Petra and her friend wanted to get some good photos of several target species during her week on Lesvos and used my help for one day. We had a very pleasant day out spotting and photographing the usual breeders around Sigri (Cinereous and Cretzschmar’s Buntings, Sub-alpine Warbler, Rock Nuthatch, Rufous Bush Robin, Eastern Orphean Warbler etc) and discovering so many more migrants (shrikes, Rose-coloured Starlings etc).
Gary E. and Austin M. were excellent birders and good friends for years and the day was really enjoyable! We started very early from the central parts of the island for the Kruper’s Nuthatch and then headed West for the other island’s specialties.
You can find out more (species and photos) at Austin’s blog:
http://austinmorley.blogspot.com/p/lesvos-greese-2019.html
Mark B. has been on the island for a few days already and had a few more species that he needed on his Lesvos list. So we were out early in the morning to find Rock Nuthatch, Cretzschmar’s Bunting and the Ruppell’s Warbler and had successfully found them by 11:00.
Our meeting point was Eressos village and Don M. and I had only a few morning hours available for our birding. Nevertheless, we had a great birding morning!
The great views of nest providing and singing Cinereous and Cretzschmar’s Bunting and Rock Nuthatch would be just enough for us but we got even more: a female Orphean Warbler providing its 3 recently fledged chicks, Black-headed Bunting, Bee-eaters, Eleonora’s Falcon, Crag Martin, Ruddy Shelduck, Long-legged Buzzard!
A lovely day in the West with Yon and Chara H. from Holland. A slow but very productive birding mostly by walking around Sigri and Eressos villages. Interesting birds we had together were: Cinereous, Cretzschmar’s and Black-headed Bunting, Isabelline and Black-eared Wheatears, Rock Sparrow, Bee-eaters at a nesting site, Golden Orioles (more than 25!), Masked and Woodchat Shrikes, Lesser Kestrel, etc.
A fine half-day trip around Agia Paraskevi, with Rex and Hanneke, walking among pasture land and olive-groves. Here are the high-lights: a pair of ROCK NUTHATCHES providing to their nest, MASKED SHRIKES, Red-backed and Woodchat Shrikes, Turtle Doves, SOMBRE TITS, Little Owl, Peregrine Falcon, LONG-LEGGED BUZZARDS, a SHORT-TOED EAGLE resting on a small tree (!), Bee-eaters, several HOOPOES, Middle Spotted Woodpecker etc. Oh, and Persian Scuirrels!
The highlights of this half-day (07:30-13:30) guided birding and BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY trip around Agia Paraskevi, Kalloni and the wetlands of the North coast of the Kalloni Gulf were:
ELEONORA’S FALCONS, Scops Owls, Squacco Heron, BLACK TERN, Bee-eaters, family parties of Hoopoes, Sombre Tits and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, singing males RUFOUS BUSH ROBINS, Black-eared Wheatears, EASTERN ORPHEAN and SUBALPINE WARBLERS, Rock Nuthatches, MASKED SHRIKES, ROSE-COLOURED STARLINGS, several Black-headed Buntings and of course Flamingos, Black Storks, Ruddy Shelducks, Black-winged Stilts etc.
(photo © Vic Duncombe)
The highlights of this half-day (08:30-14:30) guided birding trip around SIGRI and ANTISSA areas were:
Short-toed Eagles, CHUKARS, AUDUIN’S GULL, Bee-eaters, ISABELLINE and Black-eared Wheathears, many Red-backed Shrikes, BLACK-HEADED BUNTINGS, Cirl Buntings (a family!), Spanish Sparrows etc and of course CRETZSHMAR’S and CINEREOUS BUNTINGS.
The highlights of this full-day (08:30-19:30) guided BIRDING PHOTOGRAPHY trip around AGRA, ERESSOS, SIGRI and ANTISSA areas were:
ELEONORA’S FALCONS, LESSER KESTREL, CHUKAR (a parent with 12+ chicks), Rock Dove, Little Owls, Hoopoes, Bee-eaters, RUFOUS BUSH ROBINS, ISABELLINE, Northern and Black-eared Wheatears, Eastern Orphean Warbler, ROCK NUTHATCHES (among several, a family party!), many BLACK-HEADED BUNTINGS etc. and of course CRETZSHMAR’S and CINEREOUS BUNTINGS.
This trip was part of a 3-day Lesvos trip (a Northern Greece trip extension) for Birding Ecotours. View the full trip report here.
A very warm sunny day with moderate intensity wind towards the afternoon.
The highlights of this full-day (08:30-19:30) guided birding trip around ERESSOS, SIGRI and ANTISSA areas were:
ELEONORA’S FALCONS, LESSER KESTREL, Little Bitterns, Bittern, Yelkouan Shearwaters, Rock Dove, Little Owls, Alpine Swift, Hoopoe, ROLLER, Bee-eaters, Red-rumped Swallows (at mid-day roost!), CITRINE WAGTAIL (a female), RUFOUS BUSH ROBINS, ISABELLINE and Black-eared Wheathears, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Olivaceous Warblers, RED-BREASTED FLYCACHER, many BLACK-HEADED BUNTINGS etc and of course CRETZSHMAR’S and CINEREOUS BUNTINGS.
Lesvos Birdwatching 