[CactusD]

24th April, Lesvos Day 11

After much careering around the island over the last few days, I decided to stay relatively more local to the Kalloni area today. Weather was sunny, but still pretty breezy. Some nice finds today around the Saltpans as some new migrants increased in numbers.

Around Skala Kalloni:
Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Yellow-legged Gull, Collared Dove, Sedge Warbler, Red-rumped Swallow, Mediterranean Gull, House Martin, Common Tern, Great White Egret, Sand Martin, (Savi’s Warbler H), (Cetti’s Warbler H), Corn Bunting, Hooded Crow, Moorhen, Yellow Wagtail, Goldfinch, Meadow Pipit, Crested Lark, Wood Sandpiper, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Greenfinch

Walk down East Saltpans Track:
Whiskered Tern (3), Greater Flamingo, Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Great Spotted Cuckoo (1 first summer: fleeting views, but lovely bird!), Ruddy Shelduck (2), Common Swift, Pallid Swift, Black Stork, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Harrier, Slender-billed Gull

North-West Saltpans area:
White-winged Black Tern (2)

Kavaki:
Blackbird, Rüppell’s Warbler, Black-eared Wheatear, Subalpine Warbler, Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Linnet (2)

Perasma Reservoir:
Subalpine Warbler, Alpine Swift, Nightingale, Hoopoe, Collared Flycatcher, Whinchat (3+), Woodchat Shrike

Raptor Watchpoint (brief stop):
Collared Flycatcher, (Cretzschmar’s Bunting H)

Drive to Achladeri Forest:
Stonechat, Chaffinch, Long-legged Buzzard

Achladeri Forest:
Long-tailed Tit, (Short-toed Treecreeper H)

Kalloni Saltpans West Channel area, inc. North-West pool:
Ruff (25+), Whiskered Tern (4), Wood Sandpiper (3), Citrine Wagtail (1x male), Black-tailed Godwit (2), Little Ringed Plover, Common Buzzard

Drive back to Skala:
Spanish Sparrow (15+), Squacco Heron, Common Sandpiper, Black Stork, Coot (4), Grey Heron, Marsh Sandpiper (6+), (Turtle Dove H), Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Jay

Pasiphae Hotel Back Garden:
Long-eared Owl
(thanks Bob! Presumably one of the same pair that I’d seen across the fields near the Imerti)

Day-list: 68+5 heard

Day 11 updates to the year-list:

215. WHISKERED TERN
216. Great Spotted Cuckoo
217. Rüppell’s Warbler
218. White-winged Black Tern

Some pics below:

[CactusD]

25th April, Lesvos Day 12

Weather: Hazy sun, breezy. Only two full days left, so beginning to think about species I hadn’t found yet. Looking like I’d be dipping on Bee-Eaters and Rollers, sadly, but the April weather just hadn’t been hot enough for them. Anyway, went back to Kavaki for more shots of Rüppell’s Warblers (as I stuffed up the first lot!), and then on to Ipsilou to see if I could manage a decent go at walking up to see what was about in the trees and rocks without getting blown away: still needed Isabelline Wheatear also.

Early-morning visit to Kalloni pool:
House Sparrow, Collared Dove, (Nightingale H), (Cetti’s Warbler H), Hooded Crow, Reed Warbler, Goldfinch, Crested Lark, House Martin, (Savi’s Warbler H), Coot, Moorhen, Common Tern, Great White Egret, Yellow-legged Gull, Blackbird, Great Tit

Kavaki:
Black-eared Wheatear, Linnet (2), (Turtle Dove H), Rüppell’s Warbler (2 pairs), Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Peregrine Falcon, Barn Swallow, Spanish Sparrow (large flock on the move), Jay (2), (Chiffchaff H), Common Buzzard, Subalpine Warbler, Greenfinch, (Nightingale H), Common Whitethroat

Road to Ipsilou from Petra:
Raven (3), Common Buzzard

Ipsilou Monastery:
Black-eared Wheatear (4+), (Woodlark H), (Cretzschmar’s Bunting H), Collared Flycatcher (10+), Pied Flycatcher (5+), (Hoopoe H), Subalpine Warbler, Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler (at least 1), Cinereous Bunting, Cirl Bunting, Blackcap, Common Redstart (2), Common Whitethroat, Sombre Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Northern Wheatear (2+), Raven (2), Little Owl, Linnet (3+), Wood Warbler, Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Western Rock Nutchatch

Road to Parakila via Eresos:
Whinchat (3+), Collared Flycatcher (2+), Black Stork, Grey Heron, Common Swift

Parakila Chapel:
Alpine Swift, Black-eared Wheatear, Western Rock Nuthatch (pair), Cinereous Bunting, (Cretzschmar’s Bunting H), (Golden Oriole H), (Eastern Orphean Warbler H)

