The Nestos Gorge

What a gorgeous gorge! We really would have liked to have walked the whole length; sadly not. Arriving in the carpark gave me the opportunity to photograph one of the many miniature church-like structures, that we had seen along the roadsides and in people's gardens. Known as Kandylakia, they are deeply rooted in Greek Orthodox culture and can be memorials, offerings of gratitude or devotional spaces. We then headed off along a paved path up the gorge, where we had good views of Black Woodpecker and Golden Oriole, as well as Honey Buzzard, Short-toed Eagle, Blue Rock Thrush.....The plants and butterflies were good too.  

A Kandylakia

Pollen tideline on a puddle.

Limestone cliffs.

Along the gorge.

Nice path!

A Broomrape sp.

Mullein.

Golden Drops, Steptorhamphus tuberosus (native to Bulgaria), Wild Asparagus and a white Cistus.

Eastern Festoon.

Southern Comma.

Haberlea rhodopensis, a protected endemic.

Haberlea rhodopensis, known as a resurrection plant and locally as Orpheus flower is found clinging to north-facing, damp and mossy rock faces. It is famous for surviving extreme desiccation for years and then 'resurrecting' itself completely within hours of watering. Apparently it can survive for at least three years, dried in a herbarium. It's known locally as the Orpheus flower as legend says it sprouted from the tears of the mythical singer Orpheus. The divided leaves are of a Spleenwort sp.

The 'Floating' Monastery of St Nicholas, Porto Lagos

Our first stop of the day was at the Monastery of St Nicholas and the Chapel of Virgin Mary Pantanassa. Home to many icons, artefacts and monastery products you can purchase, it is also a good viewing point for both Dalmation Pelicans and Great White Pelicans. But first a few pictures from the site. The two islets are now accessed by wooden bridges. 

St Nicholas,

The interior of the Orthodox Church, with its traditional Byzantine style iconography and ornate décor.

The prophet Elijah, being fed by a Raven while in the wilderness.

More detail......

And of course there were cats - which the monks fed.

Anyway getting back to the Pelicans.. We saw both Dalmation Pelicans, which eBird describes as 'Massive Pelican with dishevelled appearance....dirty white ...scruffy' and  the Great White Pelican which eBird describes as ' a large white waterbird with a hefty bill and yellow orange throat pouch'.

Mainly Dalmations...

A mix.

Mainly Great Whites.

We also saw Sandwich Terns, Little and Common Terns. After the monastery, it was a quick beach stop where we saw Olivaceous Warbler, Kentish Plover, Garganey and a Greater Spotted Cuckoo that kindly landed in a nearby tree with its crest showing beautifully.

Spot the Greater Spotted Cuckoo!

Trouble with Tribbles.....

The primary aim of the late afternoon, was to go to Luguna Ptelea, to see among other things, the Greater Flamingos. There wasn't an obvious path down nearer to them, so we drove on and stopped at a beach where there were incredible numbers of 'sea balls'. Now we've found the odd one in Scotland, but these were something else! They were extremely dense and their numbers resembled Tribbles (for those of a certain age!) They are formed when the sea rolls round collections of fibrous hair-like material such as seagrass, and 'felts' them into tight balls. Apparently tourists don't like them, so they are 'cleaned' from beaches. Current research is looking at using them in a variety of ways as shown in the diagram below. 

Click here for source paper

Moving on: trying to find a route that took us closer to the distant Flamingos, we failed, but found some lovely things....

Greater Flamingos.

Praying Mantis.

Common Blue - just a nice photo.

Hermann's Tortoise - the scars are from surviving a wild fire. 

Pink Butterfly Orchid - stunning.

Spanish Sparrows.

Lake Ismarida

As part of The National Park of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Lake Ismarida covers 320 hectares and at a maximum, is only 1.5metres deep, making it a perfect spot for waders. We arrived on a hot afternoon...Most birds were quite far off and the heat haze made photography difficult. The highlights had to be the Collared Pratincoles ... of which there were many and the sheer abundance of birds including: Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Stilts, Spoonbills, Purple Heron, Squacco Heron, a flock of Curlew Sandpiper and the many Terns - Whiskered, Black, and White-winged Black Tern.

A receding water level. 

Collared Pratincoles...

Glossy Ibis and Black-winged Stilt.

Terns.

Spoonbills.

Squacco Herons.

Dark Spreadwing Damselfly.

Black-headed Wagtail - a subspecies of the Western Yellow Wagtail. 

The perfect lunch

If you ever had an image of what a Greek lunch should be like - this was it;  lovely salads and bread, then grilled Sea Bass and thin chips, followed by a really sticky, sweet churros type pudding; all sat under vines, while the local cats tried to sneak in....a few photos ...as we left we had good views of  Syrian Woodpecker too.