Lesvos Spring 2017 summary

The long awaited trip to Lesvos ended on a bit of a high, see last post, and now its time to summarize the week.

We stayed at the PELA hotel in Skala Kallonis, and I hired a car from Tsalis, a local on island business.

We drove around 800km,(540ish miles), the weather was, in the main, unbroken sunshine for the whole week with temperatures ranging up to 27'c and the wind from the North or North East.

In total we saw/heard 152 species plus a wagtail sub species, giving 153 in total; the highlights were.

Teal, Scopoli's Shearwater, Black-crowned Night Heron, Glossy Ibis, Montagu's Harrier,  Honey Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Goshawk, Eleonora's Falcon, Spotted Crake, Little Crake, Collared Pratincole, Temmincks Stint, Marsh Sandpiper, White-winged Tern, Whiskered Tern, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Scops Owl, Bee-Eater, Middle-Spotted Woodpecker, Short-toed Lark, Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit, Red-throated Pipit,   Blue-headed Wagtail, Black-headed Wagtail, Nightingale, Isabelline Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Ruppell's Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Collared Flycatcher, Sombre Tit, Woodchat Shrike, Masked Shrike, Golden Oriole, Spanish Sparrow, Ortolan Bunting, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Cinereous Bunting, Black-Headed Bunting.

New Lesvos birds for me were WIGEON, (the remnants of the huge numbers of wintering wildfowl after a very hard winter) and WRYNECK.

Wryneck

As well as the birds we saw a lot of insects, and a host of wildflowers, when there's time they will hopefully be identified........

If anyone is interested in a late September visit to Lesvos please get in touch with me.

French/Italian Alps from 37000ft on the flight home

Lesvos the final day 1st May 2017

Today was intended to be a "mop up day", with Eastern Bonellis Warbler, Audouins Gull and Scopolis Shearwater, the target species.

We stopped off at a well known Bonellis site, but to no sightings only the contact call, so off to Persama for Audouins and a possible Pochard, 100's of Y L GUll and a few Ruddy Shelduck 😞, a little inland 2 HONEY BUZZARDS were compensation.

Honey Buzzard (Wikipedia)

So off to Eftalou and a quick drink in a lovely Taverna where a few Yelkouan Shearwaters and a distant but identifiable SCOPOLIS SHEARWATER skimmed by!

Scopolis Shearwater (Wikipedia)

A drive up on to the coast road yielded a briefly perched, flyby, ORTOLAN BUNTING.

Ortolan Bunting (library photo)

A return to Persama reservoir and still no  Audoiuns Gull.

Packing to be done before the return to WALES......................

A 2 hour pre dinner visit to the Kalloni Salt Pans was well worth it with, perhaps the star bird of the trip, an ELEONORA'S FALCON, chasing, catching and eating a hapless Corn Bunting.

Elenora's Falcon (Wikipedia)

Then followed a chase to find Black Necked Grebe to be disappointed but then rewarded with SHORT-TOED LARK.

Short-toed Lark

I've used a few Wikipedia photographs as I don't have any of my own, I thought non birding readers would like to see some of the more unusual birds mentioned

Normal? service will resume later in the week...

Lesvos day 6 Dizzy Heights and nerves of steel, 30th April 2017

After a very quiet pre breakfast walk, we set off for Mount Olympus, there are quite a few "mount Olympus" in Greece so the Gods were not at home....

On the way we did some botanising, identification of some plants will need to wait for a rainy day at home.

Ophrys minutula, a near island endemic

Crown Anemone

Fritillaria pontica

Eventually we made for the mountain; the track I choose to take was, to say the least, a bit hairy loose gravel and boulders in a 4x4 it would have been fine in out Mervia it was interesting.

The new road to Mount Olympus

After forty minutes of mostly vertical climbing we arrived on the top, which hosts an unmanned military post (all done by electronics) we had amazing views of CRAG MARTIN, ALPINE SWIFT AND SERIN.

After an easy drive down the new concrete road!!! we made our way back to the hotel for a refresh before heading out to the Kalloni Salt Pans where COLLARED PRATINCOLE (1), GLOSSY IBIS (9), SPOTTED REDSHANK (2), DUNLIN,(1) LITTLE STINT (lots) kept us busy before heading to Alykes  for RED THROATED PIPIT.

A quick word with another group had us looking for the last birds of the day in the form of CURLEW SANDPIPER.