Back to Kalloni Saltpans and in particular the pool across the road at the NW corner:

Black-winged Stilt, Greater Flamingo, Red-rumped Swallow, White-winged Black Tern (15+), Yellow Wagtail, Whiskered Tern (10+), Ruff (20+), Black-tailed Godwit (3), Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stint (2), Little Ringed Plover, Black Stork, Sand Martin, Corn Bunting, Little Egret

Day-list: 65+10 heard

Day 12 updates to the year-list:

219. Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler
220. ISABELLINE WHEATEAR
221. TEMMINCK’S STINT

Some pics below: not the best shots of the Stint and Bunting, but at least I have records

[CactusD]

26th April, Lesvos Day 13

Weather: Some sun, some cloud. Strategy for finding the final day’s birds was hatched partly thanks to various chats with Steve Dudley, Paul Manning, and Bob Buckler the previous evening. Roller was looking pretty unlikely because of the continued relatively cool weather; ditto Bee-Eater. The Saltpans early in the morning would be the best bet, so a 6.45am start had me down there first thing: followed by a tip-off re. a Middle-Spotted Woodpecker nest.

Drive to saltpans via Tsiknias River:
Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Hooded Crow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Whinchat, (Cetti’s Warbler H), (Nightingale H), Crested Lark, Greater Flamingo, Common Sandpiper, Moorhen, Barn Swallow, Common Tern (2), Little Egret, Yellow-legged Gull, Sedge Warbler, Wood Sandpiper

Down at the saltpans: No bee-eaters sadly, but other goodies!

Little Ringed Plover (2), Ruff, Black-winged Stilt, Glossy Ibis, Great White Egret, Whinchat (6+), Reed Warbler (2), Collared Pratincole (flock of 31), Ruddy Shelduck, Black Stork, Purple Heron, Avocet, Common Swift, Dunlin, Little Stint, Sanderling (2: thanks Paul!), House Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Greater Short-toed Lark (2), Temminck’s Stint (1), Comon Snipe (1).

Then off north on the Petra road for the woodpecker nest: near Lafionas, a broken poplar tree just along a track at a sharp hairpin bend.

Got camera gear out, and waited for any action at the nest holes in the tree. I was fortunate to witness 3 change-overs at the nest in about 30 mins from about 9.20 in the morning. Super little birds, more pink and yellow than appears from the illustrations in Collins I felt.
After about 10 mins of me being there alone (careful to park car out of way of track so as not to block any vehicles), two minibuses turned up with everyone out to see the Woodpeckers (yes, they blocked the track for a farmer and had to shift!). Birders were pretty much marshalled straight back in again after the first sighting, with one holidaymaker sighing to me about how much I must be enjoying the time to look at the birds! Pretty odd, I thought, but did make me appreciate how much better it can be to do birding under one’s own steam when you have the opportunity and means to do so.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker (pair)

Other birds here:
Subalpine Warbler, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird

After this, and given my early luck with the Woodpeckers, I decided on what last trip out West to the Sigri area.

En route:
Jay (2), Stonechat, Northern Wheatear (2), Black-eared Wheatear, Raven (2), Red-Footed Falcon (1x male, on wire at bottom of hill into Sigri)

Sigri Fields:
Stonechat, Woodchat Shrike (4), Whinchat (1+)

Faneromeni Beach road fields:
White-winged Black Tern, Pied Flycatcher, Turtle Dove (4)

Faneromeni Beach:
Yellow Wagtail, White-winged Black Tern (4), Collared Pratincole (3), Hoopoe

Faneromeni Beach road fields again:
Nightingale, Collared Flycatcher, Purple Heron

Road to Lower Ford:
Pied Flycatcher (3), Common Whitethroat, Whinchat (2)

Lower Ford:
Pied Flycatcher, Nightingale (2), Turtle Dove

Back along road:
Woodchat Shrike (3), Grey Heron, Jay (2)

Road to Upper Ford:
Spotted Flycatcher, Spanish Sparrow (50+ flock), Woodchat Shrike (3), Collared Flycatcher, Golden Oriole (4), Nightingale

Upper Ford
Pied Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, Wood Sandpiper, Squacco Heron, Spotted Flycatcher, Raven over

Sigri Fields again:
Hoopoe (5 in one tree), Golden Oriole

Ipsilou Monastery:
Woodlark, Collared Flycatcher (5), Northern Wheatear (2), Black-eared Wheatear (3+), Raven, Common Redstart (1x female), Lesser Whitethroat, Pied Flycatcher, Jay (2), Spotted Flycatcher, Nightingale (2), Cinereous Bunting, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Blackcap (2), (Eastern Olivaceous Warbler H)

Later pm walk down to centre of Skala from hotel:
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Day-list: 71+1 heard, 2 lifers

Day 13 updates to the year-list:

222. SANDERLING
223. MIDDLE SPOTTED WOODPECKER

More pics below:

[CactusD]

[Day 14 am: nothing much on drive to airport, with weather still rather cold and cloudy, though a nice larger group of Little Terns at the saltpans on my way past.]

