Greek Island Odyssey Holiday Report 2013 Day 1: Saturday 20th April As our plane came in to land at Rhodes airport the wildlife spotting began! We had a good view of a female Marsh Harrier and Little Egret over the nearby river. Then, on the drive to the hotel, we saw a Wood Sandpiper on the same river by the road bridge. Upon our arrival in the medieval old town Andy and Denise made a quick foray into the moat and town and found Starred Agamas, Oertzen’s Rock Lizards, a Dahl’s Whip Snake and Large Wall Brown butterflies. It was late evening by then and so we sat at a local taverna for our first traditional Greek mezedes meal and discussed plans for the week ahead over a civilized glass of wine. Day 2: Sunday 21st April After a hearty breakfast at the hotel we set off on our first Anatolian Worm Lizard full day of exploration. Our first stop was the archaeological park at Monte Smith. After parking the car and with lots of butterflies flying around us, it was hard to know just what to look at first. Andy diverted our attention, announcing that he had found an Anatolian Worm Lizard, a strange creature looking more like a worm than a lizard and which is found in Turkey and Greece. On Rhodes it is recorded only in the northern parts of the island. Lesser Fiery Copper We then moved on to watch the butterflies. The first two we identified were male and female Lesser Fiery Coppers, soon followed by Eastern Bath White, and Clouded yellow. Up the slope and in the meadows we saw a number of Swallowtail, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Scarce Swallowtail, and upon reaching the stadium, we were all able to see Large Wall Brown, with its large ‘eyes’ clearly visible on the underside of the forewings. A Hummingbird Hawk moth dashed past us at the ancient stadium, too fast for a picture, as was the case with a Pigmy Skipper, its chocolate brown colour soon disappearing into the dust. Here below the final ascent up to the acropolis Eastern Festoons glided in and out of site, busy looking for egg laying sites or mates. Moving on to the site itself, Large White, Small White, Painted Lady, Red Admirals and beautiful, Long-tailed Blues gave us good views along with a Devil’s Horse Praying Ocellated Skink Mantis. Reptiles frequent the site too and besides the Worm Lizard, we had great views of the many Starred Agamas and a rather coy Ocellated Skink, moving in and out of a hole in the sun-drenched wall. Other reptiles seen were Oertzen’s Rock Lizard and Balkan Green Lizards. The area around the ruins is always good at this time of year for insects, drawn in by the flowering plants. Among them, Purple Viper’s Bugloss, Cretan Hound’s tongue, and a couple of interesting orchid groupings, in full flower, these being Ophrys rhodia, and Serapias parviflora, the smallest of the serapias. Many birds use the site as a stop off and rest or feed and some breed here or nearby. Of note was a Roller which flew over, a Short eared Owl, several Sardinian Warblers, singing from dense cover and occasionally popping into view, Long-legged Buzzards flying over, and a small group of Tawny Pipits on the rocks of the temple. After stopping for lunch we took the short drive to Filerimos. We walked up from a point half way up the hill, in order to take in some of the plant life. Here, beside the steps, we could see the 3 forms of Broomrape and the endemic Rhodes Cyclamen. The main tree cover was provided by Pinus brutia which is the most common pine present. A fairly strong flavoured honey is produced on the island from this tree, after bees collect the honeydew excreted by the scale insect Marchalina hellenica, an eastern Mediterranean species, found mainly in Greece or Turkey. It sucks the pine sap and escapes predation by hiding under a fluffy white substance, much like woolly aphis. The branches of the trees are often covered in this white fluff, and eventually the tree succumbs to a secondary fungal which turns the branches black. Mounting the steps to begin the short climb, Julian discovered Rusty-back Fern growing out of the rocks. In the forests, an understory is provided by Strawberry trees, Arbutus unedo and A. andrachne, the latter of which were easy to spot with their reddish- cinnamon coloured bark. Upon reaching the top of the hill, most of the group had good views of Common Buzzard and Common Kestrel. The best lookout on Filerimos is undoubtedly the giant cross, which stands atop a steep drop and overlooks the forested slopes and gives views off to the south and to the western coastline. It is a good spot to see raptors soaring, or hunting. Here, Eleonora’s Falcon flew by, no doubt hunting in preparation for nesting. They are