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.

Birding in Lesvos 2024 - Part 3

 In part 3 I'm just going to post a few of my favourites from the 2nd week.......

Black-headed Bunting in full voice..

Nightingale,

Goshawk have a bit of a problem with a Raven,

Shelduck on Tsikinias River,

Caspian Gull,

Red-throated Pipit,

more Greater Flamingo,

Pygmy Cormorant,

Laughing Dove in Loutra Village,

Collared Dove,

Spur-winged Lapwing (Plover),

Purple Heron,

European Bee-eater,

ready for it's close up!

Krüpers Nuthatch,

Long-eared Owl (Again, no apologies!),

Masked Shrike,

Female Montagues Harrier,

Black Stork,

Squacco Heron,

Lesser Grey Shrike,

Stone Curlew,

Corn Bunting,

Persian Squirrel,

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler,

Black-headed Bunting yet again,

Spotted Flycatcher,

Stonechat (with lunch),

Find the Rock Sparrow,

Spotted Redshank,

Short-toed Treecreeper,

Krüpers Nuthatch,

Butterfly!

Marsh Sandpiper,

Bar-tailed Godwit & Marsh Sandpiper

and finally setting up the bonfire in Skala Kallonis Square for the Greek Orthodox Easter Celebrations.

I did say I would do a list of all the birds we came across in the two weeks, so here it is:

Alpine Swift  ("Apus melba")

Avocet  ("Recurvirostra avosetta")

Barn Owl  ("Tyto alba")

Bar-tailed Godwit  ("Limosa lapponica")

Bee-eater  ("Merops apiaster")

Black Stork  ("Ciconia nigra")

Black Tern  ("Chlidonias niger")

Blackbird  ("Turdus merula")

Black-eared Wheatear  ("Oenanthe hispanica")

Black-headed Bunting  ("Emberiza melanocephala")

Black-tailed Godwit  ("Limosa limosa")

Black-winged Stilt  ("Himantopus himantopus")

Blue Rock Thrush  ("Monticola solitarius")

Blue Tit  ("Cyanistes caeruleus")

Buzzard  ("Buteo buteo")

Caspian Gull  ("Larus cachinnans")

Cetti's Warbler  ("Cettia cetti")

Chaffinch  ("Fringilla coelebs")

Cinereous Bunting  ("Emberiza cineracea")

Cirl Bunting  ("Emberiza cirlus")

Citrine Wagtail  ("Motacilla citreola")

Coal Tit  ("Periparus ater")

Collared Dove  ("Streptopelia decaocto")

Common Sandpiper  ("Actitis hypoleucos")

Common Tern  ("Sterna hirundo")

Coot  ("Fulica atra")

Cormorant  ("Phalacrocorax carbo")

Corn Bunting  ("Emberiza calandra")

Crag Martin  ("Ptyonoprogne rupestris")

Crested Lark  ("Galerida cristata")

Cretzschmar's Bunting  ("Emberiza caesia")

Curlew Sandpiper  ("Calidris ferruginea")

Dalmatian Pelican  ("Pelecanus crispus")

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler  ("Iduna pallida")

Fan-tailed Warbler  ("Cisticola juncidis")

Glossy Ibis  ("Plegadis falcinellus")

Golden Oriole  ("Oriolus oriolus")

Goldfinch  ("Carduelis carduelis")

Goshawk  ("Accipiter gentilis")

Great Reed Warbler  ("Acrocephalus arundinaceus")

Great Tit  ("Parus major")

Great White Egret  ("Ardea alba")

Greater Flamingo  ("Phoenicopterus roseus")

Green Sandpiper  ("Tringa ochropus")

Greenfinch  ("Chloris chloris")

Greenshank  ("Tringa nebularia")

Grey Heron  ("Ardea cinerea")

Gull-billed Tern  ("Gelochelidon nilotica")

Hen Harrier  ("Circus cyaneus")

Hooded Crow  ("Corvus cornix")

Hoopoe  ("Upupa epops")

House Martin  ("Delichon urbicum")

House Sparrow  ("Passer domesticus")

Icterine Warbler  ("Hippolais icterina")

Isabelline Wheatear  ("Oenanthe isabellina")

Jackdaw  ("Corvus monedula")

Jay  ("Garrulus glandarius")

