1st half of April scouting birding

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

I was out with my son on this extremely windy day (April 10) to check some areas for newly established bird territories and, at the same time, take part in the Greek Bird Race that was held this weekend. The race is formally organised for Athens and Thessaloniki areas but other parts of Greece may take part without competing. This year’s 4th race was dedicated to the Turtle Doves (#YearOfTheDove).

We first visited some garrigue areas with scattered trees between Parakila and Agra. Several singing Cinereous and Cretzschmar’s Buntings gave good opportunities for “welcomes” and some photos. The area was full of Black-eared Wheatears and singing well-hidden Eastern Orphean Warblers. Here are some photos:

Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea) foraging by the track side.
Another Cinereous Bunting at its singing post.
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca)

Also had singles of Sombre Tit and Rock Nuthatch.

Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

Our list was 66 bird species long with 2 hour, early morning, birding, a car passage from the main Mitilini-Kalloni-Parakila “wetland-road” and an hour spent in the pine forest on the way back to Mitilini.

We also had 2 species of Scorpions.

The endemic scorpion Euscorpion lesbiacus
Scops Owl (Otus scops) at Skala Kalloni area

April 6th, a half-day trip around Central Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

It was a rainy day which means a rainy day with sunshine -as  Spring usually is like on Lesvos! Alice K. asked to see some birds around agricultural land but also around wetlands with a specific wish to see Glossy Ibises.

The highlights of our day out together around Agia Paraskevi and the Kalloni Gulf were: Black Stork, Common, and Little Terns, Common Snipe, SPOTTED REDSHANK, MARSH SANDPIPER, Wood Sandpiper, Ruffs, Black-winged Stilts, BLACK-TAILED GODWITS, Little Owl, Marsh Harriers, SHORT-TOED EAGLE, MASKED SHRIKE, Sombre Tit etc.

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Little Owl (Athene noctua) and Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) under the rain!

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Flirting Common Terns (Sterna hirundo)

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Corn Buntings (Emberiza calandra) dominating the bird songs heard.

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Sombre Tit (Poecile lugubris)

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Ruffs, Marsh Sandpipers, Spotted Redshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Dunlins in a large mixed of around 120 birds

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Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus), only 6 around that day!

April 1st, a half-day trip around Central Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou
Dalmatian Pelican;Lesvos;birding

The meeting point with Beatrice C. and her friends was the Messa wetland and we saw different birds there when we started our day and again when we finished it!

We visited the nearby pine forest for the nesting KRUPER’S NUTHATCH where we had really beautiful views of the male visiting the nest to take care of his incubating partner.

Later on, we visited the coastal wetlands of the northern Kalloni Gulf and we had together a very interesting list of migrant and summer visitor species: Black Stork, DALMATIAN PELICANS, GLOSSY IBISES, Flamingos, Black-tailed Godwits and Ruffs, MARSH SANDPIPERS, Black-winged Stilts, OSPREY, Black-headed Yellow Wagtails, many passing Common Swifts etc

Here are some photos of the birds we found:

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Kruper’s Nuthatch (Sitta krueperi)

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Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa)- on the right- and Ruffs (Calidris pugnax)

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Marsh Sandpipers (Tringa stagnatilis)

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Well-covered but really close Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus)

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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with prey avoiding a Yellow-Legged Gull (Larus michahellis) that went after the big fish!

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Common Swifts (Apus apus) were clearly making a passage on that day. We were seeing flocks of 20-100 birds moving through all morning.

April 18, half-day around Central Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou
Curlew Sandpipers and Temminck's Stint; Lesvos

Konstantine, an experienced birder from Germany, wanted to see the Kruper’s Nuthatch and some waders. The plan was to visit the pine forest around Mikri Limni and then as many wetlands as we could.

We started from the Kalloni Salt Pans south parts, then continued to the pine forest and followed the coastline from Skala Polichnitos to the north back in the wetlands of the west parts of Skala Kallonis. For the end a route within the pasture land and olive groves around Agia Paraskevi.

We managed to see 80 different bird species, having as highlights: KRUPER’S NUTHATCH (in two distinct breeding territories), Western Rock Nuthatch, MASKED and Woodchat Shrike,  Purple Heron, Glosy Ibis, LITTLE CRAKES, a single BLACK-WINGED flying among 11 COLLARED PRANTICOLES, Curlew and Marsh Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stints, STONE CURLEWS, Whiskered Tern, PALLID HARRIER, Short-toed Eagles etc.

