Entering the year of 2022, the first months were rough, with constant cold and low pressure systems including rain and a lot of snow. While we were satisfied by the amount of precipitation, this intense winter weather continued well into late March, with average temps ranging from 4 to 11 degrees celsius. It even snowed during mid March! Most early 'spring' herping outings turned out to be a waste, as conditions were very unsuitable for any reptile activity. This unfortunate situation made me cancel about 3 different trips and kept me indoors for a long time. At last, weather forecasts showed some decent weather towards the end of the month and I couldn't be more excited. Indeed, the days after the 24th of March were expected to be great. I immediately started considering all of my options for a trip, and finally decided to do some 'Sporades special' herping targeting iconic snakes. This would eventually last until late April.
Chapter 1: The hunt for Malpolon on Skopelos (25 - 27 March)
With clear skies and temps ranging between 14 and 21 degrees celsius, a short stay on Skopelos seemed like the perfect choice. The idea was to catch some basking Montpellier snakes, with good chances for a ratsnake (Elaphe/Zamenis) as a bycatch. I also wanted to collect some field records for a project I am working on. So I booked a hotel room at the town of Skopelos and set off for 2 and a half days of hardcore herping.
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| Surfing the Aegean blue towards Skopelos on 25th March |
Arriving on Skopelos at 13:40, I was greeted by heat and a light breeze. I checked in at the hotel straight away and headed to some promising hills at the outskirts of the town. I hiked some really cool habitat consisting of pastures, olive groves and maquis. A few herps were found, such as a handful of Erhard's wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii), Snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus kitaibelii) and a young-ish Eastern montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus) which escaped twice into the thick vegetation. Chasing a snake again after 7 months felt unreal!
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| Typical olive grove habitat in the Sporades |
I soon headed to the town for some water and food and then started walking the plain between Skopelos town and Staphylos, but the sun quickly set behind the hills. Finding a DOR Green toad (Bufotes viridis) I decided to hike this rather humid area during the night, hoping to at least hear some calls. At approximately 19:15, toads started calling and I managed to find a breeding spot - a flooded field with several small vernal pools among the grass. Dozens of males had occupied this habitat and a huge chorus could be heard everywhere. Definitely a really pleasant surprise and at the same time a really cool discovery, as green toads were thought to be under serious extinction threat on the island and had not been documented for years. Back to the hotel, I ate junkfood and checked some spots to visit on the next day.
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| Male in a puddle |
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| By inflating their vocal sacs, male green toads produce an iconic high-pitched call |
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| Green toad (Bufotes viridis) |
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| Green toad (Bufotes viridis) |
On day two, temps made a slight fall, but clear skies and sunshine persisted. In the morning, I headed to some hills facing eastwards outside the town. The habitat could be described as mixed olive groves with stonewalls and in some spots phrygana and dense maquis. Erhard's wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) were the first to emerge, with a few Snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus kitaibelii) found crawling on the ground. While scanning stonewalls, a huge male Eastern montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus) that had just emerged to bask retreated into some dense bushes. Upon visiting the spot 30 minutes later, this humble giant was peeking out of a nearby stonewall. Did not make an attempt to catch it so instead I just took some distant in-situ pics for the record. Minutes later, I missed a much smaller Malpolon in an olive grove with tall grass. At this point I wasn't very optimistic about catching one.
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Mornin'! |
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| Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) emerging to bask |
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| Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| The gigantic male Malpolon basking in a stonewall |
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| With incredible eyesight, montpellier snakes are often impossible to approach |
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| Habitat |
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| View from the hills |
The rest of the day was spent at the agricultural plain of Staphylos, finding nothing but Erhard's wall lizards, Snake-eyed skinks and a single House gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus). A re-visit at the spot of yesterday's Malpolon revealed the same individual basking at the base of a stonewall, quickly retreating into a hole.
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| Horses and other farm animals are everywhere on Skopelos! |
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| Landscape near Staphylos |
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| Endless olive groves |
At about 17:30, I returned to the town and called it a day, frustrated and exhausted. I went to sleep knowing that I only had 4 available hours before boarding the ship on day 3. Waking up in the morning, I realized I had overslept and immediately packed my stuff to go herping. The weather was very nice, with enough humidity and temps around 16-17 degrees. I re-visited the hills from the previous day and again saw the huge male Malpolon basking on the same stonewall. I then headed to a different, more open olive grove and just as I was entering, a snake took off from the ground towards a stonewall. I dived for the grab and I finally had a really cool adult male montpellier snake on my hand!
