Out east after breakfast with the River Evergetoulas being the first stop to
look for dragonflies and such like. Obviously this was reliant on there
actually being some water present which thankfully there was and in fact it was
gurgling very nicely in a mountain stream type of way.
I ambled up and down the
river bed but dragons were actually very poor with just one female Beautiful
Demoiselle and a couple of Small Skimmers present. However, there was still
plenty to see with Levant Water Froglets pinging away in front of me and two
Grey Wagtails bobbed merrily while a Kingfisher zipped by. Cirl Buntings and
Chaffinches came down to drink and Willow Warblers flicked through the scrappy
riverbed shrubs.
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Pink Water Speedwell Veronica catenata
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Levant Water Froglet
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| Levant Water Froglet |
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| Small Skimmer |
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| Beautiful
Demoiselle |
I was pleased to find a Freshwater Crab sifting the mud in the
stream amongst the many snails and Hummingbird Hawkmoths and a fine Cardinal
were nectaring on a thistle. High up above Bee-eaters called and Spotted
Flycatchers were doing what they do best although thankfully they did not get
the fine Merodon species of hoverfly I was trying to photograph.
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Merodon hoverfly sp
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| Cardinal |
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| Cardinal |
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Clouded Yellow
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Balkan Field Grasshopper- Chorthippus bornhalmi - thanks Fraser!
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Freshwater Crab - probably Potamon ibericum
|
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There seems to only be four freshwater fish on Lesvos and I think this is Squalius cii
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Onwards and quite literally upwards to Asomotas and an attempt to find a river
and some dragonflies but despite finding the right track and decending and
wondrous ancient cobbled pathway through the olives, I failed to find a good
spot to actually get to the river bubbling just below me. It was not a
fruitless walk with thousands of Honey Bees around the flowering ivy and Robin
was added to the bird list. I think that this may be a walk for another time.
Back at the car the Jays were doing some great Buzzard impressions from the
huge Oak by the chapel.
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Common Horestails -Equisetum arvense
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And so it was back to the main road and then up towards
Agiosos where as usual there was an interesting diversion to get you back out
onto the Megalachori road.
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Olympus
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A coffee stop gave me several Coal Tits and calling
Wren and Kruper's Nuthatches but as usual it was ears and not eyes doing the
work. Chaffinches were in the road for the whole journey and I heard Wren,
Robin and Hawfinch as we poodled though the chestnut forest.
The decent down to Plomari was wondrously winding and took us into the tiny
cobbled streets of the town before thankfully ejecting the Jimny onto the
seafront road.
The 160 year old Barbayanni (Vs not Bs by the way) Ouzo distillery and museum was the goal and as the only tourists there, a full
guided tour of all the works was offered with free hearty measure tasters. The signs said not photos but I was encouraged
to take some so I did!
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Ouzo urns
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The smell was amazing!
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Lunch overlooking the sea at a very hot Agios Isidoras gave me three in off
female Sparrowhawks together and three or four species of interesting crabs and
some fish in the rock pools which I am still working on.
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Agios Isidoras - very smart residences behind me!
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Rock Samphire
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| Pretty sure this is Marbled Rock Crab - Pachygrapsus marmoratus |
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| Marbled Rock Crab - Pachygrapsus marmoratus |
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| Marbled Rock Crab - Pachygrapsus marmoratus |
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A Gardener Spider Crab species (I think) covered in weed and sand
|
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Hermit Crab – possibly Clibanarius erythropus
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Hermit Crab – possibly the same
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Rusty Blenny
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Saddled Sea Bream - Oblada melanura - thanks Matt Smith from Cyprus
|
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Not sure at all but possibly a Sponge?
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Peacock's tail - Padina pavonica
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From here I followed the main road in a big loop back to the
main Mytillini road on a scenic route I had not used before. This gave me the
chance to stop at Dipi Larsou to check out the rivermouth where 12 Med Gulls
were loafing with over 100 Yellow-legged Gulls. Two Kingfishers flashed by and
at least 30 Willow Warblers worked their way from the coast and inland,
flitting between old Giant Fennel stems. It is always good to see migration in
action. Two Common Swifts briefly came down but I could not work out how to get
into the area with the huge reedbeds so perhaps another visit will be in order.
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Dipi Larsou where the River Evergetoulas meets the sea
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Meds and Yellowlegs
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Willow Warblers- all squinting in the glaring sun
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Back to base and the a shortish sojourn out onto Loutzaria
in the evening where the fields once again heaved with flava Wagtails but I
also picked up a White Wagtail, Ortolan and new Lesser Grey Shrike.
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Red-backed Shrike
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| Ortolan |
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| Ortolan |
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Flava Wagtail - I suspect M. f. beema with that nice white crescent under the eye
|
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Same bird as above
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And with a White Wagtail
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Probably a Black or Grey Headed flava on the left
|
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| Willow Warbler |
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Turtle Dove
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Unlike
yesterday there were practically no waders on the pans at all but a female
Red-footed Falcon in exactly the same spot as the juvenile from last week was
ample reward. There was not one bird on the Channel and the adult Lesser Grey
Shrike was still on the wires that he so obviously likes!
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|
female Red-footed Falcon |
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| female Red-footed Falcon |
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| Lesser Grey
Shrike |
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And so the new salt pile begins to grow
|
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Northern Wheatear
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A Kingfisher became
my fourth of the day where the Channel met the sea and a Curlew and Grey Plover
were the only birds in the Bay so I bumped back the other way through the
middle, finding a bathing Tree Pipit on the track and then a cracking full
adult male Red-footed Falcon surveying a flava filled field.
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| Red-footed Falcon |
Dinner was taken at the new Το μπαλκονακι της Σκαλας (which I think means The
Balcony of Skala) run by one of the old staff from the Dionysos and very nice
it was too.
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Mamos is very nice! As was the mixed grill
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