Lesvos Day 11 - 20th September 2020

A funny old day with an early assault on the bakers before a walk around the block via the harbour and seafront where a juvenile Flamingo was paddling just offshore and a Grey Heron stalked prey in the calm shallow water.  The light in the harbour was wondrous with only the sound of the phut phut of an incoming little boat breaking the peace.

Waiting for the catch to come in

Big Blenny sp

Very Big Blenny sp

Anemone sp

Sea Squirts

Swimingo...

Shag

Grey Heron

 

The back paddocks were full of Sparrows along with a few Wagtails, Pipits and Willow Warblers but it was generally quiet. 

The Pela

Black Stork

Sea Lavender sp

The are 87 species in Greece!!! Have a read up on Limoniums if you fancy!

 

Thekla arrived at 9.30 and we headed out onto Loutzaria to check on the puppies we had found and at least to let her have a look at them. A Hoopoe flopped away from the trackside and Red-backed Shrikes dotted our way. The young Cuckoo was now out alongside the Tsiknias. Cats and puppies were fed and it was then back to her place for a cuppa and some kitten time before lunch.

 

These two unrelated puppies have now been rescued with a view to rehoming

 

Some of Thekla's rescued cats. The kittens are off to the Netherlands soon. She does an amazing job of caring for the abandoned cats and dogs on Lesvos

 

I then took myself out for a lengthy pedestrian circuit back out onto Loutzaria via Papiana. It was hot and the wind was getting up again and eyes up produced two very tatty adult Long-legged Buzzards to go with the smart regular juvenile, at least 11 Common Buzzards, four magnificent Short-toed Eagles and a microscopic male Marsh Harrier up in the blue. 

The Papiana eucalytpus trees have had a bit of a hair cut - and this was before the tempest at the start of the month that caused much tree and structural damage in the villages here

These delightful nestboxes were up through the village of Papiana and Kerami

Short-toed Eagle

Short-toed Eagle

Short-toed Eagle

juvenile Common Buzzard

adult Long-legged Buzzard #1

adult Long-legged Buzzard #2 for the rest of these images

 

All this sky scanning also gave me two Alpine Swifts with a high hirundine flock and 47 Bee-eaters circling up and off to the southeast. The mixed Sparrow and Corn Bunting flocks seem to be coalescing. 

Ripe Pomegranates

Bee-eater

juvenile Bee-eater

Mostly House Sparrows

The flava Wagtail field was still buzzing with added Tree Pipits and chats and I found the remains of a White Stork which matched up with the fact that there were now only five following the farmers turning and baling their hay. They were completely unphased by the men working or the machinery clanking away and I watched them take several of the big Scolopendra centipedes and give them a good snap to the head before swallowing them down.

Red-backed Shrike

Romanian Blue-head type flava Wagtail

Romanian Blue-head type flava Wagtail

I suspect a Black-headed Wagtail

Nice to see flocks of Crested larks in the stubble

White Stork

With Scolopendra

  

Being away from the car meant I could spend some time trying to get images of the Blue butterflies with some social bugs thrown in for good measure.

Lang's Short-tailed Blues

Lang's Short-tailed Blue and Long-tailed Blue

Lang's Short-tailed Blue

Long-tailed Blue

Long-tailed Blue

Caenocoris nerii - both Oleander and Cynanchum acutum food plants were present

Meadow Brown sp

Vila abbadon or something very similar as beyond normal flight time

The missing young dog from our morning exploits (who we have called Ella) had re-found me and followed me for the next mile, almost back into town in fact, before turning back towards the fields. 

Ella - I rediscovered my love of a dog

 

Tsiknias above Lower Ford

Levant Water Frogs in the last Lower Ford puddle

Not resting - but trying not to be noticed and failing

A Kingfisher zipped down the Tsiknias and 11 Sandwich Terns were with the Yellow-legged Gulls at the river mouth with a snaky necked Great White Egret.

Dinner was planned at Omega in Anaxos with Alison and Costas for one of his legendary pizzas but there was still time for a drive through the middle for some Golden Hour Shrike and Wagtail action and more quality time with the Storks who had moved onto a lush field where every meal came with a free cooling shower.

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Mr Grumpy Grey Heron

White Storks

Dinner was preceded by an epic sunset over the sea and the drive back in the dark produced a Foxlet and a couple of cats but Beech Marten still eludes me. 

 

A stop to look at the night sky revealed the full majesty of the Milky Way strung out across the heavens with a side order of magnificent planets to compliment it. I raised my binoculars and suddenly felt very small indeed... 

The Milky Way - Pia Schrader