The weather already agreed with us at a breezy 28 degrees and we quickly left Sofia and set out on the big highway to our first base: Madzharovo, deep in the southeastern rhodopes. After many pleasant hours of roadworks we weren't halfway yet, so we decided to stop for a bite to eat and of course find our first herp of the trip. It turned out to be an Eastern green lizard (Lacerta viridis) which couldn't have ignored us more if it tried. After a quick bite of feta bread (literally feta baked into the bread, why don't we have that back home?) we continued to our destination.
Our next stop was at a parking lot with some trees and bushes. We searched for a bit, but did not find anything except for Scolopendra. When we decided to leave,Rob looked up and there, three meters above him, was an adult Caspian Whip Snake (Dolichophis caspius) hangin' out (yeah, I know) in a tree. Score. But it was determined to stay up there, despite any effort on our side to get a closer look. We left defeated by the snake.
We made a few more stops along the way to find some more of the common herps around: Marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus) were noisy everywhere, and we also found our first European pond terrapins (Emys orbicularis) and Common newts (Lissotriton vulgaris).
We tried to book a room at the Nature Centre in Madzharovo, but they were booked completely full for the first days. Madzharovo is an old mining village and only a fraction of the people stayed there when the mines closed, so there were plenty of rooms in the village left for us. We got shown a few and picked the one we liked the most (read: was the least crappy). We felt comfortable there immediately!
Up early to beat the warmth (it would be 30 degrees this day) we went for a hike up into the mountains behind the village. Somewhere on the top should be some Thracian tombs (very old) and we wanted to see them. There was even a hiking route going there, so it would be no trouble right? Well, this route was related to Schrodingers cat. It seemed to be simultaneously there and not there, leaving us backtracking half the time or abandoning it all together for a while until it showed a sign of existing nonetheless. But we made it thanks to some good navigation skills a good map app and a healthy dose of luck.
The landscape in the mountains is dotted with wells for the thirsty (be it man or cow) and all manner of amphibians felt at home in and around them.
The fun did not end there: both
Spur-thighed tortoise(
Testudo graeca)
and
Eastern Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni boettgeri) were present as well as the green lizard,
Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata) and
Erhard's wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii). We climbed up the mountain, wanting for snakes too. But only when we reached the summit we found our first one: an adult
Aesculapian snake (
Zamenis longissimus) waited for us on top of a bush. We looked at it lovingly and let it get back to whatever it was doing. Of course we wanted more, but that was not easy. We gazed upon the tombs, went down again, stumbled upon some birders baking in hides, waiting for vultures (they were not amused for disturbing them) got lost several times, ran out of water and had to drink from the wells for the cows and just kept going. And then, when we finally made it down from the mountain, we were awarded for our efforts: an adult
Dahl's whip snake (
Platyceps najadum), over a meter long. Just what we needed after a long day of hiking. After the appropriate gawking and taking of pictures we awarded ourselves a swim in the Arda river and a good meal.
We thought it would be good for our digestion to look for some more herps at night. We found a
Green toad (
Bufotes viridis) on the side of the road and for a non herp highlight: A European polecat decided to cross the road in front of us. After we returned to our room, we slept like babies.
Common toads always look comfortable everywhere.
Agile frog.
In Greece we stumbled across these Hermann's tortoise everywhere. Here on the other side of the rhodopi mountains they are considerably less common, but still easily found noisily strolling through the underbrush.
Staring deeply into each other's soul (Aesculapian snake).
In most wells you can find these Balkan crested newts.
beautiful prize at the end of the day, an adult Dahl's whip snake.
Another creature that we saw everywhere that has a quite unique look:
Nemoptera sinuata
18 May
After a well deserved good night of sleep, it was time for more herps (and maybe some birds), Destination, Kardzhali, with the biggest colony of Night herons in Europe within city limits.
stops along the way provided scenic views, our first
Dice snake (Natrix tessellata), Caspian whip snake, Dahl's whip snake, Spur-thighed tortoise and the ever abundant marsh frogs.
