Milos island

Milos is by far the most famous of the four islands inhabited by Macrovipera schweizeri. Its renown stems from the spectacular white rock formations and crystal-clear turquoise waters that adorn the island. In ancient times, Milos went by several names, including Zephyria, Mimallis, and Akitos. According to myth, the island eventually took the name “Milos” from a man who originally came from Delos and was its first resident. The island has a distinctive “U” shape, effectively “split” in the middle, with its western part designated as a Natura 2000 site. The viper occurs throughout the island, though its density varies by location. Its activity peaks in Spring, before the exceptionally high tourist season commences. It is generally elusive, particularly during the hot summer and colder winter months, making sightings a rare and special encounter for people visiting the island.

Milos is the largest of the three island the milos viper inhabits. It is also the island that receives the highest number of tourists, by far. In the below photos one can see why. The island offers a variety of different landscapes all of which are equally pleasing to the eyes. Three Natura 2000 areas have been designated on and around Milos island; GR4220030, GR4220020, GR4220005. This however has not stopped the construction of hotels right in the heart of the west part of the island. You can find more information about this here. 

Much like the other three islands, Milos serves as a stopover for passerine birds migrating from the southern to the northern hemisphere, where they rest and replenish their energy—especially during spring. The autumn migration is less intense, but it offers a unique opportunity for the Milos viper. During this period, the viper takes advantage of taller bushes and occasional trees, to ambush unsuspecting songbirds. Although this behavior can  also be observed in spring, it is more pronounced in autumn. A wide variety of songbird species use the island during their journeys, providing good opportunity for the viper to hunt. 

A relatively small adult viper (like the one in the photo below) is capable of catching as many as five songbirds in succession and may even position itself for a sixth chance while basking in the sun, fully exploiting the waves of migrating songbirds. An exceptionally efficient ambush predator. On the western side of Milos and on Polyaigos, the species appears to feed predominantly on birds, whereas on Sifnos, Kimolos, and eastern Milos it seems to have shifted towards a rodent-based diet; also taking full advantage of the opportunity presented thanks to humans. 

The herpetofauna of Milos island includes other species as well: Balkan frog (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri), Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata), Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), Kotchy's gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi), European snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii), Milos wall lizard (Podarcis milensis), Balkan green lizard (Lacerta trilineata hansschweizeri), European cat snake (Telescopus fallax), European ratsnake (Zamenis situla), Grass snake (Natrix natrix) 

A variety of orchid species can be observed on Milos during early spring—a curious sight given the island’s extremely low rainfall. The area around Lake Komia and the foothills of Profitis Ilias offer the best opportunity for such observations. Some of these orchid species also occur on neighboring islands, though they are far rarer there. 

Antimilos island

Although there is frequent speculation about the Milos viper occurring on the island of Antimilos—its name literally meaning “opposite (αντί) of Milos”—such a presence has never been confirmed. The herpetofauna of Antimilos currently includes only four reptile species: the European snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii), Kotchy’s gecko (Mediodactylus kotschyi), the Milos wall lizard (Podarcis milensis), and the Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata). The latter was introduced by humans and is not native to the island. The possibility of the grass snake (Natrix natrix) being present cannot be entirely ruled out, though the likelihood of its survival on such an arid island is extremely low. This slim probability stems from the existence of a man-made "rain tank" designed to collect rainwater, built to support the goats that were also introduced by humans. However, the cistern often dries out completely, and in such cases, water is transported via helicopter from water collections either from Naxos or Milos (Komia) to sustain the goat population. In these water collections, Natrix natrix occurs so it could get passively transported to Antimilos.