Lesvos - Day 14 - 3rd May 2025 for Oriole Birding

Going West three times in a week is unusual but it was the final day and it offered us the best chance of encountering migrants and the unexpected as going north may have only netted us Great Spotted Cuckoo.  A slight veer along the bay edge on the way to get bread added the Great Crested Grebe that Paul had seen each morning to the group tally before hitting the Eresos to Sigri track once more.

In warmers, stiller conditions were fared much better beginning with Sombre Tits on the fence as we drove it. A walk down from Rock Sparrow Corner gave us three Barred Warblers including a full adult male that came clos to us and spent an age catching and thrashing hairy Eggar caterpillars to death on a favoured spot.  Everyone spent quality scope time with this yellow eyed beauty. Sardinian and Orphean Warblers were similarly cat hunting.  Woodlarks and all the Buntings were in full song this time and Northern Wheatears joined the other two species on the tops.

Rock Sparrow - Paul Wood

Black-capped Jay

Eastern Subalpine Warbler

Barred Warbler

Barred Warbler

Barred Warbler

Over 20 Red-backed Shrikes were counted as well as three Lesser Greys and a good selection of falcons with 12 Redfoot spiralling over, a pale Eleonora’s and six Lesser Kestrels.  A finely barred Honey Buzzard was a trip tick and the orange, grey and brown ringtail male Montagu’s Harrier was once again near the chapel.

Red-backed Shrike

Craning to see a juvenile Woodlark just a few feet from the van

We had lunch at the chapel once again as the friendly dog had appeared by the ford again (we did report it to Thekla to investigate whether it had been dumped) and the Cypress trees were home to a great selection with an Icterine singing upon arrival although it never came out, two each of Wood and Willow Warbler, two Spotted, Pied and a female Red-breasted Flycatcher which bounded around us.  Andrea appeared from the van and called over in a dead pan voice ‘ Howard, do you want a Roller? There is one in that fig tree’ and walked off. Sure enough a hazy blue bird was sitting in the old figs below us.

Lovely dog - monster feet

Roller - ACV

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher - Jim Willett

Spotted Flycatcher

Six Pallid Swifts were with the Common and a few Alpines around us and there were now many Meadow Browns and the first almost yellowy Balkan Marbled Whites on the wing.  Andrea found another Roller just around the corner.

Glass Lizard

Meadow Brown sp

Roller

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear - ACV

Cirl Bunting - Jim Willett

The Cheese Sanitorium was too busy to stop so we pressed onto Faneromeni stopping briefly at the new Olive press opposite the Sigri Oak Grove where John, peter and Steve were watching a Little Owl on the roof!  Cue a quick exit for this now tricky bird here.  

Little Owl

Up to the top fields passing another Roller in the Oriole and Bee-eaters fields on the way and then a flurry of Roller action added another four as they were hunting from the Giant Fennel up slope.  At this point it was 4 : 3 to me but the scores were equalled when Andrea found the best one of the day on the way back down.  The crew decided that she should win on the ‘1^st of the day Roller Rules’.  I conceded the draw.

Roller - ACV

Roller - ACV

Roller - Paul Wood

Roller

Black Stork

The hazy Little Owl was still on his distant barn and we collected 15 Red-backed Shrikes, Turtle Doves and three more Squaccos before once again heading over the top. The Spur-winged Lapwing was still with the sheep on the way out. The Rosefinch was a no show at the Petrified Forest but there were two more Lesser Spotted Eagles hunting as we re-joined the main road and we watched them hurtle across the valley below. We finished up at Perivolis were the nesting Middle Spotted Woodpeckers did not really play ball but there were Medium-tailed Tits in the trees and the noisy Ravens. With packing and a final Pela meal we made our way home.

Spur-winged Lapwing

Cretzschmar's Bunting