Flamingos have the last laugh

In the warmth of the late October sun with the clear blue skies you can be forgiven for thinking it’s still Summer. But the absence of busy roads, sunbeds on the beach, hustle and bustle in the streets and a clear view across Eleftherias Square indicate the tourists have gone home and everyday life gets back to normal. The winding down after the Summer season has begun and Tavernas and shops are shutting up for the Winter.

The Greek equivalent of Costa and Nero have shot up yet the choice of coffee’s include Fredo Espresso and Frappe essential to the Greek way of life. Yet only Greek’s can do a coffee delivery service on their mopeds and young and old sit sipping coffee for hours under the bougainvillaea whilst smoking a cigarette and watching the world go by.

So on my way out of Kos town a detour to the Tigaki Salt Lake seems the perfect opportunity to see the Greater Flamingos. With no one around you soon realise another indication that October has arrived is the absence of sound, no cicadas the sound of silence is enormous. As we pull up to the lake side a flock of Jackdaws take to the skies cackling to each other as they fly off across the fields and rooks squabble in the trees.

Standing on the side of this shallow lake we are able to observe the Flamingos around the corner and decide to follow the path round to get a closer look. So just like David Attenborough we creep up silently  through the reed bed. We can hear them chatting to each other with that same laugh Ducks have when they are quacking about who knows what. They are so close and just as we peer round the grasses they spot us and take flight back to where we stood earlier. The salmon pink under wings are beautiful but they are too quick for us to capture on film.

We will try again next time and take our tripod to give us a better chance of capturing the spectacle. You can still hear them, laughing at our failed attempts, but they soon ignore us as they get back to feeding.