Blue Eyed Birder: Lesvos - Day 12 - 1st May 2025 for Oriole Birding

Being May Day we always head West as everywhere around the Bay gets very busy indeed and it started very well indeed with the River Warbler staccato reeling outside the Malemi being heard as we slowly drove through the crowd in our bus. It was never going to sit out with people only a few yards away – not that they actually had much choice given its chosen roadside bramble clump!

We stopped at Lardia but once again could only hear the Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers trilling before up and over to Faneromeni. It was very windy but we opted to walk from the fig groves to the upper ford and back. It proved to be an excellent decision and during the morning we had nine Golden Orioles resting up in one tree alongside Bee-eaters while a duo of White-winged Black Terns hawked the fields. A single Roller was in the dead trees once again and a Laughing Dove whizzed through. We counted 20 Red-backed Shrikes along with two Lesser Greys and the two breeding species, heard Wood Warblers and saw Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Great Reeds and even a slightly dowdy but very showy Barred Warbler. Lesvos migration magic in action.

Red-backed Shrike

Swallows hunting low in the wind over the sheep

There are eight Golden Orioles in this picture

Golden Orioles

Barred Warbler - Paul Wood

There were plenty of Spotted Flycatchers but things changed above the ford where we were taken to an off the track spot where a full adult male Red-breasted Flycatcher was holding sway and seeing off Spotted, Pied and a male Collared. This was my first male on the island and it put on quite the show for the small crowd that mysteriously appeared. It was making a short pew call which I had not heard before as well as the expected rattle.

Spotted Flycatcher - Paul Wood

Red-breasted Flycatcher - Paul Wood

Red-breasted Flycatcher - Paul Wood

Red-breasted Flycatcher

There were Squaccos and Wood Sandpipers in the river and ten Whiskered Terns got blown over and north along the coast. The river also hosted huge heaps of Green Toadlets which the waders and herons were feasting on.

Wood Sandpipers

Lesser Grey and Woodchat Shrike - a Red-backed was just out of view

Bee-eaters

Squacco

Green Toadlet

However, despite all this it was the morning of the Levant Sparrowhawk and after the first male decked out in lilac-blue and almost-orange, whipped passed the van and perched on the fence we managed to see at least 13 others with one group of four. The views far surpassed anything I had experienced before.

Levant Sparrowhawk - Paul Norris

We took lunch on the beach and managed to position ourselves out of the wind. The Shearwaters were incredibly close and even the Yelkouan’s were in full arc mode with towering sweeps far higher that I have ever seen Manx do. There were Scopoli’s too that were close enough to discern every detail – again not a regular occurrence here. The crew were very happy.

From here we tried the Petrified Forest road and here too there were small birds moving up and over the slopes and towards the end we found Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Whinchats and Wood Warblers as well as the expected Buntings and Wheatears. Still no Chukars though.

On up to Ipsilou passing a male Levant Sparrowhawk on the way up. It was quiet here with singing Golden Orioles, Cinereous Buntings, Blue Rock Thrush and a bouncy Persian Squirrel.

Salvia argentea

Hypecoum procumbens

Two more Levants were seen from here onwards while Agriosikos once again gave us a fine view but no birds really this time. We would return. A final stop back at the Tsiknias gave us superb views of three Spotted Crakes just below us along with a Common Snipe and two Little Bitterns and finished with a flock of 21 Med Gulls heading purposefully towards the salt pans where the Montagu's Harrier was making flying in the wind look easy. An orange Squacco just sat there and let us glean every detail and was a grand way to round up a full day in the field.