Lesvos Trip summary:

Birding highlights: the number of species (and the number of Whinchats and Collared Flycatchers), and finding my own excellent birds, even in conditions which were occasionally rather miserable: Meladia Valley chapel in particular proved to be an excellent place for sheltering small passerines - finding my own Firecrest was super. Also, close encounters with Red-Footed Falcon and Pallid Harrier were particularly memorable.
Some superb habitats also: I particularly enjoyed Metochi Lake and Achladeri Forest, though the Sigri area always came up trumps with probably the trip's best birds.

Birding dips (!!): Bee-Eater, Roller, Black-headed Bunting (too early/wrong weather); Semi-Collared Flycatcher (despite a number of different attempts); missed an obvious Wryneck by five minutes and unlucky not to have seen Spectacled Warbler; no Rock Sparrow found; no Baillon’s Crake, but they were thin on the ground, and looking for one at Metochi Lake was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Bad weather for migrating large raptors. Also seemed odd that I didn't see or hear any Serins.

Other highlights: pan-fried Yarides in the Australia taverna, Sigri! Other seafood at the seaside taverna just round from Achladeri forest. Some very friendly other birders of different nationalities. The crazy bonfire-related celebrations for Easter in the centre of Skala!

List total for trip: 160 species, 32 Lifers

Other natural history sightings:
Though the weather/wind/late spring wasn’t at all good for butterflies, I did see one or two things:
Swallowtail, Holly Blue, Clouded Yellow, Eastern Bath White, Small Copper. Sadly no photos of any of these.

Other insects:
Dung beetles, Achladeri forest; various nice Shieldbugs.

Mammals:
Red Fox, Metochi Lake area; Beech Martin (sadly deceased); Persian Squirrel; Lesser Mole Rat, seemingly undermining the foundations of Parakila chapel!

Herps:
Balkan Wall Lizard, Balkan Green Lizard, Stripe-necked Terrapin, European Pond Terrapin, Agama Lizard, Marsh Frog.

Some final photos to follow

[CactusD]

Some final pics from Lesvos:

One or two mammals:

Mole Rat digging up Parakila Chapel; Fox and Squirrel at Potamia Valley

[CactusD]

Insects:

One of the Dung Beetles in Achladeri forest; and two Shield Bugs, one from my hotel room balcony, and one from the seaside scrub in the Kalloni sheepfields. The shot of the green bug was pretty much the only occasion I had to use my macro gear the whole time since otherwise the weather and wind were against it. Balkan Wall Lizard at Achladeri (below) was another exception.

[CactusD]

Reptiles:

Balkan Wall Lizard in Achladeri forest; Agama Lizard at Ipsilou

[CactusD]

Back to more mundane stuff now to bring things up to date. More focused on butterflies than birds lately, but one or two additions:

224. Green Woodpecker (Finally!!)

Local fields, Banbury (also Corn Bunting and Yellow Wagtail), 15th May. Plenty more seen since, most probably active juveniles.

225. Hobby

Bicester, 5th June. Also one seen more recently at Otmoor (also Green Sandpiper there, another for the UK year list, which now stands at 123, latest Kingfisher, nice sighting on the River Cherwell in Banbury - thanks to my wife's excellent spotting).

226. Tawny Owl, Matlock Derbyshire, 16th July. Two juveniles calling and seen after dusk at my parents'. Brings my yearlist for Owls to five

[CactusD]

Some updates to my butterfly list for the year (still pretty meagre, but some good encounters; Oxfordshire unless stated; lifers in bold):

1) Peacock
2) Small Tortoiseshell
3) Brimstone
4) Orange Tip
5) Holly Blue (+ Lesvos)
6) Speckled Wood
7) Comma
8) Large White
9) Eastern Bath White (Lesvos)
10) Clouded Yellow (Lesvos)
11) Small Copper (+ Lesvos)
12) Swallowtail (Lesvos)
13) Marbled White
14) Ringlet
15) Meadow Brown
16) Gatekeeper
17) Large Skipper
18) Small Skipper
19) Silver-washed Fritillary (Warwickshire)
20) Red Admiral
21) Common Blue
22) Silver-spotted Skipper
23) Chalk-hill Blue
24) Small Heath
25) Brown Argus

Some of my better macro shots below:

[CactusD]

Butterfly update:

We took a family trip to Whitecross Green Wood near Otmoor on Sunday looking for Brown Hairstreaks, but the weather wasn't great so we didn't see any. However, I had the opportunity for a return visit this morning. The weather was still a bit iffy, but the sun did come out and the wind wasn't too bad. Eventually after about an hour's searching I found one!

