Lesvos - Day 2 - 14th January 2026

The temperature dropped well below freezing last night but there was surprisingly no frost when I headed out for bread before eight.  A subsequent walk down along the front to the Kamares / Christou gave me some Great Crested Grebe and Black-necked Grebes on the mirror calm Bay but no hoped for Divers. 

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe and Black-necked Grebe and the isthmus of the Gulf of Kalloni

Stonechats, Black Redstarts, Robins and Chiffchaffs were in the Tamarisks and Sardinian Warblers were in the brambles.  Zitting Cisticolas called somewhere almost at my feet but would not come out but one sat up and sung behind me and was too chilly to actually do its silly dance!

The Pela

Hooded Crow

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Collared Doves - I checked for laughing

Down on the estuary the same wader flocks as last night were present albeit in slightly differing numbers and two Spoonbills were feeding with a Great Egret and Black Stork on the beach tide line.

Kentish Plover and long billed Dunlins

Kentish Plovers and Little Stints

Kentish Plovers and Little Stints

It was time to amble back for breakfast before heading out for the day although hearing a Chukar in one of the fields and seeing a lovely little Wren were both surprises. 

Wren

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

There were more Black Redstarts around the village

A drive across the island through the winter wooded landscape showed just how well Ravens are doing with them being the commonest bird encountered.  I took the old road (the new one is still technically closed – cough cough – oh look there goes another lorry and six cars) and then turned off onto the Agriosikos track drove down to the Mulberry orchard and had a lovely walk in the almost warm sunshine (it was 8c!).  Chaffinches were calling all around and three Mistle Thrushes rattled in and out of the Oaks.  This is always a scarce bird here and I have always loved them since pair annually wintered in my Ilford garden way back in the early ‘80s and defended the Pyracantha against all comers!

A furtive Mistle Thrush

Wood Nuthatches were vocal and as usual sound different to ours back home and after hearing several Sombre Tits, one popped up on top and scolded at some unseen threat.  A couple of Dunnocks called around the farm where Black Redstarts and Robins hopped and a Short-toed Treecreeper called further into the trees.  I love seeing someone familiar at a different season.  Middle-spotted Woodpeckers were chattering in all directions but as ever are tricky to see so it was good to find one from the car at the base of a small Oak as we drove back out.

Onwards and downwards adding a Blue Rock Thrush that was sat up as we came through Lardia on our way to Perivolis Monastery.  As usual the regular cats appeared on cue and seemed pleased to see us.  All have been ‘done’ and there were no new additions and all looked in good health. 

The gang must be five years old now?

they do like a hot bonnet

I left Andrea with them headed off for a walk.  Song Thrush voices filled the air with three birds giving it large from the top of the tallest Cypresses but I could not see one of them.  There were many other however and they kept flying back and forth across the now flowing river and I counted at least 36 along with quite a few Blackbirds and 14 Blackcaps.  Five Mistle Thrush dropped into the Olives from up high and there were plenty of the regular finches but here they included two calling Hawfinch and 11 dangling Siskins.  I saw them at this spot feeding in the same Oriental Planes on my early March visit so it was pleasing to discover that perhaps it is a regular spot.  Likewise two Firecrests were calling in the Cypresses back up the entrance road where Sardinian Warblers hopped around at ground level.

Siskin

Siskin

Amazingly there were more Butterflies here with Painted Lady, Red Admirals and Small Coppers and rather oddly a pair of Red-veined Darters in tandem.  There were two Hoverfly species too. It got to about -4c last night!

Small Copper

Seven Spot Ladybird

A small Tachinid

Episyrphus balteatus

Eristalis pertinax

The river was burbling along and you could see the height of one of the recent flash surges with vegetation stranded over half way up the gabions.  A Grey Wagtail was making the most of the moving water and looked happily at home while on the rocks above I found Western Rock Nuthatches bouncing around.

Cirl Bunting

Oriental Plane seeds

Common Buzzard

Rusty Back Fern

One of the spring flowering Cyclamen

On again and up to Ipsilou for lunch with that amazing view. Even now, looking down onto Faneromeni, the river was barely flowing and large sections without any visible water at all.  Ravens were once again all around but there were almost no small birds at all with just a couple of Rock Nuthatches and a few Tits.  I always have it in my head that this would be the perfect spot for an Alpine Accentor or Wallcreeper to drop into but alas today was not that day. 

To Meladia

There were butterflies here too and I added Wall Brown to the other three species along with a Silver Y moth and a very nice plump Greenbottle that I was actually able to name (and I don’t mean ‘Dave’).

