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Monday, 10 October 2016

Εξωκλήσι Άγιος Νικόλαος στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Church of Agios Nikolaos in Rizokarpasos - Cyprus


Photos 9/10/2016 by George Konstantinou












See also

ο κατεχόμενο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - The village of Rizokarpaso - Cyprus


Νησιά Κλείδες - Καρπασία - klidhes islands - Cyprus


Ο ναός του Αγίου Φίλωνος στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Church of agios filonas at rizokarpaso















Η παραλία του Ρόννα στις βόρειες ακτές του Ριζοκαρπάσου - Ronnas beach at the north coast of Rizokarpaso - Cyprus


Photos  by George Konstantinou






See also

ο κατεχόμενο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - The village of Rizokarpaso - Cyprus


Νησιά Κλείδες - Καρπασία - klidhes islands - Cyprus


Ο ναός του Αγίου Φίλωνος στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Church of agios filonas at rizokarpaso















Η παραλία Παχύαμμος κοντά στο Μοναστήρι του Αποστόλου Αντρέα, στη Χερσόνησο της Καρπασίας - Pachyammos Beach near the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas in the Karpasia Peninsula - Cyprus


Η εντυπωσιακή παραλία Παχύαμμος κοντά στο Μοναστήρι του Αποστόλου Αντρέα, στη Χερσόνησο της Καρπασίας. Διεκδικεί πανάξια τον τίτλο της πιο όμορφης και εντυπωσιακής αμμουδιάς της Κύπρου.

The spectacular Pachyammos Beach near the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas in the Karpasia Peninsula. Seeking to claim the title of the most beautiful and impressive sandy seashore of Cyprus.

Photos  by George Konstantinou













See also

ο κατεχόμενο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - The village of Rizokarpaso - Cyprus


Νησιά Κλείδες - Καρπασία - klidhes islands - Cyprus


Ο ναός του Αγίου Φίλωνος στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Church of agios filonas at rizokarpaso














Cyprus wild donkeys (Equus asinus) Γαϊδούρι. - Γάρος - Καρπασία - Cyprus

Some hundreds of Cyprus donkeys live in a feral state on the Karpasia Peninsula in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus. They were abandoned there by Greek Cypriot farmers during the Turkish invasion in 1974. In 2008, a group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots organized to save the animals from extinction after several were found shot to death. 
Asinus is a subgenus of Equus (single-toed (hooved) grazing animal) that encompasses several subspecies of Equidae commonly known as asses, characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a coarse mane and tail, and a reputation for considerable toughness and endurance.

The common donkey is the best-known domesticated representative of the subgenus, with both domesticated and feral varieties. Among the wild ass species are several never-domesticated species that live in Asia and Africa.
The Cyprus donkeys  is the donkey breed of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. There are two principal strains: a large dark-coloured type with a pale belly, probably of European origin; and a small grey African type which represents about 20% of the total population, which in 2002 was estimated at 2200–2700.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

Tree pipit - Anthus trivialis (Linnaeus, 1758) Δεντροκελάδα - Δενδρογαλούδι - Cyprus


The tree pipit, Anthus trivialis, is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and temperate western and central Asia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The scientific name is from Latin. Anthus is the name for a small bird of grasslands, and the specific trivialis means "common", from trivium, "public street".

This is a small pipit, which resembles meadow pipit. It is an undistinguished-looking species, streaked brown above and with black markings on a white belly and buff breast below. It can be distinguished from the slightly smaller meadow pipit by its heavier bill and greater contrast between its buff breast and white belly. Tree pipits more readily perch in trees.

The call is a strong spek, unlike the weak call of its relative. The song flight is unmistakable. The bird rises a short distance up from a tree, and then parachutes down on stiff wings, the song becoming more drawn out towards the end.

The breeding habitat is open woodland and scrub. The nest is on the ground, with 4–8 eggs being laid. This species is insectivorous, like its relatives, but will also take seeds.

They have decreased in population by 85% in the last 20 years

Life cycle
mid-September to mid-April: lives in sub Saharan Africa
mid April to beginning of May: migrates and arrives in countries such as the United Kingdom
beginning of May to August: breeding season, two broods
August to mid September: flies back to Saharan Africas

They breed in habitats with a wooded component, including Lowland heath and coppice. They are found mostly in open birch woodland on the boundary with moorland, or open structured oak woodland – therefore heavy thinning is required to produce a gappy character. They prefer low canopy medium-sized trees, where there is low-growing scrub and bramble less than 2 metres high, so that horizontal visibility is relatively high. They like a mosaic of grass and bracken, but not very grazed short turf, so light to moderate grazing is preferred. Glades are also valuable, and streams are preferred.

Once they have arrived they nest on the ground amongst grass or heather tussocks. They forage on invertebrates found in the ground vegetation.

They need scattered trees as song perches
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_pipit

Photos 1/4/2016 by George Konstantinou


Tamarix sp. - Αλμυρίκι - Μερίκα - Μυρίκη, Μέρικος ή Μεριτζιά - Cyprus



The genus Tamarix (tamarisk, salt cedar) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may have referred to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain)

They are evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees growing to 1–18 m in height and forming dense thickets. The largest, Tamarix aphylla, is an evergreen tree that can grow to 18 m tall. They usually grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt and can also tolerate alkaline conditions.

Tamarisks are characterized by slender branches and grey-green foliage. The bark of young branches is smooth and reddish-brown. As the plants age, the bark becomes bluish-purple, ridged and furrowed.

The leaves are scale-like, 1–2 mm long, and overlap each other along the stem. They are often encrusted with salt secretions.