In Kardzhali, the night heron colony was a Very Nice Sight, according to one of us, but the others gave a very dark dice snake that was about to shed that title. After accidentally acquiring two kilograms of strawberries (language barrier for the win, they were delicious) we got out of the city and to Perperikon, the home of an oracle that rivaled the popularity of that of Delphi and predicted the grand victories of Alexander the Great. Now in ruins, it was still clear that it was a very big complex and it must have been an even more impressive sight back in the day.
In present times it is populated by green lizards, erhard's wall lizard, dahl's whip snake, and in the pool on top of the hill, Balkan crested newt and very hormonal marsh frogs.
And finally, our big miss of last year: a subadult
Nose-horned viper (
Vipera ammodytes) made its appearance! High fives were given all around.
around here you can sit down to enjoy the beautiful view and hear the herps crawling through the grass:
Erhard's Wall lizards can be seen everywhere when the sun is out
Green lizards are the noisy ones you'll hear going around everywhere
And finally, after a long search, the grand prize of the day, a well fed beautiful subadult nose-horned viper.
Black eared wheatears really like exposed stone piles as a lookout post, so an ancient ruin is a sure way to see one.
PSA: always check for ticks!
19 May
Out into the countryside again today, to hopefully find sand boas, olive-tree warblers and rock nuthatches. It would be 2 out of 3 today and a half collapsed mine to make up for the third.
We found a set of waterfalls with pools underneath, in a grassland surrounded by shrubs and vultures flying over our heads. In the pools were Common newts, Marsh frogs, European pond terrapin, dice snake and our first
Grass snake (Natrix natrix) and some more tortoises in the bushes.
A stop on the side of the road produced two singing olive-tree warblers and the next stop took us close to the river into sandy terrain. This would be our best shot at a sand boa.Some dilligent turning produced some
Worm snakes (
Xerotyphlops vermicularis) but no sign of the grand prize. One last quick look under a rock before getting in the car was our lucky shot: A whole photogenic 10 grams of
Sand Boa (
Eryx jaculus). Our day couldn't get any better.
Except for finding a cool mine after turning rocks for a day in 28 degree weather that helped us recover from an impending heat stroke. We found plenty of mines dotted across the landscape. Most are barred up or flooded, but this one was not, lucky for us.
A boa with an attitude!
Is it in the water or on land? Crystal clear creeks everywhere.
Green toad.
At the warmest time of day, we were getting worried we might become a meal.
one more beatiful invertebrate, the cream-spot-tiger (
Arctia villica)
20 May
Next destination: the Rila and Pirin mountains, a 350 kilometer trip that would be very boring on the highway. We took the local roads and stopped wherever it looked interesting, like an old soviet brick factory, devil's bridge (a byzantine era bridge that has been completely restored) and a medieval fortress that did not seem to have enough walls to repel any attack, but enough grain silos to bribe any attacking force. In the fortress we found some
Wall lizards (
Podarcis muralis). It took us a full day to get to our destination, a newly built motel near Simitli, but it is a nice way to get a feel for the countryside.
A full day of travel gave little time for herping. But this little guy was obliging for a picture. Common Wall Lizard.
Bonus creature: Lace border (
Scopula ornata)
21 May
Time to go vertical. We drove up to the Vihren, the highest mountain in the Pirin mountain range (2914 m) and a popular tourist spot in winter. We could drive up to 2100 meter and hiked the rest of the way to the top. At this height, spring had just started, Crocus were flowering everywhere and meltwater sometimes formed powerful torrents. Surrounded by Chamois, Alpine accentors, black redstarts, alpine choughs and the last hardcore skiing tourists, the herps here were just waking up.
Along our hike to the top we found
Viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara), Sand lizard (
Lacerta agilis), Adder (Vipera berus), snowballs
and spectacular views.
just moments after the snow is gone, the green completely takes over.
Truly just the start of spring up here.
even up high life is everywhere: a horned lark of the local mountain race.
Finally at 2900 meters, there are no more herps around, but the weather was so good, even the snowmen needed sunglasses.
