Lesvos - Day 10 - 9th September 2025

There is always a final day and today I chose to venture up the newly surfaced Potamia Valley.  No more a dusty rough track but mostly glistening tarmac all the way up to Anemotia, a town in the hills I had never visited.

There are somewhat mixed feeling about these local improvements but I am sure that the villages and farmers on remote homesteads welcome the smoother connectivity and journey times.  At the very least you will not be eating dust on the lower sections and can now easily get up to the reservoir for a look as it has its own metalled side road.  The large alfalfa field on the left just before the reservoir was being irrigated and was simply excellent and 18 Red-backed Shrikes were to be seen scattered across the spinning poles and in the isolated Olives.  A cat was prowling and the already vociferous Shrikes were chattering and shouting before realising that they could chase each other around too.  You never hear a Shrike back in the UK where a singleton is all you get and yet out here their calls are part of any day and worth learning before you head out here.

Red-backed Shrike

Tawny and Tree Pipits were seen and both Wheatears, Stonechat and Whinchat were around the fences where both Whitethroats and Willow Warblers foraged.  A flock of 30 Chaffinches were in the heart of the field along with a few Sparrows and Blackbirds while up on the cliffs there were many more Blackbirds and two Blue Rock Thrushes scolding a Persian Squirrel.  Western Rock Nuthatches were very shouty and could be seen bouncing around in the sunnier crags.

The reservoir was poor with just 12 Little Grebe and four Coot although the latter were the first of the trip!

Violet Dropwing (ACV)

Onwards and upwards and into new territory across the bridge where we normally park for a walk.  It took us up through the Olive groves and looked down on Plane Tree filled gullies and up onto rolling crag lines where old stands of pines followed the crests.  I wonder if any birder has ever managed to get there to have a look for Kruper’s Nuthatches and suchlike?  There are so few records on this side of the island.

Cirl Buntings and Sardinian Warblers called from the roadside and a Redstart flicked across.  I am not sure a spring drive would add anything different up here but the views were fabulous and it was good to explore somewhere different.  

After wiggling through Anemotia I hit the main road and turned towards the coast making Perivoli Monastery the next stop.

With better light I was able to spend time watching the birds coming down to the river to drink in the trickle of water.  There was a good selection of Warblers with Cetti’s, Sardinian, Willow and both Whitethroats.  Three male Blackcaps were singing which was a little odd and they seemingly prompted a Barred Warbler into loud song! Fortunately he popped out to confirm my thoughts and then went back into cover. 

Lesser Whitethroat

Sardinian Warbler

Sombre, Blue and Great Tits, Cirl Buntings and Chaffinches, Spotted Flycatchers, Red-backed Shrikes, Eastern Black-eared Wheatears and Blackbirds all came down to drink and cautiously bath.  There were Middle Spotted Woodpeckers and a selection of the above in the olives and a pair of Eurasian Nuthatch were in the Oriental Planes where they have bred before.

Red-backed Shrike

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear & Spotted Flycatcher (ACV)

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Red-backed Shrike

Up above a whining juvenile Short-toed Eagle was following round a parent who was patently not going to be sharing any reptile he managed to acquire.  There were Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Copper, Millet Skippers and Freyer’s Graylings searching out the spartan flowers available and a Lesser Emperor zoomed by.

adult Short-toed Eagle

juvenile Short-toed Eagle - bombs away!

juvenile Short-toed Eagle

Red Admiral

Freyer's Grayling

Back at the car a Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher were trying to catch drips from the spring tap so I filled up the attached tin cup all the way to the brim and left it for them to find.

Spotted Flycatcher and the drip

Lunch at the little chapel overlooking the bay at Gavathas with more EBEWs, Spotted Flycatchers and Shrikes and Cirl Buntings for company and then around the Ancient Antissa track where the Bee-eaters were still in the little wooded valley.

Valonia Oak

EBEW

Back over the top and back to the Pela to begin the re-packing process before escaping out again at 4.30pm.  The Loutzaria bump through started well with a frosty young Masked Shrike around the goats and down on the Tsiknias a Water Rail was persistently ‘kipping’ somewhere opposite the bandstand.  The fields themselves were fairly quiet with just a few Red-backed Shrikes, flava Wagtails, Whinchats and the Short-toed Lark flock but I am sure the numbers will swell again in the coming days.

 Masked Shrike - haze has been an issue all week

 Masked Shrike

The water level in the Saltpan Channel had dropped somewhat and there were several Little Stints, Little-Ringed Plovers and Redshank and down at the beach by the Alykes Sheepfields I scanned the foreshore for errant waders but there was only a single Curlew.  The Pelican flock was out on the south-east pan with a good number of Spoonbills, Great Egrets and Black Storks and the six Black-necked Grebes were even visible!

 Marsh Harrier

 Little Stint

 Willow Warbler (ACV)

 Tawny Pipit (ACV)

The Lesser Grey Shrike that favoured the fence and small building was around again and this time actually stayed put long enough for some pics.  They are always a firm favourite of mine on any autumn visit.

Lesser Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike

A final drive along side the salt pans and then back to town for a last dinner at the Dionysos.  Time to finish the packing and blog post before the journey home tomorrow morning.