularis under a small rock and a great board – the first ones I managed to photograph for the year.
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| Eurasian blind snake (Xerotyphlops vermicularis). This dinky, fossorial species is almost certainly the most common and numerous snake in Attica. |
After some quick pictures, the flipping and hiking ensued. After flipping various other pieces and missing a few Ablepharus kitaibelii, I managed to find a large ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) under a huge rock. It is one of the usual suspects during springtime flipping in Attica, with days with over a dozen individuals flipped not being an uncommon occurrence.
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Large adult ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) with a regenerated tail. Something very commonly seen in these lizards as they are a favorite prey item of many birds, mammals, and snakes. |
After letting the skink go and finding another one under a board, I approached an unsuspecting area on the way to a huge dump and spooked a medium sized snake next to a bush – I was disappointed but I decided not to intervene further, and thought there was still hope. I found two bones from deceased livestock and proceeded to place them next to the bush to mark it. I set a timer for 40 minutes, during which we flipped at the aforementioned dump, which was completely unproductive, much to my dismay, as I did find pieces of the shed of a Dahl’s whipsnake (Platyceps najadum).
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A random Ophrys attica, a greek endemic orchid |
We returned to the site of the tragic miss and this time I was fully prepared to catch the animal, extremely alert, ready to dive, with my work gloves on and my backpack off. And just as I lost hope, I spotted it trying to get away, but due to the cool overcast conditions, I managed to catch it. It was a large adult Dahl’s – and what a Dahl’s it was!! A long but very productive photography session followed (along with getting bitten over a dozen times), and I sent the snake back.
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Field guide style photo of the Dahl’s – well over a meter long and most likely a male, judging by the long tail and it not being gravid |
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| The impressive strike pose that the snake assumed during much the photo session – I don’t blame it, I would have been terrified and infuriated too! |
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| Cool temperatures are a godsnend while photographing reptiles, as they are very slow and lethargic in these conditions |
A long hike and a failed attempt at kestrel photography ensued after the snake release in an attempt to go to another productive flip site a couple kilometers away. On our way there, I heard what I thought was a Malpolon go into some bushes. There were no visible places where it could hole up, and we could still hear the animal slithering around, and after we chased it up and down the bush for a couple minutes, we finally saw it, and it was actually a huge male Lacerta trilineata! I told my friend to stand on the opposite side of the bush and coax it out towards me. I saw the lizard’s colossal head poke out and then it made a run for it. I sprinted after it in the open for about 10 meters, until I dove down and caught it right before it got in another bush. It was a titanic individual of Timon lepidus dimensions, what a catch! After some quick photos and getting bitten, we sent him on his way.
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| The impressive head of the giant male Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
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When caught or cornered, Lacerta trilineata will often exhibit an impressive gaping behavior and will bite down hard if a finger is placed in its mouth. |
Nothing eventful apart from marking down an amazing new flip site and finding a purple heron (Ardea purpurea) happened after that, and it was time to go home.
I was walking my dog one afternoon when I got a call from a friend who happened to be herping by his house at Messogeia, but this time instead of hearing about what he finds while we were on call, I asked my mom to drive me 10 minutes to the train station and I went and joined him. Due to our lack of time due to the 9PM curfew, we had to herp at sub-optimal and almost comically degraded habitat, however, to our astonishment, we found one of the largest garbage dumps I have ever seen in my life. The entire area was littered with perfect boards and various other types of garbage – the entire degraded olive grove/various other plantation area was literally just a huge flip site! We hit the boards hard, finding numerous ocellated skinks and managing to photograph a massive female balkan green lizard.
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| The longest Chalcides ocellatus ever. |
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| Many Balkan green lizards have scarring on the tail base. Perhaps due to the male grasping them there during courtship? |
We were flipping for 3 consecutive hours, tore apart entire piles of boards, even, and our luck only got worse as we progressed. We lifted literally hundreds of absolutely impeccable pieces, with space under them, as well as amazing moisture seals, yet there wasn’t a single snake to be found.
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| Typical Attica flipping |
I reached a physical state of complete exhaustion, and the sun was setting when we decided to give up after the “final flip of the day”. I stood close as my friend lifted up the giant board, and I instantly recognized that the very reason I was even herping this hard was there. I immediately identified the snake and yelled out “Σαπίτη!” (Greek for Eastern Montpellier snake) in a very abrupt but loud and excited voice, and in a split second I had the snake in hand. We gave each other the hardest, most intense high-five ever, and without even properly celebrating, we instantly ran over to the only nearby place that still had sun for some photos. The photo session was extremely long and it was already past curfew by the time we had finished and let the snake crawl back under its board. Thankfully I got home safely without getting fined…
I don’t really have a way to end this other than saying that that right there is the stuff I live for.
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| Young adult male Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus), showing atypical charcoal dorsal pinkish white ventral coloration. Even though it was cold, it was still a terrible photo subject |
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| Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus) |
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| Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus) |
Species seen: