I had arranged to take the Dutch
ladies, Heleen and Mieka out west today and we set out at 8am on a warm still
morning but only made it as far as the Christou River bridge where a female
Citrine Wagtail had literally just been found on the small pools. Red-throated
Pipits were tiptoeing around the margins with tails slightly raised as if the
water was scalding hot and Black-headed Wagtails popped in and out of the
saltmarsh plants. The Citrine did the decent thing after five minutes and
walked into view. She was a very bright individual with sulphurous yellow on
her face and breast. What a great start.
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| Citrine Wagtail |
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| Red-throated Pipit |
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| Red-throated Pipit |
The drive out west was without incident although seeing three separate Chukars
was something of a surprise. Once on the track we stopped at the little chapel
where Pied Flycatchers could be heard and a Sombre Tit sang from the canopy.
Two Wood Warblers and more Flycatchers were seen in the next grove and
Cretzschmar's Buntings, Black-eared Wheatears and Rock Nuthatches were all in
song.
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| Sombre Tit |
The descent into Meladia gave good views of the above
species along with a vibrant Cinereous Bunting and before reaching the bottom a
stunning male Collared Flycatcher popped up on the fence along with numerous
Stonechats and several Whinchats.
The Orphean Warblers were still singing well in the scrub
in the side valley and perched up on top and gave superb scope views. This is
still possibly my favourite songster on the island. Woodlarks sung overhead and
a pair of Woodchat moved on ahead but there were no Orioles or other Shrike
species to be seen. Chukars called up on the hillsides.
We spent the next few hours in the valley bottom watching numerous Pied and
Spotted Flycatchers and at least four more Collareds, a few of the usual
warbler species along with two more Wood Warblers and a Chiffchaff, two
Redstarts, more Whinchats and Nightingales. I heard both Tree and Red-throated
Pipits again but could not find a Black-headed Bunting. The Rock Sparrows were
still by the overhang and a party of Bee-eaters invisibly headed north.
Two noisy Great Spotted Cuckoos chased each other past
the car. One still had some bronze in the wings and was presumably a first
summer, the other was incredibly spotty. One perched up for us while we had
lunch which was kind of it.
There was a little flurry of raptor activity as we ate
with Short-toed Eagle, both Buzzards, three female and a fine male Marsh
Harrier, brief ringtail Montagu's Harrier, male Goshawk, Common Kestrel, five
Lesser Kestrels and a very distant Eleonora's Falcon noted.
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| Marsh
Harrier |
Once past the ford I picked up a singing male Lesser Grey
Shrike out near the beehives. He seemed to be catching Violet Carpenter Bees
and was eating them with relish (and no I do not mean pickle...) It is always
good to see the first new in Shrike.
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| Lesser Grey
Shrike |
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| Spanish Sparrows |
Just beyond this a chat popped up and I called Whinchat but a quick look told
me something was not right. It was a Stonechat but pale fawny brown with a
completely plain pale peachy rump and an all dark tail. She had a similarly
peachy front, white throat, strong supercillium and well marked mantle. I cannot
see why she was not a Siberian Stonechat and later input confirmed my
suspicions. This was only the second for
the Island (not sure about the whole of Greece) and I was fortunate enough to
see the only previous one, a fine male near the saltpans on the 26th
April 2014.
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| female Siberian Stonechat |
 |
| female Siberian Stonechat |
Below are some shots of what I also believe to be a female Siberian Stonechat that I took at Albufera on Mallorca on the 26th February 2018 for comparison. I really should submit this to the relevant Spanish Committee.
 |
| female Siberian Stonechat - Mallorca February 2018 |
After this excitement we continued onto Sigri passing two Lesser Kestrels and a
splash of flava Wagtails on the way before heading out into Faneromeni.
The beach was our first stop and the sea was dotted with snaky lines of
Yelkouan Shearwaters as we waded through the vast flocks of Spanish Sparrows to
get to the river mouth. All four hirundines were coming down to bathe and a
Little Crake snuck away as we approached. A Savi's Warbler had been heard
earlier and it was a pleasant surprise to hear it start up after just a few
minutes wait. I hear this species reeling so infrequently that it is always a
special sound to encounter.
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| Spanish Sparrows |
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| Spanish Sparrows |
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| Barn and Red-rumped Swallows |
From here we hit the upper valley and had good last walk of the day with still
more of all three Flycatchers and a few 'throats, Blackcaps, Woodchats and
Whinchats.
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| Woodchat |
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| Woodchat |
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| Woodchat |
A Long-legged Buzzard circled overhead and an Alpine Swift powered
through with some Common Swifts.
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| Long-legged Buzzard |
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| Common Kestrel |
Ants were emerging and everything - even the
Jays - were out antcatching. A Tree Pipit at last gave itself up for the ladies
and with news of a male Citrine at the Lower Ford we headed back to end the day
as we had begun.
It was not there but there was more than ample recompense
when a male Flycatcher caught my attention from the car as we were leaving. I
had thought it was a Collared but when it turned I saw a dark nape and what
could only be a white median wing bar. I crept out of the car and called Jon Lowes
and his crew over. Surely it was a male Semi-Collared Flycatcher?
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| Semi-Collared Flycatcher - ACV |
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| In both this and the next one you can clearly see the white extending around the corners of the tail |
There were smiles all round; pictures were taken and the bird enjoyed for
another ten minutes before we needed to unblock the road.
The journey back to Skala Kallonis was smooth and punctuated by the Isabelline
Wheatears in the usual spot and a few minutes to feed the cats at Perivolis
monastery.
Quite a day...
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