Toplou Gorge

Welcome to the all new fortnightly Series 9 of the #CreteNature Blog with a host of new features to come.

Out & About

Winter is early and severe this year as the weather system 'Telemachos' comes marching through on the heels of weather system 'Sofia' and now we have storm Zeus. Not that that deters us naturalists of course and on January 7^th I set off with amateur botanist Julia Cross and a small group of intrepid individuals to explore the Toplou Gorge on the north east coast of the island.

Flowers were few and far between but the Poppy Anemones (Anemone coronaria) were abundant and there were a fair few Mediterranean Mandrakes in flower (Mandragora officinarum) as well as a couple of Friar's Cowls (Arisarum vulgare). Pride of place however must be given to a small yellow job with a couple of black dots which Julia informed me was a Scorpion Violet (Viola scorpiuroides). This was originally a north African plant but can now be found in east and west Crete as well as on the islands of Kythera and Antikythera. Sorry about the quality of the photograph but the light shower in which we'd set off had now turned to freezing rain.

The rain turned to hail, we sheltered under a carob tree and I had an irresistible urge to cuddle up to one of the big, hairy goats nearby for warmth. These proved to be virtually the only animal life that we saw that day. I heard a few larks and a solitary raven but everything else had more sense than to be out in that weather. We waited until the hail had stopped bouncing off the goats and continued down past some caves that definitely looked worth exploring on a warmer day.

At the bottom of the gorge we came to some large pools where I found some Whirligig Beetles of the Gyrinidae family spinning around like tops which is fairly characteristic and some nice green algae of which I took a sample to look at under the microscope later. We didn't stop long at the pools as none of us had had the foresight to bring our swimming costumes but trekked back up the adjoining ravine which involved a short but somewhat steep climb of about 200m and made me realise that I was still carrying a fair few pounds of Christmas fayre. Still, thank you Julia & Co. for an interesting afternoon in good company.

Walking Notes

This would make a nice day trip from nearby Sitia (15mins by car), Makry Gialos (1 hour), Ierapetra (1 hour 30 mins) or even Agios Nilolaos (1 hour 45 mins). Use the #CreteNature interactive Hiking and Nature Map for routes. The walk starts from the north side of the main road about 200m to the west of the Toplou monastery. There is a small route map on a post. Wear trainers, be prepared for a bit of scrambling, follow the splashes of red paint on the rocks and remember to tie the gate shut behind you about 100m from the start.

Fieldcraft & Foraging

This is one of the new sections I'm building into the blog which I hope will be of interest. This tip concerns using trees as compasses. Every area of the world has a prevailing wind direction. Here in Crete the prevailing wind comes from the north west (in England it is from the south west). Trees in exposed locations, like these at the end of the Toplou Gorge walk, point in the opposite direction from the prevailing wind, i.e. south east. If the location is not so exposed as to make the trees lean in any obvious direction take a look at the roots. The strongest and longest will point in the direction of the prevailing winds as this is where the tree needs the most support.

In The Lab

And another new section. Actually, a bit of a misnomer as the lab is still in the planning stage and bits of it are strewn all over the house and garden at the moment. However, the green algae that I sampled from the Toplou Gorge pools was duly placed under the microscope and looked like this at x1600 magnification. These are desmids of the genus Mougeotia who, rather than pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to get the carbon that they need for photosynthesis, extract it directly from the limestone. The little fish like organisms with the red eyes that you can see towards the top of the picture are single celled flagellates called Euglena.

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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

Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels  Read snippets, samples and stuff at Steve's Books

Cretan Flora   Flowers of Crete   BIRDS OF CRETE   Crete Birding   Greek Butterflies and Moths      Aquaworld Aquarium 

Life In The Uplands

That nice little mountain road that we found last week soon petered out into a dirt track but what the heck, we’ll see more by cutting across country anyway. Now that autumn is getting underway and there’s a bit more moisture about a few more flowers are starting to appear. They’re usually small up here remember so keep your eyes peeled and look in the nooks and crannies of the rocks.

