Blue Eyed Birder: Lesvos - Day 2

A www.blueeyedbirder.com adventure

A good night’s sleep and out for breakfast at 7.30 – no early walk here! A Red-throated Pipit flew over and the local House Martins and Spanish Sparrows were noisily sorting out new day domestics. Metochi (Metocky - thank Mike!) was the target for the morning but not before a look at the Kamares / Christou where 93 Little Stints, eight Ringed Plovers and 12 Kentish Plovers were seen on the shallow flood while Flamingos and a Great Egret were feeding further back. The double brown bird duo of Crested Lark and Corn Bunting were both singing from the wires above us.

Crested Lark - Jim Willett

On to the lake and the drive in gave us good views of the hoped for Masked Shrikes as well as Whitethroat and Woodchats. We parked up for the walk down and were greeted with calling Bee-eaters overhead and Nightingales and Blackbirds complimenting each other in the Olives. A Common Sandpiper was on the start of the channel with the hordes of Stripe-necked Terrapins and a smart round backed Euro Pond Terrapin – by far the rarer species with it snubnose and yellow spotty green head. A male Eastern Balkan Green Lizard scurried up the bank and Eastern Ollies joined the soundscape. A glance back gave us two incoming Black Storks and as we neared the lake itself a Little Crake flew across the channel but we needn’t have worried as we saw at least three more once at the other end including a couple of very smart slaty males.

Stripe-necked Terrapins

Stripe-necked Terrapins and Euro Pond Terrapin peering over

Chrysanthemum coronarium

Black Stork

Quaking Grass

Silybum marianum

Sonchus tenerrimus

Forked catchfly - Silene dichotoma

Bee-eaters - ACV

An immature Purple Heron came up and flew to the other end where an orange Squacco had mysteriously appeared. There were the expected Coots, Moorhens and Little Grebes and the Common Swifts were powering in for a drink. The loop around was continued and parking up near the pumping station gave us the chance to scan the boulder slope for the expected suspects of Eastern Black Eared Wheatear and Western Rock Nuthatch. At first we failed and only picked up a head bobbing Starred Agama and so wandered around the corner where a male Woodchat was successfully wooing a female who was energetically mirroring his head bobs while he sung in her face. However another female took umbrage and flew straight in and gave her a swift beating and sent her on her way. Seemingly chatting up another woman while the wife was in earshot was an unwise thing to do.

Purple Heron

Starred Agama

Levant Water Frogs

Levant Water Frog - ACV

Stripe-necked Terrapin - ACV

Corn and Cirl Bunting sung and the latter showed nicely in the top of some dead Wych Elms but there were no new migrants or a warbler of any sort. One of the local Common Buzzards gave the Long-legged Buzzard some grief and was a useful flight comparison and a Short-toed Eagle hovered over the hillside where Raven tumbled. Back at the slope both the Nuthatch and Wheatear appeared for us.

Cirl Bunting - Jim Willet

The circuit became a retrace when news of a Pygmy Cormorant back on the lake had us driving the short way back round the corner where Killian was watching it with a small group. It sat up in the dead trees at the end with wings held out while a family of Coots just below it showed just how small it really was. A female Little Bittern crept along the adjacent margin and a male Stonechat was unusual down here on ‘the flat’ and I gave it the once over.

Pygmy Cormorant - Jim Willett

Little Bittern - Jim Willett

I looped us around to Potamia and our walk down to the old reservoir was productive with the hoped for Night Herons. Two adults and a 2cy flew across and sat on the far bank. The light was harsh but they looked good in the scope. Little Grebes giggled and a Great Reed Warbler gurked but we soon moved off as the stench of wet decaying sheep was all pervading.

Black-crowned Night Herons

The Poppies were full of Chafers with the dark maroon ones with green heads as well as the super furry orange ones all jostling for the nectar and now I know that they are the same species!

Pygopleurus vulpes - the ginger furry male

Pygopleurus vulpes - the ginger furry male and two green headed females

The local Alexanders (not the same as the UK one) had a few flies along with Red and Black Striped Shieldbugs (Graphosoma italicum) and Pied Chafers also in attendance. There were more butterflies too with Small Heath and Small Copper, a faded Euro Swallowtail, Orange Tip, Clouded Yellows, Wall Brown, Common Blue and Small White while Common and Vagrant Emperors were over the lake but there were no Darters or Damsels.

Alexanders - Smyrnium perfoliatum

Labyrinth Spider

Euro Swallowtail

Pied Chafer - Oxythyrea cinctella

Pseudodictamnus mediterraneus - used to be Ballota

Pygopleurus vulpes

It was getting surprisingly hot and so headed back for lunch at the Pela where the Eastern Ollie vaguely gave itself up in the Poplars and I rescued a couple of Grasshoppers, Flies and Bees from the swimming pool.

Aiolopus strepens I believe

Odontomyia sp - one of the Banded General Soldier Flies

A post lunch look from the bandstand above Kalloni was quiet but did hear Eastern Subalpine Warblers and the ‘whoo whoo whoo’ from an Eastern Orphean Warbler but Cirl was the only Bunting. Ravens were over the tree line but I think it was just a little too warm. Back down again and around the coast to Agia Ioannis where the short walk up to the chapel was delightfully productive with scope views of Sombre Tits in the Chaste Tree gully above and superb encounters with both forms of Eastern Black-eared Wheatear.

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear - 'It went that way!' ACV

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

There were plenty of inverts and the Polands found us a male Ladybird Spider which was very much appreciated and we were glad we stopped to chat. Black-veined White, Orbed Underwing Skipper, Spotted Fritillary, False Apollo and Scarce Swallowtail were all new and the slightly insidious looking Black Harvestmen stalked around our feet. Nick saw a Persian Squirrel but Gill we disappointed by the fact that she had been mis informed by Google about the presence of Lesvos Chipmunks!

Hollyhock - Althea pallida

Cistus creticus

Dorcadion quadrimaculatum nodicorne - A Longhorn beetle but not the one I thought it was!

male Ladybird Spider Eresus walckenaeri - not the same species as in the UK

Ladybird Spider Eresus walckenaeri

Orbed Underwing Skipper

Trichodes alvearius or similar

Up above we saw our first Kestrel and picked up Short-toed Eagle, Buzzard and Black Stork while Red-rumped Swallow glided around our heads. Back on the road we got some close views of Cretzschmar’s and Cirl Buntings and Gill picked up a male Blue Rock Thrush way up the slope but the Hoopoe that had been persistently singing had stopped by the time we got there.

Cirl Bunting

From here we dropped down to the little harbour accessed via Parakila hearing Middle Spotted Woodpecker on the way in but it was quiet down there and there were no Thread Lacewings to be found – yet!

Anthemis tomentosa

Branched Broomrape - Orobanche ramosa

Broomrape sp

Robberfly

Orlaya grandiflora - going over

Orlaya grandiflora - seedpods

Sea Clover - Trifolium squamosum

Tall Melilot - Melilotus altissimus

Virginia Stock - Malcolmia maritima

Our final stop on a long first full day was at the main road bridge over the Potamia where Jacqui found a female Little Bittern creeping around and picking titbits from a fallen Eucalyptus before we opted for a return to the digs to chill out before dinner at the Dionysos to finish up a lovely day.