On June 5-6, 2021, I came full circle by revisiting the exact places where I started herping, exactly one year before.
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| Mt. Ochi towering over Lala and the Karystos floodplain |
This weekend trip with my parents took place smack dab in the middle of these conditions, with seemingly limitless potential, however unlike early spring my searching couldn’t be as calculated, in other words I expected to find most animals while they were active. I didn’t have a single full day, instead we arrived in the iconic but long-suffering and very degraded Karystos floodplain in early afternoon (2 PM) and I was dropped off there for about 5 hours while the others had lunch. Since I started on the warmest part of the day (about 26-27C), I figured I should jump right into pursuing my main goal for the trip – to find a few more of those sweet, stripeless South Euboea grass snakes. I wet-waded the same spring-fed, perennial stream I did the year before, but the riparian zone was completely overgrown compared to last year due to the lack of rains and therefore the water not getting significantly higher and faster. On the start of my first pass upstream, I saw the two usual wetland suspects, thousands of Balkan marsh frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) and a very healthy number of Balkan terrapins (Mauremys rivulata).
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| Pelophylax kurtmuelleri adult thermoregulating – skittish and hard to photograph. |
Moving further upstream, I also saw tadpoles of the common toad (Bufo bufo), but what came next truly came as a surprise – I spotted and heard a large reptile slithering on the wet part of the riparian vegetation literally right on the bank of the creek. I immediately ducked down, got a hold of it as it was largely in the open, but instead of being a large female grass snake, the expected long reptile in this scenario, I immediately recognized its stiff feel, almost like PVC. It was an adult male European legless lizard (Pseudopus apodus). Due to their awkwardly cylindrical body shape and inflexibility, I thought they would very likely be unable to swim and would just roll instead. I thought it was trapped and I was about to move it out of the river bed. During a short photography session, I let it slither on the ground, but it darted extremely fast and swam all the way across the widest part of the creek, in a manner just as swift as that of Natrix, then it climbed up – incredible!
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| European legless lizard (Pseudopus apodus) in its riparian habitat |
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| Head detail of the same Pseudopus apodus – note the external ears, eyelids and lateral groove |
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| Lowland reaches of a typical West Aegean perennial stream. Habitat of Pseudopus apodus, Bufo bufo, Natrix natrix, Mauremys rivulata, Lacerta trilineata, Pelophylax kurtmuelleri, Testudo hermannii, Malpolon insignitus |
My day had already been made, however the search was far from over. I headed upstream and saw lots of turtles and frogs, as well as a couple of Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni).
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| Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata) in habitat |
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| Further away from the coast, numerous large Platanus orientalis tower over the stream |
I also saw some other iconic wildlife, such as egrets and a huge male red fox (Vulpes vulpes). At that point I was very high up the river and it was getting kind of late, so I figured it was time for my second pass, heading downstream. Sadly, no grass snakes were seen, which was very unfortunate and unexpected as I usually find 5 or more whenever I’m actively looking for them. Nevertheless, there was another Hermann’s tortoise on the way down, a large female, which was easily the cleanest and most beautiful individual of the species I have ever seen.
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| Adult female Herman's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) up close |
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| The same Testudo hermanni in its habitat, a perennial stream riverbed |
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| Probably an adult male Testudo hermanni, eating a herbaceous plant |
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| Shaded riparian areas like this provide shelter from the midday heat by providing shade and holding moisture, allowing animals to remain active |
After a short photo session I was soon back near the river mouth, and hiked up and down one of my most productive roads, where that time I only saw a few DORs and missed a few reptiles that were catching the final rays of the sun for the day. This was also the case with an adult male Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus), which I spotted outside a bush inside a fenced area. I couldn’t photograph it since right as I pulled my phone out, it darted inside the bush in lightning speed. The weather was cooling down, most reptiles were close to their refuges, and I figured I should visit a potential flip site near the river mouth before I left. And I did, however, flipping wasn’t really a possibility because it just turned out to be a huge pile of boards, too big to be flipped. However, I found two yearling Balkan green lizards (Lacerta trilineata) and managed to take a picture of one. And that was it for the day… or was it??
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) juvenile catching the final rays of the evening sun before retreating in its board pile |
On our way up the Mt. Ochi piedmont, very close to our rented house, I saw a dead snake on the road. We pulled over only for me to see a stunning adult female Malpolon insignitus that had been hit just a few minutes prior, perhaps on her way to a refuge. On top of that, there was an extra layer of heartbreak, as she was gravid with numerous eggs. Truly a depressing thing to see your favorite animal like this.
Putting my heartache and frustration aside, after I had some much-needed lunch/dinner, in the form of souvlaki of course, and I joined my family on a night-out in Karystos, and we sat down for some drinks. I soon got bored and walked a few kilometers to the town limits to see if I could find toads crossing the roads. It was 11 pm and I was in the middle of nowhere, without any lights, walking up and down agricultural dirt roads. I was hearing the chorus of European tree frogs (Hyla arborea), as I always do while I’m there, but I didn’t see any. After a bit more walking, my efforts were rewarded with an awesome encounter with a very cooperative hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus). I then found an abandoned house with a couple unassuming boards and gave night flipping a try, and sure enough, I found an absolutely immaculate young adult female Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) sleeping under one of them. I picked her up to take a few pictures and to make sure she went under the board again, and wasn’t left exposed to nocturnal predators, as it is a diurnal animal.
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| Erinaceus roumanicus are commonly found in degraded habitats such as this agricultural site |
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| The Lacerta trilineata I flipped, photographed in hand before allowed to retreat under its board |
After that my phone died and I ended up walking about 1.5 km in complete darkness, and we got home, as it was late. There I found some Mediterranean house geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus), unsurprisingly.
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| Hemidactylus turcicus at home |
I went to sleep, only to wake up 4 hours later for that sweet morning basking window in the Mt. Ochi foothills. It wasn’t a productive trip sadly, with no Pseudopus, however, I did record a new species for the area, the marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata), and I found two individuals, an adult and a juvenile that was missing its front claws. This was very strange as I have herped here for weeks but only seen about 30 Hermann’s tortoises. I also saw a few stunning trilineata, one of which I got half decent photos of. And that was about it. We had lunch and we were on our way back.
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| Lala Karystos. Phrygana, olive groves, Spanish broom and Verbascum |
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| Marginated tortoise (Testudo marginate) adult female |
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| Herman's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) juvenile missing all of its front claws |
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) juvenile showing amazing pattern and coloration |
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| Sunset on the freeway in Boeotia on our way back to Athens |
Species seen:
Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata)
European legless lizard (Pseudopus apodus)
Common toad (Bufo bufo)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata)
Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus)
Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermannii)
Marginated tortoise (Testudo marginate)
Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)
European tree frog (Hyla arborea)