Rhodes round up

Final pics from Rhodes: The commonest butterfly was the Painted Lady which was everywhere. Elsewhere there were whites, some Clouded Yellows that were orangey-yellow, and one or two that were pale creamy. I did manage to get an Eastern Festoon on camera.

Plants are not my strong point, but I did come across some orchids high up in the centre of the island in a pine forest, and everything fits Anatolian Orchid.

I looked for bird reports on the net before I left but couldn't find anything. On return I found some reports on Fatbirder. There's obviously quite a lot I missed, and a few sites I didn't get to. I suspect one reason for the comparative dearth of reports is that birders heading towards the eastern Med will find more birds at Lesbos, Cyprus, Crete or the Turkish mainland. There isn't much water on Rhodes, so that's about twenty species you're already struggling for. Nevertheless if you want a holiday with some variety there's lots to keep you busy on Rhodes.

Of note is that neither Hawfinch or Booted Eagle, both in my probables list, figure as common in the reports and summaries. Hmmm.

Finally a few more shots from Rhodes. The swallow was inside the entrance to the church in Lindos, and the others were just ones I though interesting.