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NATURAL HISTORY
Night time |
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Dusk in May and early June
is the time for Fire-flies...the little bright moving lights flitting
around like tiny sparkling stars.
Perhaps disappointingly these fascinating
and unique creatures are rather plain small flying beetles. . They have
fascinated humans for thousands of years and are the subjects of many
legends.
Fireflies emit light mostly to attract mates, although they
also communicate for other reasons as well, such as to defend territory and
warn predators away. In some firefly species, only one sex lights up. In most,
however, both sexes glow; often the male will fly, while females will wait in
trees, shrubs and grasses to spot an attractive male. If she finds one, she'll
signal it with a flash of her own.
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Larger than life-size photos
of Fireflies by courtesy of Facebook page 'Facts you Never
Knew' |
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Do not kill them...they
don't bite, they have no pincers, they don't attack, they don't burn you, they
don't carry disease, they are not poisonous. But they may be extremely valuable
to mankind. The unique chemicals which produce the luminous glow are being used
in medical research, particularly cancer research, as they may one day help
track the spread of cancer cells from the trackable "light" . For more
information see:
(BBC News article) |
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More photos of firefly
beetles   
By courtesy of
Wikipedia.org |
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Another night sound of the leafy areas in Agios Georgios
is a monotonous note repeated endlessly. This is the sad call of the secretive
Scops Owl which spends the day pressed invisibly against a tree trunk.
The greek name is 'Yionis' based on its call 'john; john, john' which is
said to be plaintively calling for its lost mate.
Have you heard this sad sound before? |
Scops
Owl
(photo by kind permission of the World Owl Trust charity
http://www.owls.org/)
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Mammals |
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Several mammals have nocturnal life-styles and
some of these have been seen around Agios Ggeorgios. |
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Although unlikely to be seen by visitors, this mostly nocturnal
animal is a European Dormouse, reputedly
famous for its snoring. Other names are Fat Dormouse and Edible Dormouse. This
last name is because it a delicacy in Roman times and was fattened up on
walnuts for banquets, not because it is a dish at local Corfu
restaurants.
It is a larger species and less colourful than the British
version. It can become a pest as it damages crops and trees and sometimes
enters house lofts causing damage there. |
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Returning to the hotel
one evening we saw a large Stoat in the car
headlights. We stopped and watched it for a few moments. Then it bounded to the
verge and struggled to get through a link fence before staring at us again. A
few moments later it was seen running along the top of the hotel wall. It
seemed darker than the one in the photograph so the white chest and underparts
stood out beautifully. |
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Several visitors
have reported seeing Martensin the Agios Georgios
area. The writer had a good, but quite short, side-on sighting of one about 10
metres away sitting quietly on a bank adjoining some rather dense 'maquis' very
early one morning. Before I could organise my camera it turned to look at me,
then with a couple of bounds disappeared into the dense undergrowth. At about
0.5 metres long it is considerably larger than its cousins the stoat and
polecat. It is mostly nocturnal so most often seen at dusk or dawn.
The more common is
the Beech Marten. Some people claim to have seen the much less common Pine
Marten in the area. The 2 closely related species are difficult to distinguish
unless a really good view from the front is obtained, not easy at night. The
chest of the Pine Marten is reputedly more creamy than the whiter one of the
Beech Marten, but that can also verge on the creamy.
The Beech Marten
often prowls around houses and even inhabitants roof spaces and outbuildings
whereas the Pine Marten
As one specialist
puts it : "if you see it round houses or buildings it is probably a Beech
Marten, if you see it in a forest it is probablyly a Pine Marten. Some people
claim to have seen the much less common Pine Marten in the area. The 2 closely
related species are difficult to distinguish unless a really good view from the
front is obtained, not easy at night. The chest of the Pine Marten is reputedly
more creamy than the whiter one of the Beech Marten, but that can also verge on
the creamy. |
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 Marten |
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Marten |
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| Watch a short
video from Italy of a Beech Marten
(opens pop-up
window)
(needs fast Internet connection for best
viewing). |
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