The Milonas Waterfall of Crete

Cyclamen creticus, Anacamptis collina, Fumana arabica

We seem to have emerged from the woods unscathed and the waterfall now lies directly ahead of us. We’ve had to take quite a detour to get around those imposing cliffs but it should be quite a gentle stroll today (famous last words) with plenty of opportunities to look about us. Let’s start with a few flowers that are heralding the arrival of spring later this month. In the shade of the rocks among the pine litter we have the white nodding heads of the Cretan Sowbread which is a type of Cyclamen; the yellow Fumana, a type of rock rose which we saw budding a few weeks back, is now in full flower; and our first orchid of the season: The Fan Lipped Orchid. 

Lucilia ceasar visiting Euphorbia dendroides

Many flowers have lovely scents to attract insect pollinators which we greatly appreciate but some, like this tree spurge here, have a pungent odour which we find somewhat off-putting. Some people have likened it to a decomposing corpse. Fortunately I have never had the experience of smelling a three day dead body so I can neither confirm nor deny but it certainly seems to be attracting these Greenbottles. Not everybody’s favourite insect but they’re quite beautiful when you look at them closely and useful too. Not only do they help to cleanse the planet of rotting bodies but their maggots (which feed on dead animal tissue) have been, and still are, used medically in maggot therapy. They are dropped into a wound such as an ulcer where they not only remove all the dead tissue but also secrete antimicrobial fluids that sterilise the wound.

Cicindela campestris mating

Have you noticed these little green beetles scurrying around on the sandy ground? They’re Tiger Beetles, so called because of their predatory nature. Notice the way that they sprint and stop in a series of jerky runs. This is because they run too fast to see where they’re going and they have to stop and visually reorient themselves. They hold their antennae straight out in front of them to stop them bumping into things. There’s a pair mating here look (in graphic detail if you look closely). I hope he wasn’t running at full tilt when he commenced – the female would have got the shock of her life.

Chalcides ocellata, Rumina decollata, Julidae family

We’re nearly there now and I see that we’re into stone flipping territory so let’s see if anyone is at home. Now here’s a strange group of bedfellows. An Ocellated skink, still hibernating by the way he’s remaining immobile and blinking at me sleepily, three Decollate snails and a Julid millipede. I say odd bedfellows because a skink’s diet generally includes snails and millipedes although I believe that this particular species prefers spiders and beetles. I wonder if the snails and millipede know that? It still seems like us cuddling up to a hibernating bear but nature is full of surprises.

Veliidae family

Well, here it is at last, the Milonas Waterfall, at 40m vertical drop it is the highest streaming waterfall in Crete. There’s a lovely pool here at the base that looks ripe for a bit of pond dipping so let’s go for a paddle. That’s rather refreshing isn’t it? We seem to have some small bugs swimming on the surface that may be worth a closer look. They’re rather quick and not easy to photograph but the body shape and size, the fact that they’re not doing the backstroke and the plated appearance of the abdomen make me think that they are Riffle Bugs. These are small predatory water striders typical of this sort of habitat but I’m not 100% sure. What do you think?

The Extra Bit

You know, that pool does look rather inviting, did you bring a towel? Come on then. Let’s go for a dip. Don’t be a sissy, the snow’s melted and there’s not even any ice on the surface.

Time for a dip (short video):  https://youtu.be/RUybOxhLqRg 

The Cyclamen Woods

First bird of the day; a Hoopoe

Last week as we were rescuing beetles up on the Hidden Plateau you may recall that we looked down into the valley and spotted a couple of interesting looking ponds. So I thought we’d go and investigate them today. It’s a pleasant stroll compared with our arduous hill climbing of the past few weeks and the little stream from Milonas Waterfall is gurgling away merrily beside us. You know it’s going to be a good day when the first bird to cross your path is a Hoopoe. These wonderful black, white and salmon pink birds are sunbathers par excellence.  They flatten their bodies, wings and tail against the ground and tilt their heads to the sun, a posture that looks slightly odd in a bird and positively ridiculous if you try it yourself on the beach. 

The egg launching Common Darter

It will take us about half an hour to walk to the ponds, stopping as we do to observe the wildlife along the way. This Common Darter Dragonfly for instance, taking a more conventional attitude to sunbathing, is quite a common species with a rather interesting approach to childbirth. Whereas most dragonflies lay their eggs carefully in various places the male and female Common Darter fly in tandem, swinging down over water, and at the bottom of the arc the female releases her eggs reminiscent of the Barnes Wallace bouncing bomb, to take their chances where they fall. If you look up to the skyline for a moment you can see “The Fortress” above The Secret Hollow and The Hidden Plateau where we’ve been scrabbling about earlier this month. 

A Flower Chafer pollinating Thorny Broom

We can see the ponds now on the opposite side of the valley and even my poor olfactory powers told me that we had company a while before the soft clonking of bells announced the presence of a herd of goats.  Give man an island anywhere in the world and he’ll chop down the trees and set goats to work on the rest of the vegetation.  Some plants try to defend themselves like this Thorny Broom at the side of the track but they’re no match for the almost mechanical munching power of the domestic goat. Did you notice the little Flower Chafer feeding on the bright yellow flowers? I wonder if it’s one of the pair we rescued last week? It would be nice to think so, wouldn’t it?

A juvenile Balkan green Wall Lizard

Here we are at the ponds and with all these goats marauding about it’s not surprising that there’s not a bird to be seen. Never mind, let’s investigate what’s left of the grassy banks and see if anything has taken refuge in the last remnants of vegetation. We’re in luck, lizards galore, there’s one down by your feet.  This is another one for our phenology list as this is the earliest I’ve seen them for over five years. This is a juvenile. In the summer, when he’s fully grown, he’ll be a bright emerald green. Oh look, there goes another one, smashing little creatures in my opinion and a real sign of spring (which is now here of course, the Spring equinox was at the end of last week and I celebrated with the first barbecue of the year – steak, chips and salad, you can’t beat it).

The Cyclamen Woods

I’m not sure we’ll see much more here but I’ll take you to a place, not too far away, and give your eyes a feast. One of the chapters in Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals is called “The Cyclamen Woods”. That was in Corfu of course but I’m pleased to say that here in Crete we have our own cyclamen woods and here they are.  This particular species, Cyclamen creticum,  is as white as snow and endemic to Crete and Karpathos. What a wonderful sight, a huge bank of them glittering like diamonds in the emerald light filtered through the pines. An enchanting spot to stop and rest a while, watch the frogs dipping in and out of the stream and be lulled to sleep by the distant cantata of goat bells.

Until next week – happy hunting.

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LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)