By Ioannis GkourogiannisIt’s the end of May 2021 and the hardest winter of my entire life has passed. For the past 7 months, due to the strict lockdown in Greece and the fact that I live in metro Athens, my contact with nature has been limited to parks and some seriously degraded hills near my home. As you can understand a trip somewhere far was more than needed. I chose to go the village where my grandparents live, spend some time in nature and also with them.
The village is called Granitsa, it’s located roughly 40 km outside the city of Ioannina and sits at an altitude of 440. It has dense oak forests around it mainly made of Quercus frainetto and Quercus coccifera. There are also streams with huge Platanus orientalis in their banks. You can also find some abandoned fields that have turned in meadows, many of which have old stone homes in them. The perfect setting for a chill yet exciting trip. I was also planning to stay 2 days at Ioannina city to do some outings around the city’ lake.
DAY 1 (23/5)
Packing my things and getting on a bus after a long time felt unreal, but it was true! Around 1 PM I was on my way to Ioannina. I arrived in early afternoon after a really tiring bus ride. Having a shower, eating a meal and I was ready for my first walk around the lake. I was staying with my cousins’ family so we decided to visit their favorite spot in the lake. Reaching the area, it was not long till I spotted the first herp of the trip. It was a beautiful Dice snake (Natrix tesselata) which turned out to be two of them coiled together! I was off to a nice start. Sadly a few meters next to the dice snakes I found a dead Grass snake (Natrix natrix), probably killed by human hand…
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| The two dice snakes (Natrix tessellata) |
We visited many spots around the area which were filled with Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri). Apart from the reptile and amphibian residents of the lake I also spotted several cool avian ones like Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), Pygmy cormorants (Microcarbo pygmaeus) and Mute swans (Cygnus olor). The day ended with a beautiful sunset over the lake. It was time to rest because the next day was going to have an early start.
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| One of the many Balkan frogs (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| The gorgeous sunset over Lake Pamvotida |
DAY 2 (24/5)
The alarm was showing 6.20 AM and the plan was to go to the lake to birdwatch for a few hours. Little did I know this outing was going to be one of coolest ones herp-wise. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I had in months with birds chirping and flying everywhere.
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| Morning colors around the lake and Pygmy cormorants (Microcarbo pygmaeus) |
It was just peaceful, then at around 9 AM as I was relaxing under a huge Poplar tree (Populus sp.) I heard leaves cracking in many directions. The ‘’noise-makers’’ were a small group of Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). They started climbing the tree next to me to thermoregulate. They weren’t even bothered by my presence.
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| One of the many Podarcis muralis |
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| More Podarcis muralis |
Along the lake I was spotting many Grass and Dice snakes and kept hearing frog calls (Pelophylax sp.)
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| Grass snake (Natrix natrix) |
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| The same grass snake out of the water |
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| Dice snake (Natrix tessellata) |
After a while I spotted a European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) but as I tried to grab my camera it spotted me and got to the water, so sorry no Emys pics… Then on my way back as I was photographing some grebes (Podiceps cristatus), a frog caught my eye. It was a bit different that the ones I was seeing so I got some pics to identify it back home.
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| The unknown frog! |
Totally irrelevant to herping but after a few minutes I spotted a super cute family of mute swans with many chicks. It was around 12 PM and it was starting to get really hot, so I began returning home. The way back was boring without any birds or animals and then all of a sudden, my dream snake appeared out of nowhere! It was a huge Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius). I managed to get a quick photo just for the record before it disappeared back where it came from. My heart was pounding and I was full of joy for my encounter.
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| The family of mute swans |
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| The sole picture of this gigantic Dolichophis caspius |
Back at home with help through a Facebook group, the unknown frog was finally identified and turned out to be another lifer for me, it was the Epirus water frog (Pelophylax epeiroticus). Later the same day I was on my way to my base for the next few days at the village.
