Seasalter, Groppers, Hobby, Sanderling.

Sun. 17th May

Back to the old patch where this morning I exceeded all my past counts with 48 in one section, not counting birds on the seaward side of the road. I made a fairly early by my standards and straight away house martins, swifts and swallows were making their west. Just before eight I heard a chaffinch making a row on the top of a bush then noticed below it on a fence post sat a hobby not seemingly concerned about my presence.  I had my little camera with me and hoped it would stay allowing me a couple of shots, which it did thankfully. 

Hobby

Moving on, sedge and reed warblers plus common and lesser whitethroats then a grasshopper warbler and the walk back I met Keith Dugmore. Back at the cars Geoff Burton was on the scene and I walked back out with him again picking up stonechat, buzzard, marsh harrier, mipit, another gropper and just one sand martin but no red kites, we kept looking.

Back to the beach where seawatching only produced 5 common terns and 1 shelduck (31 were present earlier when the tide was out) and a couple of great black backed gulls. However, best of all was a flight of waders that settled on the 'island' and revealed themselves to consist of 3 dunlin and 18 sanderling most in summer plumage.  

Small White

Lesbos, Day10

Mon.27th.

The crane was still present in the same field as yesterday which proved to be its home for some time, still there when we went back to the UK. Quite a bird as it was the first for Lesbos and performed admirably for everyone, also you could not get close to it, which helped.

Demoiselle Crane

 Just off the beach were two black necked grebes but always distant,  we then went to Metochi Lake finding the rock nuthatch, masked and woodchat shrikes plus sub-alpine warbler and an agama lizard.

 Swallowtail

Rock Nuthatch

Agama Lizard

Sub-Alpine Warbler

Red-backed Shrike - upper E.River

Onto the Potamia valley seeing the orpheans again plus good views of a long-legged buzzard. After lunch in the village square we went back to the East River again finding out first black-headed bunting on route to the saltpans.

 Long-legged Buzzard

Black-headed Bunting

Here c.100 whiskered terns were performing plus the spur-winged plover was on show. News of a roller near 'Derbyshire' had us scuttling off down there which we saw on the distant wires, thanks Alan F. then back for dinner!

Whiskered Terns

Lesbos Day 9

Whilst having breakfast news reached us that the Demoiselle crane was on the Christou river, (west river) so we quickly grabbed the gear of set off, only half a km away. It was in a small field with a couple of white storks and gulls but was not easy to see over the high reeds in the dyke. I got a few shots but vegetation was often in the way and the weather was dull, however we all had our fill and time to move on.

 Two headed version!

After the crane we thought we would have another crack at Sigri to the west stopping in the Lardia valley hearing eastern Bonelli's and seeing a sub-alpine warbler. Just beyond the Eresos junction we saw a Isabelline wheatear amidst all the road workings. 

Not quite an eastern bonelli's in the Grand Canyon 

Isabellines were always distant

They are building a proper road from Sigri in the west to Kalloni, the island centre, about 40-50 km., its very mountainous and must be costing a bomb!  However, a stop at the Ipsilou monastry revealed a couple cinerous buntings which I managed to locate (difficult with my ears) and photograph plus black-eared wheatears.

 The main road west below - takes one and a quarter hrs to get to Kalloni from Sigri

Track up to Ipsilou

 Cinerous Bunting

Black-eared Wheatear - Ipsilou very quiet for birds this year

Arriving at Sigri we turned right to go along to Faneromeni finding zitting cisticolas, a couple of spot flys, lesser kestrel, wagtails, 2 golden orioles, 2 woodchats, red-rumped swallows, c20 woodsands, 2 ruff, 1 egret and a pallid harrier.

 Little Owl as we descended down to Sigri

The beach pool at the beach held quite a few waders and off shore many shearwaters were  passing by. spent some time watching the red-rumps flying in to collect mud from the pool.

 Best I could do on the two golden orioles

Red-rumped Swallow

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..

Lesbos Day 7 (why did I start this)

Friday 24th

We went straight to Achlederi looking for the Kruipers nuthatch. Walked up to the known area but for ages couldn't find them, yes, 2 short-toed treecreepers, serins, chaffinches, woodlark and greenfinches. Walked back to the car passing a couple of groups looking for the same but no luck. We were parked next to the road next to a tree shading two mini-buses and in that tree, yes, a Kruiper's nuthatch. 

Lots of these orchids in the woods

We took a scenic drive up into the Napi valley for our picnic lunch - not much here, woodchat, cirl bunting and black-eared wheatears.  Drifted slowly back to the saltpans and had another walk over the sheep fields finding a couple of short-toed larks and 3 tawny pipits plus the abundant whinchats. 

 Short-toed Lark

Whinchat

Back on the pans I found a stonecurlew, great reed warbler, sedge warbler and another couple of redfoots. Nothing much for the camera today.

Lesbos Day 6

Thurs 23rd

A sunny morning but only 9 degs as we watched the bitterns, ibises and purple herons on the Kalloni pool.

 We headed north to the Napi valley finding masked shrike at the beginning but little else as we drove along the track throught the olive groves, although as we exited onto the Petra road we came across a sombre tit and red-backed shrike.

The next stop was on the Kavaki cliffes immediately seeing Ruppell's warbler and a couple of alpine swifts, ravens and black-eared wheatears. 

Ruppell's Warbler

After a nice lunch at Petra we took a look at the reservoir above Molivos but there was hardly anything of note except two long-legged buzzards. Working our way back we stopped briefly at the raptor view point only getting a couple of photos of Cretzschmar's bunting.

 Cretzschmar's Bunting

We ended up at the East River again seeing the pendulines plus a kingfisher. olivaceous warbler, whitethroats reed and sedge warblers.

 Moving onto the saltpans a few whinchats were on view plus a couple of redfoots and lastly at 7.00pm 12 gull-billed terns.

The Red-Foots were swooping onto the ground catching beetles

Gull-billed Tern