The return of the Flamingos

The return of the Flamingos by Mike Jackobo

A flock of flamingos is flying through the sky in western Greece. The return of the flamingos for autumn and winter is official.

Spring and summer are not a good period for bird photography in western Greece. The flamingos and other waterbirds have left. All that is left are the egrets, but with so much empty space, they are not easy to locate. You have to actively go looking for them; they won’t tolerate the presence of humans if they have a choice. All the marshlands feel empty except for the various species of seagulls—and seagulls are the spawn of the devil, with the exception of the Little Gull.

The marshlands have another charm that makes them attractive: silence! If a marsh is not near a swimming beach, all you can hear is the wind in the trees. Given that very few people go there in the morning, they are the perfect location to empty your brain and relax. The cell phone remains in the pocket; the perfectly still water and the distant mountains is all that matters.

The Honking Sound!

The day I took this photo was the last day of my summer vacation, at the end of the first week of September. I had gone there a couple of times over the previous days, so I knew there was nothing to observe or photograph. Nevertheless, the gear comes with me! Little time had passed since I arrived when I heard the honking sound I have come to love: the sound of the flamingos. I looked around, but I didn’t see anything. Then I looked up at the sky and there I saw them—a flock of flamingos flying through the sky over my location, heading westward. By the time I picked up the camera, they had already passed me and were flying away. About an hour later, another flock landed in the marshland where I was standing.

I had never witnessed the return of the flamingos before. They always arrived at a later date, and I would see them in mid-October when they were already established. I take it as a good omen for this autumn and winter.