The Splendours of Greece - Part 1

One of the extra trips that I was able to lead in 2018 was a wonderful tour of the alpine slopes and forests of Greece's Mount Parnassos and the Delphi region. This was a truly amazing trip, with a wonderful group, while also introducing me to two new Greek friends that I had the privilege to lead with - David Koutsogianopoulos and Christos Kotselis. From the Mediterranean warmth and sublime views of Delphi, we travelled up above the treeline onto the scree slopes of Mount Parnassos, via the wonderful forests of Grecian Fir that abound on the lower slopes. A little further north, we enjoyed the splendours of Mount Oiti -an area I had never visited with my birdwatcher's hat on, but which not only abounded with great plants, but also provided one of the tour highlights when we chanced across some 50 Eleonara's Falcons hawking dragonflies in the late afternoon light! Here's a few photo highlights from 2018 - and note that I'll be leading this tour again in June 2019 so let me know if you're interested as there's still just a few places left - or click here to book!   https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/tours/the-wildlife-of-delphi-mount-parnassos-and-mount-oiti

This first post starts with some of the delights of the warmer, lower slopes:

Italian Cypresses, limestone hills and stunning views - it must be Delphi!

With Davi'ds local knowledge, we snapped up our first rarity even before we got to Delphi. A scruffy roadside spot gave us  the range-restricted Convolvulus mairei, a southern Greece speciality.

Rock faces around Delphi are studded with the yellow button flowers of Inula verbascifolia, a very unusual fleabane.

Blue-purple spikes of Scutellaria rupestris ssp parnassica grow right along the roadside. 

Some of the local plants are very different from their relatives in the UK. The pale, greenish-yellow flowers and trailing stems of the regional endemic Asperula lutea bear little resemblance to our local bedstraws.

Stands of Scutellaria orientalis sprawl over the ground in areas of loose scree 

It's pretty much impossible to visit Delphi without bumping into the local Rock Nuthatches. These highly vocal birds easily make their presence known and build their out of mud, stuck onto the stone ruins of the ancient oracle site.

A naturalist sure be ever on the look out - even when touring antiquities! This fabulous Dahl's Whip Snake popped up amongst the stones of the ancient walls at Delphi and seemed mesmerised by our presence, remaining stationary for some minutes while we took photos. 

Large Tortoiseshells are always a treat to find since they seem to spend such a short period of their life on the wing. This one was warming up on a roadside rock wall shortly after breakfast one morning.

As we exited the museum at Delphi, a bright red blob low down on the wall of the building cried out to be investigated. It proved to be a male Ladybird Spider - a widespread though not especially common species of jumping spider.