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Lesvos Bird Reports 2017 (1 Viewer)

26 April 2017

26/07/17
Reports from visiting birders.
Polinichtos
Lesser spotted eagle reported.
Metochi Lake
Spotted, little and ballions crak

Faneromeni

Eleonora's Fakcon
Citrine Wagtail (male)
Pallid Harrier (adult female)
Sparrowhawk
Golden Oriole 5
Bee-eater 12
Collared Flycatcher 4
Spotted Flycatcher 8
Pied Flycatcher 12
Reed Warbler 6
Great Reed Warbler 1
Sedge Warbler 2
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler 1
Wood Warbler 1
Lesser Whitethroat 6
Common Whitethroat 10
Blackcap 12
Cuckoo 2 (1 hepatic)
Black-headed Bunting

Meladia Valley

Black-headed Bunting 2
Pallid Harrier
Purple Heron
Pallid Swift 8
Alpine Swift 6
Tree Pipit 1
Collared Flycatcher 2
Spotted Flycatcher 12
Pied Flycatcher 18
 
27/04/17 Flycatchers galore out West

No reports from other birders yet to day, so here's a few of our sightings.
In the 20s c today and really hot in the sun.
The influx of passerines continues and it's fair to say that out west
trees and fences were dropping with flycatchers and chats, especially spotted and winchats.

Lardia valley
Ortolan bunting

Faneromeni
Tree pipit 1
Turtle dove 3
Eleonora's Falcon 1
Golden Oriole 1
Collared Flycatcher 3
Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Reed Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Rock dove 6
Long legged buzzard 2
Common buzzard
Common Whitethroat 4
Blackcap
Black-headed Bunting 1
Woodchat shrike 3
Lesser grey shrike 1

Meladia Valley
Black headed bunting3
Purple heron 1
Short toed eagle 1
Cretzchmars bunting 3
 
Last edited:
27/04/17 additional reports from out West
27th April - 24 degrees and clear sky.

Meladia Valley (morning)

Black-headed Bunting 15
Red-backed Shrike 3 (male)
Red-footed Falcon (female)
Purple Heron
Collared Flycatcher 6
Pied Flycatcher 8
Spotted Flycatcher 20+
Whinchat 8
Reed Warbler 6
Sedge Warbler 2
Lesser Whitethroat 20+
Common Whitethroat 2
Golden Oriole 5
Cuckoo 2
Turtle Dove 3

Meladia Valley

Icterine Warbler 1
Little Crake (1 male + 1 female)
Eleonora's Falcon 2
Black Stork

News from a friend birding out West today.

Faneromeni Lower Ford surrounds
Red breasted flycatcher 2
 
29th April - 29 degrees sunny with wispy cloud.

Alykes wetland (morning)

Whiskered Tern
Spotted Redshank 5
Temminck's Stint
Glossy Ibis 15
Ringed Plover 10
Garganey 2
Wigeon 16

Polichnitos Pans

Flock of 8 Squacco Heron on the track as you drive along the coast.
Montagu's Harrier 1
Whimbrel 1
Grey Plover 2
Curlew Sandpiper 1
Little Stint 18
Ruff 11
Black-necked Grebe (1 summer plumage)

Alikoudi Pool

Glossy Ibis
Little Stint 28
Ruff 6

Magali Limni

Black Stork 7
Great Egret
Mallard
Krupers Nuthatch in nearby forest

Kalloni Saltpans (afternoon)

Gull-billed Tern 6
Whiskered Tern 16
Spoonbill 2
Purple Heron 12
Pallid Harrier (2CY male)

Christou River

Pallid Harrier

Our sightings
Kavaki
Ruppell's warbler 3 pairs
Blue rock thrush

Perasma Reservoir
Audouins gull 3
Cirl bunting
Woodchat shrike
Sub alpine warblers

Filia track
Eastern bonellis warbler 3
Common buzzard
Long legged buzzard

Wetlands at Kalloni Saltpans
Still holding waders and water but in these temperatures both may soon evaporate.
A common snipe was a new addition to our list, with large numbers of ruff,wood sands,little and the odd Temminck stint, ringed and little ringed plover, squacco said,grey heron etc.

News from another birder.

