No Place Like Home

Out & About

Spring is here at last. I don't know about you but it seems a lot longer than thirteen weeks since the winter solstice. One thing about spring is that life is so abundant that you don't have to go far to look for it. Come with me into the olive grove next door and I'll show you. Absolutely bursting with blooms: Poppies, Pimpernels, Mallow and Medicago, Shepherd's Needles and Vetch. I can see at least fourteen different flowers from here but the one I'm particularly interested in today is the ubiquitous Garland Daisy as they really attract the insects. Look, we've got a Mirid Bug, a little black Crabronid wasp, a hoverfly and three different beetles. Not a bad little haul.

Now, I need your help. As I was coming back from Ierapetra on Saturday (March 23^rd) I stopped off at the beach to have a look at the pink carpet of Catchfly that adorned the upper levels and I found myself surrounded by hundreds of Painted Ladies. These amazing little butterflies migrate from Africa to northern Europe but not usually in such quantity. I have had reports in of 'huge numbers counted over Israel and Cyprus' and also Rhodes and Nisyros. Locally they have been spotted from Ierapetra to Agios Fotia but not as far as Makry Gialos. So, keep your eyes peeled and please let me know of any sightings of large numbers either here on Crete or elsewhere in Europe as I am part of a project that has been monitoring their migration. * Also, in the weeks to come, look out for large numbers of their caterpillars. They are not fussy eaters and have been recorded on over 300 different plants so they may turn up anywhere. (Please use the comments box below – thanks).

Next, a bit of amazing nature. Come into the garden. About three years ago my Loquat tree gave up the ghost, it had rotted away at the base and I found it lying forlornly on the ground. I decided to leave it there as a natural part of the ecosystem. This year, however, I moved the bird table and needed a prop so the Loquat stump was pressed into service. As you can see, I didn't dig it into the earth, I just sort of wedged it in place. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found it sprouting new leaves. That is one incredible recovery.

Fieldcraft & Foraging

Meanwhile, I have a rocket in my pocket. Or to be more precise a few salad Rocket leaves (or Arugula in American English); Eruca sativa for the botanically minded. It has a lovely, peppery taste and I tend to pick leaves from the centre of the stem. They'll need a good wash as the Heath Snails also seem to have a liking for it and rocket can be added to almost any savoury dish that wants pepping up but mostly it is added to salads. Being English, for many years I thought that salad was chopped lettuce, tomato and cucumber and spring onion if you were feeling adventurous (in much the same way as the complete book of English meat sauces was to be found on the back of a packet of Bisto gravy). I also thought that salads had to be eaten cold by law. If you pop over to Steve's Wild Kitchen you can join me in a barbecued pork chop, baked potato with a rather tasty warm mushroom, orange and rocket salad. 

In The Lab

I've been spending a little time with grasshoppers recently and, although I'm not a great proponent of pinning insects merely to decorate the walls, occasionally one does need to get up close and personal which can be a bit difficult when the object of interest jumps ten feet as soon as you get within spitting distance. Finding that setting boards cost anything between five and twenty five quid (plus VAT and delivery) I decided to make my own. All you need is a bit of polystyrene packaging at least 5mm thick and a Stanley knife. Cut a V shaped groove about 4mm wide by 4mm deep and there you have it. It may not look very professional (but there again, neither does my pinning) but it's perfectly adequate. This, incidentally, is a Red-winged Grasshopper, Oedipoda germanica.

• Latest Painted Lady Update

Thanks to Ian Burry who informs me that he saw a considerable number of Painted Ladies In Neapoli yesterday (26^th March) heading up the valley towards Selinari.

Crete Nature Catch-up
Series 1 - Welcome to Lasithi	Series 2 - The Rhythm Of Life	Series 3 - A Journey Begins
Series 4 - The Milonas Valley	Series 5 - This Is Ferma	Series 6 - Upland Villages
Series 7 - The Forty saints	Series 8 - Sunday Strolls	Series 9 - (Current series start)

Steve's Books (well, just the one at the moment)

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 4.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent).. Read snippets, samples and stuff at Steve's Books

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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

Cretan Flora Flowers of Crete BIRDS OF CRETE Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

Here Comes Summer!

Ierapetra East Beach

Summer is here at last. It started with the summer solstice on Sunday in this part of the world and yesterday was Midsummer’s Day which always seems odd as by simple mathematical reasoning one could logically deduce that the end of summer must be on Friday (which, if my recollection of English summers of late is correct, may not be far from the truth).  The crux of the matter is that the solstice is an astronomical phenomenon, marking the point when Earth’s tilt is most inclined towards the sun, whereas Midsummer’s Day is a pagan festival celebrating the mid point of the year. Pagans observe the solstice as well of course but this is a solemn occasion so I guess you can think of Midsummer’s Day as a sort of ‘after show party’ but essentially they both mark the same event. 

