Botany & Ornithology

The Island is a sensory delight, the moment that you step off the boat you see the rugged mountainous scenery, clear blue sea and white sandy beaches. You can hear the water lapping on the quay side, the goat bells in the olive groves and the donkeys braying to each other across the valleys. Most of all however, you can smell the herbs, usually this is your first impression of Amorgos as the scent is carried in the air across the sea to the ship as you approach the island. There are a great variety of herbs but the predominant ones are:

• Amorgos Mint
• Basil
• Chamomile
• Fennel
• Marjoram
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

The islanders still use these herbs both fresh and dried for both culinary and medicinal use in addition to making scented combinations to hang in rooms or cupboards. You can pick the herbs yourself and take them home with you or buy products all over the world which are made from them. These herbs are the ultimate in organic and natural produce.

Read more about the comprehensive use of all the Herbs of Amorgos »

The flowers of Amorgos attract many botanists from around the world. Flowers just carpet the hillsides and the goats graze on daisies or rare orchids alike, they all look the same to them! There are the enormous black arum lilies and fields full of miniature daffodils and lupins. To the initiated you will find:

• Dianthus microlepis
• Anemone coronaria
• Aquilegia amaliae
• Clematis viticella
• Alcea heldreichii
• Viola poetica
• Cyclamen persicum
• Anthemis orientalis

The list is endless but to the uninitiated it is just a sea of beauty and colour especially earlier in the year.

The birds of the island are of great interest to ornithologists. There are two rare birds on the island which are almost unique to the area these are Andouin's gull and Bonelli's eagle. As we walk along little used paths we see a great variety of birds which are indigenous to the island. Amorgos is also a transitory stop over for birds migrating from the North to Africa for the winter. We spent many hours last Autumn watching the antics of the bee eaters as they swept around the sky in pursuit of their quarry. The most impressive of all however are the eagles (Tawny, Spotted, Lesser Spotted & Asian Imperial). They are most often seen high in the sky circling the mountain tops but on our walks you may be lucky enough to see one on the ground or in its nest with young. Other birds often seen are:

• Buzzards (Common, Long-Legged & Honey)
• Krupers
• Rock Nuthatch
• Sombre Tit
• Collared & Semi Collared Flycatchers
• Masked Shrike

One of the beauties of the island is not knowing what is around the next corner as we take you to many hidden and secret places.