Lesvos 2025 Part 5

 Our birding journey around Lesvos continues............ this is the last one honest!

So here's a nest built into the side of a rock face...

and here's the owner, a Rock Sparrow. We saw this nest last year on the Sigri-Eresos track and much to our delight it was in use again.

So a catalogue of birds seen in he last few days;

Spotted Flycatcher,

Black-headed Bunting,

Wheatear,

another Spotted Flycatcher,

Red-backed Shrike,

A cricket of somesort,

Corn Bunting,

Lacewing,

Red-rumped Swallow,

yet another Spotted Flycatcher 😅

Butterflies galore,

Spotted Flycatcher with lunch,

I'm sure that tasted nice 😏

Caterpillar nest!

Red-backed Shrike,

that Wood Warbler again, same tree as before!

Short-toed Eagle,

Juvenile Orphean Warblers,

More butterflies.

Night Heron,

Swallows having a drink.

Then after two weeks of trying, a Scops Owl at the mini soccer pitch just outside Kallonis Town.

Squacco Heron down at the Tsiknias River again,

The Terns and Gull were still hanging around at the river mouth,

with the Common Tern doing a flyby.

Back at the river, A Black Stork, Great Egret and Little Egret keeping each other company.

At the Saltpans managed to get some nice shots of a Little Stint,

Ruff

Spur Winged Lapwing

and another Little Stint, their summer plumage is magnificent.

A close up of a Black Stork,

Shelduck,

Ringed Plover,

and Reed Warbler.

Heading back to the village, I couldn't resis more Bee-eater photo opportunities

and a Black Stork flying right over us.

So that's it for another year. Hopefully we will be back again next year and we can do it all again!

 

Lesvos 2025 Part 3

So onwards with the Lesvos Stuff! 

 Had to go back and see how our young Long-eared Owls were doing, very well, thank you! 

Then a nice Great Egret at the Tsiknias River,

A Jay in the Potomia Valley,

there always plenty of Terrapins in any water around the island.

At Parakila Marsh you can usually find some Greater Flamingoes that don't want the hustle and bustle of the Kalloni Saltpans,

and is it's a marsh, it was nice to find a Marsh Sandpiper.

Back at the Saltpans, down the side channel behind the pumping station, there were a pair of Spur-winged Lapwing, gorgeous bird.

The young Ruff stayed around for the whole two weeks that we were there,

as did the Avocets.

Can never get enough of Bee-eaters, I hope you feel the same, as I'm sure that I'll add a few more along the way. 😀

Another favourite of ours.... a Little Tern fishing in the salt pan channels.

Kentish Plover.

Another iconic bird, most of which had already moved on before we arrived, but we finally stumbled across a lone bird at the salt pans.

Told you there'd be more Bee-eaters!

This attached itself to our car door! If anyone knows what it is let me know!

Black-eared Wheatear.

There were plenty of White Storks around but these Black Storks were much harder to find.

Back at the marshes, these Flangoes have lost their heads.

Swallows collecting mud for nests.

One of our favourite days out is down the Makara Valley, where for the last 3 years we've always seen Little Owl at the same farm. We thought we were out of look this time, but we found one, hiding behind one of the power line poles.

Lizards are everywhere on the rocks...

At the end of the valley you drive along a beach track and come to a bridge (used to be just an impassable ford without a proper 4x4) we stop there and go for a wander. Birds can be heard everywhere, finding them though is a different matter. However Goldfinch will always show off.

It was nice to find a couple of Shelduck at the river mouth

and of course because there was water there were terrapins.

A couple of Ringed Plover were about too.

A very secretive Little Bittern kept popping out of the river margins.

We could hear Reed Warblers all the time, one finally stayed up long enough for me to get a couple of shots.

There are always tons of butterflies down the valley too

and poppies.

The Reed Warbler popped up again..

The froglets liked the river as well.

Swallows were coming down regularly to get a drink.

Then my favourite sighting of the day! Tessellated Water Snake. Awesome!!!

Cretzschmar's Bunting again at Makara.