Lesvos - 2nd to 9th May (1 Viewer)

So here is the penultimate report, i will also include a full species list with locations where relevant after i have written about the final day.

May 8th

So dawned the final full day on the island and in truth it was a little bit like after the Lord Mayor’s show.

Sam had decided to stay local andf then spend the day with his wife Sandra, Paul and I wanted to be back with our wives by mid morning, Alan and Yvette decided they would also come back with us at that time, whilst Ads and his partner Sue would spend the day on the west coast (apparently not seeing very much). With the limited time allowed we decided on one final visit to Ipsilou, not a good decision as it turns out since the was very little activity early in the morning, although we did see 3 female Golden Orioles, together with the same array of species that we had seen there on previous visits, plus a few Sombre Tits. Sadly we did find a freshly killed Cuckoo at the base of the hill, it had clearly been hit by a car in the very early morning. I may post a picture here if it is desired, but i found it upsetting so will defer to everyone’s opinion. We then headed back towards Petra, deciding to stop at the entrance to the “Grand Canyon” where we had previously parked on the Monday morning.

We were reliably informed that there was a Rock Sparrow nest here on the cliff opposite the road and that it was in a disused Western Rock Nuthatch nest. This half hour spent here was probably the most productive birding of the whole day. We had Short-toed Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard and Eleonora’s Falcon overhead, then also appearing high in the sky were a pair of Booted Eagles. We also managed to solve the mystery of Monday’s bird that flew with the very deep wingbeat, in truth i think we all suspected the culprit but we needed confirmation. We found the nest and sure enough within ten minutes an adult Rock Sparrow appeared just beneath, before squeezing into the small hole. When it emerged it flew off in the exact direction of our mystery bird from 4 days earlier with the identical flight. We also had a few Bee-eaters here perching on the telephone wires and a pair of Blue Rock Thrush.

Returning to Petra, Paul and I now went sightseeing with our wives in the village, climbing the 114 steps to the church which had a fantastic view over the village and the surrounding countryside, then we pottered around the village looking at the small shops together with an amazing number of schoolchildren, for some reason there were nine full coach loads of them.

It was now midday so the four of us decided to head for Molivos for lunch, where we pulled a master stroke. It became evident that George and Nancy would prefer to wander around the village without two puppy dogs (us) following them wherever they went. Therefore, it was agreed at 1.15pm that we would meet them in the car park at 4pm, thereby giving us sufficient time to drive across the island and obtain an unexpected final viewing of the Kalloni Saltpans. Amazingly as we walked back to the car, the nine coach loads of children arrived in the village, definitely time to hightail it south.

We mainly saw the same birds that had been there all week, but it seems worthwhile to give them a final name check; Greater Flamingo (appx 300), Black Stork (4), Glossy Ibis (3), Squacco Heron (8), Little Stint (50), Short-toed Lark (2) and Red-throated Pipit (3). Our only new bird for the holiday was a White Wagtail that Paul located at the back of the pool in the Sheep Field and there were also a pair of Gull-billed Terns on the pool opposite the salt works, together with the apparently resident Whiskered Tern.

It was unplanned and therefore a real bonus to spend a final 2 hours on the salt pans, we did visit the Petra Reservoir in the evening (more accurately Paul, myself and Sam did) without seeing anything out of the ordinary. However, Sam’s morning had been eventful as he had also visited the Reservoir in the early morning, missing a Great Spotted Cuckoo feeding on the ground by a mere 5 minutes (he spent an hour hoping it would return to no avail). For this Paul received the entire blame, the previous evening he had wondered out loud whether any Shearwaters were visible from Molivos, Sam decided to check this out at first light (without any success) thereby missing the Cuckoo!

However, Sam did find a Middle Spotted Woodpecker nest just outside Petra, we visited the site after visiting the Reservoir, however since eight of us were going to the restaurant at Vafios again that night we only had 10 minutes to spare and the birds did not show in that time. For those interested, opposite the school building on the main road is a junction where two roads head inland, the more northerly of the two is the road you require. This is actually the road that leads to the Petra reservoir on the back roads, approximately a third of a mile along this road on the right hand side is a small scrapyard. Park here and view the obvious holes in the row of trees on the opposite side of the road (the birds were seen here on Saturday morning).

Back to the apartments to get changed and off to the hills for our final meal, which was again excellent. Whilst sat outside we again saw the Little Owl and heard a nearby Scops Owl calling. The coach was due to collect us at 9.30 am the next morning, so just enough time for a final visit to the haunts that had served us so well during this fantastic week. For me the holiday list now stood at 147 and it would increase further before we left the island.