DAY 3 (25/5)
This day had another early start. Waking up at 6:45 AM is never easy, unless it’s about finding animals. The idea was to have a little trek to a small church about 2 km outside the village. At around 7 AM I grabbed my gear and headed off. On my way I was finding all sorts of cool critters like spiders, moths and beetles.
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| Probably Metelina sp. |
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| Arctia villica |
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| Pseudovadonia livida |
Not much time later I came across the first herp of the day. It was a gorgeous Dalmatian Algyroides (Algyroides nigropunctatus). Probably the most photo-cooperative lizard I have ever photographed.
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| Dalmatian Algyroides (Algyroides nigropunctatus) getting the morning sun |
After a few minutes, at a sunny spot, my eye caught another lizard silhouette, thinking it was another Algyroides. Getting closer I realized that it was a beautiful Ionian wall lizard (Podarcis ionicus). Certainly, another nice find.
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| Ionian wall lizard (Podarcis ionicus) |
Now I was getting closer to a creek that crossed the dirt road I was walking on. I was hoping to find some brown frogs (Rana sp.). Sadly, none were to be found. On a happier note, I managed to find a Fire salamander larva (Salamandra salamandra).
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| The creek |
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| Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) nymph. This particular one was found in the same creek some years back; I didn’t manage to take a proper photo of the one I found in May. |
As I walked, Podarcis and Algyroides were everywhere to be found. Reaching the church meant that it was time to have some water and a snack. I was expecting to find some snakes there but with no luck. It was now time to head back. Another stop at the creek for the frogs gave nothing. A few meters away I spotted a pair of Hermann’s tortoises mating.
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| The mating tortoises deep in the bushes |
Although not a herp, in this trek I came across my favorite wasp species, the Mammoth scoliid wasp (Megascolia maculata). Then I returned home to rest a bit before my afternoon outing.
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| Ginormous mammoth scoliid wasp (Megascolia maculata) |
My main herp goal of the afternoon was to find some newt larvae at a nearby pond that I have observed them before. On my way there I crossed paths with another adorable Hermann’s tortoise.
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| Hermann's tortoise chillin' |
When I got to the pond I started searching for the newts. Sadly, I couldn’t find any. The only herps I came across were countless Balkan frogs and a few Western Caspian turtles (Mauremys rivulata). Later as I was resting a bit, I spotted a little European copper skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii) but I couldn’t take a pic as I was away from my camera. This was the last herp of the day.
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| The pond |
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| Balkan water frogs are everywhere around the pond |
DAY 4 (26/5)
Feeling a bit tired that morning I woke up pretty late. Not having much time before the scorching midday sun, I decided to have a little walk in hopes I could find any herps at a spot just behind the house backyard.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to spot any herps. On the other hand, arthropods were everywhere. Beautiful butterflies, moths and dragonflies were some of the cool ones.
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| The gorgeous Euplocamus ophisa moth |
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| The small Polyomnatus icarus |
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| Onychogomphus forcipatus |
I also managed to spot the first orchid of the trip, a gorgeous Woodcock orchid (Ophrys scolopax). As the sun was almost above my head, I returned home to have a good meal and rest because I had planned something quite intense for the afternoon.
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| Woodcock orchid (Ophrys scolopax) |
My plan for the afternoon was to complete a 10 km circular route on an almost abandoned part of the old national road. There were some old stone churches and a spring along the way that could offer some good creatures.
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| Typical scenery in this route |
About 20 minutes into the walk I found another Hermann’s tortoise (They were literally everywhere). After a quick photo session with the tortoise I reached the church.
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| Hermann's tortoise |
There I managed to find only some old snake skin between the rocks, so I continued walking. When I was about an hour in the walk, I heard some leaves cracking in the forest. I immediately realized that they weren’t the usual tortoise-walking noise but something bigger. Suddenly a fox (Vulpes vulpes) appears in the middle of the road and just sits there and stares at me. I managed to snap a few pictures while I was hoping I’ve had a bigger lens…
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| Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) |
Just a few minutes later I spotted another cool animal. Although not a herp it heavily influences their population. I am talking about the magnificent short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus). A single one was soaring above me for a few minutes while scouting for food. It’s always nice watching raptors do their job!