Faneromeni surrounds
reputedly dead today
 
Sunday 30 th April 2017

30 th April 2017
Following our adventure out West yesterday I can support Saturday's correspondents view sadly,that Faneromeni had the feel of migration was over.
There was not much action bird wise at and you are left with the feeling with the continued warm settled weather that they must have flown on to other destinations further afield.
Having said that it could all change today, you know Lesvos ?
Faneromeni ( our sightings)
Woodchat shrike 3
Red backed shrike
Ruddy shell duck 2
Spotted flycatcher 3
Wood sandpiper 10
Little plover 2
Black headed bunting 4
Turtle dove 5
Other birders reported golden oriole

Mt Ordimonas
The site of the local rubbish disposal unit for Antissa was carpeted with clouds of black veined white butterflies. All the resident species of buntings and wheatears were showing well,including:
Isabeline wheatear
Norther wheatear
Black headed wheatear - both forms
Cinereous and cretzchmars bunting
Masked shrike 1
woodchat shrike 2
Stonechat

Anaxos late evening
Barn owl
Night heron

Other news
Perasma Res
Pochard and Audouins gull present

Skalochrio
A friend reported 2 honey buzzards and a goshawk in the general area.


My appologies for any spelling errors
 
Last edited:
1st May 2017 - 31c and counting

31c was the temperature showing at our local hire car office at 17:00 today.
I dunno what we've got to do to find the birds, whatever it is our luck isn't improving very much.Today for example we missed an Osprey at Kalloni salt pans by two minutes according to the Dutch birder that seemed pleased to tell me "you'd have got a good photo with that camera", thanks mate :smoke:.
And minutes after we left a pair of red foots turn up, while a short drive away near Achladeri a Roller was thrilling birders who'd braved the crowds of locals out pic-nicking for the bank holiday.
In the morning a couple of g s cuckoos were showing well at Petra/Perasma reservoir. Early morning
at Kalloni Salt Pans saw several species of harriers;pallid,monty's and marsh. The former of which still elude us.
3 black necked grebe were reported at Kalloni Bay while our neighbour had a single at polinichtos along with a common cuckoo.

Also reported a male Citrine Wagtail today at Apothika, 100m up from river mouth. Baillon's Crake at Metochi. Little Crakes at Metochi.Ferruginous Duck at Kalloni pool. Eleonorae's falcon aT Sigri.


Some sightings from us:

Near Petra
4 common buzzards

Kremasti Valley
Masked shrike x 3
Woodchat x2
Hoopoe x 2
Common buzzard
Middle spotted woodpecker
Cirl bunting

Napi Valley/ Platania track
long legged buzzard x2
sparrow hawk
Masked shrike x5
Woodchat x2
Golden oriole x2
Olive tree warbler x2
Hoopoe
Middle spotted woodpecker
Rock nuthatch

Salt pans wetlands
Common waders still present including the spotted red Shanks
Squacco heron x 3
Temminck's stint x2
Whiskered tern 3
White winged tern 4
Yellow wagtail - field egg
Black headed gull x 1 ( surprisingly scarce in Lesvos in Spring)
Didn't see any of the previously resident widgeon, gargany or mallard
, herons or numbers of other wetland birds as the area continue to water eveporation at the wetlands dry out.

Tsiknias River
Common snipe
Little crake -fem
Great reed warbler
Reed warbler
Sedge warbler
A number of folks were staking out the ford hoping to catch the Ballions Crake
reported yesterday.
 
Last edited:
1st May cont

01/05/17 updates


Metochi Lake

Night Heron 8
Purple Heron 1
Little Bittern 2
Little Crake

Tsiknias River

Citrine Wagtail (female) just North of Tsiknias lower ford
Citrine Wagtail (male) 300m upriver of the Tsiknias lower ford
Osprey in off the bay just East of Tsiknias River
Peregrine
Little Bittern 5
Common
 
2 May 2017 - booted eagle

2/05/17
Agia Peraskevi
Light phase booted eagle reported today.
A scarce bird for Lesvos.

Achladeri
We checked out the Kruper's nuthatch today , they looked about to fledge.
We also had a goshawk mobbed by a hooded crow.

Sigri - Eressos track
I have been asked about the state of this track.
Like many others it has suffered the ravages of winter .
Personally I wouldn't recommend driving in anything but a 4x4 but as I write
I sit with a friend who has made the journey twice in a Hyundai Getz.
 
O2/05/17 cont

02/05/17 cont
Our sightings
Metochi
Little bittern 3
Red backed shrike
Masked shrike
Reed warbler
Cettis warbler
Little grebe
Coot
Moorhen
Red rumpled swallow
Barn swallow
Common swift

Tsiknias River
Black headed bunting
Black headed wagtail
Little bittern
Nightingale- managed to find 2 singing in the open

Mesa
Long legged buzzard - perched on a telegraph pole, which was nice

Skala Kalloni Salt Pans wetland
Lying water continues to diminish rapidly against a backdrop of temperatures in the low 30's.
It still holds a few waders and squaccos.
Also an interesting elegant looking gull which I believe some
have determined to be slender billed, however it also has dark ear patches
and a cap.


