School boy error

After the dull, wet, conditions of yesterday this morning dawned  beautifully sunny and before 09.30 hrs it was “El Scorchio” and my plan was to take a slow amble up to the Greek Orthodox Church where I’ve been fortunate enough to have photographed Short-toed Eagle in previous visits. Sadly it was not to be and my only addition to the trip list came in the shape of a female Marsh Harrier, being harassed by two Hoodies, as it hunted over the heavily vegetated hillsides of a valley below my elevated position.

A Hobby did it’s best to con me into Eleonora’s wishful thinking but, 20 million pixels saved my blushes from such a silly mistake. Just before I reached the church I took a pathway up into the adjacent hills to in an attempt to get a higher viewing platform from which I could, better, scan the surrounding countryside. The view was so spectacular that I changed lenses to enable me to capture a few shots of the landscape and rugged terrain that has been my playground for the holiday period. What I didn’t do, after putting the long lens back, was to change the camera settings back to manual mode. My route took me to a Bee-eater nest site, the scale of which I’ve never witnessed before. Happily clicking away at these stunningly colourful birds completely oblivious to the fact that the camera wasn’t performing as I’d hoped. I only discovered this major faux pas when I was well on the way back down to Pefkohori. With just two more free mornings, before we head back home, I’ve decided that a repeat of this walk will be undertaken as well as one final visit to the marina.