26) Brown Hairstreak

Really beautiful, think this one's a female. Sadly could get no closer before it flew away. Hung around looking for more but didn't see any.

[CactusD]

As Maenad has already reported, the summer has been rather too busy to get much birding done. However, a fortuitous trip to Slimbridge on Saturday came up with some goodies for the list, including a couple of lifers and some good UK ticks. Having toddler in tow precluded any camera gear, but the scope was far more useful on this occasion anyhow.

17th September, Slimbridge

227. GREY PLOVER (finally got one of these, having looked a few times in Scotland over the past couple of years to no avail).
228. Dotterel (first for UK - not seen since Sweden in 2008)
229. Red Knot
230. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
231. Arctic Tern (first for UK)

[CactusD]

After a very long absence from this thread, my list makes a very welcome return from the birding doldrums.
A preliminary visit to Otmoor last Saturday produced a Hen Harrier for me, a UK tick for the year (though I had already seen one on Lesvos earlier). A return visit this afternoon saw me hunting for the Short-eared Owls. In increasingly murky and windy conditions, a few intrepid birders made their way out to The Pill through the shooting range field. Thankfully two birds (though I only saw the one) appeared and put on a good show in the scrubby grass from about 2.45–3.15pm until it went too dark. I took over 100 shots, and was very pleased to have my Nikon D3s with me, since otherwise the gloom would have been overwhelming. One or two shots of this stunning bird are attached below.
This is a year tick and a first for my UK list (I'd only seen them before in Sweden back in 2008). This brings my number of Owl species for the year to (what is for me) a whopping six.

232. Short-eared Owl (first for UK)

[CactusD]

Ayrshire, Scotland – Christmas 2011

We headed up to Scotland for Christmas this year – returning today/tomorrow, though foul weather seems to have put paid to any more birding en route during the return leg.

So far (up until mid-morning on Wednesday 28th), I’ve had 70 species, which is pretty good given the wild weather and a small child in tow who is full of cold.

Below will appear the list, with updates for the year list, and a sample list for my best birding excursion during the visit. The main sites visited were Caerlaverock WWT en route north, and Troon/Barassie and Irvine while in Scotland.

The trip-list:
Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose (sadly not enough time to locate Pink Foots at Caerlaverock), Mallard, Wigeon, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Starling, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Rook, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting

+ the following additions in Ayrshire:
Eider, Cormorant, Redshank, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Fieldfare, Red-throated Diver, Little Grebe, Shag, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Turnstone, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Dunlin, Coot, Goosander, Ringed Plover, Sparrowhawk, Razorbill, Gannet, Rock Pipit, Great Northern Diver, Guillemot, Purple Sandpiper, Common Scoter

[CactusD]

Updates to the year list:

233. Whooper Swan
234. Common Eider
235. Red-throated Diver (1st for UK)
236. Shag
237. Red-breasted Merganser
238. Ruddy Turnstone
239. Razorbill
240. Gannet
241. Rock Pipit
242. Common Guillemot
243. Purple Sandpiper
244. Common Scoter

[CactusD]

Best birding & photography excursion:
Irvine Harbourside and River Mouth, low tide, 9–10.30am 27/12/11

I’d already managed some good shots of Turnstone here at high tide on a previous outing (see below), but low tide enabled me to get down by the river mouth on the sand for some low angle sea-duck shots, after some profitable time spent sea-watching with the scope and watching the Bogside.

The list for this hour-and-a-half totalled the following 25 species:

Great Northern Diver, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Mallard, Wigeon, Eider, Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Oystercatcher, Purple Sandpiper, Turnstone, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Guillemot, Razorbill, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Goldeneye, Lapwing, Teal

+ the bonus of a Grey Seal swimming past.

[CactusD]

Well, the end to another year list. 244 for the year is my best since starting listing the birds of the year in 2008.
Many thanks to all those who read and rated this list thread, and to all those birders who helped me along the way, particularly all the friendly birders I met on Lesvos in April.
Highlights of the year are legion, but it was particularly great to get some good views and shots of Harriers, Herons, and various waders on Lesvos. I also much enjoyed the Owls I managed to find in the UK this year. I'm not sure as yet what 2012 has in store birding-wise, but I'm hoping for a trip to mainland Greece in the summer, so there may be some good birds there along with the butterflies I'll be looking for.
Happy New Year to all!