It was mid-June already, and spring was coming to a close, with temperatures well into the 30s and the looming first heatwave of July, so I figured that since I had missed so many prime herping opportunities in the month of May, the final session of late spring 2021 on June 20th had to be spectacular. I had planned an overnight stay in a sleeping bag near a popular hippy camp site situated in some of the most pristine habitat in all of South Euboea, if not Euboea, if not the West Aegean as a whole. I had high hopes of at long last getting decent photos of a large adult Malpolon, an exceptional Natrix or, at long last, finding my lifer four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata). However, my only goal that actually did come to fruition was getting some photos of the gorgeous wall lizards that occur there, since I couldn’t get enough time due to the second day of staying there being cancelled due to unforseen circumstances. In this trip report, I will go into detail about the 12 hours that I spent near the foothills of mount Ochi, searching for reptiles and other wildlife in and around a spring fed stream and the riparian forest surrounding it.
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| Mount Ochi is known for its unusually high number of streams, some of which have remained unaffected by human structures, like the one pictured here. It is considered a biodiversity goldmine when it comes to the West Aegean. |
I got there relatively early in the morning, hid most of my stuff in some bushes (this will be important later), and started looking in the stream for foraging dice snakes (Natrix tessellata), however it was apparently still too early to do that, as I spooked a small adult that was basking and subsequently missed it. I figured I should wait for the weather to warm up a bit, however as I got lower, more towards the river mouth, I found an overhanging plane tree (Platanus orientalis) branch that was occupied by snakes! A nice dark adult dice snake dove in – what a stupid mistake to not have brought swimwear and goggles!! But it was far from over! I quickly noticed another smaller snake, a striking black grass snake (Natrix natrix), basking on the branch. In fact, it was one of, if not the most gorgeous individual of the species I had ever laid my eyes upon – I had to take some photos. I managed a swift grab just as it was about to dive into the water – and what a gorgeous snake it was!
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An absolutely flawless black grass snake (Natrix natrix) |
It wasn’t cooperative for photos in the slightest, so I released it after some very mediocre in hand shots…
Since basking snakes often return to their spot if disturbed and then left alone, I figured I should head down for about 40 minutes and revisit the same plane tree branch to see if anyone had returned… I was very quickly busy again, but this time not with reptiles, but fish! beautiful freshwater blennies (Salaria fluviatilis), many of which were colorful spawning males, decorated the creek bed. I set up my underwater phone case and took some in situ shots of them. I moved downstream until the river mouth, where I observed Natrix tessellata swimming next to huge Mugil cephalus, as well as a new herp record for me for the area, the Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata). I quickly photographed a shy yearling.
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| Freshwater blenny (Salaria fluviatilis) photographed in-situ |
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| Yearling Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata) - shy and uncooperative as ever |
After that task was completed, I revisited the plane tree branch and upon careful observation I spotted a dark adult dice snake basking on top of it, very likely the individual I had spooked previously. I very carefully approached it for some in situ photos – it cooperated amazingly!
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| Dice snake (Natrix tessellata) in situ. The mainly fish-eating counterpart of the grass snake. |
Following that encounter, I moved further upstream, where I photographed some Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) to kill time to revisit the branch again, however I revisited and no one was there – it was past noon and at that point the basking window was long gone – so I started searching for reptiles on the crawl (or in some cases, on the swim…).
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri), large adult |
At long last I was finally able to get photos of an adult female, it was a beautiful example of the generally rare patternless morph, that paradoxically is the phenotype about 1/8 of the dice snakes there. She was a sweetheart, posing perfectly for photos and becoming a great educational animal, as some people that were walking there stopped by to see the harmless and calm snake. I soon sent her on her way again, and the search continued.
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| Female dice snake (Natrix tessellata) with reduced pattern |
Upon photographing some blennies, I spotted my biggest lizard target for the day – beautiful Erhard’s wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii). This is a species I oddly don’t get to see too often, so it was a treat to see and photograph some nice individuals that I found. These lizards are a joy to photograph as they are very active, curious and personable, and will often come towards you to investigate if approached correctly. During passes up and down the lower section of the stream, as well as looking at humid, cool, dappled-sunlight places for the old rat-snake-on-a-plane-tree scenario, I found hundreds of herps – from frogs, to toad (Bufo bufo) tadpoles and metamorphs, to dice snakes, to lizards, including the always skittish Lacerta trilineata.
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| Soon-to-be toadlet (Bufo bufo) |
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) subadult |
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) subadult |
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| Freshwater blennies were very abundant in the creek and very cooperative photo subjects |
Finally, since it was already afternoon, I figured I should make one final trip about a kilometer upstream, and I’m glad I did. There I found plenty of photographable dice snakes, my first ever in-bloom dragon lily (Dracunculus vulgaris), and finally a great example of the average South Euboea grass snake.
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| Pristine riverine habitat. The riparian vegetation is dominated by Nerium oleander and Platanus orientalis. |
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| A young dice snake (Natrix tessellata) on the eternal search for fish and tadpoles |
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| One of the rockiest and most open parts of the stream. Home to many Erhard’s wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Dragon lily (Dracunculus vulgaris) displaying its impressive inflorescence. Very late in the year for the species, perhaps due to its placement. |
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| A typical South Euboea grass snake (Natrix natrix) |
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| A very inquisitive Podarcis erhardii livadiaca male |
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| The same individual of Podarcis erhardii as in the previous picture. Note the beautiful subtle blue coloration on its flanks and ventral area. |
It was evening by the time I had finished my trip upstream and had returned, and since I was unable to photograph blennies, I ate 1000 calories worth of cookies since I had stupidly left my food back in the bushes... regardless, after a much deserved break, hanging out with my new hippy acquaintances and photographing a female Erhard’s wall lizard next to the beach, I was back in action, for one last push before the day ended…
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| Podarcis erhardii gravid female |
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| Podarcis erhardii gravid female |
On my way back to the riverbed, I missed a yearling Malpolon, a very typical occurrence with these lightning-fast snakes. I flipped some rocks and found some dice snakes as well as a river crab (Potamon fluviatile), as well as some wandering common toad metamorphs. Just as I was about to be picked up for the day, I found the final herp of the day right next to the restaurant, a young adult male glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus), which took quite the chase to be able to get in hand. People were very keen on learning about the animal and even handled it too – a very positive educational opportunity. On our way back, we cruised 3 DOR Malpolon, including a super nice pale-colored male, and I also missed an adult female off the road – very frustrating! Excluding the return, this was an amazing trip that I’m very glad I took and I think I made the most of what really did turn out to be the last day of spring.
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| River crab (Potamon fluviatile) |
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| Common toad (Bufo bufo) metamorph |
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| European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus) |
Species seen:
Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri)
Dice snake (Natrix tessellata)
Grass snake (Natrix natrix)
Common toad (Bufo bufo)
Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata)
Erhard’s wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata)
Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus)
European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus)
