Seasons Greetings to all.
I'm currently pupating but The Crete Nature Blog will be back in the New Year.
Monday 24 December 2018
Wednesday 24 October 2018
Betty and Bert Go It Alone at Bramiana Reservoir
Hello, I’m a regular Betty on Steve’s Sunday strolls. We were just leaving home when I saw a message
saying Steve was indisposed and unable to lead our planned Sunday Stroll.
Undaunted, my Bert said, ‘Let’s go anyway, perhaps some of the
others will miss the message and turn up.’
One of the reasons my Bert was so keen
to continue with the stroll was to see just how low the water level
in Bramiana Reservoir, near Ierapetra had fallen. This first photo
was taken on our visit in January 2008, just before the winter rains
set in.
As you can see from the second photo,
the drought this year was, and still is causing concern. Last winter
in East Crete only delivered 25% of the usual rainfall.
At the appointed meeting time another
Bert and two Betties arrived, and like us said they still wanted to
stroll. The first part of the track had that lovely sticky herb
called Dittrichia that to me is one of the scents of Crete. Tatty remains
of caper plants edged the path interspersed with dried grasses waving
in the breeze.
Bert (not mine) seemed quite impressed
when I pointed out the very intact remains of a watermill. The water
used to run along a channel in the top then drop down to turn a
wheel. When we walked closer we paused and pondered over the other
ruined buildings guessing they may have been grain/flour stores and
miller’s homes.
Just after this, the three other
strollers returned to their car while my Bert and I set off to walk
right around the puddle that used to be a reservoir.
"What are those
birds on the water?" I asked my Bert.
Oh, now we missed Steve with his long
focus camera and expertise. Our answer, unless anyone knows
different, is a flock of black blobs. (I think that they are probably Coots - Steve) I can just imagine flocks of migrating
wildfowl coming in to land where the water should be and circling
around squawking at each other to check if they’d come to the right
place.
A bit further on and Bert whipped his
binoculars out to see what bird had just landed – he said it was a
heron. Looking at my photos when back home I got very excited to see
the turtle – it is isn’t it?? On previous visits we have
certainly seen turtles on exposed rocks basking in the sun. (Yes; two mallards, a turtle and a heron - Steve) Other birds spotted on our walk
included a tuneful blue rock thrush, goldfinches, grey herons,
mallards, a white goose, various gulls and falcons.
All being well, normal service will
resume with Steve next week and by then I shall be back in the UK for
a few months eager to get my fix of the Crete nature via this great
blog.
Me? Oh, I’m a blogger too and you can
find me at www.kritsayvonne.com
My greatest thank to Yvonne and Alan Payne for taking over and leading this Sunday Stroll and particularly to Yvonne for writing this week's blog. It is at this point that I usually bang on about my book, Not Just For... Twisted Women, but this week I think it only fair to highlight Yvonne's excellent historical novels Kritsotopoula and the recently released follow up Rodanthe's Gift...
Years later, the ruling Pasha orders Rodanthe’s kidnap intent on making her his wife. Determined not to yield, Rodanthe tricks the Pasha, and then flees to the mountains dressed as a young man. After joining rebels as Spanomanolis (Beardless Manolis), she draws on her unusual experiences and rare education to maintain her disguise throughout daring raids.
Now, honored as Kritsotopoula (Girl of Kritsa), villagers celebrate Rodanthe’s exploits annually in front of a poignant stone carving. This monument portrays the moment in 1823 when brave Rodanthe's secret was exposed – a point mirrored as this story culminates with a twist.
Kritsotopoula, Girl of Kritsa - Yvonne Payne
In
January 1823, four mourners stand over the shrouded body of the
exceptional female rebel, Rodanthe. Each suffers the loss of a
daughter, friend, lost love or valued ally.Her injured papa,
Mathaios, kneels at her graveside, begging forgiveness for his
sinful decision to keep her baptismal gold a secret. He later
bequests the remaining coins to her young friend Petros. A gift
with consequences beyond imagination.Kostas loved Rodanthe, but
only realised this truth moments before her death. Now dependent
on others for his mobility, he resolves to play a significant role
in the continuing conflict.When rebel leader Captain Kazanis
leaves the graveyard, his focus is on leading the local fight for
freedom. However, betrayal and grief take him far beyond his
beloved Crete.Such is the importance of Rodanthe and Kazanis,
their home villages in Crete hold annual remembrance services for
them, and on the Greek mainland, the place renamed The Sacred City
of Missolonghi holds an annual re-enactment of the exodos in The
Garden of Heroes. 'Yvonne Payne’s no-holds-barred historical
adventure rips along at a breathless pace. I loved it.' - Richard
Clark, acclaimed author of Eastern Crete – A Notebook and other
Greek travel guides.