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| Phone pic of the snake in its habitat |
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| Typical Malpolon pose |
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| Always grumpy! |
After a photosession and a short conversation with a local, the snake was back on its way and I was heading to Skopelos town. Down the hill, I was lucky to catch another individual that was basking at the side of a track, this time an adult female! And a really great looking specimen too. What a great way to end this trip! Literally caught two individuals of my target species within my last 2 hours on the island!
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| Stunning female Montpellier snake |
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| Female Montpellier snake |
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| View of the whole animal in its habitat |
Chapter 2: Caspian galore (29 March - 24 April)
Upon returning from Skopelos, I finally had some (limited) time to find some typical Alonissos species, in typical Alonissos landscapes. The weather was dry, with temps between 13 and 25 degrees celsius. At last, some decent rainfall came in mid April. Nevertheless, I managed to do some afternoon hikes as well as four full-days. Things were quite slow. Species found were Balkan green lizards (Lacerta trilineata), Erhard's wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii), Snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus kitaibelii), House geckoes (Hemidactylus turcicus), Kotschy's geckoes (Mediodactylus kotschyi) and some Caspian whip snakes (Dolichophis caspius). Attempts to find Leopard snake and Nose-horned viper were made, but to no avail.
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| Typical agricultural habitat at SW Alonissos |
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| Olive groves; habitat of pretty much everything |
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
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| Pair of Erhard's wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Male Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Snake habitat at central Alonissos |
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| Xeric, mixed olive grove |
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| Old ruins are great habitats |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| Reptiles are not the only inhabitants of the olive groves |
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| Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| At the hills of SW Alonissos |
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Scouting viper habitat
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| Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi) |
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| Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi) |
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| Gecko habitat |
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| Valley with olive groves and phrygana, surrounded by pines |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Pair of Erhard's wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) |
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| Landscape #1 |
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| Landscape #2 |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| View towards Patitiri bay |
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| Large female found in an agricultural area |
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| Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius) |
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| One of my favorite landscapes on the island |
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| Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), common orchid sharing the same habitat with plenty of herpetofauna |
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| Tongued orchid (Serapias bergonii) |
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| The lovely harbor of Steni Vala |
Chapter 3: Strange vacation on Skiathos (26 - 29 April)
Catching whipsnakes on Alonissos was fun, but I felt the urge to visit more islands and search for different species.
The original idea was to visit Skopelos again, this time later in the season, but I soon changed my plans and decided to head to the westernmost island of the archipelago - Skiathos. Despite being very crowded with tourists and rather overdeveloped, this small but humid, hilly and forested island has the most diverse herpetofauna of all the Sporades. With 17 species of reptiles and amphibians, visiting Skiathos would be a good way to add a few species to this spring's Sporades list. I booked a room for 3 nights (thus 4 days of herping) at the beach of Megali Ammos, west of the town.
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| Setting foot at Skiathos port |
Arriving on Skiathos, everything seemed to be going great. The weather was wonderful, and it was just 8:30 in the morning, meaning I had the whole day in front of me to herp. I instantly walked over to a mini market to get supplies and headed north, outside the town. Although I had no idea where to go, I soon picked a small dirt road leading to some olive groves where I flipped some rocks and got the first reptile of the trip - a juvenile house gecko. Great things have small beginnings, right? Finding nothing else in that spot, I headed to another olive grove that was situated next to a villa. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the first unlucky moment to show up - a juvenile four-lined snake, probably killed minutes ago, just outside the entrance of that villa... not the way I wanted to find my biggest goal for the trip.
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| First find on Skiathos |
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| First habitat on Skiathos - the gecko was under the rock at the right |
After the unfortunate find, I entered the olive grove next to the villa and saw a snake slip under a rock out of the corner of my eye. Upon lifting the rock, I had a wonderful Dahl's whip snake in my hands! Only 30 minutes on Skiathos and I had my first alive snake for the trip. After a quick photoshoot I was on my way to the next spot, always moving on foot via the main road.
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| Habitat of Platyceps najadum at the outskirts of the town |
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| Dahl's whip snake (Platyceps najadum) |
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| Dahl's whip snake (Platyceps najadum) |
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| Road to the NE coast of Skiathos |
I soon found myself at the NE part of the island, in a wonderful hilly landscape with several streams and abandoned olive groves. I saw several Balkan green lizards (Lacerta trilineata), which were extremely abundant compared to Skopelos and Alonissos. Another Dahl's whip snake was seen on the ground of a pasture, next to some sheep. I also walked a small section of a stream and some more olive groves, to no avail. At this point the heat was starting to get intense, so after a brief visit to the airport lake - where I saw a Little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) I returned to the port for lunch at a taverna. The rest of the day was not spent herping. I checked in at the hotel room and rested.
