Owen's Wildlife 2025 (1 Viewer)

Wander into the village for a beer. Dozens of Balkan terrapin. First lifer of the trip. A butterfly finally decided to pause only for it to be a female common blue.

On the way back a couple of common tern and brief views of eastern olivaceous warbler as well as a quartet of close and photogenic wood sandpiper

259 common tern
260 eastern olivaceous warbler
22 common blue

Not sure on the herp count but Balkan terrapin

Family trip to the petrified forest. Which was closed. And Sigri on the far coast of the island. Only incidental birding but it was very good with multiple Eastern black eared wheatear and brief car views of masked shrike and bee eaters. Very distant Agama as well. Some nice butterflies while my wife went for a swim.

Back at Skala Kallonis in time to head out for a few hours birding along the nearby river. Countless British birders there. I managed to find a female golden oriole and got some good gen at the river mouth watching the terns and Kentish plovers. Did mean I missed the whatsapp about a bailons crake a few hundred meters up river close to where I’d been twenty minutes before. Would have been a lifer but it’s been a good day all the same.

Some dedicated birding time tomorrow

261 bee eater
262 masked shrike
263 eastern black eared wheatear
264 golden oriole
265 Pygmy cormorant+
23 small skipper
Rough tailed agama

First dedicated birding day, decided to target Ruppels warbler and Kruper’s nuthatch. I’d been told a vague site and been told to look for the birders and prepare to dip. Got to the right stretch of coast road with no sign of any people at all. Only one place to park for a few km and had singing ruppels the second I got out of the car. Not at all skulky, just blasting from the top of a tree. Soon had a second male too.

Got a glimpse of something that could have been orphean and could have been Sardinian so decided to stick at it. Saw both in the end and a cretzchmars bunting was a third lifer for the site.

Made it to the best nuthatch site about 11 with the lesvos whatsapp going nuts about an isabelline shrike a few miles away. Birders were leaving the forest to go for the shrike but got some info and quick views of eastern subalpine warbler. My 4th lifer of the morning albeit one where I’ve seen the western half this year already and in the past.

Walking up through the wood to the best nuthatch area seeing a lot of happy birders but when I got to the right patch there were three or four more who had come too late for sightings. This proved prophetic and I gave it two hours without a sign. They weren’t really calling anyway and I think the early birders with multiple sets of eyes had a real advantage over the dwindling remaining birders. Just me by the end. Middle spotted woodpecker, short toed treecreeper and a much wanted odelisque damsel/dragon (kind of halfway between) were nice but in the end it was clearly too hot and I was worried about losing phone battery and hence driving maps so decided to join all the other birders on the island and twitch the shrike. Did get some subalpine photos in the carpark first

The shrike was a beauty. Very close at first but settled a few hundred meters away. Nice to watch it in the scope and clock a large flying beetle about the same time the bird did and watch it take it in the air and then return to its perch to eat.

It was my first visit to the salt pans area that draws most of the birders and the variety of birds and birders was great. Did feel for a very friendly young Greek birder who managed to damage his hire car driving out the rutted mud tracks. Could have been any of us.

266 ruppels warbler
267 eastern orphean warbler
268 cretzchmars bunting
269 squacco heron+
270 eastern subalpine warbler
271 middle spotted woodpecker
272 short toed treecreeper
273 whinchat
274 isabelline shrike
275 yellow wagtail
276 red throated pipit + phototick
277 lesser grey shrike
24 small heath

A very productive day Owen! Hopefully you will get to try for the Nuthatch again?

Chris

Scridifer said:

A very productive day Owen! Hopefully you will get to try for the Nuthatch again?

Chris

Click to expand...

going to go on Thursday and earlier in the day. Does mean less opportunity to go for other stuff and obviously it won’t be definite. People have been finding them hard but I’d guess there will be more birders earlier in a morning and that should help. Family day tomorrow but hopefully might chance upon cinereous bunting. Still need the rock nuthatch and sombre tit but I think going for the krupers will stop at least one of those. There’s a baillons crake nearby that I was 200m from yesterday that would be a lifer too but might have a window to go for that tomorrow.

It’s very much a family holiday in a place with lots of birds rather than a birding trip and I was very happy with the ruppels.

There’s debate on the lesvos whatsapp now about turkestan vs daurian shrike and Turkestan would be a lifer but as that’s a dna thing normally im just counting it as isabelline for now

Family day at the petrified forest and then the beach but plenty of stops for birding along the way. There are so many birders on Lesvos that driving fairly slowly and stopping when you see a parked hire car works wonders.

