Larus michahellis flying over Athens

304_3846 [Larus michahellis]

 

 A swarm of birds crossing the sky of Athens and going … I have no idea where!

 

The more I looked at them in the sky, the more they reminded me

of … a group of fighter aircraft on mission flying in a V formation!

 

What disagreed with my imagination, though,

was that two birds were out of alignment,

unlike fighters which are always perfectly aligned to each other

when flying in a V formation.

 

So later, in the post processing stage,

making use of “poetic license”

I relocated the two birds in the frame

so that they would match the image I had imagined!

 

As to the name Larus michachellis,

it refers to the big, handsome, Mediterranean sea-bird we call a "Gull".

 

It is relatively easily identified

from its grey back, white head, long black wingtips, pale to deep yellow legs, and vivid yellow beak.

 

It may live up to 10 years with a varied diet 

that consists mainly of aquatic animals, but also of plants and leftovers!

 

 

301_9011 [Rarus michahellis]

 A mature bird in flight

 

 

 

301_9039 [Larus michahellis]

 

Scanning the sea from above for a fresh fish.

No preference for a specific kind or size! Any will do!

 

 

 

302_9138 [Larus michahellis]

A juvenile exploring the aquatic environment.

Juvenile gulls have to wait for up to 4 years since birth

before they are considered adults! 

304_4486 [Larus michahellis]

In search for food on the mainland, far from their natural environment, the sea. 

 

Are they fed-up with their daily fish diet

or are they starving to death and are desperately looking for food

on unexplored territories?  

Gagea graeca

IMG_1729 [Gagea graeca]

 

Gagea graeca is a slender and hairless perennial plant

that grows in Central and South Greece,

including the Aegean islands and Crete.

It blossoms from March to May

in habitats like stony grasslands, cliffs, waysides

and occasionally in open pine woodland.

The flower heads are funnel-shaped, 10-15mm long,

with 6 white tepals that have purple stripes on the outside.

[See above].

 

 

DSCN4290 [Gagea graeca]

 

The Corinth canal

301_5231 [Corinth canal]

The Corinth canal is about 70 km west of Athens

and connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic gulf.

Since its completion in 1893,

it has allowed ships to continue their voyage through a canal of only 6,4 km,

instead of having to sail for an extra 700 km in order to bypass the Peloponnese.

 

I have been at the canal a number of times but

only once have I had the chance to see a ship being towed.

For a moment,

the view looked strange and I started wandering why it was towed,

but as I was told later,

whether a ship is towed or not

depends on its size, the nature of its cargo, and its mechanical state.

On the other hand,

small commercial and recreational vessels navigate the canal using their own engines.

That was for me a unique, personal photographic experience

which I thought I could share with you.

 

By the way,

recreational boats navigate the canal every weekday

and they provide probably the best way for one to explore the canal

and experience the scale of the limestone walls which rise 79 m above the water

or

to see bridges submerging into the water to let ships sail unimpeded!

 

 

Centaurea triumfettii

IMG_0870 [Centaurea triumfetti]

 

Centaurea is a very large genus.

In Europe alone there are over 220 species,

about 120 of which are found in Greece

with more than 40% of them being endemic.

  

Triumfettii – perhaps my most favorite species of Centaurea – 

is a beautiful, short to medium perennial flower

that grows in most of mainland Greece.

It is found in grassy, stony and rocky habitats,and scrub

on the mountain zone.

 It blooms from April to July. 

The flower-head above is about 50mm wide.

 

 

304_6683 [Centaurea triumfettii]

 

Photographed on Mt. Kitheronas.
 

Acrocephalus arundinaceus

 

Acrocephalus arundinaceus,

known as “Reed warbler” in English or “Τσιχλοποταμίδα” in Greek

is a small but visibly larger bird than the well-known sparrow.

 

It is a migrant that leaves the tropical Africa in Summer and arrives in Europe

where it stays until September.

 

Although it is considered ‘a reed bird’,

it usually avoids tall and dense reeds.

Instead,

it is seen in low reed vegetation

found in lakes, canals or small streams.

 

Its diet consists mostly of larger insects.

 

Its nest is a deep cavity of grass and reed leaves

fixed between vertical reed stems above the surface of the water.

 

A rather solitary bird that lives up to 5 years.

 

 

302_7519 [Acrocephalus arundinaceus]

The pictures were taken at the banks of Lake Kerkini

in Northern Greece.

 

 

Anemone coronaria

DSCN3543 [Anemone coronaria]

Anemone coronaria,

commonly known as the Crown anemone, Poppy anemone, or windflower,

is a very common flowering plant in the Mediterranean region.

It produces flowers in shades of red, purple, white and blue.

Its sepals, usually 5-8, are arranged around a characteristic black center of stamens

that forms a crown-like ring;

a fact that lends the flower its name “coronaria”.

 

In Greece,

Anemone coronaria typically grows to a height of 20–35 cm

and blooms from January to May.

Each flower can measure 3–7 cm in diameter.

 

Its diversity of colors is eye-captivating,

so I feel I should share with you below

an assortment of colors

that I had the opportunity to photograph.

 

 

803_0889 [Anemone coronaria]

 

 

301_5506 [Anemone coronaria]

 

 

301_5513 [Anemone coronaria]

 

302_3432 [Anemone coronaria]

  

302_3698 [Anemone coronaria]

 

 

301_6950 [Anemone coronaria]

Anacridium aegyptium

DSCN1925 [Anacridium aegyptium]

 

Being tired at the end of a long day in Chalkidiki some years ago,

I was looking for a place where I could take a short rest

when I saw a bench that seemed to be unoccupied!

 

Alas! What a disappointment!

Right in the middle of the bench a huge insect remained motionless

and indifferent to my presence - and even worse … to my fatigue!

It was an Anacridium aegyptium,

also known as Egyptian grasshopper or tree grasshopper.

 

This insect is one of the largest grasshopper species in Europe.

Adult males are typically 30–55 mm long,

while females are larger, reaching 45–70 mm in length.

 

It is easily identified from its large body size

and its eyes, which have characteristic vertical black and white stripes.

 

Those striking eyes kept looking at me and said:

“Go away, the bench is mine!”

I refused to obey. I stayed, kept looking at it and remembered

that this species is common around the Mediterranean

in a variety of warm, dry habitats, including scrublands, orchards,

and gardens, where it lives on trees and shrubs.

 

It is a solitary species that feeds on leaves

and is generally considered a minor agricultural pest,

as it does not form large, destructive swarms like the migratory locust.

 

All this sounds good

but I would expect it to move to the side and make some room for a tired old man,

but it didn’t!

 

For a picture of Anacridium aegyptium nymph please click HERE.

 

 

Crocus nivalis

801_1745 [Crocus nivalis]

Crocus nivalis blooms in the heart of winter

in areas stretching from the Peloponnese to Northern Greece

at altitudes of even beyond 1300m,

where it is aften seen growing on snow-covered mountain peaks.

This is most likely the reason why it was given the name “nivalis,”

which derives from the Latin nix (nivis), meaning snow.

 

In Attica, however, it is also found as low as 400m

on all the mountains around Athens.

 

The picture was taken in Anthusa (Attica).