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| Dirt road to the NE hills - dahl's habitat on the left |
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| No frogs? |
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| Stream surrounded by its humble riparian forest |
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| Agios Georgios lake |
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Brief stop at a local taverna
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On day 2, I woke up early with the idea of hiking some hills NE of the hotel. Another good day was about to begin. The habitat there was very mixed - pine forests, maquis, pastures, olive groves and riparian zones all seperated by a big complex of agricultural dirt roads. I got there as soon as the sun had gotten up and hoped to find a snake thermoregulating on the stonewalls. Sure enough, I spotted a HUGE dahl's whipsnake basking on the base of a stonewall and immediately dived for the grab. The animal had just emerged from its refugium and was very cold. I measured it at about 125cm, which was probably a length record for the island! Nevertheless, I released it after the usual photoshoot and went on my way, finding some balkan green lizards basking.
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Morning view from the hotel room
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| Habitat view |
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A monster of a Dahl's whip snake caught basking on a stonewall; this impressive snake measured around 125cm TL
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| Dahl's whip snake (Platyceps najadum) |
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| Shy, as usual; Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
It was about 9 in the morning when I reached a stream surrounded by lush vegetation and olive groves, where I found a juvenile Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) stretched out in the middle of a path, adding another species to the list of this trip report. It had already been a really good day! Nothing else was found after that, other than a handful of balkan green lizards, so I made my way back to the hotel after stopping for some much-needed souvlaki at the town.
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| Juvenile Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) |
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| Juvenile Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) |
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| Habitat of four-lined snake |
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| Typical xeric olive grove with stonewalls |
After some deserved rest at the hotel, I got out again at 5 in the afternoon and made my way towards a stream at the outskirts of the town for a quick herping session. There I lost a tiny dahl's whip snake that was moving along the path, then another, much bigger unidentified snake (or perhaps glass lizard) that slithered into some scrubs. At last, I found another juvenile four-lined snake basking on a stonewall.
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| Juvenile Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) |
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| Juvenile Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) |
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| Typical agricultural orchard |
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| Riparian habitat |
Just like that, another day had ended. Back at the hotel room I was already planning day 3 and decided to head towards some streams and wetlands situated along the SW coast of the island to check for amphibians and terrapins. Won't go into much detail - I failed to find terrapins and only heard a single marsh frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri) calling at Vromolimnos marsh. Two dahl's whip snakes, some snake-eyed skinks (Ablepharus kitaibelii) and several balkan green lizards were also observed. Upon returning to the town for some coffee and breakfast, I returned to the hotel room through a dirt road and saw a dahl's whip snake escape.
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| The coastal stream of Platanias |
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| Vromolimnos marsh was incredibly overgrown with reeds... |
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| Landscape near Agia Paraskevi |
In the evening I decided to return to yesterday's spot, where I found nothing but a roadkilled four-lined snake on the main road.
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| When running out of bottled water in the field, the numerous freshwater springs on the island can save the day |
Day 4 was the most unproductive day, for some reason. I did a huge hike, reaching the Monastery of Evangelistria, through several dirt roads and back to the town, where I checked out from the hotel. An old subadult DOR four-lined snake was found, along with dozens of balkan green lizards, some snake-eyed skinks and an umidentified snake that vanished into the vegetation. Got some quick lunch and this was the end of the whole trip. Till next time...
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| Riparian forests are well-distributed across Skiathos |
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| Typical scenery while hiking Skiathos |
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| View towards the town, including the small islets just outside the harbor |
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| Typical Skiathos stream |
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
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| Juvenile Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
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| Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) |
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| That was my first time boarding the brand new Sporades Star vessel connecting the archipelago |
Epilogue: Despite the late start along with other difficulties, it was a great 1 month of herping this severely understudied island complex, finding several cool snakes. A handful of species were missed, but herping in the Northern Sporades is not over yet, and there is definitely more to come!
Species seen:
Green toad (Bufotes viridis)
Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri)
Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii)
Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)
Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi)
Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii ssp. ruthveni)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata)
Caspian whip snake (Dolichophis caspius)
Eastern montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus)
Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata)
Dahl's whip snake (Platyceps najadum)
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