A bargainous opportunity to get to Lesvos out of season was
snapped up and having never been in the heart of the winter before it seemed too
good a chance to miss. We arrived on Lesvos
late last night via Athens after a smooth travel day. It was bitterly cold with windchill well
below freezing and as we left Mytilene and dropped down towards the Gulf of
Jera it started to snow but thankfully it did not last and by the time we
arrived in Skala Kallonis it was clear and dry.
My day began with a walk to the bakers (they were surprised
to see me!) with Robins ticking all around, Black Redstarts shivering their
tails probably without trying and Sardinian Warblers rattling away.
Shopping then back for breakfast and a walk around part of
the very nicely flooded Kalloni Pool. It
was covered in Teal and I counted 220 which was made easier by a female Marsh
Harrier nudging them. Despite the early
winter fire I doubt the pool will look any different by the time we all come
back in April. If only it could be
cleared and channels cut. They are
working on the pavement on the seaward side and there seems to be new culverts
on the beach so perhaps they are considering reopening it to the sea?
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
The Bay held a couple each of Black-necked and Great Crested
Grebes and there were two Sandwich Terns and a Slender-billed Gull patrolling.
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| Sandwich Tern |
Back on the pool there were numerous Common Chiffchaffs
including both huweeting abientinus and peeping brevirostris types not that you
could tell them apart on plumage. Cetti’s
Warbler called and flicked and there were more Robins and Black Redstarts. There is such a different feel to things this
time of year.
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| Black Redstart |
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| brevirostris Chiffchaff - heard it calling |
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| Sardinian Warbler |
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| Sardinian Warbler |
My only other early visit was at the very end of February and
start of March with so many of the wintering species being ones simply absent
by mid-April. Hopefully I would find
some additional ones this time round.
From here we made our way down to the Tsiknias and videoed
the drive along the western bank of the river.
The affects of the flash flood in November were all too obvious.
The approach from town was fine and the bandstand view was
all good although the structure itself will be in the river before too long. There were about 80 Cormorants and a few
Black-headed Gulls at the end and the sandbar has now reformed.
A few hundred yards along there has been serious collapse of
the bank removing half the track. Farmers are using it and you can get by but
it is a little hairy and I suspect that it will collapse further with continued
traffic. I would not fancy it with the weight of a minibus and will not be
going back that way this trip.
From here on it was ok to the lower ford but although the
concrete ford is intact there is no current way across with very deep silt on
the way down and rocks on way up - tractor only! They next section is where the
major breach occurred and it has already been built up and is drivable to the
main road although looking at the Eastern side there looks like a couple of
dodgy sections there too.
Hopefully by the spring some remedial work will have been
carried but do remember that these tracks are for the local farmers and
residents and getting them drivable for us in the spring will not be a prime
concern. You can of course use your legs and just walk it from town or drive in
and park up safely. As for birds, well,
there were none – not a single feathered thing on the whole river despite the water. The inland fields have largely been trashed
although it was good to see that some had already been worked all that fertile
silt worked back in. There were a few
Green and Goldfinches and a party of 21 Crested Larks. What seemed to be a plain dark Steppe Buzzard was
perched up on a telegraph pole.
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| Down to the ford? umm - no |
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| Crested Lark |
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| Crested Lark |
With no way across I continued to the main road and headed
to the Kalloni Salt Pans. A good look
from Hide 3 gave me many vibrant Flamingos – some were very richly coloured on
the head along with Great Egrets and a flock of 180 Black-headed Gulls. Nine Grey Plover were lined up on one bank
and 14 Lapwings were along another. I
had only seen one here before so that was pleasing.
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| Greater Flamingo |
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| Greater Flamingo |
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| Great Egret |
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| Black-headed Gulls |
Marsh Harriers quartered and a male Goshawk dashed through
and not long afterwards a male Hen Harrier hunted low over the fields before
slipping back towards the river.
Hopefully I will see him again. A
Zitting Cisticola popped up and there were flocks of Meadow Pipits sitting on
the fences and I could hear Reed Bunting and Skylark too. Three birds there that I have never seen in
April.
Three Starlings flew by and although wet, the only birds on
the Alykes Wetlands were two Ruddy Shelducks and three Grey Herons. Two Black Storks circled back towards town. Ravens
seemed to be heading towards the saltpans and I counted 21 during the rest of
the visit.
