Volunteering at Antikythira

The ringing activity is starting tomorrow and Eli and the volunteers, with the new entry Angie, have been busy setting the mistnets.

I, Giacomo, have been charmed by the island last year and I’m here again to count the raptors. If only the wind lets me!

Passing of the binoculars between the raptor counters

Today it’s been very wind, as well, with gusts of 70 km/h. The wind was blowing mainly from NNE. With so strong winds the raptors may not attempt to cross the sea and. What’s more, a wind from NNE is blowing in a favourable direction, and if the wind is not too strong the birds may take advantage of the tailwind to reach more directly their destination.

Goats on the lee side of the hill of Lidi, to find relief from the wind.

Thus, today no migrating raptors have been counted. But we’ve got some action, though. First, 1 Marsh Harrier has been spotted hunting close to the Guest House, waiting for better conditions.

Then, from the watchpoint, we’ve seen the family flights of several resident Common Buzzards. But the best moment was when we saw an Eleonora’s Falcon mobbing a Kestrel. It’s the breeding season for Eleonora’s Falcon and so they are more aggressive towards competitors. What a spectacular aerial fight, with two agile and swift species involved!

The wind speed dropped down a little in the evening, hopefully tomorrow we’ll be more lucky.