Autumn Flowers of the Uplands

We seem to have a nice little collection: firstly the shade loving Friar’s Cowl, Arisarum vulgare; some Spiny Restharrow, Ononis spinosa,in a damp hollow; a type of Dandelion with inward rolling florets, Taraxacum bithynicum; a stemless Thistle keeping out of the wind, Carlina gummifera; and a beautiful little crocus-like flower called Sternbergia greuteriana which is a bit of a rarity that requires a CITES permit to export so we won’t tell everyone exactly where we found it or those insidious bulb collectors will be up here with their trowels.

The two faces of Euphorbia dimorphocaulon

Now how did you miss this little beauty? Because it looks green and boring and hasn’t got any flowers. Not so my friend, this little lady is Euphorbia dimorphocaulon. I know I said that the little brown job we found last week was called that but they’re the same plant. He was male. The clue is in the ‘dimorph’ part of the name which means two shapes. Although most plants are hermaphrodite (both male and female) about six percent, including this one, are dioecious,  having distinct male and female types. This is just one of the ruses that plants use to get the most out of their pollinators.

The robust cerci of the Calliptamus grasshopper

Take a look at this little fellow a second. When I first picked him up I thought his rear end was being attacked by a louse or something. Not an unreasonable supposition seeing as how something has already had one of his back legs but it is actually a part of the grasshopper called the cerci, pincer like attachments like those you see on earwigs. This particular grasshopper belongs to the Calliptamus genus (either C. italicus or C. barbarus – you have to examine his penis in minute detail to tell them apart and I think that he’s suffered enough indignities for one day) and they are noted for their robust cerci. They are primarily sensory organs although they may be used to assist copulation as well. I’ll put him back, I expect he’s beginning to wish he hadn’t bothered getting up this morning.

Bees, Butterflies and Hornets on Ivy

I make no apologies for banging on about Ivy again this week. I mean, just look, have you ever seen such an effusive expanse of flowers? A couple of weeks back (see Where Mary Sleeps ) I said how useful this plant was at this time of year to insects and now you can see the evidence with your own eyes. It’s absolutely buzzing with Honey Bees, Apis melifera, and Oriental Hornets, Vespa orientalis and also a goodly number of Painted Lady butterflies, Vanessa cardui, which have been particularly prolific in Crete this year.

Church of the Holy Cross with Scorpion

Well, here we are at the Church of the Holy Cross, thus dedicated to many churches at high locations in remembrance of the Universal Elevation of the cross. This is the most sacred symbol of the Orthodox Church, as it guards the entire universe. Remember to take your headgear off when you get inside and not before. This is not a religious ritual as such but in these remote churches you never know who you might dislodge as you open the door. That Scorpion for instance, Euscorpia sp. is much better appreciated having bounced off my hat and onto the floor rather than blundering about in what's left of my hair. The venom in that stinger may not be fatal but I’m assured that it packs one heck of a punch. We've got a big climb ahead of us next week so if you fancy saying a quick prayer for fortitude now is your chance. 

Until next week then.

The Extra Bit

I’m not usually given to taking selfies but I seem to have photo bombed myself  whilst taking this picture of the interior of the church. If you look at the right hand panel of the Templon (the screen dividing the sanctuary from the nave) you can clearly see me reflected in the glass. Does this mean that I am now an icon?

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Contrary to popular opinion this blog is not just thrown together but is actually researched. I’d particularly like to thank Ralf Jahn at Cretan Flora for species identification of the flowers this week as well as Josip Skejo and Ammar Azil at The Orthoptera Group for details regarding the cerci of the Calliptamus genus of Grasshoppers.

LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

See detailed pictures at http://www.inaturalist.org/login  (search - people-stevedaniels-observations)

Cretan Flora

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)