On the Hunt for Eastern Festoon, Kos Island (1 Viewer)

Travelling between 14-17 April 2016, this was a short trip to explore the southern Aegean island of Kos, with the principal goal being to find Eastern Festoon and any other spring butterflies on the wing.

Despite the short duration, it was a very successful trip, recording no less than 27 species of butterfly, along with 85 species of birds, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Collared Pratincole and Bonelli's Eagle amongst them.


INTRODUCTION

A total of almost 50 species of butterfly have been recorded on Kos, but I located very little information on which species were likely to be active in April and no information whatsoever on actual sites that might be productive on the island. Likewise, I also had no real idea whether Eastern Festoon, my main target for the trip, would be flying or not or indeed if it is actually regular on Kos.

Staying in the southern resort of Kardamena, I concentrated on the Alykes Salt Lake at Tigaki and the mountain areas around Pili, the former of these very productive for birds and the latter proving very good for butterflies. Additionally, I spent some time along the coastal plains adjacent to Kardamena and paid one visit to the Psalidi wetland in the east of the island.

It is hoped that this report will, at least in part, address the relative lack of information on butterlfies on this Greek island and thus assist anybody venturing this way. Provided below is a basic site guide, a daily log and a full systematic list of butterflies seen during the three days, plus also a list of the birds and reptiles too.

DAILY LOG

14 April.

Three-hour afternoon flight from Lithuania to Kos, 6 C and rain on departure, 25 C and sun on arrival! Picked up a rental car and drove the ten minutes to Kardamena. Already close to dusk, dumped my stuff in an apartment, paused a while to watch Pallid Swifts hurtling round the town, then scooted off for quick exploration of olive groves to the north-west of town - Crested Larks and Sardinian Warblers common, one Long-legged Buzzard by the roadside, several Scop's Owls calling as night fell.



15 April.

Dawn, Alykes Salt Lake, northern Kos, a string of Greater Flamingos across the shallow waters, several dozen Ruddy Shelducks grazing the short turf between the lake and sea.

Too early in the day for butterflies, so a couple of hours of birding instead, walking around the entirety of lake – not bad at all, Zitting Cisticolas rising from sedge tussocks, a Woodchat Shrike atop a small bush, Hoopoes flopping off across pasture and White Stork plodding meadow. On the lake itself, both Purple Heron and Squacco Heron, plus Slender-billed Gull and Spur-winged Plover. More impressive however was the flock of Red-throated Pipits found on the seaward side of the pool – numbering at least 30 birds, all strutting rank meadows adjacent to the sand dunes, these were treats indeed, all sporting smart summer dress.

A little before 9.00 a.m., perhaps now approaching 20 C, a flutter of yellow across the dunes, a Clouded Yellow hurtling across without settling ...and so opened the butterfly action. Within ten to fifteen minutes, quite some dozens of butterflies took to the wing. I relocated to a flower meadow on the landward side of Alykes and marvelled at the masses of butterflies now flying, the numbers certainly in the hundreds. Clouded Yellows very prominent, but so too assorted whites, the species initially confusing me for a while as most refused to land for inspection! As I pranced around the meadow for a good half an hour and more, so the identities resolved – Eastern Dappled White and Small White abundant, Eastern Bath White also common. Also plenty of Common Blues sunning themselves and, in vivid splashes of bright orange, quite a number of Lesser Fiery Coppers, a new species for me. Aegean Meadow Browns also flying, plus a copy of Painted Ladies.

Glancing towards the mountains rising to the south, the peaks flanked by olive groves and meadows on the lower slopes and pines higher up, these seemed my natural destination for the rest of the day.

And glorious it turned out to be, my drive towards the village of Pili marked by a general rise in the numbers and varieties of butterflies populating the small roadside meadows. A couple of Swallowtails drifted over the lanes, a Red Admiral basked in the sun and, in a moment of brief frustration, a moderate-sized butterfly sailed over the car, giving hints of cream and black. By the time I was out of the car, over a fence it had gone, vanishing into olive groves beyond. Pretty sure it was an Eastern Festoon, but I certainly hadn't nailed it! Hopefully more would follow.

After coffee and buns in a coffee shop in Pili, I followed the lanes towards Zia and then stumbled across an absolutely superb area – a mosaic of meadows and small olive groves straddling a series of old terraces and dotted by tumbled down stone walls and thick hedges. Slightly overgrown and boasting a profusion of flowers, the place was alive with butterflies – Eastern Dappled Whites and Clouded Yellows abundant again, so too Aegean Meadow Browns. Here however, the range of species was far better than at Alykes – a total of sixteen species seen, including quite a few Swallowtails, several very nice Scarce Swallowtails, plenty of Lesser Fiery Coppers, a few Small Coppers and dozens of Common Blues. Also found a few Chapman's Blues and, in shady gullies, several Large Wall Browns.

Highlights of the day however fell to the Eastern Festoons – after the brief glimpse of the probable on the way into the mountains, I then encountered no less then three more at this locality near Pili. Getting good views of them however was not very easy! The first simply sailed across the slopes at a fairly rapid pace, meandering widely, but never settling, the second did something similar, but teased by landing for split seconds when I was not close enough to appreciate it, and the third sent me on a wild goose chase for quite some time until it finally landed for just enough seconds to fire off a couple of photographs. But see it I did, the key target of the trip under the belt!

Finally departing this excellent area, I decided to then try the higher areas, venturing to the upper slopes of Mount Dikeos above Zia. Very scenic, but a notable reduction in the number of butterflies active. Still not bad at all – some of the highlights including one Southern Comma on the track, a few Lesser Fiery Coppers and Small Coppers and, best of all, three Green-underside Blues. Also Sub-alpine Warblers singing here, flocks of Bee-eaters overhead and a few Red-rumped Swallows around villages just below.

