A www.blueeyedbirder.com adventure
The first pre-breakfast jaunt of the trip and by just before
0630 we were down at the Tsiknias ford freezing various bits of our anatomy
off. The two female Little Crakes were
on show regularly and whilst I was getting onto a Crake found by Raymondo, a
Spotted Crake walked into view. I am
pretty sure that the first bird was the Baillon’s and he saw it a little while
later I believe. The Spotty came back
out again and looked huge against the Littles.
One of the Pygmy Cormorants came in to fish just below the ford and was
soon in amongst the algal mats.
The Red-throated Pipit was seen down there again and the
Black-headed Bunting was attempting to enthusiastically welcome in the new day
from the top of the re-growing Mulberry. Two Purple Herons came out of the
fields and were given grief by the Hooded Crows and a male Red-footed Falcon
was perched up distantly back off towards town.
The cold was penetrating and we opted for breakfast at the normal time
and headed back!
A swift turn around and we were out on time and after an owl
search wiggled over the top to Petra and up to Kavaki. I suspect I say it every time but it is a
pity that no one seems to stop here now that the Ruppell’s Warblers seem to
have moved on. It was cool and the sea
was not flat calm as usual but there were hundreds of Yelkouan Shearwaters passing
close in and I suspect that they were on their way back out having followed a
fishing boat in. Yellow-legged Gulls
did likewise but there were no Audouin’s to be seen.
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Yelkouan Shearwater |
Warblers were in song all round and Sardinian is certainly
the commonest species here now but we saw Eastern Orphean and Subalpine too as
well as a Lesser Whitethroat. I was sure that I heard a Ruppell's up the slope behind where the vegetation has not grown up as much. The Blue Rock Thrush was predictably on his rock
and EBEWs bounced around like little black and white fireworks.
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Eastern Orphean Warbler |
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Eastern Orphean Warbler |
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Eastern Orphean Warbler - the camo female |
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Sardinian Warbler - Jim Willett |
Martins were moving but the local Crag Martins simply
circulated and I counted eight at one stage.
Turtle Doves purred and Ravens kronked and the female Peregrine went off
to hunt and returned noisily a short while later with Collared Dove for
breakfast. Jacqui found our first Red-backed Shrike of the trip – a fine male
and Short-toed Eagles circled with Alpine and Common Swifts for company.
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Crag Martin - Jim Willett |
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Peregrine - Jim Willett |
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Blue Rock Thrush |
On to Perasma reservoir which apparently may soon get the
repairs it requires but at least it had some water in it although only
Yellow-legged Gulls, Ruddy Shelduck, a Little Grebe and a few Wood Sandpipers
and two Little Stints were found. We
went looking for the Great Spotted Cuckoos but they had gone quiet and never
showed during out visit but there were two male Common Cuckoos calling and many
more Alpine Swifts amongst a throng of hirundines.
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Swallows - ACV |
Three Common Starlings were a very pleasing find – always a
tricky spring bird here and it was quickly followed by a Wood Pigeon! Mega
birds! Birding is all about perspective. A second male Red-backed Shrike was
posing with his lavender head and we even saw a Middle Spotted Woodpecker on
some big dead trees were a Woodchat heartily sang.
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Common Starlings |
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Middle Spotted Woodpecker |
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Red-backed Shrike |
I always come up here for insects but it really was too cool
and we only had a couple of Butterfly species and a single Broad Scarlet. Down
at the bottom of the track we had a walk down the slope further where the
flowers were magnificent but there were once again few insects bar some
orthopterans including Smyrna and Western Lesvos Bush-crickets and my
first Groundhoppers for the island that from the length of the pronotum looked
like Slender but I honestly have no idea out here! A large Scarab was doing with sheep poo what
only a Scarab can do – a consummate poo roller.
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Groundhopper - Slender-type |
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Western Lesvos Bush-crickets - Poecilimon mytelenensis mytelenensis female on top... |
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Smyrna Marbled Bush-cricket - Eupholidoptera smyrnensis - instar |
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Large Scarab Dung Beetle |
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Soldier Beetle - the species that swarms this time of year |
A female Masked Shrike sat up for us and Cirl Buntings and
Subalpine Warblers were in fine voice as we looked down over Petra. Short-toed Eagles were in full display and at
least three pairs were sorting out boundaries. A dark Eleonora’s Falcon and
male Red-foot were noted and both Black and White Storks drifted north. One of the former came in to land in the
little quarry pit and we watched him pick the spot and then air break all the
way down with pin point feather control.
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Eastern Subalpine Warbler - ACV |
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Petra |
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Cistus salviifolius |
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Mullein sp |
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White Stork |
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White Storks |
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Black Stork |
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Black Stork |
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Black Stork |
To be honest the highlight was under random rock where Jim
found a female Ladybird Spider. Quite a beast and finely speckled with white
and it was not until later that I discovered that it is not the same species as
rarely found in the UK and it would appear to be Eresus walckenari. Whilst admiring this chunky lady a medium
sized Stone Huntsman (Eusparassus walckenaer – he liked his spiders!) suddenly
moved and had in fact been three inches from her majesty the whole time. A slight brown trouser moment…
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Ladybird Spider - Eresus walckenari |
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Ladybird Spider - Eresus walckenari & Stone Huntsman Eusparassus walckenaer |
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Stone Huntsman Eusparassus walckenaer
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Lunch in the vague sunshine and the off along the upper
coast road with windows down listening for woodland birds and adding Eastern
Bonelli’s Warbler, Robins and Wren in the process before dropping down the
multitudinous bends to Skala Sykaminias for a banana and chocolate pieces
ice cream with lemon sorbet. We sat in
our usual seats looking at our usual views and just chilled for a short while.
No Audouin’s Gulls drifted by but there were a few Shearwaters. Fat on ice-cream we waddled back to the cars
and then continued on the loop to Napi and south to the Kalloni Salt Pans
passing Ravens and a fine male Masked Shrike on the way down.
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Roger went for a sail around the bay
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Red-backed Shrike
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A look from hide one in the north-east corner gave us
slightly better Dalmatian Pelican views and a flock of 18 Gull-billed Terns
languidly moving around the pans. An
adult Little Gull dip fed further back but there were still no marsh terns or a
Mallard!
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Gull-billed Terns |
On round to the Alykes
Sheepfield passing the Spur-winged Lapwing actually on the tyre-crocodile at
Pump House Corner. It was cold and windy down there but we got even better
views of the Pelicans and in fact saw three and both Storks were seen dropping in. Short-toed Eagles have certainly gone up in
number with four visible on a scan along with four Marsh Harriers. Two Collared
Pratincoles were seen out over the sheepfields and a Curlew drifted in off the
Bay. There were very few small birds
with just a spiralling Short-toed Lark of note.
A Red-footed Falcon drifted over the car as we drove down.
Back at Hide 2 we counted six Spoonbills and 44 Grey Herons looking freshly
arrived and knackered and I could clearly hear a Common Redshank although I
could only find Ruff, Wood Sandpipers and the usual Stilts and Avocets. There was some more quality Stork action
before we opted for an early night and bumped our way back to scrape off the
dust before dinner.
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Crested Lark - ACV |
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Black Stork |
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This Striped Hawk-moth joined us for dinner and had to be rescued - Holly Page |
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I rarely see slugs out here - Yellow-type I think |