A week in the sun!

Female Black headed bunting.

Sub alpine warbler!!

Black eared wheatear.

Fan Tailed Warbler.

Southern Grey Shrike feeding fledgeling!

Turtle Dove

Woodchat Shrike.

Marbled White.

Marbled White..

Beautiful Swallowtailed Butterfly.
We recently had a weeks break to the Greek island of Corfu.It gave me the chance to photograph some of its local inhabitants and my good wife and daughter the chance to do some serious sunbathing in the near 100 degree heat.

As usual with me, I was up and out early before the sun got too high,my favourite time for a stroll with the camera.I had been to the same area the previous year, so knew the lie of the land.A 10 min walk from the apts led me to the banks of the river Tyflos at Sidari.There was lots of scrub and plenty of thorny bushes to negotiate but a small track led along the riverbank.Numerous butterflies sunned themselves along the path and I noted meadow brown,gatekeeper,brimstone,painted lady small and large whites and small coppers.Birds of note were Grey Shrike with fledgelings,Kingfisher,spotted flycatcher,Turtle Dove,Subalpine warbler,Red rumped swallow,Stonechat, Woodchat Shrike,Cuckoo and one or two others which were unidentifiable!
Not too bad for a few hours walking really.I wouldn`t say there were lots of different birds,but August isn`t really the best month to visit for birding!

It was just pleasent to be out with the camera really.I did see a stoat, but it didn`t hang around long enough for a photo unfortunately!!

On one of the last days there I hired a car, and again saw me on the road at first light.I headed up Mt Pantokrator, which finishes 920 metres above sea level.At the top the views were staggering and when its clear you can see the southern tip of Italy 80 miles away.There were one or two interesting birds encountered along the way, with my favourite being a superb Black eared wheatear which posed nicely for me alongside the road.A black headed bunting was seen perched from the top of a small bush but unfortunately it was a female,the male has a strikingly black head and yellow plummage,there was one nearby singing, but I just couldn`t locate it amongst the thick scrub!!Plenty of Woodchat shrikes were seen, as was a pair of Red backed shrikes feeding young! Buzzards and a few Kestrels were noted around the cliff faces but I didn`t see any Eagles which are known to be about.I pulled into a small layby and found one of my favourite species of butterfly, the wonderful Swallowtail.They really are gorgeous to admire and I took a good few shots with the camera.They hardly seem to rest always flitting about from plant to plant!With that I called it a day and headed back to the lowlands.Lisa and Harriet would still be sunbathing, so I took my time back reflecting on what a fantastic time I`d spent up in the mountains.Again I`ve promised myself to return, but in Springtime next year when all the birds will be singing and the weather not too severe!

I`ll leave you with a few images I managed to take whilst out and about,hope you enjoy them!!!!!!!!!!