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 Birding 2023 - Part 1

 Well finally the PC is sorted apart from my watermarking software, so just a quickie... all images included in this post and all posts in this blog site are copyright of Tom Willetts. 

Sorry about that but there are people out there aren't very nice!

So this is part one of our two week trip to Lesvos in May. It was great to be back, our last visit was pre covid in 2019. Between then and now we had had two trips planned but due to covid etc they never happened. So as I said it was wonderful to be back in one of our favourite places. We stayed as usual in Skala Kallonis;

It's just such a brilliant place, great Tavernas, food, scenery and the best base (in our opinion) for getting around the island. So on to the birding!

Actually we'll start with a bit of wildlife, an (Eastern) European Hedgehog wandering around by our hotel room.

Then some terrapins on our walk to the village:

Once we had our hire car we ventured out to the Tsikinas River and the Saltpans, seeing:

Little Stint

White Stork,

Black-winged Stilt,

Bee-eaters,

Short-toed Eagle,

Little Stint,

Yellow Wagtail,

Black-headed Bunting,

Couldn't resist another Stilt photo,

and another Stint,

or two Stilts, "getting it on" 😂

Plus many more, including Spanish Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Crested Lark, Marsh Harrier, Wood Sandpiper, Greater Flamingo, Avocet, Common Shelduck and Ruff.

Next day got a bit of sight seeing in. The Roman Aquaduct at Moira.

Then over the next few days:

Squacco Heron,

Spotted Flycatcher,

a trip to Agiasos,

Enjoying the wonderful poppy fields,

Ruff,

Crested Lark,

Spur-winged Lapwing,

and Roller.

That'll do for starters.............ttfn.