April is peak spring in lowland Greece, and might be the best month for finding reptiles in most of the central and southern part of the country. Despite this, I thought I'd take it easy this April and focus on two special islands. The first one was of course going to be Evia, which has been the center of our fieldwork this year as part of an ongoing project. After a few succesful sessions in March (available
here), we visited the island again during the very first days of the month, which yielded a couple of Leopard snakes (
Zamenis situla), among other things.
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| Leopard snake (Zamenis situla), Evia |
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| Leopard snake (Zamenis situla), striped male, Evia |
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| Ruins in Central Evia |
As Easter holidays were approaching, I decided to spend them with my family on Alonissos. Before boarding the ferry, we wanted to try our luck at the northern part of Evia, visiting a few localities before finally making it to Mantoudi port to catch the ferry. This time, we were joined by our good friend Alex, who was going to follow me on to Alonissos. We managed to turn up a few things, including Dahl's whipsnake (Platyceps najadum), Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) and another Leopard snake (Zamenis situla). Alex and I then said our goodbyes to Plato and got on the ferry to the Sporades.
The first week of my Easter holidays on Alonissos included no herping, but during week 2 I decided to give my old and trusty spots at the more remote areas of the island a few tries. All lizard species of Alonissos were seen in good numbers, and I also managed to find Balkan green lizards (Lacerta trilineata) in some new spots I hadn't previously seen them in. Lacerta are not very common on this island, likely due to the abundance of Erhard's wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii ruthveni). A handful of Caspian whipsnakes (Dolichophis caspius) were also encountered, as well as 3 Nose-horned vipers (Vipera ammodytes). One was a huge 70cm male that was in shed. Although good basking conditions were limited during my visit, Alonissos did not disapoint! It felt good to be back.
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| Boarding the ferry in Mantoudi |
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| Typical Central Alonissos |
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| Alonissos has a good hiking trail coverage |
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| Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi), Alonissos |
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| Steni Vala harbour - where I spent my summers growing up |
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| Southern white admiral (Limenitis reducta) |
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| Horseshoe orchid (Ophrys ferrum-equinum) |
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| Typical habitat near Geladias peak |
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| View from the higher elevations of Alonissos, overlooking Peristera, Skantzoura and the Adelfia islets |
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| Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius), Alonissos |
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| Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius), Alonissos |
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| Male Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), Alonissos |
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Male Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), Alonissos
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| Juvenile Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius), Alonissos |
On the day of my return from Alonissos to Athens, Alex and Plato were grinding in central Evia since the early morning hours. We agreed that they would pick me up at 3:20 in the afternoon from Mantoudi port, where we would visit a couple of spots in search of Dolichophis before making our way back to the metropolis. The ferry was slightly late, and upon arrival I was greeted by a crazy rainstorm. We still managed to visit one spot near the port after the rainfall ended. There we found a few cool animals and met an even cooler property owner who showed us a spot where he had previously seen a female viper - luckily the snake was still there! It was really nice showing him these animals up close and personal.
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| The grasslands of Northern Evia on a rainy day |
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| Sub-adult Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius), Evia |
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| Sub-adult Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius), Evia |
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| Male Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), Evia |
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| Male Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), Evia |
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| Female Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), Evia |
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| The pair |
Species seen
Alonissos:
Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes)
Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata)
Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii ruthveni)
Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi)
House gecko (Hemidatylus turcicus)
Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii)
Evia:
Leopard snake (Zamenis situla)
Nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes)
Dahl's whipsnake (Platyceps najadum)
Caspian whipsnake (Dolichophis caspius)
Glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus)
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata)
Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii livadiaca)
Ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus)
Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii)
Kotschy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi)
House gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)
Marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata)
Marsh frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri)
Green toad (Bufotes viridis)