Cinereous Bunting was seen a few times from the side of the road on the approach to the petrified forest but fairly unsatisfying views. Plenty of birds amongst the fossilised trees. The star being a chukar. One of the species I’d not really targeted as it wasn’t a lifer but is not managed to photograph it in the past so very happy

Lovely beach on the west coast of the island but even there we ran across a bunch of birders and narrowly missed a roller

Driving back home past the entrance to ipsilo monastery we saw a group with scopes out. They were happy enough to first share some scope views of a common rock thrush I couldn’t get onto with bins and then point out a western rock nuthatch hole. Scanning around I soon found the bird on a nearby rock. One of my main targets sorted on a family day.

getting back home I gave a few hours staring a reed bed in the hope of seeing the Baillons Crake. It had briefly shown 20 minutes before I arrived but didn’t again apart from an obscured ‘what else could it be’ view two birders managed that prompted me to stay another twenty minutes and get bitten by 100 more mosquitoes

Friendly birders the whole time and some amazing views of little crakes and a wide range of yellow wagtail subspecies. Quite a few interesting flyover birds too for the list and a photograph of black headed bunting, a bird I’d only seen before on a post work twitch with no camera.

Second shots at krupers nuthatch and the crake tomorrow

278 isabelline wheatear (can’t remember if I saw one last year. Think I had a Devon bird in the first few months )
279 cinererous bunting
280 pied flycatcher
281 spotted flycatcher
282 chukar + phototick
283 common rock thrush +
284 western rock nuthatch
285 little crake +
286 collared pratincole +
287 red footed falcon +
288 great Reed warbler
289 black headed bunting + phototick
Common toad

After a googlemaps disaster that had me doing 8 miles of rough forest track in a small low clearance car I eventually made it to my second crack at krupers nuthatch.

An hour later I had very quick views of one feeding on top of some pines. It then flew off. I’ve a feeling numbers are very low and the birds very very mobile feeders. Very glad I got it and managed some shooting into the sun photos.

Decided to try for sombre tit and improved views of cinererous bunting at ipsilo Monastery rather than staring at some reeds where a bailons crake had been yesterday.

Lovely walk up the mountain top monastery with quite a few other birders. Better views and distant photos of the hunting immediately. Lots of wood warbler, orioles and flycatchers and very welcome lesser spotted fritillary, lots of butterflies here but no ticks until now.

The walk down brought an encounter with a charismatic but unfortunately not photographed Persian/caucasian squirrel. Like a cool mix of red and grey squirrel.

No sombre tits unfortunately and woodlarks remained heard only.

Had lunch in a lovely cafe where after you’d paid the owner would point out the roosting scops owl.

The drive back to skalla kalonis involves stopping for a large spur thighed tortoise to cross the main mountain road. Luckily quite a sleepy island and it got across unhurt.

Gave the bailons another go and almost immediately had a spotted crake as well as the Littles. Not the crake I most wanted but a really cool bird all the same. Close temmincks stint provided nice photo ops too

290 krupers nuthatch
291 black stork+
292 wood warbler
293 scops owl +
294 spotted crake +
295 great spotted cuckoo+
296 temmincks stint
25 brown Argus
26 lesser spotted fritillary
Persian squirrel
Spur thighed tortoise
Balkan emerald/green lizard lacerta trilineus
Snake eyed lizard+

Just had beech marten climbing over a wall and away on walk back from dinner

Family day around Molyvos with some lovely bays and a cracking, albeit dilapidated, hot spring.

A quick seawatch from the north of island brought what might be my shortest lived tick with yelkuoan shearwaters seemingly likely to be lumped. A family group of common dolphin and a single bottlenosed was cool

Picnic in a park in molyvos brought a chance to photograph Persian squirrel and the local black headed jay subspecies. Squirrels very wary even in a park. Took about 30 minutes after they’d shot up to the crests of the trees before they came down again

Meadow brown there. We were in sight of Turkey most of the day so I hold out some
hope it’s one of the more exotic meadow browns but at the end of the day it’s still a meadow brown.

Black veined white and endemic bush crickets at the hot springs were more exciting

297 yelkuoan shearwater
27 black veined white
28 meadow brown
29 southern white admiral
Bottlenose dolphin
Common dolphin

Dipped an olive tree warbler but, kind of, consoled myself with
298 lesser whitethroat

Another touring the island with the family day. Im developing issues with tracks google maps thinks you can drive down and it’s absolute refusal to ever recommend turning around and trying a more straightforward route.