Kentish Plover  ("Charadrius alexandrinus")

Krüper's Nuthatch  ("Sitta krueperi")

Laughing Dove  ("spilopelia senegalensis")

Lesser Grey Shrike  ("Lanius minor")

Lesser Kestrel  ("Falco naumanni")

Levant Sparrowhawk  ("Accipiter brevipes")

Linnet  ("Carduelis cannabina")

Little Bittern  ("Ixobrychus minutus")

Little Crake  ("Porzana parva")

Little Egret  ("Egretta garzetta")

Little Grebe  ("Tachybaptus ruficollis")

Little Owl  ("Athene noctua")

Little Ringed Plover  ("Charadrius dubius")

Little Stint  ("Calidris minuta")

Little Tern  ("Sternula albifrons")

Long-eared Owl  ("Asio otus")

Long-legged Buzzard  ("Buteo rufinus")

Mallard  ("Anas platyrhynchos")

Marsh Harrier  ("Circus aeruginosus")

Marsh Sandpiper  ("Tringa stagnatilis")

Masked Shrike  ("Lanius nubicus")

Middle Spotted Woodpecker  ("Dendrocopos medius")

Montagu's Harrier  ("Circus pygargus")

Moorhen  ("Gallinula chloropus")

Night-heron  ("Nycticorax nycticorax")

Nightingale  ("Luscinia megarhynchos")

Ortolan Bunting  ("Emberiza hortulana")

Pied Wheatear  ("Oenanthe pleschanka")

Purple Heron  ("Ardea purpurea")

Pygmy Cormorant  ("microcarbo pygmeus")

Raven  ("Corvus corax")

Red-backed Shrike  ("Lanius collurio")

Red-breasted Flycatcher  ("Ficedula parva")

Red-footed Falcon  ("Falco vespertinus")

Red-rumped Swallow  ("Cecropis daurica")

Red-throated Pipit  ("Anthus cervinus")

Reed Bunting  ("Emberiza schoeniclus")

Reed Warbler  ("Acrocephalus scirpaceus")

Ringed Plover  ("Charadrius hiaticula")

Robin  ("Erithacus rubecula")

Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon  ("Columba livia")

Rock Sparrow  ("Petronia petronia")

Roller  ("Coracias garrulus")

Rough-legged Buzzard  ("Buteo lagopus")

Ruddy Shelduck  ("Tadorna ferruginea")

Ruff  ("Philomachus pugnax")

Sardinian Warbler  ("Sylvia melanocephala")

Scops Owl  ("Otus scops")

Sedge Warbler  ("Acrocephalus schoenobaenus")

Serin  ("Serinus serinus")

Shelduck  ("Tadorna tadorna")

Short-toed Eagle  ("Circaetus gallicus")

Short-toed Lark  ("Calandrella brachydactyla")

Short-toed Treecreeper  ("Certhia brachydactyla")

Skylark  ("Alauda arvensis")

Spanish Sparrow  ("Passer hispaniolensis")

Spotted Crake  ("Porzana porzana")

Spotted Flycatcher  ("Muscicapa striata")

Spotted Redshank  ("Tringa erythropus")

Spur-winged Lapwing  ("Vanellus spinosus")

Squacco Heron  ("Ardeola ralloides")

Stonechat (rubicola)  ("Saxicola torquatus rubicola")

Stone-curlew  ("Burhinus oedicnemus")

Subalpine Warbler  ("Sylvia cantillans")

Swallow  ("Hirundo rustica")

Swift  ("Apus apus")

Tawny Pipit  ("Anthus campestris")

Temminck's Stint  ("Calidris temminckii")

Turtle Dove  ("Streptopelia turtur")

Western Rock Nuthatch  ("Sitta neumayer")

Wheatear  ("Oenanthe oenanthe")

Whinchat  ("Saxicola rubetra")

White Stork  ("Ciconia ciconia")

Whitethroat  ("Sylvia communis")

White-winged Black Tern  ("Chlidonias leucopterus")

Wood Sandpiper  ("Tringa glareola")

Woodchat Shrike  ("Lanius senator")

Yellow Wagtail  ("Motacilla flava")

Yellowhammer  ("Emberiza citrinella")

Yellow-legged Gull  ("Larus michahellis")