one of the latest raptors to breed, choosing to do so later in the year to time their nesting period so that they can feed young on migrating songbirds. We also caught sight of an immature Peregrine Falcon. A little further on up a track at the summit heading west, we heard the soft deep calls of with Raven, and soon we were able to see them together with Long-legged Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. Andy turned up a Green Toad near an army lookout shaft at this great birding spot, but it was getting late so we pressed on into the meadows on our way back. Here we caught our first sight of 4 Cuckoos, at first beguiling us with their hawk like flight but remaining hidden, until Fi managed to pick one out, sitting alone in a dead tree. Andy (again at his best), discovered 2 Snake eyed Skink and a Worm Snake in meadow. As we wandered back to the vehicle through a meadow, we took a good look at a pretty pink and white flower, known as Mediterranean Lineseed or Bellardia trixago a form of Orobanchaceae and a few butterflies were still on the wing; Painted Lady, Aegean Meadow Brown and Red Admiral. Day 3: Monday 22nd April This day was spent with our botanist guide Giorgos, and so we hoped it would present a good deal of botanical interest. The area of focus was Mount Attaviros, the highest peak on the island. At a roadside stop we viewed the colourful shrub, Collutea arborescens ssp.insularis or Rhodian Bladder Senna, well known for its attractive seed pods. It is Bladder Senna also the larval food plant of Long-tailed Blue butterflies, of which there were many flitting about the bushes. We also discovered two species of orchids, Ophrys Mammosa, and Orchis sancta. Mike and Julian stopped to watch a mixed flock of Barn Swallow and Red Rumped Swallows which occasionally landing on the overhead wires along with Sand Martin. The stop was also good for Green Hairstreak, Green Underside Blue and Clouded Yellow butterflies. We headed further up into the mountain and located a good spot under the forest canopy for Ophrys reinholdii, and Ophrys candica, with its large pink flowers. This striking plant, our guide Anacamptis papilionacea x Orchis picta hybrid informed us, is a species only found in the south of Greece. Here, Denise found our first Violet Birds nest Orchid, Limodorum abortivum and we were all enthralled by the very numerous Green Hairstreak butterflies ovipositing on the spiny Genista acanthoclada ssp. echinus. These butterflies were also found nectaring on nearly every Wild Asphodel Asphodelus aestivus, along with a reasonable number of Green Underside Blues. We also discovered an orchid hybrid Anacamptis papilionacea x Orchis picta displaying a perianth like picta with a lip like papilionacea , along with Orchis intacta, and Anacamptis papilionacea ssp. heroic. Eastern Festoon Back at the lookout spot, a pretty member of the rockrose family Tuberaria guttata, was discovered. The yellow flowers, measure about an inch across, with maroon spots at the centre. We also had our first lesson in Salvias or Sages, with good specimens of Salvia fruticosa, named after the fruit- like galls that small wasps create on the bush. This plant was growing out in the open Phrygana-type habitat, interspersed with the cobalt blue flowers of the low growing shrubby Lithodorum hispidula, and the occasional Pasture Goatsbeard, Tragopogon hybridus, the genus meaning ‘chin of a billy goat’. The area was also a good place for other butterflies too, especially Eastern Festoons, and Mike managed to take a nice picture of a bright male. On the other side of the small road leading up, Matt managed to uncover some Eastern Festoon ova laid on the butterfly’s hostplant, Pipevine, Aristolchia guichardii. Also seen were Aegean Meadow Brown and Scarce Swallowtail. In the distance, we could again hear Ravens calling and back at the roadside and before we set off, Denise and Fiona discovered Ophrys attaviri and Ophrys omegaifera. Eastern Festoon Our next stop was a small but impressive gorge and here we were able to locate a few Oprhys sicula, with their lovely yellow flowers. Growing right on the roadside, Large Venus’ Looking Glass Legousia pentagonia, caught our eyes, and at the gorge itself, we were treated to a good showing of Campanula hagiela an endemic to the southeast Aegean, growing out of rock faces with its harebell-shaped flowers. Other flowers at the gorge included Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum brachystulum, Centaurea lactucifolia, an endemic whose immature flowers are often eaten by humans and goats, Achillea cretica or Chamomile-leaved Lavender Cotton, and Anthemis chia, the Chios Chamomile.