|
Diary Dates
11 am
Ha Canyon (lower part)
Sunday 4th November
11 am
Tholos
Tholos
(Details next week)
*********************************************************************
LINKS:
Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)
Explore the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking and Nature Map
Wednesday 17 October 2018
Almyros Wetlands
Betty
and Bert looked dashing with their multi pocketed jackets, thick
trousers and wellington boots. They also looked somewhat incongruous,
as all of our similarly attired group did, as we trudged along the
sandy beach between two rows of scantily clad sunbathers on sun
loungers. Magnanimously ignoring the stares and giggles we eventually crossed the little bridge at the end and squelched our way along a
marshy path through the Giant Canes to the river bank. A Western
Caspian Turtle, Mauremys rivulata, surprised at the sudden
appearance of our motley crew, faltered in mid stroke and dived into
the weeds at the bottom.
As
we took it in turns to gain access to the river bank the remaining
members of the party investigated the undergrowth. Bert suddenly
dived in among a patch of smaller reeds and emerged triumphantly with
a Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa.
“Do
they bite?” asked Betty.
“They
can take a male's head off during mating,” I informed her.
Betty
paused to consider this, “Oh, I don't think that Bert's likely to
do that with it,” she said.
I
wonder about Betty sometimes.
Our
next find among the reeds was a whole mass of Paper Wasps, (Polistes
sp.) at the nest. There are over three hundred different species
and subspecies of Paper Wasps around the world and hymenopterists
(the bods who study Ants, Bees and Wasps) keep themselves endlessly
amused trying to sort them all out. Currently, the name Polistes
bucharensis is gaining favour for the predominantly Greek species
but it has been noted1 that the Cretan Paper Wasps have
slightly different features to those found on the mainland so, who
knows, maybe an endemic subspecies is in the offing? They are not
generally aggressive wasps but they will defend the nest if you annoy
them.
“What
sort of things annoy them?” asked Betty.
“Sticking
a bloomin' great camera lens up their backsides for a start,” I
replied as she wriggled in to get a closer shot.
Elated with our finds thus far we followed the trail towards the spring and pond that feeds this very short but amazingly wide river. (The river length from pond to sea is about 200m). Proceeding in crocodile fashion we came upon an obstacle. Somebody had extended their garden into the wetlands and obliterated the path.
“Humph!”
snorted Betty and squeezed through a gap in the ramshackle fencing.
But
there was no way through and we had to reverse crocodile back to the
beach but it gave us a chance to examine the wonderfully misnamed
beach flora. Sea Lavender is not related to Lavender; Sea Daffodils
are not true daffodils although they are, at least, in the same
subfamily; and Sea Holly isn't even closely related to Holly. Which
is why botanists use scientific names, they're not just trying to
sound intelligent (not all of them anyway).
We
trudged back through the sunbathers, liberally distributing wan
smiles as we did so, and made our way to the pond via the main road.
A kingfisher darted across the pond as we arrived and I distinctly
heard a Greenfinch somewhere in the trees. Unusual at this time of
year. But amidst the Muscovy Ducks, Mallards and Domestic Geese on
the pond was a bird that I was pleased to see: a Common Moorhen,
Gallinula chloropus. Common they may be, generally speaking,
but I rarely see them down this end of the island.
The
Taverna Bit
We
headed south to the nearby village of Ammoudara for lunch and thanks
to all at The
Ammoudara Beach Taverna for
providing an excellent lunch.
Diary
Dates
Sunday 21st October
11
am
Bramiana
Reservoir, Ierapetra
A lovely place to see autumn birds and much more besides. See Bramiana In Winter and check out the water level in January 2014. It has dropped considerably since then as you will see on Sunday.
Stroll #6
Sunday
28th October
11
am
Ha
Canyon (lower part)
(Details
next week)
Not
Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Kindle Edition 1.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent). Paperback edition will be available in time for Christmas. Read snippets, samples and stuff at Steve's Books |
*********************************************************************
LINKS:
Share
your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists
(the
facebook page that accompanies this blog)
Explore
the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking
and Nature Map
Wednesday 10 October 2018
Kroustas Forest
Last
week we were looking for Griffon Vultures on the heights above
Lasithi Plateau. We found some but they were flying very high. This
week as we gathered on the forest road we were treated to the inspiring spectacle of nine of these magnificent birds not fifty feet
above our heads. Standing half as tall as a man and with a nine foot
wingspan they truly are awesome birds. Like all vultures they feed on
carrion and will often circle around elderly animals that seem to
have difficulty moving. As this accurately describes quite a number of
our Sunday Strollers we considered it wise to move into the cover of
the trees without further delay.