The pink to white flowers appear in dense masses on 5–10 cm long spikes at branch tips from March to September, though some species (e.g. T. aphylla) tend to flower during the winter.

Tamarix can spread both vegetatively, by adventitious roots or submerged stems, and sexually, by seeds. Each flower can produce thousands of tiny (1 mm diameter) seeds that are contained in a small capsule usually adorned with a tuft of hair that aids in wind dispersal. Seeds can also be dispersed by water. Seedlings require extended periods of soil saturation for establishment. Tamarisk trees are most often propagated by cuttings.

Tamarix species are fire-adapted, and have long tap roots that allow them to intercept deep water tables and exploit natural water resources. They are able to limit competition from other plants by taking up salt from deep ground water, accumulating it in their foliage, and from there depositing it in the surface soil where it builds up concentrations temporarily detrimental to some plants. The salt is washed away during heavy rains.

Tamarix species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora asthenella which feeds exclusively on T. africana.

Photos Kerynia 12/6/2016 by George Konstantinou



Μάθημα για την βιοποικιλότητα του τόπου μας στο νηπιαγωγείο Lions στην Λευκωσία απο τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου πρόεδρο του Συνδέσμου Προστασίας Φυσικής Κληρονομιάς και Βιοποικιλότητας της Κύπρου



Μάθημα για την βιοποικιλότητα του τόπου μας σε νηπιαγωγείο απο τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου πρόεδρο του Συνδέσμου Προστασίας Φυσικής Κληρονομιάς και Βιοποικιλότητας της Κύπρου

Σκοπός η μάθηση, ο σεβασμός και κατανόηση της βιοποικιλότητας του τόπου μας απο νηπιακής ηλικίας  και την εξάλειψη προκαταλήψεων, μύθων και φοβίων που αφορουν πολλά έιδη παρεξηγημένων ζώων και που έχουν  αρνητικό αποτέλεσμα στην  επιβίωση τους.

Ενα μεγάλο ευχαριστώ στην Γεωργία Ζυμαρά και Λίτσα Χαραλάμπους για την ευκαιρία που μου έδωσαν.















The Mediterranean sand smelt, - Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758 - Αθερίνα - Cyprus


The Mediterranean sand smelt, Atherina hepsetus, is a species of fish in the Atherinidae family

The body is rather long, slender and moderately flattened. The mouth is protrusible, directed upward with small teeth; the head and body are scaly.

The lower jaw has an upper expansion within the mouth (high dentary bone).

Two separate dorsal fins, all rays of first and 1-2 anterior rays of second dorsal fin are unsegmented, with the remaining rays segmented. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, while the caudal fin is forked.

Body is silverish white, darker on the back, with the light blue horizontal stripe extending to the tail.

The maximum size is 20 cm, but usually it is about 15 cm in length.

Although rather small, as a carnivorous species, it feeds on pelagic copepods and benthic crustaceans.

In the Mediterranean, it spawns from December to May.

It is a pelagic-neritic, brackishwater / marine fish, widespread in the eastern Atlantic coasts of Spain and Morocco including Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is also found in the western Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black Seas.

The major small-scale fishing gears exploiting this species are the various coastal beach seines, small mesh size (10 mm) gill nets and lift-nets.

Rarely it can be caught on very small hook, baited with small chunks of fish meat.

Live Mediterranean sand smelt is excellent bait for many predatory species that feed on this gregarious fish.

The meat is mostly deep fried with larger specimens sometimes prepared as part of mixed fish stew or soup.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_sand_smelt

Η αθερίνα είναι μικρό ψάρι μήκους 8 – 15 εκατοστά και μοιάζει πολύ με τη μαρίδα. Λέγεται και «σουβλίτης». Το επίσημο όνομά της είναι "Αθερίνα η εψητός" (Atherina hepsetus) και ανήκει στην οικογένεια αθερινίδες (atherinidae).

Το χρώμα της είναι γκριζοπράσινο, λίγο ασημί με μια μαύρη ταινία στα πλευρά που εκτείνεται από το κεφάλι μέχρι την ουρά. Το σώμα της στρογγυλεύει από το κεφάλι και μετά. Έχει μάτια σχετικά μεγάλα και ρύγχος μυτερό, εξ ου και το όνομα σουβλίτης. Τα λέπια της είναι μικρά και στρογγυλά με μαύρα στίγματα. Τα θωρακικά πτερύγια είναι κοντά και πίσω από τα βράγχια, ενώ τα δύο ραχιαία πτερύγια είναι σε αρκετή απόσταση μεταξύ τους.
Είναι ψάρι του αφρού (αφρόψαρο), ζει και μετακινείται κοπαδιαστά και τροφή του είναι περισσότερο πλαγκτόν. Κατά τον Μάρτιο πλησιάζει τις ακτές όπου και αποθέτει τ΄ αυγά του που μένουν κολλημένα σε πέτρες και σε φύκια.

Αθερίνες υπάρχουν άφθονες στα ελληνικά νερά, το κρέας τους είναι πολύ νόστιμο (ειδικά όταν είναι αυγομένες).
Παραλλαγή της είναι η κάπως μεγαλύτερη, λεγόμενη "κεφαλάς" (atherina boyeri) μήκους μέχρι 18 εκατοστά με ρύγχος στρογυλό.

Οι μεγάλες αθερίνες ψαρεύονται με δίκτυα της τράτας και οι μικρές κυρίως με τον αθερινολόγο ή μπέντουλα για να χρησιμοποιηθούν και ως δολώματα.
Πηγή https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B1

Photos 04.10.2016 by Costas Constantinou