13th July 2025 Below the col, the subalpine grasslands are short-grazed and full of wheatears that nest in gullies and low cliffs. Pairs have recently fledged young so the adults frantically try to divert us with rasping calls and bold distraction displays. There is also a range of ringlet Erebia butterfly species including a dazzling…
Tag: Wheatears
Beachcombers
The beach is wind blown under a grey sky. Usually it is empty, but the season brings an assortment of wheatears, little egrets, yellow wagtails and common sandpipers; all are foraging after a day of torrential rain. Two fishermen at the water’s edge sit, hunched like herons, over long rods. The harbour wall at Agios…
The storm
The storm arrived from the north; the evening before was uncommonly humid and the cloud crept heavy over the hills. In the night, the wind got up and the rain threw itself down. The next day was equally ferocious with periods of drowning rain and the wind coming through in great gusts; it refused to…