May 9th

So, all that remained for us, was a final visit to Kavaki and the Reservoir. I think we were all secretly hoping that yesterday’s Cuckoo would put in an appearance, so we decided to drive up the road to the Reservoir and start our final walk from there. Well it would be a great finale if we could find it and after fifteen minutes a bird flew into a lone tree beside the Reservoir and it certainly looked right, three of us dived for our telescopes – common cuckoo. Sam and I decided to stay in the area, the others decided to go to Kavaki, we later discovered that they then went to Petra and watched the Middle Spotted Woodpeckers at the site Sam had found the previous day.

After a further fruitless thirty minutes of searching, we did find both Lesser Grey and Red-backed Shrike, we drove down to Kavaki and had our best views of the whole week of a male Ruppell’s Warbler perched on a bush within a few yards of the wall, quickly followed by a superb Icterine Warbler sunning itself in another bush, on that excellent final note we returned to the hotel for breakfast and the coach to the airport.

As we pulled away from the village at 9.30am circa 30 Alpine Swift were flying around an offshore island, then driving through Kalloni the tour representative showed us the White Stork, with an adult clearly visible sat on the nest (we had not seen this nest all week – fine birders we are!). Approaching Sam and I saw a Zitting Cisticola as it flew away from the road with its distinctive flight pattern. Ads, Paul and I went in search of the bird after we had checked in at the airport to no avail, however offshore we saw a number of Cory’s Shearwaters and the final addition to the trip list, with in excess of 200 Yelkouan Shearwaters. Naturally we each ended with different totals, for me 149 (including 5 heard only) and a full chronological list follows in the next post. We flew from the Island at just after 2pm local time, will we be back? DEFINITELY

Thanks for writing this up for us, I enjoyed revisiting Lesbos vicariously through your report.

Thanks for an excellent report, has been great reading it and bringing back memories of my trip there some years ago.

Phil

Phil and Andrew,

You are most welcome, it is nice when somebody acknowledges the effort and responds - makes it worthwhile all the hours typing it - just the species list to go!