Some counts from the general Salt Pans area by a visiting birder on their last day.

1000+ flamingos
3 little crakes
2 Ospreys ( one flew off high whilst the other was fishing the tskinas rivermouth)
3 Grey plovers saltpans

250 little stints saltpans
4 Turnstones (1 saltpans 3 tskinas rivermouth evening)
3 wigeon saltpans
100 Curlew sandpipers saltpans
 
Wed 3rd May 2017

Wed 3 May
Visiting birder
Meladia Valley 6.30am...
10 red backed shrikes male
4 woodchat shrikes
2 common cuckoo
1 pied flycatcher female
2 blackcap male and female
Quite a few spotted flycatchers
1 Purple heron
Common Whitethroat

Faneromeni upper upper Ford and back fields
1 little bittern
6 red backed shrikes male 3 female (!)
No bush Robins still...
We can add to this at Faneromeni
Pied flycatcher 1
Spotted flycatcher 1
Golden oriole 3
Masked shrike1
Red backed shrike 4
Woodchat shrike 5
Black headed bunting 4
Plus the usual wheatears and buntings

Visiting birders cont
Tsiknias river
Little crake 2
Little bittern 3
Citrine wagtail - we've been after this 5 times without success
White winged terns 11

Kalloni bay
Black necked grebes 3
Great crested grebe 3 - both present for the past couple of Kalloni Salt Pans

Waders seem to have moved to the North East pans (viewed from the main road hide) now the Alykes pools are nearly dry.

Curlew Sandpiper circa 120
Little Stint circa 150
Ruff circa 200
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Grey Plover 12 (inc. 3 full summer plumage)
Greenshank 3

Skala Vasilikon
2 possibly 3 singing Olive-tree Warbler
 
4 May 2017

Lardier Valley yesterday
Forgot to mention rock sparrow on old rock nuthatch nest.

Tsiknias River
Purple heron

Went out to Polinichtos and Alikudi pool
without much luck common waders only and a long legged buzzard plus a Marsh harrier at Kalloni Salt pans.
Apparently a number of collared prats were seen on the
Rapidly diminishing wetlands.

Other news
Lesser grey shrikes in at Sigri 3 seen today plus many red backed shrikes.
2 great spotted cuckoos at the Tsiknias River late afternoon.

31c still at 6:30 pm
Apparently the weather is set fair and to get hotter, sadly no rain.
 
Last edited:
04/05/17
Reports from other birders(cont)

Meladia Valley (morning)

Lesser Grey Shrike 2
Red-backed Shrike 5
Pied Flycatcher 3
Spotted Flycatcher 6
Golden Oriole
Cuckoo
Citrine Wagtail (male)

Good numbers of Black-headed Bunting but birding remains difficult in the heat, although ice-cream helps...

Faneromeni

Spotted Crake
Little Bittern 3
Night Heron
Bee-eater 18
Rufous Bush-Robin

Meladia Valley (late afternoon)

Eleanora's Falcon 2
Chiffchaff
Pied Flycatcher 2
Spotted Flycatcher 6
Chukar 2
 
5 May 2017 Little crakes still around

05/05/17
Our reports
Thermometer showing 38c at 18:30 here in Anaxos.
Everlikely there's no birds - of the feathered variety, of course.Hard to believe that only a couple of months ago they had a metre of lying snow. The damage can be seen on many trees and the fact that many plants are late flowering, especially the giant thistles.
Makara Ford
Alpine Swifts and a female little crake showing nicely.
Jackdaws
Raven
Woodchat shrike
Black eared wheatear
Common buzzard
Common kestrel
Jay
Starred agama lizards

Tsiknias River
squacco heron 4
Little bittern 2
Blue headed yellow wagtail
Black headed yellow wagtail
Black headed buntings
Bee- eaters showing nicely
Little ringed plover
Ringed plover
Wood sandpiper
Ruff
Common tern
Little tern
Olivaceous warbler
Cetti's warbler
Reed warbler

Wetland at Kalloni Saltpans
Whiskered tern
Slender billed gull - so they say
Common kestrel
Kalloni
Short toed eagle

A citrine wagtail was reported there Thomas by Eleni, a species that still eludes us.
Reports by other birders.
5 may: Parakila marsh - 17.00
1 Common Snipe
1 Purple Heron (juv)
6 Little Stint
4 Common Moorhen
2 Mallard
6 Little Egret
12 Black-winged Stilt
Tsiknias River this morning
Night heron 7

Limni Metochi.
Little Grebe,
Common Coot,
Moorhen,
Little Bittern, S
squacco Heron,
Great Reed Warbler,
Reed Warbler,
Common Swift,
Masked Shrike,
Cetti's Warbler
More news
Kalloni Saltpans & Alykes

Whiskered Tern 12
White-winged Tern 6
Gull-billed Tern 1
Grey Plover 2
Curlew Sandpiper 5
Temminck's Stint 1
Ruff 110
Little Stint 70+
Wigeon 1
White Stork 9

Perasma

Ruddy Shelduck with young ducklings!