Crag Martin photo from Wikipedia

Day 5 part 2

A prompt 9am departure gave opportunity for several stops on our way back to Ipsilou one of the highest points on the island at 684m, a result of un-erupted lava forcing its way to the surface and the resultant erosion of the overlying materials.

As one of the dominant features on a migration route there are times when it can be literally dripping with migrant birds... but not today.

The first stop was at the Kalloni Salt Pans, where GULL BILLED TERN was added to the trip list

Gull-billed Tern

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Before reaching Ipsilou we stopped off at a known location of MIDDLE SPOTTED WOODPECKER nest site, from a very safe distance we enjoyed great views.

Middle-spotted Woodpecker

Ipsilou had very few birds but SOMBRE TIT was new for the trip. I also found a single MEDITERRANEAN CHEQUERED SCORPION.

Mediterranean Chequered Scorpion

We set off towards Vatousa where we found ROCK SPARROW and a single CRAG MARTIN.

Rock Sparrow

A look for Eastern Bonellis Warbler drew a blank, so we will have to return again before the end of the trip.

Photos are from previous trips.

Lesvos day 5 Saturday 29th April 2017 PART 1

A lie in this morning, I'm sure the gang can manage to do their own thing without me, the birding is easy around the hotel and really suits a pre-breakfast walk.

So before another busy day a catch up with a few photographs,

Lesvos day 4 28th April 2017

Another mammoth day, (17 hrs yesterday) and ten today......

Demanding gang ........so  much to show them so many great places to go and impressive birds and other wildlife to experience.

Some of us started with a pre-breakfast bird watch at the Kalloni Salt Pans with DUNLIN, CURLEW SANDPIPER, WHISKERED TERN, being the highlights.

Over breakfast of ham, cheese, homemade baked beans, bread and boiled eggs, out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark long tailed bird land in the poplar trees outside the patio, immediately I could see it was one of the most prized birds to find on the island a GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO; I shouted a bit squeakily at the other guests who didn't pay any attention then I shouted louder and ran to find the rest of the group and the hotel owner, to say everyone was delighted with seeing this great bird would be an understatement.

GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO

Post breakfast we all set off towards Polchinotos, another set of salt pans, along the way another stop at KSP, gave us MONTAGUS HARRIER (♂), GREY PLOVER (8), and TURNSTONE.

We then drove the beach towards "Poli'" which was a bit quiet but a stunning drive nonetheless. With a BLACK HEADED WAGTAIL at ALikoudi PoolWe did however find LITTLE RINGED PLOVER, plus pair of KENTISH PLOVER complete with a nest of three eggs which we carefully negotiated over.

LITTLE-RINGED PLOVER

KENTISH PLOVER NEST, (taken at distance and with extreme care)

BLACK HEADED WAGTAIL

After a quick on the hoof ice cream we stopped to look for Roller but came away with SERIN.

Another busy day.....................

Lesvos day 3 27th April 2017

A pre breakfast potter revealed four LITTLE CRAKES, 2 ♂ and 2 ♀, and a SPOTTED CRAKE, plus a smart LITTLE BITTERN ♂. A nice start to the day.

After breakfast we set out to the aptly named Kalloni Raptor Watch Point, where we picked up GOSHAWK, SPARROWHAWK, SHORT-TOED EAGLE, COMMON BUZZARD BLACK STORK AND RAVEN.

A short drive saw us at Kavaki where RUPPELLS WARBLER, SUBALPINE WARBLER, and TURTLE DOVES gave really good views.

Turtle Dove

a very distant Rupells Warbler ♂

We called in to the reservoir at Persama gave us an out of place WOOD SANDPIPER, and 2 RUDDY SHELDUCK.

A superb lunch at Molivos Castle, with everyone replete saw us head back south to Achladeri, where KRUPERS NUTHATCH were feeding young at an accessible nest site. Everyone had great views and we left happy. The next bird was surprisingly a "WOOD" NUTHATCH, but not Short-toed Treecreeper.

Classic Pine forest habitat for Krupers Nuthatch

Back to the Salt pans where a female type MONTAGUS HARRIER  upset the AVOCETS but not the 125+ RUFF, the "best" bird was a CURLEW.


Driving back across country, one of the last birds of the day but the very best bird for me was WRYNECK, a new bird for me on the island.

What will tomorrow bring.

Photos are with a basic "bridge" camera if you want better ones club together to buy me a nice camera :-0

Juvenile Spur Thighed Tortoise withdrawn into carapace