Lesvos - Day one - 17th April 2024

A www.blueeyedbirder.com adventure:

Like many others, we all arrived on Lesvos on a very convivial flight from Stansted. I have not seen such a birder filled plane in ten years. There was still plenty of snow in middle-Europe and the views down below was spectacular.

I always imagine what birds I am flying over

The drop down over the Aegean was filled with cloud and we took the direct approach into Mytilene but I doubt we would have seen the island on the usual circuit anyway! Before too long we were on the road and at the Pela and refreshed before our first trundle out. It was to become a very productive two and a half hours.

Two Spur Winged Plovers at the Tsiknias river mouth got things off to a flying start - never a guaranteed bird here before a bump through Loutzaria where Eastern Olivaceous Warblers chattered in their cyclical manner from the Chaste Trees.

Spur Winged Plovers - a quality image to get the ball rolling

Down at the Kalloni salt pans (KSP from now on) an initial scan for the Broad-billed Sandpipers drew a blank but the waders were superb with a big flock of 120 Ruff containing 35 Little Stints, four Curlew Sandpipers, seven Marsh Sandpipers, three Greenshanks, 17 fully sooty and patchy Spotted Redshanks, Kentish Plover, Curlew, Stilts, Avocets and two Black-tailed Godwits. 

Zitting Cisticolas did what they do best and our first Short-toed Eagle hovered over the ridge before the lure of Pygmy Cormorants at Kalami drew us down the road where Killian had the immature bird in view for us along with Purple Heron, Little Grebe and two drake Garganey.  Several Wood and a Common Sandpiper fed just under our noses.

Pygmy Cormorant - Antony Wren

The light was poor for watching this constantly fishing bird but the full breeding plumaged adult across the road on the marsh was magnificent and sat with its wings out alongside a Coot that was about the same size. A quality bird to see and only my second time on the island.

Pygmy Cormorant - looking very Archaeopteryx-like

Small Bee-fly sp - I have never got any further with the id here - Antony Wren

Red-rumped Swallows

Back to the pans and Alykes where White and Black Storks disappeared in the grasses and Glossy Ibises lurked. A large flock of Ruddy Shelduck were mooching around and Red-throated Pipits passed over with Black-headed Wagtails - smiles all round.

Ruddy Shelduck

2nd cy Black Stork

Black Stork

Aestivating Snails - Antony Wren

Small Skipper - Antony Wren

Violet Carpenter Bee - Antony Wren

A final look at the pans and the two stripy Broad-billed Sandpipers were back on show as they fed with super fast probing amongst the spread of other species. 

Broad-billed Sandpipers and Ruff

Marsh Sandpiper and Ruff - Andrew Litchfield

Little Stint, Avocet, Marsh Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Ruff and both Broad-billed Sandpipers - Antony Wren

Broad-billed Sandpipers and Ruff - Antony Wren

Wood Sandpiper - Antony Wren

With some of us having been up for 36 hours we called it a day and headed back for our first meal at the Pela with seventy species already under the belt and many new birds for this first time crew.  There was even time to squeeze in a cracking male Collared Flycatcher from the balconies before dinner...

Collared Flycatcher - Antony Wren

Collared Flycatcher

Serenading Nightingales and Scops Owls sent us to our beds.

But not before I had removed this large Green Wolf Spider from my room

The Suffolk Coast - 14th April 2024

A www.blueeyedbirder.com adventure:

Somehow it was another lovely spring day – two on the bounce has been such a rare thing this year and we started well at Westleton Common once again with the Nightingales singing but not really giving themselves up like they did on Wednesday.

The Woodlarks were up on the wires again and there was more Chiffchaff and Blackcap song along with a brief Bullfinch and wheezy Yellowhammer.  The increase in leave cover in five days was noticeable.  A few Hoverflies were loafing around and it was good to find a single Eudasyphora cyanella too.

Eristalis pertinax

Eudasyphora cyanella

Onto Westleton Heath for a circuit in the warming air.  Dartford Warblers were once very showy and active with Linnets and Stonechats equally visible but the Woodlarks were only heard way up in the blueing sky.  I was pleased to find the Stone-curlews once again and we had a wonderful encounter with one of the Nightingales.  Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat joined in in the heavily scented Gorse around us.  

Dartford Warbler

Lizards were out basking along with a few Hovers but there were strangely still no Butterflies on the wing.  Enid identified some interesting plants with Lesser Chickweed - Stellaria pallida, Climbing Corydalis - Ceratocapnos claviculata and Heath Groundsel - Senecio sylvaticus and there were some patches of very pale flowers amongst the pink Storksbill.

Climbing Corydalis - Ceratocapnos claviculata

pale form Storksbill

Lesser Chickweed - Stellaria pallida - the flowers have no petals

I found more Eye-lash Cups - they look a little different to the North Cove ones

Common Lizard 

Eristalinus sepulchralis

Minsmere took up the rest of the day and was glorious. Bitterns boomed wherever we went and we were lucky enough to see one moving between reed patches from Island Mere where Sand Martins now flicked left and right and Bearded Tits were seen with bills full of insects.

The woods here were full of Orange Tips and the first Damselflies too which I was surprised to see were Variable – thanks to Roy for confirming my suspicions.  There were Bee-flies and Nomad Bees and the constant sound of Med Gulls passing overhead.

Comma

Green-veined White

Orange Tip

Variable Damselfly

Variable Damselfly

Gall of the fly Lipara lucens

Ruby Tiger cat?

Eristalinus aeneus

Nine-spine Stickleback

Rudd - Bittern food

A comfort stop at the centre allowed a good catch up with Steve Grimwade and the EBS group before a casual glance up produced a Common Crane on a controlled fast descent glide as it dropped in high from the north – undoubtedly heading back to the Levels.

Cowslip

Ex- Marsh Orchid spikes?

Common Crane - high and hazy

Mossy Stonecrop - Crassula tillaea

Two Whitethroats were singing at the start of the North Wall and Sedge Warblers were on top of the brambles.  Bitterns boomed and Sand Martins fizzed overhead.  It was delightful to be out.  Down at the sea a fine male Wheatear, that I suspect was a Greenland bound bird hopped around without a care in the world.  Seeing my first one of the year is always a joy. 

Wheatear

On the scrapes the single Knot of Wednesday had been joined by ten others and we also found Little Ringed Plover and Turnstone amongst the breeding waders.  Twelve Sandwich Terns were roosting on an island and a single Kittiwake dropped in for a wash and brush up.  And even here the Bitterns on the other side could be heard.  They were a constant backdrop to the whole day.

Avocets

A male Adder was briefly where I saw him on Wednesday but he did not linger long and slithered away and Stonechats balanced on the highest stems.

Stonechat

We came back via South Hide and the Bitterns were so close that you could hear the intake of breath before the booms.  I remarked that we needed extra Bitterns and promptly found three playing chase way out over the reedbed!  A fourth bird got up to join them and they spent five minutes circling before all dropping back down into the still brown reeds. Never seen anything quite like it!

Bitterns

A new spring in our weary steps brought us back to the car park and the end of a great day out.