Moderately late in the day, I now returned to the Kardamena area, finding a very nice meadow at the eastern edge of the agricultural plain. A couple of Long-legged Buzzards circled over the adjacent hillside, Alpine Swifts hurtled in towards evening. The meadow itself was another treat – the now familiar cocktail of abundant whites of several species and Clouded Yellows, supplemented by yet another two Eastern Festoons, my first skippers of the trip (one Small Skipper and two Lulworth Skippers) and, also new for the trip, one Long-tailed Blue and two Lesser Spotted Fritillaries.

I had now encountered 22 species during the day, a very respectable total for this small Aegean island. With that, I retired to Kardamena for the evening.

Before the butterflies took over...

And then the real targets...

And the star...

Nice one Jos! A star indeed.

Wonderful variety. Nature is splendid when we let it be.
Maybe the desire to keep the olive crop pure is blocking the use of pesticides.
Here in NYs Central Park, there are only a smattering of butterflies, probably because the area gets sprayed regularly. Obviously not great for hungry migrants either.

Great report Jos and I'm delighted you nailed the Eastern Festoon! Congrats!

Chris

Thanks all, next installment below

16 April.

No point in getting up too early, few butterlies would be flying until about 9.00 a.m. So, arriving at the meadows between Pili and Zia a little before this, I wandered around a while waiting for the butterflies to take to the wing. First butterfly of the day, and a new species for the trip, one Mallow Skipper sunning on flowers aside the road.

Other than this, didn't see any additional species to those of the day before, so fairly soon returned to Mount Dikeos to photograph the Green-underside Blues, seeing also three Eastern Festoons, again only one landing long enough to get any good views. Several Small Coppers on the tracks, one fine Green Hairstreak on flowers and, ambling across the meadow, a Spur-thighed Tortoise! Also one Southern Comma, several Large Wall Browns, a few Red Admirals and plenty of Painted Ladies.

From here, I decided to cut across to the east of the island to visit the Psalidi wetlands. Quite a few Swallowtails and Scarce Swallowtails en route, plus another two Spur-thighed Tortoises. The Psalidi wetlands are supposed to be one of the island's top birding localities, but from a bird perspective, I have to say it was disappointing, three Greater Flamingos and a handful of Little Grebes being about the only birds of any note. Fortunately, it was rather better for butterflies, the arid area between the pools and sea being very good, and even more so the margin where the arid area jutted up against the more luxuriant vegetation of the wetlands. In this area, a whole range of good butterflies seen, including several Lesser Spotted Fritillaries, two Pigmy Skippers, one Oriental Marbled Skipper and, attracted to flowering broom, an impressive 18 Long-tailed Blues!

Temperature now sitting at 26 C, great wafts of Clouded Yellows and Eastern Dappled Whites fluttered in the light breeze, a single Long-legged Buzzard drifted overhead. After a couple of hours here, I detoured through Kos town, then returned relatively early to Kardamena.

After dark, I took a short drive through farmland and olive groves to the east of town, seeing a couple of Little Owls near old buildings, then hearing quite a number of Scop's Owls in the olives, two eventually seen.

A few butterflies from the day...

And a couple of reptiles...

17 April.

Decided to revisit Alykes Salt Lake early morning. Seemed to have been an influx of migrants, with Great Spotted Cuckoos amongst the first birds of the day seen, two in agricultural areas just outside Kardamena, then another three at Alykes. Also two Lesser Kestrels at Alykes and assorted passerines, including Black-eared Wheatear, Tawny Pipits, Citrine Wagtail and a fine flock of about 30 Yellow Wagtails, males of feldegg and dombrowskii amongst them. On the salt lake itself, several Little Ringed Plovers, four Kentish Plovers and Temminck's Stint were newly-arrived, plus too a few Wood Sandpipers and other waders. Four Stone Curlews also roosting nearby. Top birds on the lake however were three Collared Pratincoles - mostly roosting on a small island, but occasionally taking sorties, these were nice indeed.

Soon, it was butterfly time again – no new species at Alykes, so I returned to the mountains, focussing on the Old Pili area. Climbed to the hilltop castle first, seeing several Large Wall Browns and the occasional Swallowtail and Clouded Yellow, plus a singing Black-eared Wheatear, then dropped into a limestone gully beyond. Not amazing numbers of butterflies, but remarkable for Eastern Festoons – five seen in all, predictably none stopping for more than a split second!

Hot and sunny again, touching 26 C, the next stop was the higher slopes above Old Pili. Cretzschmar's Bunting singing in an isolated tree, Alpine Swifts high above, a rather memorable pair of Bonelli's Eagles being mobbed by a small flock of Lesser Kestrels, perhaps eight of the latters buzzing in and out. Two Long-legged Buzzards also circling, along with many dozens of Jackdaws. On the butterfly front, quite splendid too – a mini hotspot for skippers, I found no less than four Mallow Skippers and one Orbed Red-underwing Skipper on a single sunny bank, a Southern Comma and half dozen Painted Ladies accompanying them. A few other bits and bobs also seen, but as mid-afternoon arrived, it was back to Kardamena for me.

With 27 species now under the belt, I decided I had seen all the butterflies that I was realisiticaly going to see, so I actually spent a couple of hours lazing in the sun before it was time for me to head to the airport. Departed Kos at 7 p.m., a warm sun still sitting in the sky, arrived in Lithuania three hours later, cold and damp again!

More butterflies.

Full report now on my website - CLICK HERE if interested. Basically adds a mini site guide, additional photographs and systematic lists of all butterflies, birds and reptiles seen.

A most interesting report Jos, well done!

Chris