Kos, May 2018
We had a week in Kos from 5th May 2018. No doubt more species were seen by the organised birding tours that were there at the time (Wise Birding and Ornitholidays), but we did our own thing on foot and by bicycle from our base in Tigaki. Even without professional guides and with a much more limited geographical range, we saw / heard 70+ bird species.
Unmissable common species everywhere included Olivaceous Warbler, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Hooded Crow, Little Egret, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, House Martin and Yellow-legged Gull. Less common but still fairly widespread birds included Sardinian Warbler, Corn Bunting, Common Swift, Kestrel, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti’s Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Sand Martin, Magpie, Greenfinch and Bee-eater.
Tigaki Lake had up to 12 Flamingos every day, and 32 more flew in and out again briefly one day. Other easily-seen birds there included numerous Black-winged Stilts, up to five Ruddy Shelduck, many Ringed Plovers and a few Common and Sandwich Terns. There were also many Dunlin, Little Stints and Wood Sandpipers, but they were elusive on some days as they were hidden along the fringes of the lake. Other sightings at and around the lake (from 1 to 4 individuals, some on only one day) included Ruff, Moorhen, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, White-winged Tern, Turnstone, Temminck’s Stint (probable), Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Great Reed Warbler. We also saw what we thought were 3 Red-necked Phalaropes, but we may have been wrong.
We saw Alpine Swifts 3 or 4 times amongst the Common Swifts, and there were Pallid Swifts around the castle in Kos town, where we also saw our only Red-rumped Swallows of the week and a lone Shag in the harbour.
We had one visit to Psalidi Lake / reedbeds (access down a narrow tarmac road between ‘Hot Bikes’ and the Sun Palace Hotel, and then a footpath). This was disappointing in terms of bird sightings, with only Mallard, Moorhen and Coot as well as a Little Grebe.
The birding highlight of our trip was a couple of kilometres south west of Marmari, where we watched 15+ Lesser Kestrels and 20+ Red-footed Falcons for a couple of hours as they swooped over the fields and perched on the wires, as two Rollers looked on and a few Black-headed Buntings sang. The kestrels and falcons weren’t there though two days later.
We didn’t venture into the mountains, and this may explain why our sightings of raptors were limited. Nevertheless, we saw a Montagu’s Harrier, a Lesser Spotted Eagle and a Levant Sparrowhawk over Tigaki, as well as a couple of Eleonora’s Falcons. Some of these were seen from our apartment balcony, where we also heard a Quail a couple of times and saw our only Great Tit.
We cycled up to the small reservoir south east of Zipari, where the only birds were many Jackdaws and Yellow-legged Gulls. However, further along the track towards the ‘donkey park’, we heard a Nightingale and saw several Serins, a Pheasant and a Whinchat. Our only other outing to the foothills was to Pyli, where we saw our only Blackbird of the trip and heard a Scops Owl (during the daytime), as well as hundreds of Jackdaws.
We will be going to Kos again, and can recommend Tigaki as probably the best base for birding, especially if you’re not hiring a car. There are many good restaurants and bars, an excellent bakery, and several bike (and car) hire places.
Dave Riley & Andrea Jackson
We had a week in Kos from 5th May 2018. No doubt more species were seen by the organised birding tours that were there at the time (Wise Birding and Ornitholidays), but we did our own thing on foot and by bicycle from our base in Tigaki. Even without professional guides and with a much more limited geographical range, we saw / heard 70+ bird species.
Unmissable common species everywhere included Olivaceous Warbler, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Hooded Crow, Little Egret, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, House Martin and Yellow-legged Gull. Less common but still fairly widespread birds included Sardinian Warbler, Corn Bunting, Common Swift, Kestrel, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti’s Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Sand Martin, Magpie, Greenfinch and Bee-eater.
Tigaki Lake had up to 12 Flamingos every day, and 32 more flew in and out again briefly one day. Other easily-seen birds there included numerous Black-winged Stilts, up to five Ruddy Shelduck, many Ringed Plovers and a few Common and Sandwich Terns. There were also many Dunlin, Little Stints and Wood Sandpipers, but they were elusive on some days as they were hidden along the fringes of the lake. Other sightings at and around the lake (from 1 to 4 individuals, some on only one day) included Ruff, Moorhen, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, White-winged Tern, Turnstone, Temminck’s Stint (probable), Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Great Reed Warbler. We also saw what we thought were 3 Red-necked Phalaropes, but we may have been wrong.
We saw Alpine Swifts 3 or 4 times amongst the Common Swifts, and there were Pallid Swifts around the castle in Kos town, where we also saw our only Red-rumped Swallows of the week and a lone Shag in the harbour.
We had one visit to Psalidi Lake / reedbeds (access down a narrow tarmac road between ‘Hot Bikes’ and the Sun Palace Hotel, and then a footpath). This was disappointing in terms of bird sightings, with only Mallard, Moorhen and Coot as well as a Little Grebe.
The birding highlight of our trip was a couple of kilometres south west of Marmari, where we watched 15+ Lesser Kestrels and 20+ Red-footed Falcons for a couple of hours as they swooped over the fields and perched on the wires, as two Rollers looked on and a few Black-headed Buntings sang. The kestrels and falcons weren’t there though two days later.
We didn’t venture into the mountains, and this may explain why our sightings of raptors were limited. Nevertheless, we saw a Montagu’s Harrier, a Lesser Spotted Eagle and a Levant Sparrowhawk over Tigaki, as well as a couple of Eleonora’s Falcons. Some of these were seen from our apartment balcony, where we also heard a Quail a couple of times and saw our only Great Tit.
We cycled up to the small reservoir south east of Zipari, where the only birds were many Jackdaws and Yellow-legged Gulls. However, further along the track towards the ‘donkey park’, we heard a Nightingale and saw several Serins, a Pheasant and a Whinchat. Our only other outing to the foothills was to Pyli, where we saw our only Blackbird of the trip and heard a Scops Owl (during the daytime), as well as hundreds of Jackdaws.
We will be going to Kos again, and can recommend Tigaki as probably the best base for birding, especially if you’re not hiring a car. There are many good restaurants and bars, an excellent bakery, and several bike (and car) hire places.
Dave Riley & Andrea Jackson