Καλές μέρες. Part One.

Yes. It has been a while.

May 4th 2026 at 0200 hours. Tiny taxi skidded across the IPhone screen, over the bridge, through the village, heading our way. Five minutes later headlight beams turned the corner to illuminate our luggage waiting patiently on the darkened driveway. Howard loaded our gear, spun the car around and headed off the way he came and then towards the M55. Destination Manchester Airport and flight Jet2 LS1729 to Greece. 

Taxi drivers meet many varied people and it's no secret that they like to chat, sharing news and views on life. Most have a good handle on the pulse of Joe Public and are not shy to share their own opinions. When I mentioned my dislike of football, my fear of the coming World Cup but my love of cricket Howard changed tack and moved to the state of Britain, a subject close to the heart of 99% of his passengers of recent months all of whom have apparently suffered from symptoms of cold rage. By Terminal 2 Howard and I had solved all the world's problems and agreed the right way forward would be to not pay a TV licence and to never, ever buy a newspaper. The lively discussion allowed Sue to grab a a little snooze.

Howard disembarked us at the Jet2 end of Terminal 2 where a phalanx of friendly red-tailored youngsters greeted and sorted us in double quick time. It’s no wonder we dumped TUI years ago to now find that Jet2 overall service is superior in most respects; Germanic efficiency is not as it was whereby whole Facebook Groups are devoted to the subject of customer complaints and TUI’s misfortunes. 

Jet2 

Reading flight boards is an exercise and education in the geography of deciphering letter codes of sometimes distant, often nearby destinations. We noted that EGPD is not an airport in Egypt but Aberdeen Airport Scotland and that KACT, Waco in Texas USA was not for us. Lower down the unending display we found it – the mystery that JSI = Skiathos with the message “Wait in Lounge”. So we did just that while taking our respective morning pills with a cup of very expensive lukewarm coffee. 

Manchester Airport May 2026

As we flew east to the warmth and sun of Greece The Alps below were blanketed in snow, a seemingly icy wilderness where people spend holidays falling over and breaking limbs. It’s all good harmless fun but not for us. 

The plane manoeuvred lower as it passed over Northern Thessaloniki towards the tiny island of Skiathos marooned in the Aegean Sea some 250 miles north of Athens. Arriving from an easterly direction with the sound of landing gear slowly unwinding we passed close to the island of Skopelos on our right and Skiathos Town almost directly below. Plane spotters would be waiting for us. The hobby is very similar to Birding 2026 but a little more dangerous when stood behind an Airbus about to take off.

Plane Spotters Skiathos

Skiathos, Greece

Lumps in the throat formed as we thumped onto unyielding tarmac and the air brakes kicked in with a vengeance. We were back to beloved Skiathos for 19 days and 19 nights. 

Without the nonsense of EES we passed quickly through airport necessities. A smile, a “kalispera”,a stamp in a passport, grab the waiting cases and off we trotted into the waiting sunshine. In their infinite wisdom Skiathos had weeks ago decided that during busy arrivals and departure times they would dispense with rules from the Brussels commissariat and instead use a common sense approach in allowing innocent travellers and waiting businesses to enjoy their times and Euros together. 

Maria was waiting with the Jimny, a newish vehicle in a khaki colour that Magda had earmarked for us when she discovered my own purchase of a JB74 in late 2025. While no colour match for my metallic blue Jimny, the khaki shade fitted the bill to blend into the rugged Skiathos landscape. During our stay we would meet more JB74s, a cool car, blue or khaki.

Jimny x 2

Jimny UK

Jimny loaded up we hit the road with a dash and then a splash of water, orange juice, fresh strawberries, butter, Greek yoghurt, a bottle of ouzo and other essentials from Slaventis supermarket along the Ring Road. Slaventis has real live people serving at real food counters. Fish, cheeses, fresh meat, fruit & veg that can be picked and chosen from display by a customer to their own requirements Hand it to a staff member to weigh and ticket followed by a cheery “efcharistó” from both is a civilised way of shopping. Not your average Tesco experience. 

Slaventis Skiathos

Slaventis Skiathos

Slaventis Skiathos

Slaventis Skiathos

Just twenty minutes later and after negotiating Skiathos’ single roundabout we took in coast road views to eventually drive into The Almira car park where Anna waited for us at the hotel entrance with hugs and kisses while asking why we were late. 

