A Week In Corfu

A weeks holiday on the Greek island of Corfu was recently had by the Foster familly.It really was a last minute booking but never thr less was well worth it.Now this was a familly holiday,with no intention of birding contemplated.However like one does, I threw in my binoculars/camera and a couple of lenses.

The first half of the week was spent lounging about the pool and beach areas.The local tavernas were tried on numerous occasions and never failed to disappoint!I just love the Greek cooking, and the Greek salads with feta cheese is to die for!

Curiosity got the better of me, so early one morning I grabbed the camera and binocs and ventured out into some scrubland I`d spotted the previous day.Straight away a Lesser Grey Shrike was spotted perched on the wires.Further on around the back a large butterfly landed 10 ft away,Swallowtail.They seemed to be numerous around here as the farther I walked the more I saw.

A small river ran through the edge of scrub and Nightingales were seen skulking in the thorny bushes.There were other species of birds which I couldn`t identify,but Golden Oriole were singing in the distance.Woodchat Shrike would suddenly appear on exposed branches,but never close enough to photograph propely.As the morning wore on it got progressivly hotter,which seemed to put the birds down.I`d seen some good species on my early morning walk and identified about 6 types of butterfly.

Making my way back along the path a spotted flycatcher showed well,darting backwards and forwards, returning to the same perch,its beak full of insects of which there were hundreds zipping about.

The Olive trees were bare of fruit but I noticed how the farmers had laid out their long black nets beneath the trees,ready for the forthcoming harvest.All too soon the holiday was coming to a close,but we`d had a fantastic time on the island.My wife and daughter were very happy with the tans they had built up in the week,and my son Giles had met some new mates.As for me, well it was an experience birding in foreign climes,one I hope to do again sometime!