• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Search results

thxpress_search_the_forum Search Opus
  1. CactusD

    Lesvos - Most Do Sites

    If the track is passable, Meladia valley is awesome. Metochi lake in the mornings is also great. Arguably Polichnitos saltpans are not at their best in spring. Areas around Kalloni saltpans, and the tracks in and out, are likely to be much more productive and quicker to access.
  2. CactusD

    Algarve 2013 / Sagres Birdwatching Festival 2014

    Hi Mick - nice one, esp. the raptors, and the TTPasha butterfly. The last butterfly here is in fact not a Long-tailed Blue, but a Lang's Short-tailed Blue (quite heavily worn). Long-tailed is stripy, Lang's is blotchy.
  3. CactusD

    Images of Lesvos May 2013

    Mick, this new bird guide is very interesting. I'm actually currently planning a trip to Northern Greece for summer butterflies, and this guide has some of the best site info I know of for some of the remoter and more interesting places.
  4. CactusD

    ID please - Bee of Wasp??

    cool, thanks for that!
  5. CactusD

    ID please - Bee of Wasp??

    A very small insect photographed yesterday morning asleep. Any ideas?? Length about 5mm. Location: North Oxfordshire, meadows. Cheers! D
  6. CactusD

    Nikon R1/C1?

    Check out Moose Peterson's test: http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2009/02/03/testing-for-a-project-the-nikon-r1c1/
  7. CactusD

    Nikon R1/C1?

    I think there's an amusing training video on the Nikon website somewhere about this combo, inc. opening the large box! I suppose it works really well as a system as long as you figure out how to use it and get the best out of it. I have never used one, just relying on a diffused off-camera...
  8. CactusD

    Orchids of Samos

    While people are waiting for the UK orchid season to get underway, perhaps they might enjoy reading about my recent trip to the Greek island of Samos, where I saw and photographed 27 different orchids (as well as over 20 butterfly species). By contrast with the UK, the Greek season appears to...
  9. CactusD

    Lesvos 2013

    Watch out Lesvos... ... the Dotterels are coming... One very unexpected passage migrant sighting today on the summit of Mt. Karvounis on Samos 100 miles south of Lesvos as the crow (or indeed Dotterel??) flies (GPS data is embedded in the exif for those who want to see exactly where it was I...
  10. CactusD

    IMAGES OF LESVOS 5th - 19th May 2012

    Nice work, Mick. Here's a link to the Lesvos trip report I buried in my 2011 year list (solo trip, flying with Aegean via Athens): http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=2131478#post2131478 I had 160 species, which I was most pleased about :t: I will undoubtedly return at some point, but...
  11. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    This is really very kind, David. Although this area (and Greece in general) is clearly very good for butterflies, it tends to get a little overlooked in favour of more popular destinations such as the Alps and Pyrenees. Re. books, I used three together: Tolman & Lewington Lafranchis...
  12. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    I’ll finish off with a round-up of photos and an overview Google Earth screengrab. If anyone is interested in further details please feel free to get in touch and I’ll see what I can do to help. Many thanks for taking the time to read this: hopefully you enjoyed it and found it informative and...
  13. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Moreover, my successes based only really on guesswork, the internet, and some maps, suggest that trips to other mountainous areas, at similar or other times of the year, could be great. I imagine that, depending on the weather, any time between April and July might be brilliant; moreover, in...
  14. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    A quite superb trip with excellent weather, great scenery, and some excellent sightings! An absolutely massive 51 lifers for me. Definitely worth looking into if you’re interested in something a little bit different. Even if you haven’t visited Greece before, if you have some experience of...
  15. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Having said this, I was highly delighted at the varied range of species I did encounter. Personal highlights would have to be the Coppers, the variety of Blues, particularly including Pontic, Meleager’s, the Anomalous species, and the Polyommatus species, esp. Turquoise. The range of...
  16. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Final Comments Dips, highlights, and comments on the season There were a number of species I hoped to see but didn’t: I was slightly too late, slightly too early, or didn’t have specific enough info to find the few threatened/endangered species of the region, these being Fiery Copper, Bavius...
  17. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Reptiles: 1 Tortoise species seen lumbering across a road; a number of deceased snakes on the roads – only one live snake seen, winding its way across the road (glistening brown, about 2-3 feet long, but not identified); lizards: a few Peloponnese Wall Lizards; one Balkan Green Lizard
  18. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Birds: a small but select list (40+9 heard) Sparrowhawk (1), Common Buzzard (4), Peregrine Falcon (1), Lesser Kestrel (3), Common Kestrel (1), Short-toed Eagle (1), Yellow-legged Gull (1 seen along the coast from the motorway), Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove (1 heard), Scops Owl (2...
  19. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Trip Summaries Final Butterfly total: 74 species (or 75 if you split the Chelmos-endemic Zephyr Blue as Plebeius brethertoni from the Zephyr Blue I saw at Mainalo). Of these, about 44 cannot be regularly seen in the UK. Butterflies by Mountain: Chelmos (including Kalavryta and the surrounding...
  20. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Day 10 (continued) Day-list total: 35 Trip-list additions: 74. AMANDA’S BLUE Then back to Kalavryta for my final evening, before departing after breakfast for the drive back down the mountain to the coast, the motorway, and Athens for an afternoon flight back home. The only butterflies seen...
  21. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Day 10 (continued) ... Mt. Chelmos 1446m, 15:00-15:45 Here there were: Clouded Yellow, BMW, Dusky Meadow Brown •, Brown Argus, Large White, Brimstone, Cleopatra, Large Tortoiseshell (maybe even the same individual I saw on a previous day’s visit?), Small Skipper, Zephyr Blue, Chapman’s Blue...
  22. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Day 10 (continued) ... Chelmos Ski-Centre Side-road Gully 1700m+, 13:00–14.45 On this final visit, I explored the scrub below the track as well as the gully above, and saw: Orbed Red Underwing Skipper, Glanville Fritillary •, Silver-studded Blue, Clouded Yellow, Small Skipper, Brimstone, Niobe...
  23. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Day 10 (continued) ... Moving on up the tarmac across the Xerokambos, I headed back to the rocky outcrop area with the ‘bandstand’ at 1567m, the location I first visited back on Day 2, again looking for Chelmos Blues. ?Chelmos Blue Location, Mt Chelmos 1567m, 11:40–12.40 Here I saw the...
  24. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Day 10 (continued) ... Mt. Chelmos 1446m, 09:50–10:40 Here I saw: BMW, Scarce Swallowtail, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Large White, Brown Argus, Silver-studded Blue, Grecian Anomalous Blue, Chapman’s Blue, Brimstone, Great Banded Grayling, Mountain Argus I also managed to locate a Serin in the...
  25. CactusD

    Chelmos, Erimanthos, Mainalo: A Peloponnesian Butterflies Trip, 28/06/12 – 08/07/12

    Day 10 (continued) Agia Lavra 950m I started off with a final visit to Agia Lavra pre-breakfast, where I saw Common Blue, Meadow Brown, BMW, and Great Banded Grayling. No Hairstreaks today again: almost certainly confirming the lateness of my visit for any more species. Also saw a Middle...
Back
Top