Mt. Leptimnos

Wryneck
Goshawk (female)
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler 4+
Short-toed Eagle 3
Common Buzzard
Peregrine (male)
Blue Rock-thrush 4+
Sigri
Light phase booted eagle

I have to confess that personally I've been disappointed with the lack of
migrants
I'm sure the hot weather has taken its toll. Still Lesvos is a great place to be.







Sent from my iPad
 
Last edited:
Sat 6 May 2017
Our sightings
In our experience a day dominated by unconfiding but numerous passerines.
I'm sure that the number of flycatchers that we saw was the tip of the ice berg.
The heat is possibly taking its toll in driving the birds into the shade.

Lardia Valley
Sparrow hawk
Common buzzard
Rock sparrow

Mt Ordimonas
Endemic wheatears and buntings
Rock nuthatch
Linnet
Black veined white butterflies still in good numbers

Sigri & Sanertorium
At the Sanertorium more orbed red underwing skippers than I've previously seen in
one place and the meadow browns have burst forth in large numbers.
Redstart
Common cuckoo
Woodchat shrike x 3
Red backed shrike
Eleonoras falcon
Orphean warbler x2
Pied flycatcher x3
Spotted flycatcher x4
Stonechats very common
Woodchat shrike x 2

Meledia Valley and ford.
Usual buntings and wheatears and little owl ( at the farm as usual)
Chapel
Wood warbler,common white throat,pied and spot fly
European bee eaters x12
At the fig grove
Both pied and spotted flycatchers in numbers along with male redstart and common cuckoo
Spanish sparrow
Squacco heron
Anaxos
European bee eaters x12
 
7 May 2017
A quite day for us today in search of butterflies and dragonflies at the Upper Potamia River where birds were scarce to view, with only a couple of woodchats and a common buzzard were our only company.
An earlier visit to Kalloni Salt pans gave us a single red footed falcon, 18 whirling white storks and a report from some one else that collared pratincoles were still in the area.
 
Mon 8 May 2017
An easy day for us touring the North West.
38c at 18:00
Kavaki
Ruppell's and sub alpine warblers showed fleetingly.
Distant views of turtle dove.
Petra Res
Only thing we saw were 4 yell
Ow legged gulls and a Raven.
Skala Sikiminia
For a lovely lunch, got talking to two NGO refugee spotters with a telescope.
They said that those getting through we're at a trickle on account of Turkey turning many back.

Kalloni Salt Pans
Photographers queuing up for bee- eater photos.
White winged terns 4
Black tern 1
Whiskered tern 3
Also common tern all on the north side of the road in, marshy area in field.
The channel held some nice waders including breeding plumage Kentish and Curlew sands x 2
Common kestrel 1

Other reports are thin on the ground.
Siri - I spoke to someone just came back who said it as dead, however yesterday morning
there were some night herons and golden oriole at the upper ford.
Ancient Pyrra
Roller seen today at 08:00 on wire across open fields directly east of Ancient Pyrra
 
Tues 9 May
Faneromeni today
The river at Faneromeni was bone dry today.

Nevertheless a great day for red backed shrikes with 12 seen on a day that many birds were hunkered down from the wind.On the way down to Faneromeni a hobby whizzed past. Evidence of late migration was also present in the form of 6 orioles seen, including 2 singing at the Beach House eucalyptus stand.
A lesser kestrel did a fly by, while 4 woodchats, 2 ruddy shell duck,a little ringed plover, 3 spot flys and a black stork were also seen, along with the usual hirundine,buntings and larks.
Ipsilou was less entertaining with only the endemic buntings for company. The exception being a family of ravens where one was carrying what looked like a snake , otherwise this afternon,there was only a quick flyby from a small falcon looking like a Merlin and two black storks.

The dearth of reports from other sources continues.

Other reports
Potamia Valley today
10 Eleonoras were reported

Ipsilou on 07/05/17
A steppe buzzard was reported.
Beware of cross breeding buzzards, showing characteristics of both common/ long legged and steppe species, many of which exist on Lesvos

Makara Beach
Rufous Bush Robin today (9.5.) at Makara and many Raptors in the sky; Lesser Kestrel (2), Eleonora's Falcon (+8), Peregrine (2), Long-legged Buzzard (2), Common Buzzard (+2), Snake Eagle (+2), many Alpine Swifts.
 
