Andrew
wibble wibble
Friday 18th April 2008
Skala Kalloni. Lesbos.
The contrast between the busy Gatwick airport and the rudimentary Mytillini airport on Lesbos was endearing and greatly impressed me as an indicator of how enjoyable this holiday should be without the mass tourism of other resorts. There was just one runway and a small terminal building which the plane pulled up to as close as it could. You could kid yourself into thinking the staff were surprised a plane had even turned up. The best I witnessed during the coach transfer to Skala Kalloni was a couple of Blue Rock Thrushes. There was a two hour shift forward between Lesbos and back home but it did not take too long to get used to it.
After a decent breakfast this morning, we popped into Skala Kalloni to get a few things then I lazed on the balcony of our apartment in the Pasiphae Hotel. A few Spanish Sparrows were in some trees close to the balcony with some Hooded Crows a bit further out. Hooded Crow is the common corvid. Not a single Carrion Crow was seen during the next two weeks. Many Swallows, House Martins and Common Swifts were in the air and a flock of Squacco or Night Herons drifted past. This was the stuff, decent birds whilst lounging on the balcony in the sunshine.
In the afternoon I had a look at the River Christou also frequently termed by birders as the West River simply due to lying west of Skala Kalloni. Just outside the Pasiphae Hotel, there was a marshy pool with a large amount of reed and small trees known as Kalloni Pool. Some excellent birds were on it such as Wood Sandpipers, a Little Ringed Plover, smart black headed male feldegg Yellow Wagtails, a Squacco Heron, a drake Garganey and a Sedge Warbler. There were a couple of small colourful lizards with bright green stripes on their backs. My best guess is they were Balkan Wall Lizards. There were also several Stripe-necked Terrapins of various sizes and we were to see loads of these wherever there was water.
Yellow-legged Gulls, a Great Crested Grebe and some Common Terns were noted in the vast Kalloni Bay before turning west along the beach towards the river. A stray dog took pity on me and provided company all the way. Wherever I stopped to check some birds, it would stop and wait for me to start off again. I called him David for no particular reason. I went off the dog as soon as it stopped to wolf down some maggot ridden excrement. Understandably, I actively discouraged the dog from following me.
Birds seen on the river and saltmarsh were eight Wood Sandpipers, two Kentish Plovers, plenty of Crested Larks, several Corn Buntings, a Black Stork, a Great White Egret, four Ruff, a male Marsh Harrier and a Glossy Ibis. There was also a ringtail harrier species that was too far off on the other bank with a strong heat haze in between. It would probably have been a Montagu‘s Harrier but both Pallid and Hen Harriers can not be dismissed.
On the way back to the hotel, I got lost but it allowed me to enjoy watching a White Stork flying over. In the evening, we walked into Skala Kalloni again and negotiated a hire car for ten days from Sunday. It was a good first day with plenty of quality birds of which some posed really well for photographs. A few butterflies were also noted including Swallowtails, Clouded Yellows and some white species that were too mobile to identify.
Skala Kalloni. Lesbos.
The contrast between the busy Gatwick airport and the rudimentary Mytillini airport on Lesbos was endearing and greatly impressed me as an indicator of how enjoyable this holiday should be without the mass tourism of other resorts. There was just one runway and a small terminal building which the plane pulled up to as close as it could. You could kid yourself into thinking the staff were surprised a plane had even turned up. The best I witnessed during the coach transfer to Skala Kalloni was a couple of Blue Rock Thrushes. There was a two hour shift forward between Lesbos and back home but it did not take too long to get used to it.
After a decent breakfast this morning, we popped into Skala Kalloni to get a few things then I lazed on the balcony of our apartment in the Pasiphae Hotel. A few Spanish Sparrows were in some trees close to the balcony with some Hooded Crows a bit further out. Hooded Crow is the common corvid. Not a single Carrion Crow was seen during the next two weeks. Many Swallows, House Martins and Common Swifts were in the air and a flock of Squacco or Night Herons drifted past. This was the stuff, decent birds whilst lounging on the balcony in the sunshine.
In the afternoon I had a look at the River Christou also frequently termed by birders as the West River simply due to lying west of Skala Kalloni. Just outside the Pasiphae Hotel, there was a marshy pool with a large amount of reed and small trees known as Kalloni Pool. Some excellent birds were on it such as Wood Sandpipers, a Little Ringed Plover, smart black headed male feldegg Yellow Wagtails, a Squacco Heron, a drake Garganey and a Sedge Warbler. There were a couple of small colourful lizards with bright green stripes on their backs. My best guess is they were Balkan Wall Lizards. There were also several Stripe-necked Terrapins of various sizes and we were to see loads of these wherever there was water.
Yellow-legged Gulls, a Great Crested Grebe and some Common Terns were noted in the vast Kalloni Bay before turning west along the beach towards the river. A stray dog took pity on me and provided company all the way. Wherever I stopped to check some birds, it would stop and wait for me to start off again. I called him David for no particular reason. I went off the dog as soon as it stopped to wolf down some maggot ridden excrement. Understandably, I actively discouraged the dog from following me.
Birds seen on the river and saltmarsh were eight Wood Sandpipers, two Kentish Plovers, plenty of Crested Larks, several Corn Buntings, a Black Stork, a Great White Egret, four Ruff, a male Marsh Harrier and a Glossy Ibis. There was also a ringtail harrier species that was too far off on the other bank with a strong heat haze in between. It would probably have been a Montagu‘s Harrier but both Pallid and Hen Harriers can not be dismissed.
On the way back to the hotel, I got lost but it allowed me to enjoy watching a White Stork flying over. In the evening, we walked into Skala Kalloni again and negotiated a hire car for ten days from Sunday. It was a good first day with plenty of quality birds of which some posed really well for photographs. A few butterflies were also noted including Swallowtails, Clouded Yellows and some white species that were too mobile to identify.