Aghia Paraskevi. Next stop Troulos

 

When Anna clocked the bulging supermarket bags she knew the score. Within minutes we had the best room ever in the hotel. A private bungalow room aptly numbered 101 with grassy space for two sunbeds, table and chairs and probably anything we asked for. There was a view of the hotel grounds, bar and swimming pools, and over the back an unkempt field with Barn Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows, Swifts, a resident Little Egret, Night Heron, Grey Heron. One morning came a couple of late migratory Bee Eaters plus a gang of rather lazy sheep that lived on site. For now! 

Night Heron

Red-rumped Swallow

Little Egret

Almira Hotel

Bee Eaters

Our long-standing friends Anna Mathinou and husband George (Giorgios) Diolettas run the most amazing hotel and attached Restaurant Oregano. The grounds and rooms are immaculately maintained by a superb team of friendly people who appear to love Anna and George as much as we do. 

We remembered when George and Anna adopted the Almira in 2017. The old place, then known as The Beltsios was run-down, neglected, the subject of serious family squabbles and not in demand by discerning tourists. It became something of a dump, in danger of falling apart at the seams. At the time Anna worked at Skiathos Town Hall, George was Bank Manager of the Alpha Bank in Skiathos Town when they quit their jobs at similar times to adopt what they saw as a business opportunity and chance to achieve something extraordinary. 

Anna Mathinou

George Diolettas

Entrepreneurship. It’s a word and a characteristic no longer admired or encouraged in Britain, now ignored in favour of punishing those who look to better their own and the lives of their family, to provide work, employ others and to make a creative, happy society for the good of all. 

No, our useless UK government and politicians can only investigate and introduce ways for us to pay yet more taxes, destroy initiative, success and enterprise and to then waste the money on ill thought schemes that no one wants or ever voted for.

George showed me his PC record, photos of the work that he, his brother and Anna did to bring the hotel back to life. They became painters, plumbers, joiners, builders, electricians and anything they could turn a hand to learn. As the pages of the screen turned, so the transformation followed, proof on record for all to see. The Hotel Almira with The Oregano is now a leading light of the Skiathos holiday and Tourist Trail, admired by locals and holiday makers alike as Anna and George go from strength to strength. 

Here’s a few pictures of the brilliant team at Hotel Almira and the lovely, welcoming hotel created by George and Anna. 

Hotel Almira, Troulos, Skiathos

Hotel Almira, Troulos, Skiathos

Hotel Almira, Troulos, Skiathos

Joanna. Hotel Almira, Troulos, Skiathos

Hotel Almira, Troulos, Skiathos

George and VIP Guest May 2026

"Kalimera" Hotel Almira, Troulos, Skiathos

Oregano Restaurant, Troulos, Skiathos

Oregano Bar & Restaurant, Troulos, Skiathos

Oregano Restaurant, Troulos, Skiathos

Oregano Restaurant, Troulos, Skiathos

You can contact Anna and George direct or book a stay in Skiathos through Jet2. 

Happy Days. Part Two with more views and birds later. Stay tuned.

Making Hay

Our nearby fields are awash with cut grass drying out in readiness for winter storage. Summer finally arrived for now. Hay and silage are two common methods of preserving grass for livestock feed. Hay is made by cutting and drying grass while silage is made by fermenting the gather cuttings in an airtight container. 

Tractors fly across local fields as local farmers enjoy a long spell of warm sunny weather after the tortuous winter and equally wet spring that stopped their work for days at a time and caused a redrawing of plans. At last, fields of stunted maize gain height towards their 8/10 feet goal. Temperature is paramount for maize where the seed needs soil temperatures above 10°C to grow, temperatures that we rarely reached throughout a long, cold spring. 

Silage field

 

Maize

This is a quiet time for ringing but since my last post I too have been out and about in the sunshine, camera, long lens and bins at the ready. 

Ready Steady, Go!

 

Another Marsh Harrier came along, a silent dip and dive across the fields, looking for that elusive prize, a mammal scurrying through layered green. On its way it went, almost reluctantly in a south westerly direction as if drawn by some unknown force of nature. 

Marsh Harrier

 

Mid week saw the first of the returning Yellow Wagtails, a single juvenile amongst the dozens of Pied Wagtails. 