Last edited:
We'd 10th May 2017 rain and bee-eaters

Wednesday 10 th May 2017
Overnight rain showers led to a cooler feel to the weather this morning, followed
by further localised rain mid morning at Skala Kalloni.On the way to the salt pans there appeared to be many small parties of 20-30 bee-eaters heading North. or maybe to local breeding grounds.
Kalloni Mini Soccer
Could only locate 1 scopes
Metochi Lake
Little grebe 2 with 4 young
Coot
Moorhen
Night heron 1
Squacco heron 1
Great reed warbler 1
reed warbler
Cetti's warblers
Nightingale
Loads of spread wings out, I think Eastern willow but will have to check

Tsiknias River
Squacco hernon 6
Little bittern 2 both females
Common terns
Feldegg yellow wags 3
Reed warblers
Common waders
Nightingale

Salt Pans
Grey heron
White winged tern - only saw one today
Usual common waders but couldn't see any curlew sands
Bee-eaters every where today

Common buntings,lark and warblers present all the above sites

Other reports.
Faneromeni
Our neighbour reports singing golden Orioles still present,which common shrikes,spot flies, a white winged tern and little bittern at the beach.
 
Thurs 11 May 2017 - Pelican & Pipit

Thurs 11 May 2017
The late news last night related to 2 Dalmatian Pelicans dropping at Kalloni Salt Pans.
We decided to head South West to do some sight seeing at Vatera
and try to tick a highly localised breeder, the Sardinian Warbler.
So:
Vetera/Agios Focas
Our first stop of the day.
We noticed a squacco under the bridge as we crossed the river along the track to the headland North of Vatera, so decided to pull up for a quick look.
As we did so,within yards of the car, we heard a Sardinian singing from
what looked like an Almond tree. Where ever we have travelled we have never found the species confiding and couldn't believe our luck to find this puppy singing right in front of us.
Sardinian warbler 1 male
Black headed bunting very common
Reed warbler
Olivaceous warbler
Squacco heron
Yeloucan shearwaters 12
The latter with a raft of y l gulls of the point.

Policnichtou Salt Pans
Common buzzard

Alikudi Pool
Masked shrike
Male and female coupling
Also I exchanged views with two other birders regarding
a wader that was difficult to tag, especially in the mid afternoon
glare.

Skala Vasilicon
Tawny pipit - popped off a fence on to the coastal track.

Kalloni Salt Pans
Visible from the main road hide
Dalmatian pelican 1
Spoonbill 4
Great egret 1

Not a big tally I know , but nevertheless some interesting birds.
Pardon any spelling errors.

Other news
A single stone curlew was on the field near the Kalloni Salt Pans hide.
Eressos
A cattle egret turned up today. this is a regular Spring vagrant.
Kalloni Salt Pans
A pair of rufous bush chats were said to be holding territory, on the beach
close to the Alykes Wetland.
 
12 May 2017 - Four shrikes and you are out

Friday 12 May 2017
Late news from yesterday
Siri/Malodia Valley
Roller 2
Booted eagle 1

Our sightings
28c at 16:00
Very humid and windy in places.

Road above Skutoris, near Filia
Stopped off at "Jeans Rock" near the Filia junction.
We intended to stick it here for a while to raptor watch, however
two rather unsavoury guys pulled up, dressed in garish holiday attire.
After rolling a cig, one came over, right up to my face, and asked what we were doing. After telling him they stuck around smoking and chatting loudly.
As they made us decidly uncomfortable, we packed up and left.
I should clarify that they were not either locals,Greek or English holiday makers.
Anyway back to birds.
Here we had the following ,as soon as we got out of the car:
Short toed eagle 2
Goshawk
Eleonoras falcon

Skalachori - Ancient Antissa
Don't be fooled by the newly Tarmaced track and road markings.
This peters out about half way down and is still rough in places.
Must have been a bid passage of shrikes overnight.
Red backed shrike 12
Woodchat shrike 6
Black headed bunting a flock of 20 (must be recent influx)
Sub alpine warbler - many but unconfiding
Stonechat
Whinchat
Cretzchmars bunting
Common buzzard
Linnets
Goldfinch
Usual larks and wheatears

Gavathas Beach
Lesser grey shrike
Red backed shrike 3
Bee-eater 3

Pirivoli
Red backed shrike
Cinereous bunting
Ruddy shellduck 2
 
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