Kruper's Nuthatch; Lesvos
Kruper’s Nuthatch

April 10, full-day around Central and Western Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou
Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea); Lesvos; Lesvos Birdwatching

Hanna and Emil, South African birders, had a full-day trip around the island to enjoy the most of the birds of Europe.

We started from the Agia Paraskevi area and continued to Eressos and Sigri for some of the island west’s specialties. The afternoon found us back in the Kalloni Salt Pans for some wetland birds.

We managed to see 57 different bird species, having as highlights: Masked and Woodchat Shrike, Cinereous, Cirl and Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Orphean and Oriental Warblers, Purple Heron, Glosy Ibis, Curlew and Marsh Sandpiper, Long-legged Buzzard, Short-toed Eagle, Little Owl, etc.

End of April, half-day trip around Western Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

Here are the highlights of our trip with Pat and Ros A., around Antissa dn Sigri: CINEREOUS and CRETCSHZMAR’S BUNTINGS, ISABELINE, Black-eared Wheatear, EASTERN ORPHEAN, Sub-alpine and Olivaceous Warblers, Black-headed Buntings, ROCK SPARROWS, Crag Martins, LESSER KESTREL, Blue Rock Thrush, etc.

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Mid-April, whole day bird-photography trip around Western Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

Hans and I spent the day in the vast garrigue areas of Western Lesvos (Agra and Sigri). Our main target was the Cinereous Bunting and the birds found in this specific habitat. It was a windy and relatively cold day but we managed to get what we wanted. Fantastic photos of the Cinereous Bunting, Chukar, Linnet and a bird Hans had for the first time photographed: the Wood Lark. We also found: BLUE ROCK THRUSH (a male singing and displaying for a long time), Sombre Tit, MASKED and Woodchat SHRIKES, CRETZSCHMAR’S BUNTING, ISABELLINE WHEATEAR, Ruddy Shelducks, Rock Pigeons, Orphean Warbler, Collared Flycatchers, Short-toed Eagle etc.

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Chukar (Alectoris chukar), photo: HANS GLADER

Mid-April, half-day trip around Southern Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

Together with Wouter and Luise, we visited the East side of the Kalloni Gulf : coastal wetlands, pine forest and olive-groves and agricultural land by Polichnitos. A day full of passing hirundines and swifts with 1st sightings of some bird species for this Spring! We had: KRUPER’S NUTHATCH, Turtle Doves, 2 PALLID HARRIERS, Ruddy Shelducks, Ruffs, Wood Sandpipers, Kentish Plovers, Black Stork, Glossy Ibisses, WHISKERED and BLACK TERNS, MASKED and WOODCHAT SHRIKES, lots of SPANISH SPARROWS etc.

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Whinchats (Saxicola rubetra) on the move!

Mid-April, half-day trip around Central Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

Phillippe and Pascale had already been on Lesvos for a week and had seen nearly all of the island’s specialties. Our day’s targets were the MASKED SHRIKE and EASTERN ORPHEAN WARBLER. Also the Isabelline Wheather and some wild flower species. I chose a route including the birds’s prefered habitats, around Agia Paraskevi and later Agra and we got our targets within the first one hour having the rest of the trip to also enjoy some good birds (and plants!): Turtle Doves, 2 GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOOS, Purple Herons, Little Owl, Woodchat Shrikes, SOMBRE TIT, Woodlark, Subalpine Warblers, WESTERN ROCK NUTHATCH, CINEREOUS, ORTOLAN, CRETZSCHMAR’S and Cirl Buntings, etc.

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Rhododendrum luteum

Mid-April , afternoon half-day trip around Central Lesvos

Posted on by Eleni Galinou

Beatrice C. (a novice birder) had a tight program on the island so I had to create this taylor-made afternoon trip to some wetlands of the north coast of the Kalloni Gulf and pasture land near Agia Paraskevi. We had Ruddy Shelducks, GLOSSY IBISSES, Flamingos, PURPLE HERON, Spoonbills, Black Storks, SQUACCO HERONS, Ruffs, Wood and MARSH SANDPIPERS, WOODCHAT SHRIKES, SOMBRE TIT, SPANISH SPARROWSetc.

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A Sombre Tit, processing its food!