Peloponnese - May 2022
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 10:24 pm
Me and my wife had probably a last chance to made a without baby trip for a long time, so we pack our van and headed to Greece. She was pregnant, so it was mainly a vacation, longer hikes or detours to the mountains were not possible. But I still managed to spend some time looking for herps between all those delicious meals and lying on the beaches. For me it was a first time there and I have to say I really love it.
Meteora stop on the way.
We started in a north-west part with a baby Hermann's tortoise as a first reptile encounter. When I was looking for snakes I found just a scorpions.. At night also without success, saw many Scops owls and Little owl but no snake. On the way back I noticed something bright green on the bush next to a road - first African chameleon! In a while I found other one not far a way high up in a pine. I did not want to disturb them, so I do not have any good photos, returned back in the morning, but both were gone.
Blind snakes, grass snake and a lot of water frogs (P. epeiroticus?) around a lake nearby.
Forrests around looked great for Vipers or Four-lined snakes, I tried at mornings, evenings even night times, but with no luck. I was only able to find lot of Hermanns tortoises, Kotschy's geckoes, Balkan green lizards and a single Dahl's whip snake
We moved more south by a western coast to a little lake. It was scorching hot, no rain for a long time. So I tried a small gorge. Shady place delivered first Greek rock lizard and Greek algyroides. Both species was very shy and hard to take a photo. Also baby Dice snake disappeared in a water.
On the way back to a lake I have to break hard because of a snake stretched over the road. I though it is a dor snake, but it was very live Balkan whip snake. After removing to a safe place I was still wondering why in the middle of the road in the hottest part of the day... weird snake.
After a night walk when I found just a friendly pack of stray dogs I tried lake shores early morning. It brough two beautiful Montpellier snakes, both terrapin species and some swiming Dice snakes.
[
We could not missed famous Gialova lagoon, spend three days around and found in total 12 chamaleons. All at night and some of them was kind enough to stay in same branches till morning so we were allowed to admire them also in daylight. Only one was a big adult, the rest were all young animals. Exept chameleons I found some other species, like Tree frogs, Turkish geckoes, many Glass lizards, Hermann's tortoises and also first Peloponnese wall lizards.
it is too long, to be continue..
Meteora stop on the way.
We started in a north-west part with a baby Hermann's tortoise as a first reptile encounter. When I was looking for snakes I found just a scorpions.. At night also without success, saw many Scops owls and Little owl but no snake. On the way back I noticed something bright green on the bush next to a road - first African chameleon! In a while I found other one not far a way high up in a pine. I did not want to disturb them, so I do not have any good photos, returned back in the morning, but both were gone.
Blind snakes, grass snake and a lot of water frogs (P. epeiroticus?) around a lake nearby.
Forrests around looked great for Vipers or Four-lined snakes, I tried at mornings, evenings even night times, but with no luck. I was only able to find lot of Hermanns tortoises, Kotschy's geckoes, Balkan green lizards and a single Dahl's whip snake
We moved more south by a western coast to a little lake. It was scorching hot, no rain for a long time. So I tried a small gorge. Shady place delivered first Greek rock lizard and Greek algyroides. Both species was very shy and hard to take a photo. Also baby Dice snake disappeared in a water.
On the way back to a lake I have to break hard because of a snake stretched over the road. I though it is a dor snake, but it was very live Balkan whip snake. After removing to a safe place I was still wondering why in the middle of the road in the hottest part of the day... weird snake.
After a night walk when I found just a friendly pack of stray dogs I tried lake shores early morning. It brough two beautiful Montpellier snakes, both terrapin species and some swiming Dice snakes.
[
We could not missed famous Gialova lagoon, spend three days around and found in total 12 chamaleons. All at night and some of them was kind enough to stay in same branches till morning so we were allowed to admire them also in daylight. Only one was a big adult, the rest were all young animals. Exept chameleons I found some other species, like Tree frogs, Turkish geckoes, many Glass lizards, Hermann's tortoises and also first Peloponnese wall lizards.
it is too long, to be continue..