Thursday, September 29, 2022

Return Leg

We’re back from Skiathos - eventually. More of that little saga later. Two weeks of unbridled sunshine left us browned off in the normal way with a healthy outdoor tan from our favourite holiday destination. 

As ever and due to unrelenting sunshine, clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties the birding was pretty poor. Nonetheless most would be happy with seeing raptors like Eleanora’s Falcon, Hobbies and Buzzards. Daily sightings of Spotted Flycatchers, wagtails, Whinchats, Sardinian Warblers and the ubiquitous Red-backed Shrike added to the feeling that a day spent in the beautiful countryside of Skiathos was equal to if not far better than a day of burning on Koukounaries beach. 

I returned with very few new bird photos but lots of scenes of Skiathos, the most photogenic of destinations. I am now catching up with two weeks post, business, news, and household jobs like gardening. And there are two new bird books to unpack and then review here on the blog. 

In the meantime here is a selection of photos from Skiathos September 2022. Sorry there aren’t too many birdy pics but I’m sure that regular readers will know how I like to take holiday snaps too. 

Enjoy the pics and don't forget to click for a better view.

Woodchat Shrike

Sardinian Warbler

Goats at Aselinos

Agia Paraskevi

Pomegranate

Morning Flight

A Spot of Rain

Milos Taverna

Bus Stop 

Dry Dock Time

Loading Up

Spotted Flycatcher

Grey Heron

Little Egret

Shop Window

Net Repairs

Windswept Tree

Unloading

The Bourtzi

Yammas

Red-backed Shrike

Feta

Skiathos Carob Tree

Waiting for The Ferry

Boat Repairs

Skiathos

The Bells

Hee Haw

Mini Sub

The Bourtzi

Plane Watchers

Skiathos Rainbow

Day Trip?

Waterline

Sunny Skiathos

And now for a rant about TUI, our flight provider. 

We arrived in plenty of time for our 1345 flight back to Manchester on Wednesday. We learnt that the flight was over two hours late in setting off from Manchester after early morning fog. Fair enough but this “ferry flight”, empty and solely to take a plane load of people back to Manchester then took one and a half hours to turn around. 

Tui

Worse was to come when the pilot announced to already grumpy passengers that our journey to Manchester needed for a “splash of fuel” that would entail a refuelling stop at Dusseldorf, a German hub of TUI where fuel is probably cheaper than topping up in Greece. A sceptic might say, “follow the money rather than TUI's customer service”.  

The “splash of fuel”  added two hours to the flight time and we eventually arrived at our front door over six hours later than anticipated. The joys of travel. This unexpected addition to our holiday rather took the gloss off our wonderful time in Greece. 

Back soon with local birds, ringing, birding and a couple of new book reviews. 

Linking at weekend to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.

 

16 comments:

  1. Hello Phil :=)
    On coming to the end of your post I am so sorry that your journey home took so long. It's enough to put you off traveling for ever, however I feel sure you will be back to sunny Skiathos next year.:=) It is a place of serene beauty picturesque and unspoilt, and I enjoyed seeing all the birds you captured. I have never seen the two little beauties the Sardinian Warbler nor the Woodchat strike, also lovely shots of all the birds you saw. The island has a lot of character, and I appreciated all photos of the various scenes you shared, but the rainbow image is really beautiful.
    All the best.

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  2. Hi Phil, looks as though you enjoyed your trip and grabbed a few photo's. I'm still having trouble with blogger, so this is a trial run.
    Mike.

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  3. What a wonderful break. It looks a beautiful island with the calm and slow life that that brings. Sorry about your homeward trip but at least it wasn't cancelled.

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  4. Looks like an enjoyable trip despite the harsh sunshine and the delayed return journey. The pics are all so wonderful, especially the birds.

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  5. Those are dramatic storm clouds. Great capture. I was beginning to think that all shrike species, worldwide, were masked. You finally showed me a beauty that isn't (the red-backed). It was a pleasure to join in your trip.

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  6. Welcome home you two!

    I strongly suspect that in a few months as you review you photographs of Skiathos that the delay in returning will be all but forgotten. It appears your trip was outstanding in all other respects!

    All of the bird images are superb! I guess I relate most to that handsome Sardinian Warbler as we share a similar eye color following a night of more than our fair share of ouzo.

    Today there will be more sawing and raking of downed tree limbs after our bit of "weather" the other day. No complaints. Our southwestern neighbors have literally lost everything. Total devastation in many areas.

    We're good. We hope you recover from sunshine overdose. Thank you for sharing some great travel photos!

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  7. What a fabulous trip! What vehicle did you get around town in? I love the rainbow and all of the bird photos you've shared. I know you have more photos....can't wait to see them!

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  8. Flying anywhere has become such a bother but it looks like you had a good time.

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  9. Since I no longer consume chocolate(anything caffeine related) those carob pods are of great interest to me!! Loved all the scenic views & birds. The warbler is a stunner!!

    Enjoy the week ahead & thanks for linking in this week.

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  10. Lovely. Regine
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  11. Wonderful photos, great variety.

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  12. Wonderful photos, love the birds and scenery. Looks like paradise, a great trip. My favorites are the Shrike and Warbler.
    Sorry, I am late visiting. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy new week !

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  13. Sounds like a wonderful trip despite the delayed return journey.
    The island is beautiful.

    Enjoying your amazing photos as always, Phil.

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  14. Great shots all!
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/10/bedtime-story.html

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  15. I think Tui have had quite a few problems recently.

    I did enjoy seeing your photographs, a wonderful selection.

    All the best Jan

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