But it was fun, some lovely beaches and cafes. Highly recommend lesvos even away from the birding.

A quick look around a roadside pool brought views of the frogs we’ve been hearing every night

Got back home in time for a few hours birding late afternoon. Picked up a few more
Greek ticks, think I’ll finish on 105 species which isn’t bad for 2 proper birding days and ignoring going for anything id already seen this year.

Highlight was probably a very close pool that held a great array of waders. Ruff and wood sandpipers in the main but little and temmincks stints, spur winged lapwing and the highlight for me a group of curlew sandpiper coming into summer plumage. A much wanted phototick and a bird I went for and missed a bunch of times last year. Nice to see them close up and not in a bunch of Dunlin.

Back at the villa two red rumped swallow also posed nicely. Away from the lifers there have been a bunch of photo ticks for me

Over dinner I noticed the broad billed sandpiper back home. Dipped the last one so looking at a post stanstead twitch tomorrow. Not optimistic though.

Levant water frog
30 cleopatra +
299 little tern
300 spur winged lapwing
301 curlew sandpiper + phototick

Also had this amazing camel spider

My targets for the year were 300 birds with 250 photographed. Not sure where I am on photos. Was 196 before this trip but nice to hit that 300 that I wasn’t sure was realistic.

Got a weekend away in Vienna in a few weeks and a trip to Iceland in July. Iceland should provide a few birds even if it isn’t the best time and birds aren’t why were going.

Post work twitch of broad billed sandpiper at goldcliff. Not been seen since 10am
And glad I moved to the second hide where it was just being picked up out of view of the people waiting in the first hide. Horrible glare for photos, might have it in a crowd scene but fairly good scope views despite looking into the sun. Able to keep picking it up despite waders being moved around. Very supportive birders in the hide who all managed good views

Missed the 2016 bird at the same site by a day just as I was becoming aware of rare bird sightings so a really welcome Welsh and life tick

302 broad-billed sandpiper

Edit

It's probably in here somewhere, it was feeding around that goose for a while. Scope views were fine but with the camera you were basically aiming blind at full zoom at areas someone else called from their scope. It's not going down on my photographed list. Might try again if it sticks.

Think Mammal count is 19 and Herp 13

With an unexpected day off I thought I'd try again for photos of the Broad-Billed Sandpiper I saw on monday. Got there for high tide but it, and its accompanying dunlin flock, had been flushed by a merlin earlier and didn't return. Just saw that it did return for the roost at the evening high tide, probably to the annoyance of the fairly sizeable group of birders who had come for it in the morning. Having already seen it I was less bothered than most by its non-appearance so took the time to walk around to the final hide to yeartick Green Winged Teal. Not the most exciting species and one soon to lose any special status it does have but after a few hours of grilling stray dunlin and hoping for Little Ringed Plovers that turned out to be Common it was at least something for the list. Quite a nice morning all the same.

Back home in the afternoon and the Whatsapp announced a small party of Dotterel about an hour away. Hard work from a dedicated glamorgan year lister following up some in neighbouring counties yesterday. Lovely close views of two males and two stunning females. Not an easy species to see within a few hours of home and it's been a few years since I've seen one. Very enjoyable birding. Got a redpoll on the drive back down hill to the mainroad too.

303 Green Winged Teal
304 Dotterel Welsh tick
305 Redpoll

Spent a lot of time in wetlands in lesvos so was a little surprised how few dragonflies I saw. Small Skimmer and Odalisque were new to me, had one non photographed Emerald that was probably southern emerald/migrant spreadwing on range and flighttimes. Odalisque was a particularly cool one

Some nice reptiles. Spur Thighed Tortoise, Balkan Pond Terrapin, Rough Tailed Agama, Snake Eyed Lizard. Saw the larger green lizards twice but only crossing the road from the car and in the mouth of a cat. A few large roadkill snakes.

The two nuthatches and two buntings were my main targets, saw them all but was glad of the scope in two cases. Not really happy with any of the photos but glad to have seen them all.

In order Cinereous Bunting, Cretzchmar's Bunting, Kruper's Nuthatch, Western Rock Nuthatch.

The Warblers were generally closer and less heat hazey.

Ruppels, Eastern Subalpine, Eastern Orphean were all new to me

Owls and wheatears are always welcome. Eastern Black eared was a tick and very frequent good views remedied the fact I only got very quick ones of Western earlier in the year.