Ian

Species List

Little Grebe Present on many freshwater lakes, seen most days
Great Crested Grebe One bird offshore at Kalloni Saltpans 3rd May
Cory’s Shearwater (Scopoli) Birds visible from Airport on both Saturdays (2nd & 9th)
Yelkouan Shearwater Circa 200 offshore at Airport on 9th May
Cormorant Sigri Harbour 4th, Kalloni Saltpans 7th, Kavaki 9th
Shag Seen offshore at Petra and Airport
White Pelican Adult at Skala Kalloni Harbour (tame?)
Dalmatian Pelican Juvenile at Petra Reservoir 3rd May (appx 7.15am – 10.30am)
Little Bittern Numerous at Metochi (Inland) Lake
Squacco Heron One bird at Kalloni Pool, up to 10 birds on Saltpans
Little Egret Small numbers on Saltpans, 40 plus birds Derbyshire 5th May
Great White Egret Single bird seen on Saltpans on every visit
Grey Heron Numerous
Purple Heron Single bird seen at Saltpans on 3rd and 5th May (possibly 2 on 5th)
Black Stork Good numbers seen on Saltpans, also seen from Bandstand on each visit
White Stork Less numerous, never more than 2 seen on any single day, normally around Kalloni and Saltpans
Glossy Ibis Up to 5 birds seen at Saltpans on each visit
Greater Flamingo Flock of circa 350 birds on Saltpans
Ruddy Shelduck Pair with 2 young on Petra Reservoir all week, 23 at Derbyshire 5th, pair in flight at Kavaki 7th
Shelduck Single bird Saltpans 3rd, Pair at Derbyshire 5th
Garganey Male on Kalloni Pool on 7th May
Short-toed Eagle Seen most days, record count 6 at Bandstand on 7th
Marsh Harrier Pair around Saltpans, also seen in flight at Kavaki on 7th
Pallid Harrier Female north of Sigri early afternoon on 4th May
Montagu’s Harrier Ringtail mid morning of 5th May at Saltpans
Goshawk Two birds seen at Bandstand – male midday 3rd and female mid-afternoon 7th
Sparrowhawk Bird flew across cars nr Vatoussa 6th, female from Bandstand 7th
Levant Sparrowhawk Single bird at top of Petra Reservoir valley on evening of 4th May
Common Buzzard A few seen during the week across the Island
Long-legged Buzzard Very common across the Island, seen every day
Imperial Eagle Sub-adult seen twice from Bandstand at 2.20pm and 3.10pm on 7th May
Booted Eagle Pair at entrance to “Grand Canyon” on 8th May
Osprey One bird at Ipsilou on 6th May midday
Lesser Kestrel Flocks seen on west of Island (20 plus on 4th), also single bird at Petra Reservoir on evening of 7th
Kestrel Seen occasionally over Island, including regular bird near Petra reservoir
Red-Footed Falcon 6 birds on 4th (one south and 5 north of Sigri), 1st Summer Male at Saltpans on 5th, 13 birds north of Sigri at 2pm on 6th
Hobby Over Petra mid afternoon on 5th, Ipsilou early morning 8th
Eleonora’s Falcon First seen evening of 4th, thereafter daily over island, max count 6 from Bandstand during afternoon of 7th
Lanner Single bird over Ipsilou Monastery midday on 6th
Peregrine Seen fairly often around the Island – first seen at Achladeri early morning 5th
Chukar Pair flushed from headland beside 2nd Lay-by at Kavaki – late afternoon 7th
Little Crake Female at Metochi Lake (plus poss 2nd bird) 4th May, Male also at Metochi Lake 7th
Moorhen Kalloni Pool & Metochi Lake
Black-winged Stilt Nesting pair at Kalloni Pool, numerous on Saltpans
Avocet Flock at entrance to Saltpans each day
Stone Curlew Pair flushed from beach beside Sheep Field (not by us!) on morning of 7th May
Collared Pratincole 3 birds on Sheep Field pool on 7th, flew away high north
Little Ringed Plover Pair at ford on Lower East River
Ringed Plover Flock of circa 20 birds on pool at Sheep Field
Kentish Plover Maximum count of 14 birds on 7th at Sheep Field Pool, present on each visit
Grey Plover Single bird in Sheep Field on morning of 5th May
Little Stint Flock always present on Sheep Field Pool, maximum count 80 birds on 7th
Ruff Present in good numbers on Saltpans
Wood Sandpiper Present in good numbers on Saltpans
Common Sandpiper Pair on Petra Reservoir 3rd May, also at Lower East River ford
Mediterranean Gull Pair flying over Saltpans late morning 7th
Little Gull 1st Summer at entrance to Saltpans 3rd
Slender-billed Gull Pair on Saltpans 3rd
Yellow-legged Gull Omnipresent
Gull-billed Tern Single bird at mouth of East River early morning 7th, Pair on Saltpans mid afternoon 8th
Common Tern Common
Little Tern Seen regularly, often offshore at Saltpans
Whiskered Tern Single bird on Pool opposite salt works most visits
Rock Dove Feral birds seen
Collared Dove Abundant
Turtle Dove Delightfully common, seen all over the Island
Cuckoo Petra reservoir, Evening 4th, Early morning 9th
Scops Owl Mini Soccer Pitch, Kalloni 5th (prior to disturbance), Heard at Vafios late evening 8th
Little Owl Vafios at restaurant 6th & 8th, Lower East River early morning 4th and 7th
Swift Abundant
Pallid Swift Often seen in mixed swift flocks – easy to pick out with blunt wings
Alpine Swift Seen most days, 60 seen over afternoon of 5th in north of Island, in excess of 30 birds offshore at Petra mid morning 9th
Bee-eater Seen daily, large flocks often in Petra Reservoir area early mornings and evenings
