A wonderful day on the Akamas peninsula: blue skies, little fluffy clouds, a day-long walk that was almost entirely downhill, good company, some fantastic wildlife and a brilliant taverna lunch... what more could you want from a day?
Today was above all a day for the orchids. Along 5 km of lane we found an amazing 22 species, plus a single spike of Serapias not yet in flower (compare to a year ago, when a single field along this walk was full of the spikes of four different Serapias species! A very different season this time round).
It's difficult to pick out any highlights, although the single spike of the gorgeous endemic Ophrys kotschyi on the roadside must rank pretty highly, judging by the look of shock on Yiannis's face!
Equally worthy of note were two bizarre freaks: an Ophrys elegans entirely lacking the 'lip' petal, but with two conjoined sepals forming a pseudo-lip; and an Ophrys flavomarginata with a double lip!
Overhead, our third Bonelli's Eagle of the trip was being mobbed by a Peregrine, while a couple of Red-rumped Swallows were new in.
(PS, the bright red Crown Anemone is from yesterday... but just too good a flower not to use a photo!)
The stunning endemic Ophrys kotschyi at a new location
Ophrys lapethica, another endemic Ophrys
Orchis italica
Orchis quadripunctata
Ophrys flavomarginata flower with a double lip
Ophrys elegans entirely lacking in the lip, but with two conjoined sepals in its place!
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