The salt pile is huge and gleaming at the moment and the
Ravens were having fun playing on it. Some
of the sounds they were making were wondrous – popping, clicking and a musical
twanging sound that I just can’t replicate!
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
Down at the end, the Alykes Sheepfields were also wet (and
still lacking sheep) and were covered in duck and I counted 260 Wigeon, 40
Mallard, 24 Shoveler, six Gadwall, four Pintail and 40 Teal but I suspect that
many more were hiding in the grasses. There were 21 Ruddy Shelduck and 46
Common Shelduck and even another 44 Lapwings which of course I checked for
anything rarer.
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| Great Egret |
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| Hazymation Pelicans |
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| Lapwings, Wigeon and a Ruddy Shelduck |
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Ruddy Shelducks
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Two Dalmatian Pelicans were on the floods and scanning
around took the total up to at least 14 including one immature that tried to
sneak over my head. It still always
amazes me that counting mobile Pelicans is so difficult. Some of the adults
were in full breeding plumage with curly crowns and vivid orange bills. I hope to get closer to them I the coming
days. There were more Great Egrets and
Black Stork looking fed up with the cold.
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| Dalmatian Pelican |
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| Dalmatian Pelican |
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| Dalmatian Pelican |
A large mixed flock of Linnets, Green and Goldfinches were
out with the donkeys and amongst the seven Stonechats was a striking 1w male
that ticked all the boxes (including underwing coverts) for a Siberian but I
could not get close enough to it to get any shots. There were more Meadow Pipits and another group
of six Skylarks and a Water Pipit flew around calling before disappearing back
towards the beach.
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| Meadow Pipit |
The light breeze had dropped and the Bay was dotted with birds which were a little hazy but still identifiable and I counted 12 Great Crested and six Black-necked Grebes and 21 Red-breasted Mergansers, some of which were displaying. An adult Med Gull and two Sandwich Terns flew by and groups of breeding plumaged sinensis Cormorants headed in snaky ‘V’s towards the pans.
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| Red-breasted Mergansers |
There were Black Redstarts around the race track fence and Crested Larks and more Mipits were running around.
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| Black Redstart |
Late lunch beckoned – soup and koulouri and then back out
towards Metochi passing three Snipe on the Christou on the way while Cirl and
Reed Bunting were in the Aegeon bushes with Blue and Great Tits, my first
Blackbird of the trip and another Zitting Cisticola. The track into Metochi was ok and it was good
to see the olive groves with a lush green carpet of grass under them.
There were flocks of Chaffinches feeding under them and a
few House Sparrows and a flock of Corn Buntings came up and sat plumply on the
wires. Metochi itself was full but only held Moorhens, Coots and Little Grebes
but Cetti’s and Sardinian Warblers were noisy in the margins where Robins ticked.
Around at the rocky slope I heard a Western Rock Nuthatch
and there were several Cirl Buntings and plenty of Chaff and Goldfinches. Blackcaps seems to be everywhere and there
was lots of sub-singing too and I do not remember that many on my previous
early trip. Song Thrushes bolted fro
cover as I walked along but I am still after my first Lesvos Redwing. I was
amazed to see a Winter Damselfly and Painted Lady.
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| Corn Bunting |
Onwards, passing calling Middle-spotted Woodpeckers in the
groves and seeing two more Sparrowhawks.
I do wonder if the autumn influx birds actually stay for the winter as I
saw five during this first day.
A quick check of the Old Potamia Reservoir gave me singles
of Coot, Black-necked Grebe and Great Egret but no tiny Cormorants. Cetti’s Warblers called every few yards.
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| Black-necked Grebe and Great Egret |
With the day fading it was back to the Christou where a flock
of 18 Serins was by the turn off and unlike on the run out, there were now
plenty of waders to look at. A flock of
94 Golden Plover hunkered down and I suspect there were more while 52 Kentish
and six Ringed Plover were settled nearby with 31 Dunlin and 22 Little Stints
actively feeding around them. All the
Dunlin were long billed birds like those I recently saw in Oman. There were 21 Redshank, four Greenshank and
three Grey Plovers too and a Green Sandpiper was put up by both a Marsh Harrier
and Sparrowhawk.
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| Essence of Golden Plover flock and friends |
White Wagtails were coming in for a last minute feed on the
now green ‘Stone-curlew field’ before heading towards the reedbed where a
distant Water Rail could be heard.
Hooded Crows had started to head the other way towards town signalling the
end of my day too.
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| Great Egret |
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| Great Egret |
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