Lesvos - Day 1 - 15th September 2024

Antony drove us at stupid o’clock to get to Stansted at 3am to catch our flight to Lesvos for a ten day break. It was chilly at the airport but scorching by the time we bumped down heavily at Mytilene. We came across the island so the first bird was not a Yellow-legged Gull this time but a couple of White Wagtails and a Whinchat on the runway.  Derek and Tanya Polley were coming in on the Manchester flight just after ours, so we hung around to let them follow us through town as it was their first visit.

Before too long we were settling into the Pela and after refreshments we headed out on the first bump through Loutzaria. Bee-eaters were calling and Willow Warblers dotted the fence lines like yellow and olive flickering decorations while Red-backed Shrikes dropped down on the track for insect prey and a couple of distant immature Lesser Grey Shrikes surveyed from higher perches.

Lesser Grey Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

The alfalfa fields held more Willows along with noisy flocks of Corn Buntings and House Sparrows with the odd Spanish Sparrow thrown in too.  The sprinkler heads were dotted with Whinchats and Northern Wheatears and there were two Spotted Flycatchers, Tree Pipits and Crested Larks as well.  A flock of about 30 flava Wagtails held at least one obvious Black-headed Wagtail and Sand Martins, Swallows and Red-rumped Swallows zipped around.

I always like to do this little run out on the first afternoon – it simply completes the feeling of coming home.

Marsh Harrier and Short-toed Eagle were seen and a juvenile Long-legged Buzzard was in one of the drying alfalfa fields.  There were butterflies everywhere with hundreds of Lang’s Short-tailed and Long-tailed Blues and gaudy Plain Tigers drifting around like lower class Monarchs.  I have only seen them out here in one September before.  A Vagrant Emperor and some Red-veined Darters zipped around the tracks.

Short-toed Eagle

Plain Tiger

Long-tailed Blue

The water level in the saltpan channel was high and it was birdless but there were two Little Ringed Plovers out on the dry, thistle covered Alykes Wetlands where more chats and shrikes and three Tawny Pipits were striding around.  Two Zitting Cisticolas briefly perched up – one with legs akimbo between to rush stalks.

Sheep car buff

A juvenile Montagu’s Harrier decked out in rich orange, chocolate and buff was feeding on a small kill near the path before lifting effortlessly off and drifting off towards the eastern pans to hunt.  At this point it flew under a hovering Osprey and my attention was diverted!

Osprey

The Osprey had a couple of attempts to catch something in the far south east corner where 13 Dalmatian Pelicans dozed amongst 27 Spoonbills, Great White and Little Egrets and two Black Storks.  It soon circled up and was lost in the blue.

Blobbyhazycans

Behind me over the choppy sea there were parties of Sandwich Tens seemingly heading across to the Poly Pans and I counted 41 in total and looking the other way there were a few Common Terns and a juvenile Whiskered Tern way out over the pans.  Eight Black-headed and a single Slender-billed Gull were noted.

Greater Flamingos

Greater Flamingos

There were very few waders with a splodge of Avocets and the odd Redshank and Greenshank dotted around and just a solitary Little Stint and Curlew.  Ten Shelduck were the only wildfowl noted until a Black-necked Grebe popped up way out in the middle but shortly afterwards another surfaced in the channel where this beady eyed juvenile was watched picking flies from the surface before going for an underwater main course.

Black-necked Grebe

It had been a long day and so back for dinner where three pooping Scops Owl entertained us on the walk back to the room.