Thursday 14 May 2015

Lesbos Day 8

Sat. 25th

Out at 6.15 and down to the saltpans looking for the Demoiselle crane that was seen late last night by a select few (stories of suppression). However, as expected, I didn't see it along with everyone else but later told it flew of at 6.08! Birds seen were little owl, gull-billed terns, a dozen 'black' spotted redshanks, 5 marsh sandpapers and 3 black-tailed godwits.  So back for breakfast and then a return to Molivos and Kavaki cliffes. Again I saw the Ruppell's warbler before even stopping the car, amazing when Killian Mullarney's group needed three visits before they saw it.   


Ruppell's Warbler

Another quick visit to the reservoir which again was pretty quiet, a couple of short-toed eagles and common buzzards then we departed to the Filia tower. Here it was a bit drizzly, much like most of the day, however, looking down the hillside I saw masked shrike, cirl bunting plus the abundant great tits and chaffinches.
Heading back, we called in at the Limonos Monastery for a coffee then onto the Parakila chapel finding a sombre tit nesting in a roadside post.



Sombre Tit

Finally, we returned to the Potamia valley near the hotel finding two orphean warblers, woodchats and black-eared wheatears.

Black-eared Wheatear

Dropped into the hotel for a cup of tea then I nipped back out to the saltpans (only a couple of miles away) for the evening watch. I had some good photo opportunities with marsh harriers then saw woodchats, 2 kestrels, 3 curlew sandpipers were new with several dunlin plus the usual stilts, ruff and woodsands etc..






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