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I
had two reasons for wanting to visit Sisi on the north coast of
Crete; firstly I'd never been there, despite having been living on
the island for 14 years and secondly I'd been promised that I would
find Dice Snakes lounging in the rock pools just waiting to have
their photographs taken. What better way to start my series of Sunday
Strolls with an enthusiastic band of budding amateur naturalists in
tow? Sisi is only a small village but somehow Betty managed to get
lost in it before we had even started but after a slight delay whilst
we phoned her with directions we descended upon the rock pools. I
should point out at this juncture that to avoid confusion and boredom
by introducing loads of names into these stories (to say nothing of
potential ostracism and/or libel actions) all of the ladies will be
referred to as Betty and the gentlemen as Bert.
We
found plenty of life in the rock pools; everything from Peacock's
Tails (see Creature's
of the Blue Lagoon if you'd like to know where you put them on
your body and why), a couple of nice anemones including the Beadlet
that was just coming out to feed, a few young gobies and an intense
ecological battle. On one side of the battlefield there were a goodly
number of small but beautifully formed, Marble Crabs, which are a
native Mediterranean species and, lurking half under a rock, a much
larger Sally Lightfoot which is probably the most invasive crab in
the Mediterranean. First reported simultaneously off Ibiza and Italy
in 1999 and off Crete in 2006 they're eating the poor Marble Crabs
out of house and home. Where I live, in Ferma on the south east
coast, it's not unusual to see half a dozen or more on one short
snorkeling session. The main culprit? Increased shipping in the
Mediterranean.
Growing
around the rock pools was a fair amount of Rock Samphire, an edible
plant that one can pickle in vinegar or brine or use the leaves raw
on salads. I handed a few leaves round and I think that we all agreed
that we'd rather not. Whereas the unrelated Marsh Samphire has a
pleasant, salty taste that goes well with fish dishes, Rock Samphire
has a distinctly medicinal tang and could only accompany dental
mouthwash in my opinion. As we continued on our leisurely way around
the inlet, where ducks and geese lazed on the shore or honked across
the water impersonating fog horns' Betty came upon a bush of black
berries. As she correctly observed, they looked almost, but not
quite, like blackberries.
“Are they a
close relative?” she asked.
“Not
remotely”, I replied, “and what is more, the berries are
poisonous.”
“You
can't eat them then?” added Bert, just wanting to get everything
absolutely clear in his mind (which is always a top idea when
contemplating the consumption of anything in the wild).
“Er,
no,” I confirmed.
Betty
gave Bert a look which, if she'd turned it on the plant, would have
had the berries withering on the stalk but left Bert totally unfazed.
The
plant in question was Common Lantana, also known as the Bacon and Egg
Plant as its tricolour flowers, radiating from centre, are yellow,
white and raw bacon pink.
Of
more use around the home were the Chaste Trees that grew alongside
the road. Although used in herbal medicine as supposedly fine tuning
our circadian rhythms, its efficacy has yet to be proven
scientifically. Their common name derives from the fact that it was
considered an anaphrodisiac in ancient times and, according to Pliny,
it was used by Athenian women to cool the heat of lust in their
menfolk. Personally I use it as pot pourri because, even to my
anosmic snozzle, it smells pleasantly like lavender.
Insects
were a bit thin on the ground this week but as we passed through the
Bougainvillea bedecked arbour that leads back down to the sea I
managed to capture an Egyptian Grasshopper or Locust who seemed quite
happy to swap his resting place on the side of a tree for a similar
position on my index finger whilst Betty and Bert admired him.
“What's
the difference between a locust and a grasshopper?” asked Betty.
“Scientifically,
none,” I informed her, “but in common parlance, locusts usually
refer to the larger, strong flying grasshoppers such as this fellow,
that occasionally form migratory swarms and do significant damage to
crops on their way.”
Returning
said Grasshopper/Locust to a nearby tree where he promptly continued
his siesta, we made our way down to the spit that protects the little
harbour in search of birdies.
We
were instantly rewarded by a group of about fifteen large birds
flying in a somewhat ragged formation out to sea which I at first
took to be a phalanx of storks but on closer inspection of the
photograph back in the lab, turned out to be a flight of herons,
possibly a mixture of grey and purple herons but that could be a
trick of the light. On the spit itself we were entertained by a
couple of kingfishers chasing each other around the rocks. Autumn is
the season when Kingfishers begin their courtship with the male
chasing the female, calling after her almost incessantly. Later she
will accept presents of fish but they will not merge their
territories until the spring as each bird needs to eat 60% of its
body weight each day.
So,
no snakes, but plenty of other wildlife and we meandered back to one
of the many seafront tavernas where we played at being kingfishers
and attempted to consume 60% of our bodyweight in gyros and chips. If
you'd like to join Betty, Bert and I then details of the next two
Sunday strolls are below. Otherwise just click on the 'G+ Follow'
icon in the top left panel to keep abreast of our adventures. Until
next week, when I let Betty and Bert loose in a wildlife refuge,
enjoy your autumn wherever you are.
Diary
Dates
Stroll
#2
Sunday
30th
September
11
am
Ag.
Charalampos, Lassithi Plateau
A
gentle walk around the lower slopes of the Plathini-Lagkada Wildlife
Refuge where I hope that we shall see some Griffon Vultures (unless
they see me coming and decamp like the Dice Snakes).
Stroll
#3
Sunday
7th October
11
am
Kroustas
Forest
(Details
next week)
Photographic
Bit
Many
of you have asked me
what photographic equipment I use so for details of aperture
settings, shutter speeds etc. my pictures will be on Flickr
within
a few days and that has all the geeky stuff.Pictures
were edited with FastStone Image Viewer and combined with Microsoft
Paint.
*********************************************************************
LINKS:
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.
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
thanks,
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