virtually N Greece 2

[sifenn]

After a comprehensive Greek breakfast of eggs, honey, yoghurt, I set out with temperature already climbing, to explore the western side of Lake Kerkinitis. However, several stops revealed relatively little on the wing, so I decided to head into the hopefully cooler mountains and headed for the village of Ano Poroia, NW of the lake. Followed road until it became a bumpy track above village, and set out on foot. Immediately started seeing butterflies, Scarce Swallowtail, a Hairstreak (probably Ilex), Southern White Admiral, none settling for long, and several Nettle Tree Butterflies of which I managed a brief shot on brambles and then taking salts in a damp area

continued up the track and it became an assault on the senses, butterflies of every type on every side, so for a minute or two I just enjoyed the spectacle, before starting to select things that looked less familiar, though living In Gtr Manchester that is almost everything....
I was distracted by 3 badgers ambling across the path

then saw a spotted fritillary, and figured from underside, it could be a lesser spotted, new to me

came to an area of damp earth partially shaded, which was a relief, and was treated to a Cardinal, many blues, Large Tortoiseshell, a Scarce Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow]

and a Yellow Underwing Skipper another first for me

stopped to observe the view back across the village to Lake Kerkinitis

sat under a shady tree for a drink and a stuffed pitta when something reasonably large and brown alighted next to me on a branch; my first Lattice Brown

continued up the track seeing much, much more; a Swallowtail posed

an Eastern Baton Blue briefly alighted

the heat was becoming intense, and the light, the butterflies were mostly supercharged, and then the track fizzled out and I ran out of water, so made my way back down the track. A Camberwell Beauty took off from one side and landed on my cap briefly, then alighted on a nearby flower, but resolutely kept its wings closed

made it back to the car and a bottle of very warm cola, having seen in addition, Wood, Large, Small Whites, Mallow, Grizzled, Essex, Lulworth Skippers, Common, Mazarine, Small, Holly Blues, Marbled White (probably Balkan), Marbled, Silver-washed Fritillaries, Green and Ilex Hairstreaks, Coppers, Nymphs...including ubiquitous Painted Ladies by the hundred

driving along the lakeside I encountered the local shepherd

and stopping by a marshy area, saw spoonbills and the demise of Jeremy Fisher

I was exhausted by hill-walking in the heat, but delighted by what I had seen, and confident that as I got my eye in I would start to differentiate other species new to me, I looked at the map and decided where to go next...

[Padfield]

Hi Sifenn. I'm not seeing any images. They seem to be linked to your dropbox, so you're probably seeing them - but maybe the folder isn't shared and we can't.

Guy

[sifenn]

are they visible now ?

[Padfield]

are they visible now ?

Not to me. As moderator, I can look at the coding of your post and it appears the images are inline retrievals from your dropbox. When I try to follow the URL of an image my browser says I don't have permission to go there. Because you obviously do have permission to go there, you can see them.

Or it might just be me. I use a Swiss IP address via VPN - I could try disabling that.

Guy

EDIT - just disabled the VPN and I still can't see the images.

[sifenn]

I have checked folder is public and replaced the image addresses, so are they visible now ?

[Padfield]

All good now!

Great pictures. I'm on my way out but will take some time on them later. For now, yes to lesser spotted!

Guy

[David M]

Great reportage, sifenn. Nice to see the habitat as well as the butterflies. That Yellow Banded Skipper is wonderful.