Yellow Wagtail subspecies

But to return to our Cretan summer: as I’ve mentioned before our Spring has been very cool and wet this year and the little seasonal river to the east of Ierapetra is still running to the sea so I thought we’d head down there and see if there are any wagtails about. We’ve met the White Wagtail (Road to Nowhere) and the Grey Wagtail (Dawn by the Riverside) but today we’re looking for the Yellow Wagtail. I usually see them between March and May but I haven’t seen any this year so maybe they’re running late like the river. He’s a very distinctive bird with his bright yellow colouring and typical wagging tail but he’s a bird of many heads, each pattern denoting a different sub-species. The top one is a Grey-headed, the middle a Blue-headed and the plate at the bottom (from Collins Bird Field guide) shows all of the group. So, keep your peripheral vision on high alert for movement as we’re wandering about and we’ll go and have a look at the plant life.

Beach Flowers

This pink flowered job is Sea Rocket, one of the mustard family and related to the rocket that you put on your salads but I wouldn’t recommend it for human consumption.  The butter coloured lady up by the road is a Yellow Horned Poppy which has spread considerably around here in recent years and this rather inconspicuous plant, down here at our feet, makes good eating. It’s Nettle-leaved Goosefoot and the shoots, stalks, and leaves can be cooked like greens. On the other hand the one with little white flowers on the opposite bank is poisonous. It’s called European Turnsole and horses that eat too much of the stuff have a tendency to walk compulsively and unfortunately there is no known treatment.

Insect inhabitants of the wetland

Where we have plants then of course we have insects and I can see representatives of at least four different families as we push our way intrepidly through the giant reeds like jungle explorers of old. Our old friend the Southern Skimmer dragonfly is taking a breather on a bit of dead cane whilst a rather tatty Wave moth is doing likewise on the Goosefoot. I wonder who’s under this log? That’s a bit of a surprise, an early instar Southern Green Shield Bug. I’d have thought he would have been happier on a living plant – he’s either lost or a slow learner. Still, we’ll put him back as we found him and let him sort it out for himself. But who’s this fellow lunching in the algae? Obviously a large aquatic larva of some sort. Pass him up to me will you and we’ll have a look at him under the field lens. Yes I agree, algae are slimy and smelly, never mind, all part of the fun. Just rub your hands with some hot sand to dry them off – I expect the smell will go in a day or two. Meanwhile look how the head is pointed and sunk back into the thorax. The abdomen tapers to a point as well. This little gentleman is going to be an Aquatic Soldier Fly when he grows up. A bit of a misnomer as it is only the larva that lives in the water but this sort of general habitat will be perfect for him.

The rivulet finally reaches the sea

Shall we follow the stream down to the sea now? Oh dear, a casualty of nature. A little Cretan Water Frog who seems to have resigned from the game of life[1]. Catastrophic amphibian decline is, as you probably know, a worldwide issue of concern for all of us. Since the 1980’s amphibian extinctions have accelerated and are now thought to be running at over two hundred times the background extinction rate. As amphibians occupy both terrestrial and aquatic habitats and because their skins are particularly permeable they are very vulnerable to environmental changes. As such they are a bit like the canary in the coal mine and the implications for other animals (including ourselves) are somewhat dire. However, important as that is, we cannot end the day on such a serious note so let’s go and paddle in the shallows and watch the fish darting around the rocks. [1] A member of the Greek Herpetological Society, who is probably more experienced at identifying dead amphibians than I am, is of the opinion that it was a Green Toad.

Aestivating Snails

There is only one place to be in the height of the Cretan summer and that’s the sea. On land the grasses are turning golden brown, the snails are aestivating on the fence posts in pearly clusters and every other animal with any sense utilises the cool early mornings and late evenings to get their business done. I shall be doing the same – I’ve a host of observations to write up and for those of you who have asked if I have written any books the answer is no, not yet, but I may well do so this summer. What subject should I tackle do you think, a pictorial guide to the flora and fauna of Crete, a month by month country diary or should we all take an imaginary walk together from the mountain tops to the sea taking in the wildlife as we go? Tell you what, have a think about it and drop me a line at steves.summer.book@gmail.com
 

So I shall love you and leave you, here by the sea, and we’ll get back together again sometime in September for more fun and frolics in the Crete countryside.

Until then you can still find me on Facebook (Naturalists) or you can tweet me @cretenaturalist

Enjoy your summer or winter (delete according to hemisphere)

All the best and happy hunting

Steve Daniels

See all the pictures including insets in detail on Flickr

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LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Cretan Flora

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)