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| Short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus) |
The next stop I made was at the spring. Unfortunately no water was running but a small pond was created there. Inside were some Pelophylax sp. and I was surprised to see a single Yellow-belly toad (Bombina variegata) that disappeared in a second leaving me without a picture. After that some time passed without anything cool showing up apart from a female Dalmatian Algyroides.
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| Female Dalmatian Algyroides |
A few moments before the end of the route I found a big sized wolf spider (Hogna radiata) that gave me some nice clicks. I just wonder what other animals I can come across there. I am gonna do the same walk again for sure!
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| Hogna radiata |
DAY 5 (27/5)
That morning I had an early start because this was the last day outside the city for this trip and I wasn’t gonna waste it. The plan was to tie up some lose ends, by trying to find the newt larvae I was hoping some days before, as well as going to check out some abandoned houses in a beautiful setting inside the forest, in hopes of some snakes and Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata), a species that has eluded me this whole trip. The plan to find the larvae was to go back to the same pond. When I got there, I immediately started scouting around the pond for several minutes, only finding Balkan frogs and Caspian turtles.
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| Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) |
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| Really young western Caspian turtle (Mauremys rivulata) |
Then all of a sudden, my eye caught a small movement in the pond bottom. It really was what I expected, a Greek newt larva (Lissotriton graecus) !!
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| Greek newt (LIssotriton graecus) |
It was really early to go home so I decided to have a little birdwatching session at a beautiful sitting area filled with old enormous oaks. There I spotted some nice birds like a Honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) and my lifer short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla).
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| The sitting area a few years back. Everything is pretty much the same |
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| Honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) |
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| Really well camouflaged treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) |
After that I returned home and prepared for my next outing of the day. The way to the abandoned houses was filled with rocks ready to be flipped. Flipping was going super bad without anything interesting. After a few rocks I finally flipped an animal, I was hoping to find during this trip. It was a Mediterranean checkered scorpion (Aegeobuthus gibbosus), one of my favorite arthropods. The next two rocks also revealed the same species. It was ridiculous how many of them were at that spot. Moving a bit down the trail I flipped a Centipede (Scolopendra cingulata), nothing really special but always a nice find.
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| Mediterranean checkered scorpion (Aegeobuthus gibbosus) |
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| Scolopendra cingulata |
Reaching the houses I started exploring with finding no snakes nor green lizard.
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| A part of the abandoned houses |
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| Views from the area |
What a bummer… I then remembered the existence of an old well by a spring a few meters up the trail. My thought was that I could find some Rana sp. frogs that I didn’t manage the first day. Going there I found a whole lot of nothing so I started my way back. On my way back I saw something green on the trail. When I got there, it was really what I thought it would be. Only problem was that it was dead and freshly killed by another animal.
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| Unluckiest moment of the trip. Dead Lacerta trilineata major |
That was the moment I realized that it was probably better to go home. Probably the unluckiest moment of the entire trip.
First of all I hope to all have enjoyed this report and to consider Ioannina city and its nearby countryside for your next endeavors. Secondly, I want to apologize for the use of older pictures in some parts but I wasn’t planning to write a report about this trip so I didn’t photograph everything, next time it’ll be different. Overall I think that this trip was more than successful, I might not have found all the herps I was hoping for but I had an amazing time looking for them and evolving my herping skills each day. My advice to anyone reading this is that the only true way to become better at anything, including herping, is to get out there and try!
Species seen:
Greek newt (Lissotriton graecus)
Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)
Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri)
Epirus water frog (Pelophylax epeiroticus)
Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni)
Western Caspian turtle (Mauremys rivulata)
Dalmatian Algyroides (Algyroides nigropunctatus)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata major) (dead)
Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)
Ionian wall lizard (Podarcis ionicus)
Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius)
Grass snake (Natrix natrix)
Dice snake (Natrix tessellata)
Yellow-bellied-toad (Bombina variegata)
European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis)
Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelli)