Kroustas
is primarily a pine forest but it was the Juniper that caught the
group's interest. Possibly because I informed them that a handful of
juniper berries, when added to a bottle of the local moonshine and
left to steep, gave a result that was (to paraphrase Douglas Adams)
something that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike gin. With
Christmas not so far away they fell upon the bush like a swarm of
locusts. Still on the Christmas theme, high above our heads Mistletoe
was growing in large enticing balls. Although parasitic it does very
little harm to the trees and is a net benefactor to the forest. Its
berries attract birds, small mammals and insects which increases the
biodiversity of the area. An American
study showed that twice as many juniper bushes sprouted where
mistletoe was present compared with areas where no mistletoe existed.
The seeds of both plants being distributed via the digestive systems
of birds and small mammals and mistletoe is better at marketing its
presence than juniper.
We
emerged from the forest onto a rocky outcrop with tremendous views
over the lower forest and the Gulf of Mirabello. I placed three of
our gentlemen on said outcrop in the hope of enticing the vultures
back and went off to study butterflies. Last week we saw the Painted
Lady (Vanessa cardui) and this week it was her sister, the Red
Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), who was following us about. So, if
your name is Vanessa, you are named after a beautiful butterfly.
After that, of course, you have a choice of being a burly Russian
seaman or a Portsmouth lady of the night, so it's probably best to
stop at butterfly.
We
then moved off to a different part of the forest, the location of
which I will not reveal. The reason being that Steve Lenton, our
semi-resident botanist came across a small plant which looked as if
it had been dreamed up by the makers of Dr. Who. This was the Cretan
Biarum (Biarum davisii) a flower (honestly) that is on the IUCN
list as 'near threatened'. The reason it is near threatened is
because the major threat is from avaricious rare bulb collectors and
hence the reason for not publishing its exact location as it has
never been recorded in this area of Crete before. Rare bulb and rare
animal collectors are the scourge of biodiversity and should be put
up against the wall and shot in my opinion.
Dragonflies
were also darting around us, which may seem odd in a habitat that had
no rivers, streams or ponds, as dragonfly larvae are aquatic. But all
dragonflies have different requirements. Some like to lay their eggs
in running water and some in standing water. This particular
dragonfly, the Red-veined Darter, lays its eggs in shallow puddles as
do all in the genus Sympetrum and when it rains in a forest,
shallow puddles become particularly abundant.
The
Taverna Bit
Having
completed two strolls in one morning we repaired to lunch at the
Matraia taverna in Kroustas village to replace any calories which we
may have inadvertently burnt off in the preceding couple of hours. A
lovely liver in red wine sauce was the special of the day so quite
few of us opted to top up our iron and antioxidant levels.
Diary Dates
Sunday
14th
October
11
am
Almyros
Wetlands, south of Agios Nikolaos
Stroll #5
Sunday
21st October
11
am
Bramiana
Reservoir
(Details
next week)
Not
Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels
A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Kindle Edition 1.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent). Paperback edition will be available in time for Christmas.
Read snippets, samples and
stuff at Steve's
Books
|
*********************************************************************
LINKS:
Share
your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists
(the
facebook page that accompanies this blog)
Explore
the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking
and Nature Map
Tuesday 2 October 2018
The Oldest Saint
As
I dropped down onto the Lasithi Plateau a Buzzard launched itself
from a telegraph pole, narrowly missed my windshield and crashed into
the undergrowth to my left where it had obviously spotted its unwary
breakfast. That was a good omen as I was taking my little group of
intrepid strollers to the heights above Agios Charalampos to look for
Grifon Vultures. The saint, after whom the village is named, was
reputedly 114 years old when he was martyred for his Christian
preaching in the 3rd century, thus making him the oldest
saint and his claim to fame was that, whilst being tortured, one of
his torturers arms miraculously fell off and another had his head put
on backwards. I think that I am more inclined to believe in Betty's
black snake but more of that later.
As
our little band negotiated the steep, narrow alleyways through the
village and emerged on the hillside above the plateau we did indeed
see Grifon Vultures and other high flying birds but it was the
smaller passerines that really brought the day alive, particularly
the flocks of Goldfinch. These birds are resident here in Crete but
in the autumn they gather in flocks, their numbers swollen by birds
migrating south from eastern Europe. As we exited the top of the
village however, it was domestic fowl that caught the ever observant
Betty's eye.
“Oh,
look,” she said, looking up to where a group of birds were
admonishing us from their pen on top of a house “turkeys!”
“Actually,'
I said, not wishing to dampen her enthusiasm, “I think you'll find
that they are guinea fowl.”
“They're
too tall for guinea fowl,” Betty challenged.
“They're
standing on the roof,” I pointed out.