Roller Single bird on wires, early afternoon 4th appx 4 miles south of Sigri on Eressos track
Hoopoe Petra reservoir on evening of 4th and morning of 6th, also Nr. Ipsilou on same day at midday. Napi valley mid morning 7th
Middle Spotted Woodpecker Flew across road mid morning 3rd near Bandstand and early evening 6th near Petra Reservoir turning on Vafios road
Short-toed Lark 5 birds early morning Derbyshire, single bird Sheep Field 7th late morning, pair also here mid afternoon 8th
Crested Lark Everywhere!
Sand Martin Small numbers encountered most days
Crag Martin Birds over cliffs at Kavaki most days, also at entrance to “Grand Canyon” on 4th, 6th and 8th
Barn Swallow Abundant
Red-rumped Swallow Seen daily in good numbers in mixed flocks
House Martin Numbers similar to Sand Martin, seen daily
Tawny Pipit Sheep Field, early afternoon 3rd
Red-throated Pipit In long grass at Sheep Field all week
Yellow Wagtail Four races seen over the week, Black-headed, Blue-headed, Ashy-headed and Grey-headed – plentiful in numbers especially in damp areas
Citrine Wagtail Four birds seen, Male opposite entrance to Saltpans mid afternoon 3rd, Pair at Faneromeni Ford afternoon 4th, Female found at Meladia valley midday 4th
White Wagtail Single bird at back of Sheep Field Pool mid afternoon 8th
Rufous Bush Robin Near cafe on saltpans – morning 5th
Nightingale Singing all over Island
Whinchat Common bird all week
Stonechat First seen in Meladia valley 4th, thereafter sporadically in highlands
Isabelline Wheatear Birds at junction of Eressos/Sigri/Ipsilou Road, also seen at Ipsilou on 6th
Northern Wheatear Single male at Ipsilou on 6th and 8th
Black-eared Wheatear All over the Island – both sub-species
Blue Rock Thrush Common in correct habitat all over Island
Blackbird Abundant
Cetti’s Warbler Heard in all wetlands and river courses
Zitting Cisticola Single bird flying near airport – late morning 9th
Sedge Warbler Seen daily in small numbers
Marsh Warbler Petra Reservoir morning 4th, Lower East River early morning 7th
Reed Warbler Common
Great Reed Warbler Seen in most suitable habitat over Island
Olivaceous Warbler Probably most common warbler, numerous daily sightings
Icterine Warbler 2 birds Meladia valley early afternoon 4th, Kavaki early morning 9th
Sub-Alpine Warbler Equally common with Olivaceous, seen everywhere
Ruppell’s Warbler Seen on most visits to Kavaki, not always well – also seen well (3 pairs) opposite Kavaki lay-by walking up hill on evening of 3rd
Eastern Orphean Warbler Seen at Kavaki and occasionally elsewhere
Barred Warbler Single bird on track to Petra Reservoir on evening of 3rd May
Whitethroat Seen occasionally around the Island
Garden Warbler Ipsilou, late morning 4th
Blackcap Seen occasionally around the Island
Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler Ipsilou, late morning 4th and 2 birds 6th late morning same site
Wood Warbler Large numbers at Ipsilou on each visit
Spotted Flycatcher Abundant, in excess of 100 birds at Ipsilou late morning 4th
Pied Flycatcher Small numbers at Ipsilou on each visit
Sombre Tit Single bird often seen at Petra Reservoir (100yds beyond water), a number of birds at Ipsilou early morning 8th and also Napi Valley mid morning 7th
Blue Tit Abundant
Great Tit Abundant
Kruper’s Nuthatch Pair at nest site in Achladeri
Western Rock Nuthatch Bandstand on each visit and also on each visit to Ipsilou
Golden Oriole Ten plus males at Ipsilou on 4th and around Sigri, 2 males at Ipsilou on 6th and 3 females there on 8th
Red-backed Shrike Common all over Island
Lesser Grey Shrike Seen on approach to Antissa on 4th early morning, also often at Petra Reservoir and by entrance to Saltpans on 3rd mid afternoon
Woodchat Shrike Common all over Island
Masked Shrike Common all over Island, especially in lightly wooded areas
Jay Black-capped sub species seen all over Island
Jackdaw Flock of up to 30 birds around Petra and on Islands offshore
Hooded Crow Abundant
Raven Seen daily, often flying over upper valley at Petra Reservoir, always harassed by Hooded Crows!
Starling At least two birds approaching Meladia Valley from Sigri direction early afternoon 4th
Rose-coloured Starling Adult early afternoon near Meladia Valley 4th
House Sparrow Abundant
Spanish Sparrow Large flock in Petra Reservoir early in week, dispersed over the week. Seen elsewhere in small numbers all week
Rock Sparrow Breeding pair feeding young at entrance to “Grand Canyon” mid morning 4th and 8th
Chaffinch Abundant
Greenfinch Seen daily in small numbers
Goldfinch Abundant
Linnet Seen regularly at various sites such as Ipsilou and Saltpans
Cirl Bunting Always in Petra Reservoir valley, also regularly seen all over Island
Cinereous Bunting Seen on each visit to Ipsilou (up to 3 or 4 birds each time)
Cretzschmar’s Bunting Seen on each visit to both Ipsilou and the Bandstand. Also regularly seen at Kavaki
Black-headed Bunting Abundant
Corn Bunting Abundant

