Phil Carter
Well-known member
Non-birding in as much as the trip was specifically for the other half as payment for a birding trip I've got planned later this year. Of course, this didn't preclude early morning sessions and having the bins slung round the neck the rest of the time.
Hopefully this report will be of use to birders who also have family commitments on holiday and are therefore limited in time and transport (birding reports like this are hard to find).
And so on to the birds. Side sits on a little headland jutting out into the Med. with ruins and scrub behind it and birds, it seems, absolutely love it.
As always, I always try to guess what my first bird of the holiday will be and as usual it was a House Sparrow from the hotel balcony. Second bird however was a lifer in the form of a White-spectacled Bulbul, a pair in fact (they were always in pairs).
A mid-morning stroll through the dunes and ruins gave me 5 more lifers in the form of Black-eared Wheatears, Eastern Orphean Warblers, Masked Shrikes, a stonking male Ruppell's Warbler and last but certainly not least, since I've been waiting 32 years since I first heard one, a Quail.
There were birds everywhere, Woodchats and Masked Shrikes seemingly on every bush, warblers flitting all over the place, Buntings (Ortolan or Cretzschmars, I wasn't certain at the time? Both, as it turned out, Cretzsch being another lifer). An adult male Barred Warbler was a real treat.
I hoped the second morning would live up to the first and in terms of sheer numbers of birds it surpassed it. There'd obviously been a fall of Lesser Whitethroats (I'd seen one the day before) and they were absolutely everywhere, one small tree seemed to have a dozen for the rest of the week. Sprinkled amongst them were Olivaceous Warblers, more "barred" warblers, more Ruppell's, more Orpheans, a couple of Sardinians......you get the picture.
And so it went on, different days had different falls, Lesser whitethroats, Common Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Whinchats. One day I was tripping over Wrynecks! Also the odd Pied Wheatear, Semicollared and Collared Flycatchers put a bit of extra icing on top, if any were needed.
Non-bird stuff included Tortoises, Tongue Orchids, Violet Limodore, loads of lizards, a couple of snakes (no idea what sp.) and Eastern Festoon among the few butterflies.
Not a bad little break although I think 'er indoors may choose her own holiday next year.
Phil
Hopefully this report will be of use to birders who also have family commitments on holiday and are therefore limited in time and transport (birding reports like this are hard to find).
And so on to the birds. Side sits on a little headland jutting out into the Med. with ruins and scrub behind it and birds, it seems, absolutely love it.
As always, I always try to guess what my first bird of the holiday will be and as usual it was a House Sparrow from the hotel balcony. Second bird however was a lifer in the form of a White-spectacled Bulbul, a pair in fact (they were always in pairs).
A mid-morning stroll through the dunes and ruins gave me 5 more lifers in the form of Black-eared Wheatears, Eastern Orphean Warblers, Masked Shrikes, a stonking male Ruppell's Warbler and last but certainly not least, since I've been waiting 32 years since I first heard one, a Quail.
There were birds everywhere, Woodchats and Masked Shrikes seemingly on every bush, warblers flitting all over the place, Buntings (Ortolan or Cretzschmars, I wasn't certain at the time? Both, as it turned out, Cretzsch being another lifer). An adult male Barred Warbler was a real treat.
I hoped the second morning would live up to the first and in terms of sheer numbers of birds it surpassed it. There'd obviously been a fall of Lesser Whitethroats (I'd seen one the day before) and they were absolutely everywhere, one small tree seemed to have a dozen for the rest of the week. Sprinkled amongst them were Olivaceous Warblers, more "barred" warblers, more Ruppell's, more Orpheans, a couple of Sardinians......you get the picture.
And so it went on, different days had different falls, Lesser whitethroats, Common Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Whinchats. One day I was tripping over Wrynecks! Also the odd Pied Wheatear, Semicollared and Collared Flycatchers put a bit of extra icing on top, if any were needed.
Non-bird stuff included Tortoises, Tongue Orchids, Violet Limodore, loads of lizards, a couple of snakes (no idea what sp.) and Eastern Festoon among the few butterflies.
Not a bad little break although I think 'er indoors may choose her own holiday next year.
Phil
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