Crete Nature Almanack 2018 – Late Spring

“Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire.”  Virgil

African Queen, Danaus chrysippus

Yes, the month of May is here and yesterday's May Day dances and revels marked the middle of Spring which started with the equinox in March and ends with the Summer solstice in June. So what should we be looking for in the second half of the season? In the insect world, butterflies abound at this time of year. I went for a walk earlier in the week and photographed no less than seven different species including this beautiful African Queen (also called the Plain Tiger but I prefer the former).

Borage, Borago officinalis

As the weather begins to heat up in preparation for summer it is time to get inventive with salads. Try adding a few borage flowers and shredded leaves with their delicate cucumber-like flavour and look out for other herbs in flower, many of which can be found on the Cretan Flora website in the family Labiatae.

Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala

This is also a great time of year to catch up on your bird call identification but how to go about it, especially if you are a beginner? Start by choosing two or three birds who's calls are very distinct such as the Chaffinch, Greenfinch and this Sardinian Warbler. Now turn your speakers on and follow this link: Sardinian Warbler. Scroll down and you'll find loads of recordings. This is the xeno-canto site where you can hear nearly 10,000 bird species from around the world.

Balkan Pond Turtle, Mauremys rivulata

Sunbathing reptiles can also be found around now such as this Balkan Pond Turtle. Look out also for lizards and snakes warming up in the mornings and Geckos in the evenings on house walls.

Ornate Wrasse, Thalassoma pavo

And finally... the sea has warmed up so it's time to get the cozzie out of winter hibernation and get down and swim with the fishes. We have some really beautiful fish around the Cretan coasts which will happily swim alongside you in a calm, unhurried way.


Enjoy your Spring.

Electric Wetlands

Almyros River

Every once in a while I have to make a trip away from the south east coast and venture up to the big city. It’s a very pleasant drive with good roads interspersed with exciting mountain chicanes, bridges and tunnels and great views at every turn but cities are not my natural habitat and so I always try to visit a particular quiet place at the end of the journey – Heraklion Power Station. Or to be precise, the confluence of the power station canal and the Almyros river. This is an outstanding area of wetland where you can happily spend all day pottering about investigating the wildlife and this is where I thought I’d take you today.

German Chamomile

So here we are at the Electric wetlands. Even the little gravel car park is interesting as it’s rough edges are full of wild flowers such as mallow, squirting cucumber and borage. Right here by the car is a patch of German Chamomile. As with all flowers in the daisy family (Asteraceae) they are easily distinguishable by a central hub of disc florets usually surrounded by a circle of ray florets. You can identify this one by the disc florets which rise up in a hemisphere from the centre of the plant. A couple of teaspoons of dried flowers and some boiling water steeped for ten minutes and you have a lovely cup of chamomile tea. [There are some warnings about drinking chamomile tea for pregnant women and people on blood thinning tablets so check the latest.]

Mute Swan

Let’s take a walk over the wooden bridge and do a bit of bird spotting. This is a prime birding spot for warblers, shrikes and water birds such as coots and moorhens and, if my ears don’t deceive me, that whumf, whumf, splash is the sound of a swan landing. There he is, a handsome Mute Swan. These are quite rare passage migrants to Crete according to my field guide though I’ve been lucky enough to see them on a few occasions (once a single male buddied up with a lone pelican).  One year here I even found a pair of Black Swans. Goodness knows who’s collection they’d escaped from as they are antipodean birds.

Plain Tiger or African Monarch

As you can see the insects are busy around the plants with representatives from most groups but I’m particularly after a butterfly. It’s a bit overcast today and they’re not out in force – so far I’ve only seen a Small White and a Painted Lady but I’d dearly like to get a better photo of this chap I photographed a few years back. He’s a Plain Tiger or African Monarch and I’ve spotted him here on a couple of occasions (in August and November). Unfortunately not today though, perhaps it’s a bit early in the year.

Stripe-necked Terrapins

A word about ears. They are not just for ornithologists. Bill Oddie may be very adept at cupping one hand behind his lughole and saying Cetti’s Warbler but it’s a skill that takes years to learn. For us general naturalists a rustle in the undergrowth or a plip or a plop can point to something worthy of further investigation and I definitely just heard a plop. Not the plip of a frog jumping in the water but the heavier plop of a terrapin. If we creep quietly through the reeds here and try not to squelch – yes there they are, a group of Stripe-necked terrapins enjoying some spring sunshine. Make the most of it guys, looking up at the clouds it won’t be out for long.

But now I must leave you as my appointment calls. You stay here and continue and don’t forget to look at the beach. There are some good dunes there and being in the shadow of the power station it’s not much frequented by sunbathers and swimmers. I wish I could spend longer here with you, I really do. If you spot one of those Plain Tigers or anything else of interest then post it to the Naturalists Group so that I can enjoy them later. Until next week – good hunting.

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LINKS:

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

The Coleoptera Group 

Hymenopterists Forum 

Hemiptera/Heteroptera Group 

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