Meanwhile,
back to the chaffinch. The tall plant upon which she is perched is a
Wavyleaf Mullein and the landscape was littered with them in various
stages of life. Apart from providing staging posts for the
goldfinches, leaf warblers, stonechats and sparrows, all of which
were gaily flitting about on this fine autumn morning, I noticed that
one had also attracted a tachinid fly. Not the nicest of flies; their
maggots chew their way into unsuspecting caterpillars and eat them
slowly from the inside, making sure to keep them alive as they do so,
until they are almost ready to leave their host. At this point they
feed indiscriminately, the caterpillar dies and the maggot wanders
off to pupate in the ground without so much as a by-your-leave.
Caterpillars
that are not devoured from within eventually become butterflies, of
course, and these were dancing around at our feet, enjoying the
nectar rich Sweet Scabious that grew by the side of the track. The
name of the plant derives from the fact that it was used to treat
scabies (an itchy rash caused by a mite infestation under the skin)
in the middle ages. The Small White butterfly is a male which has
only one spot on each forewing whereas the female has two. The other
butterfly is the amazing Painted Lady which, although resident here,
occurs in larger numbers in autumn and winter like the Goldfinches
and the reason is the same: they migrate. Over six generations they
make an incredible 9,000 mile round trip from Africa to the Arctic
and back (see Secrets
of Painted Lady migration revealed ).
Noticing
a sign at the side of the road pointing the way to the Cave of
Charalampos, Bert decided to go and investigate. Seeing her loving
husband peering into what appeared to be a very large hole in the
ground Betty thought that she had better go and join him to 'make
sure he doesn't fall in' (at least, I think that she said doesn't). I
trailed on behind, pausing to take a photograph of an old friend,
Chorthippus
bornhalmi.
The 'cave' turned out to be a rather unimpressive hole in the ground.
Presumably the roof had caved in since the 18th
century BC when it was a seven chambered ossuary. Besides the bones,
archaeologists also found clay figurines and musical rattles called
sistra about which, I expect, they got very excited.
Having
quickly exhausted the thrill of the cave I took to my favourite
hobby; rock flipping (there used to be an annual rock flipping day
but it seems to have died a death in 2009) and discovered a lovely
little Green Toad.
“Amphibians
and reptiles are often put together,” said Bert, getting down to
take a closer look, “is that because they are closely related?”
The
toad and Bert looked at each other with mutual interest whist I
wracked my brains to remember who evolved when.
“Yes,”
I replied, “Amphibians evolved from the early fish and have both
lungs and gills. Reptiles are an offshoot of Amphibians and have only
lungs. Mammals, such as ourselves, and later, Birds, are offshoots of
reptiles.”
“Talking
of reptiles,” interjected Betty, “I saw a huge black snake here
on Crete once and I was told that it must have escaped from a private
collection. What do you think?”
“How
big is huge?” I asked.
“About
two inches in diameter,” she indicated, joining thumb and
forefinger together, “and it stretched all across the road with its
head disappearing into the undergrowth on one side of the road and
its tail out of sight on the other side.”
“Not
one of the four Cretan snakes,” I ventured “but I know what it
sounds like.”
“What?”
asked Bert, carefully replacing the stone over the now disgruntled
toad.
“A
black plastic water pipe.”
“It
wasn't a water pipe,” said Betty, indignantly, “it moved”.
“They
can be quite lively,” I explained, “if they get an air lock.”
Betty
was not convinced and I had to confess that, not being familiar with
all the snakes in the world, an escapee remained a plausible
alternative.
The
Taverna Bit
Thanks
to all at Spani's Taverna in Charalampos who hastily rearranged their
restaurant furniture when we descended upon them en masse and they also provided an excellent menu. The barbecued chicken and roast potatoes
were beautiful.
Diary
Dates
Stroll
#3
Sunday
7th October
11
am
Kroustas
Forest
A
mushrooming we will go (and hopefully find many more interesting
things besides). Here and above are the maps. Take the Kroustas - Prina road and look for the only yellow litter bin on that road. See you on Sunday
Sunday
14th October
11
am
Almyros
Wetlands
(Details
next week)
Not
Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Kindle Edition 1.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent). Paperback edition will be available in time for Christmas. Read snippets, samples and stuff at Steve's Books |
*********************************************************************
LINKS:
Share
your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists
(the
facebook page that accompanies this blog)
Explore
the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking
and Nature Map
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Recent Posts
-
Crown Daisies, Glebionis coronaria We are nearly at the end of our journey down the Milonas Valley but before we reach the point whe...
-
As the first part of our walk today takes us along the road from where we finished last week I thought we'd make an early start of i...
-
Before we begin, Chodov is now a suburb of Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. Previously, the Kingdom of Bohemia occupied the western ...
-
Last week we investigated the valley mouth at Agios Fotia where it opens onto the sea so let’s continue our journey inland, along the r...
-
A beautiful sunny start to 2018 and I wish you all a Happy New Year. The other day I passed the back of a curious concrete structure sout...