In addition to the above birds I also heard the following:

Barn Owl Calling from roof of Apartments on night of 2nd/3rd
Chiffchaff From wooded hillside crossing from Kalloni to Petra mid afternoon 3rd
Serin Early morning at Achladeri on 5th
Short-toed Treecreeper Early morning at Achladeri on 5th
Thrush Nightingale Early morning for over 20 minutes at top of Petra Reservoir Valley on 6th

Well that is all folks, i may post a few more pictures over the next few days, but after in excess of 14,000 words and who knows how many hours typing i have finally finished (until i find all the mistakes and try to amend them – i know about the new species of Lark that i created on 5th, but cannot change it!)

Please let me know what you think, it may even encourage me to write the report of my two weeks in Kenya last November – 380 species in that time, including nearly 300 lifers!

Hi Ian

Great report mate. Now its done I'll get it listed on the website.

Thanks Steve,

Would you like the entire word document for you to do what you wish with?

If so tell me privately which e-mail address to send it to.

Ian

Hi Ian

First of all thank you for your kind comments about my report last year:t:

You report is excellent - extremely detailed, interesting and informative, much more than mine! Well done:t: Takes ages doesn't it!!!!! It bought back lots of happy memories from last year, thank you. You saw my roller too!!!:C

Will you go back again?

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

Great report, Ian. I'm sure we must have come across you and your friends at some point during our holiday.

As well as being of such interest to those reading your report, it's a good record of your trip for you to keep, isn't it?

I'll look at your species list now and see what we've missed but should have had!

Hi Penny,

As i said at the bottom of the report, i shall definitely be going back soon. i thought the Island was beautiful and the people too.

As my friend Sam observed (he has now been there four times) you cannot beat the combination of scenery, birds and ease of viewing within Europe.

i thought of you the moment i saw the Roller, it promised me it would be in the same spot for you next year

Ian

ps - Yes you are right i reckon it took me over 7 hours to prepare the entire report, that is why i am getting cold feet about doing the Kenya report from last year

Penny Clarke said:

Hi Ian

First of all thank you for your kind comments about my report last year:t:

You report is excellent - extremely detailed, interesting and informative, much more than mine! Well done:t: Takes ages doesn't it!!!!! It bought back lots of happy memories from last year, thank you. You saw my roller too!!!:C

Will you go back again?

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

Click to expand...

Sandra (Taylor) said:

Great report, Ian. I'm sure we must have come across you and your friends at some point during our holiday.

As well as being of such interest to those reading your report, it's a good record of your trip for you to keep, isn't it?

I'll look at your species list now and see what we've missed but should have had!

Click to expand...

Hi Sandra,

Well if you did see us you should recognise us from the photos uploaded !!

We certainly missed a few species, my friends saw some that i missed!! It was wader numbers that were the obvious omissions, Sam has a list from previous years and had seen species like Redshank on every previous visit.

Ian

An excellent read Ian.

Many thanks for posting.

Just reminds me that i really need to do some birding somewhere other than the UK.

Looking forward to the Kenya report:t:

would also like to thank selsey birder/ mick/sandra/steve for there comments and reports,in total agreement regarding the irresponsible behaviour of some of the photographers, did you hear about the one who removed some of the twigs from the m. s. w. nest sight because the were in the way of his shot, then woundered why it was acting strange when it came back!!.
enjoyed the trip and the socialising with mick and tina see you soon.
s.g.

Hi All,

These are all vdeo grabs, plenty more to follow!

Ian

Hi All,

It appears you can only edit a post for a short while after you have posted it, and I have made a mistake on the systematic list of birds for the holiday. Most embarrassingly it was one of the 7 lifers I had during the week. So for anybody interested please add the following:

Olive-tree Warbler Two birds in the Napi Valley on 7th

lesvos gull

hi all,
can anyone put a name to this gull.
it was photographed at petra res. on the 20/05/09.
it seems to have a massive bill and looked 10% bigger than the y.l.gulls plus longer winged.
thanks,
s.g.

s.g

I suggest (if you have not already done so) that you place the picture in the bird id section of the forum.

There are many knowledgeable parties there who i am sure will solve or at least make suggestions to solve your conundrum.

Ian

Very nice report with lots of detail - I've added Lesvos to my list of must visit sites, although it sounds like every birder and his dog is there in May.

Cheers
Mike

Kaoni Pool

Hi again Steve,

Can anything be done about the above in relation to clearing some of the vegetation? I look forward to your comments on this matter.
Cheers

Ian