Yellow Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

And now I wait for comments about the grey wagtail, a Yellow Wagtail that is quite grey but assuredly a Western Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava, a scarce breeding species of the Fylde area that is so scarce it cannot decline further but simply disappear into the annals of history. But, always good to see, hear and recall that soft “seep seep”.  

Water at the feeding station attracted Starlings in their juvenile variations, a mixed coat of pinky grey softness with a layer of spotted insulation that for all the world looked as if it had been stuck on a belly as an afterthought.  For students of bird moult a Starling is one to tax a ringer’s entry of “age” on the BTO's DemOn database. Good subjects for a camera lens but thank goodness we don’t catch any of the noisy, forever squawking things. 

Starling

Starling

Little Egrets begin to build in autumn numbers while Grey Herons subside into single sightings, two species which one might think can sustain their respective populations but seemingly not when the heron is now “scarce” and the egret “common”. 

Grey Heron 

The feeding station is well situated to exploit the bokeh of the telephoto lens, where shades of vegetation green, brown and ochre compete with a spot of blue sky for an out of focus backdrop. 

Meadow Pipit

Linnet

That’s me for a day or two. Thursday Friday we have Brett in to paint our kitchen diner - spend some dosh before our new Government,  “party of the workers” take it all from us. 

Politicians tell lies to win over gullible fools so as to win elections. Who Knew? 

See you soon folks. 

 

No Merlins Thank You

On Friday the catching and ringing of Sand Martins didn’t go too well; but then in 10 years of working this quarry site, a morning often doesn’t go to plan when Sand Martins have alternative ideas to combine with their instincts for survival. Before this latest visit and since 2015 we had caught 997 Sand Martins here, not a huge number considering that in most years the colony can hold up to 400 individuals on any given day at peak periods  April to August. 

The quarry and its exposed face is of varying degrees of often loose material – sand, gravel and stones of all shapes and sizes where the returning Sand Martins excavate in situations that suit their own requirements rather than those of bird ringers. Mostly the birds choose a high elevation to minimise disturbance and to deter predators. This year’s nesting chambers are high on the quarry face. The positioning of the holes is such that the ground yards below and upon which we have to erect nets is treacherous underfoot and not ideally placed to catch many of the 250+ martins returning to or leaving the nest holes some 20 yards above. Sand Martins also have incredible eyesight that combines with their unerring accuracy to fly above, below or parallel to a mist net placed to intercept a flight path. 

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

 

After three hours we called it a day but delighted in just 5 new Sand Martins to take us over 1000 captures here. Hard work but someone has to do it. The bonus is a few photos when the martins rest up between bouts of hawking insects from the surrounding farmland. 

Sand Martin

 

We had visits from both Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel, the Kestrel hovering directly above the quarry face so as to spot unwary birds around entrance holes and thus vulnerable to attack rather than hiding in the darkness. The martins saw both raptors off by a noisy rush of wings and in the case of the hawk, chasing it into the near distance whilst giving out warning calls. 

Kestrel

Other birds seen consisted of Buzzard, 4 Common Tern, Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron, Tree Sparrow. 

Buzzard

 

Grey Heron

In other news and thought for the day I am told that the popular magic eye/ear of the Merlin App for lazy birders is not all it is cracked up to be. This piece of whizz-bang technology struggles to ID the quiet squeaky birds like Robins, Flycatchers, the Regulus family and probably others too. 

Earlier this year the app caused a local frenzy by telling a user that a Blackbird was a much rarer Golden Oriole. The AI software will surely struggle with bird mimicry from species like the Common Starling, thrashers, catbirds and the aptly named mockingbirds (family Mimidae, Latin for mimic). I also doubt that the technology is advanced enough to analyse a song/call in conjunction with the relevant season of the year and/or a location's habitat  so as to give useful advice or reach meaningful conclusions.  

The “magical” Merlin app requires access to a user’s location and to a phone's microphone where the software employed may be more advanced than the listening device already installed, rarely turned to "off" on most Smartphones. 

I know of people who take their Smartphones literally everywhere, allowing the machine to track and listen in to their sometimes very personal daily activities and conversations wherever they may be. Go to “Settings” and click your buttons to “off”, preferably "FO". 

Rather than signing up to more of Google’s Big Brotherly love it may be better for budding birders to learn their birds another way. Find the bird then ID it through watching & listening in conjunction and comparison with the entries in a book? 

Books, remember those? 

Back Soon. Don't go away. I will be tracking you.