Small Copper

Not a normal Greenbottle - note the green between the eyes. 
The one pair of presutural acrostichal bristles and three pairs of postsutural acrostichal bristles tell me that it is Neomyia cornicina

A Chuker called from the bottom of the valley and I could hear Woodlarks calling between the clanging of sheepbells.  The road back ‘home’ took me onto the new road that now links up Anemotia to Potamia.  It was beautiful through there with the sound of running water every time you stopped.  I added Goldcrest and picked up a few Cirl Buntings as we descended.  The new road even allowed me stop opposite the weir pond that we would have normally walked up to on the other side.  I got out and could hear Levant Water Frogs croaking.  It was still only 9c and there on the bank were quite a few Stripe-necked Terrapins too.  Chiffchaffs and Robins flycatched from the edges.  It was a joy to see so much water in the river.  Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Goshawk were seen overhead but no Long-legged Buzzards.

A roadside pool high up the valley. Looks good for Dragons

Stripe-necked Terrapins

Roman Nettle

The tarmac even diverts up to the main Potamia reservoir now allowing easy access.  I quick count gave me 35 Coot, 21 Little and a single Black-necked Grebe but no diving ducks. To my surprise the verge here was liberally sprinkled with the blooms of Crown Anemones.  As usual they came in all colours with creamy white through the pinks, lilacs and purple with just a single red one found.  I am pretty sure that they were all Crown and not Peacock.  I was not expecting to see any this early in the season.  More Levant Water Frogs lined the ditch.

Crown Anemones

Levant Water Frog

Back down to town and then out onto the KSP where the Flamingos glowed in the late evening light.  There were two Spoonbills on the first pan too but oddly not one Black-headed Gull this time.  Similarly we only saw three Starlings here yesterday but today over 700 lined the wires as we drove down towards the salt pile.

Starlings

I spent a very pleasant hour stood up on the mound watch the Alykes Sheepfields and the south-east pans beyond.  It was a rerun of the previous evening with the duck and Dalmatian Pelicans but Pintail were up to six this time.  Two Black Storks and seven more Spoonbills were counted and a flock of 120 Avocet appeared and had a good fly round too. There were still Ruddy Shelduck on the pools but a sudden cacophony of honking from the distant Alykes Wetlands saw the sky suddenly full of them and my final tally was 144 before they all settled back down again.  I suspect that this may be my largest ever count here.

The Starling flocks moved to the Sheepfields too and the fresh water here was attracting many birds down for a drink including some of the Pelicans and even the Cormorants.  Thirty Lapwings were still out on the meadows and I could hear Grey Plovers and Curlews.

Dalmatian Pelicans, Shoveler and Teal

Ruddy Shelduck - over 80 in this flock

Starlings and Ruddy Shelduck

Suddenly everything was in the air as a female Hen Harrier effortlessly powered through and she was followed by a near adult male that tried to take a Meadow Pipit before settling down.  He had some dark mantle marking and was not the purely silver bird seen the night before. I later saw both birds hunting the edge of the olive groves alongside the eastern pan and this was where I saw them closest on my March visit.  The raptor action was not over with several Marsh Harriers frequently spooking the Wigeon flocks and two Kestrels were hunting the grassland although the Meadow Pipits and Skylarks made sure that they were not on the menu but they should all have been looking the other way as a young male Merlin barrelled across in front of me and had an attempt at one of the wannabe Kestrel mobbers.

Hen Harrier 

There were Stonechats dotted around but I could not find the one that I think was a 1w male Siberian but I will keep looking. The Bay was even flatter and mirror-like that this morning and I made the most of the opportunity and the lack of any real haze to scan back and forth.  I repeatedly counted and got to 24 Red-breasted Mergansers (some were closer this time and I could even hear the males ‘singing’), 28 Great Crested Grebes and 22 Black-necked Grebes including a party of 14.  There were no Black-throated Divers that I could see but I did get my reward with a mid-distance Slavonian Grebe which earned its places as my first new Island bird of the trip.

Red-breasted Mergansers

'cans and 'mingos

There were 40 Kentish Plovers on the bar down towards Mesa and super long billed Curlew probed the shallows while two already pinky Slender-billed Gulls positively glowed in the last light as they flew over my head.

Slender-billed Gull

A second ringtail Hen Harrier followed us out and the all the way out onto Loutzaria as we bumped our way back.  The track as actually been improved in places (the big hole with concrete by the last barn has gone) but it was quite soft in places.  I took the Triangle track (which was even softer and had obviously been covered in places by the flood) seeing a Long-legged Buzzard at last as it came off a pole and across the fields. I turned right along the Tsiknias to head back to the main road and as I suspected there is another section that has been filled in and built up following the breach but the edge is already collapsing on the inland side and I shall be avoiding that too for the rest of this trip!

Time to head back before a lovely meal out with Nancy and Thekla at the Café Lab in Kalloni.  Time for sleep now.