Overnight the wind had abated somewhat and it looked as if the weather was set fair. My pre-breakfast stroll in the agricultural area gave distant views of a Hoopoe but there was no sign of where the Scops Owl might roost throughout the day.
Post breakfast we boarded the mini buses for what was a fairly long journey to a most orchidaceous hilltop venue in the south of the island. The roads were of mixed quality, alternating between tarmac and rough gravel, but it wasn't too bad and as a distraction the views were fantastic. An unplanned stop before the summit proved to be very fruitful and I finally caught up with Ophrys bombyliflora and Ophrys tenthredinifera in its full blown prime.
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| Ophrys bombyliflora |
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| Ophrys bombyliflora |
The Ophrys tenthredinifera were probably the most 'showy' of the orchids that we encountered, well you can't miss them even when surrounded by vegetation.
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| Ophrys tenthredinifera |
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| Ophrys tenthredinifera |
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| Ophrys tenthredinifera |
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| Ophrys tenthredinifera |
Orchis anatolica were not hard to find, in fact the hillside seemed to be covered in them.
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| Orchis anatolica |
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| Orchis anatolica |
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| Orchis anatolica |
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| Orchis anatolica |
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| Ophrys ferrum-equinum |
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| Ophrys ferrum-equinum |
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| Ophrys ferrum-equinum |
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| Ophrys ferrum-equinum |
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| Ophrys ferrum-equinum |
Tracey found a single bloom of Paeonia clusii ssp rhodia, another of the bucket list ticked off. Oddly, yet again, we were promised an abundance of them on a lower slopes. This time I decide on caution and photographed it. As it turned out the abundance was a single bloom, all the other flower heads were displaying a wealth of seed pods.
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| Paeonia clusii subsp. rhodia, |
Orchis provinicialis, a fairly plain understated orchid proved very popular with the group. It just looks so clean. In the harsh sunlight it was easy to over expose the shot and burn out the highlights.
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| Orchis provincialis |
With the wind rising and the turbines humming even louder, it was time to drop down off the mountain to more sheltered sites. First stop was a pine wood on the way back to Kattavia. Here we found some Ophrys Mammosa
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| Ophrys mammosa |
Then another unexplored hillside that gave Ophrys cretica, Ophrys iricolour and Ophrys calypsus.
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| Ophrys calypsus |
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| Ophrys calypsus |
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Ophrys calypsus |
Some large stems of Ophrys creticum ssp belionae that were overgrown by other vegetation, shame as they would have been good to photograph out in the open. A case where "judicious gardening" was impossible.
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| Ophrys creticum ssp belionae |
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| Ophrys creticum ssp belionae |
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| Ophrys creticum ssp belionae - surrounded! |
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| Ophrys iricolour |
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| Everything surrounded by the "chicken wire plant" botany of the devil!! |
Finally, on the way back, we made another roadside stop. A known site for Anacamptis sancta, sadly, despite a detailed search, they were a victim of the late spring and nary a sign could be found. On the plus side Tina found an Anacamptis pyramidalis with just one flower - that was sufficient to add it to the list.
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| Anacamptis pyramidalis |
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