More birds around that float lazily on the upward wind currents generated through the mountains. (Common buzzard)
Probably just awoken from hibernation here at 2600 meters. Adder.
Perspective can really play with your mind in this open landscape
Subadult sand lizard.
22 May
Kreshna gorge is a steep valley through which the Struma river flows. It is a relatively small protected area (17 km2) with no less than 31 herp species. There were plans to construct a highway through the valley, endangering the habitat of many species. After some action a tunnel will be built instead to protect the valley and allow for more traffic through the main Greece-Bulgaria route (going from 2 lanes to 4).
We made stops at all the little side roads of the main route and found the usual suspects: Green lizard, balkan green lizard, Hermann's tortoise, Spur-thighed tortoise, Yellow bellied toad, Marsh frog, a huge grass snake (our heaviest snake of the trip) a caspian whip snake (the longest snake of our trip) and some worm snakes. Under a stone under the edge of a wheat field, we found a new addition to our list; an adult
Slow worm (Anguis fragilis). We were a bit dissappointed with the number of species we found today, but the border police that stopped us when we were exploring a road near Macedonia was quite impressed when we showed them our pictures.
Camouflage does work. Almost missed the slow worm.
Beautifully colored adult Caspian Whip Snake.
You almost would not believe this is a grass snake.
White legged damselfly (
Platycnemis pennipes)
23 and 24 May
Our last full day already, we would be flying back very early in the morning of the 24th. Time flies when you are looking for herps.
Close by was the Rila monastery, the biggest Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria and definitely worth a visit, according to every Bulgarian tourist site there is. So who are we to argue that. On our way we first made a stop at Stob's Pyramids, a natural sandstone formation caused by rain erosion, or if you believe the legend, are petrified wedding guests. One way or the other, this was the first time we paid to see something, so we were there to enjoy it. En route we found plenty of green lizards,
Balkan wall lizards (Podarcis tauricus) and another big Caspian whip snake.
The monastery was indeed quite impressive, located deep in the Rila mountain range and actually still in use. It was definitely a big tourist attraction, as was proven by the stereotypical bus full of japanese tourists.
We even got a sign from above that we were on the right path when a subadult Aesculapian snake literally fell from the sky into our lap when we sat down for lunch at the monastery!!
Our final herp salute came when late in the evening in the softly flowing hills surrounding the Rila mountains we found a good looking adult
Smooth snake (
Coronella austriaca).
After one more very good meal at a little roadside restaurant in the middle of nowhere that was crammed with locals, we spent the night sightseeing in Sofia, an unexpectedly pleasant experience at one in the morning in a city bursting at the seems with history.
Tired but satisfied we finally stepped on the plane to take us back home, mentally making a note on the list of places to visit again.
The Rila monastery, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Bulgaria.
A gift from heaven, literally, as it fell into our lap from above when sitting at a table at the Rila monastery.
A beautiful subadult Aesculapian snake.
Balkan wall lizard.
Always interesting to watch a praying mantis hunt. It will watch you too (
Empusa fasciata).
a butterfly of the countryside and wheat fields: the Eastern festoon (
Zerynthia cerisyi)
Last score: smooth snake.
the end of our trip brought us to the famous Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
Sometimes Bulgaria would give us a high-five, other times it would stick its tongue out to us. It was an interesting and gratifying experience either way.
Trip list, herpetofauna:
- Fire salamander
- Common newt
- Balkan crested newt
- Common toad
- Green toad
- Yellow-bellied toad
- Common tree frog
- Agile frog
- Marsh frog
- Eastern Hermann’s tortoise
- Spur- thighed tortoise
- European pond terrapin
- Balkan green lizard
- Green lizard
- Common wall lizard
- Erhard’s wall lizard
- Balkan wall lizard
- Viviparous lizard
- Sand lizard
- Slow worm
- Sand boa
- Smooth snake
- Worm snake
- Caspian whip snake
- Aesculapian snake
- Dahl's whip snake
- Dice snake
- Grass snake
- Nose-horned viper
- Adder
