Lesvos Day 7 - 4th March 2022

A few hours post-breakfast to poodle around Lotzaria and the saltpans before heading back to Anaxos. Over 100 Cormorants (196 in fact) left the Tsiknias as I arrived and I pitied any fish that were previously just avoiding the two Great White Egrets, Grey Herons and four Spoonbills.

Cormorants

Spoonbills

A male Hen Harrier was acrobatically trying to catch Meadow Pipits and Skylarks just beyond the Tsiknias Lower Ford which was still full of Chiffchaffs and several Reed Buntings and there were now three Ruff including a smart white male. Two Dunnocks were grovelling around the edges and were the first I had actually seen well!

Hen Harrier

Common Chiffchaff

Reed Bunting

Ruff

The Long-legged Buzzard perched up nicely on one of its regular poles and two Marsh Harriers flushed a wondrous flock of Skylarks, Corn Buntings, Pipits and Finches.

Long-legged Buzzard

Corn Bunting

It was very grey and rain was approaching from the north west where Mt Olympus had already disappeared from view but a last look from the Alykes Sheepfields gave me a nice flyby from two female Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes bobbed offshore with 13 Sandwich Terns fishing amongst them. A male Black Redstart popped up on the fence and the Serins were still feeding on the racecourse.

Kestrel

Black Redstart

Curlew - note the clean white underwings

Beach birds

Great Crested Grebes

Red-breasted Merganser

Sandwich Terns

After a chat with the Coastguards who thought birding in March was hilarious, I bumped back, said goodbye to the Ruddy Shelducks and 'mingos and drove up towards Anaxos.

Ruddy Shelducks

Final Flamingo

Magnificent Lesvos Rams - or small Star Wars Bantha?

I even stopped at the Kalloni Raptor Watchpoint Bandstand but alas there were only 45 tumbling Ravens and not a Woodpigeon in sight!

Kalloni RWP

Twenty minutes at Perasma where a Green Sandpiper fed round the edge and the Long-legged and Common Buzzards were still tussling and then a final Black Redstart at Kavaki before the icy rain became a steady deluge.

Perasma

Kavaki

A smooth airport run with Alison and then off on the Olympic twinprop to Athens where the weather was somewhat better for the lay over before the flight back to Blighty and the train back across London.  I arrived home at the equivalent and 3am on the Saturday morning.

And so, some thoughts… It appears that very few western European birders have ever really been out to the island at this time of year and although several people commented that I could have seen most of my new species (and in fact many of the others) on a day out in Kent or Essex, there is no substitute for a bit of exploring and in that respect it would be no different than me having a day out in the wilds of Surrey where I rarely bird. 

The common place close to home becomes the exciting somewhere new and in this case it was the season rather than the place that made that happen.  I joked about ‘getting Dunnock for my Lesvos list’ before heading out but is was a genuine ‘get in there!!’ moment when I heard the first one and to then add 15 new species was fantastic (taking me to 252 for the island). It was trip full of moments; never had the ‘cheerup’ of a flock of Skylarks had me hastily searching the view or the thrill of tracking down strange calling Crests and Chiffchaffs, shimmer tailed Black Redstarts and errant Siskins.  Scanning the Bay for a spring Grebe is always a must so to have rafts of them spread across the view with dotted Mergansers, sleek Black-throated Divers and swirling Shearwater flocks was a memorable experience.  Throw in a couple of specials like the Moustached Warblers and Laughing Dove and the more usual Island fair of Nuthatches, Pelicans, Long-legged Buzzards, Flamingos, Cirl Buntings and Larks and it became a unique chapter in my love for all things Lesvos.

Experiencing the island at the end of winter brought new vistas; the pools, rivers and streams were wet (but not gushing), the hillsides out west were thinly covered green and every olive grove was similarly decked out in verdant hues.  The Oak grove stood naked at Sigri while the big acorned Vallonia Oaks still had their dead brown leaves attached across the island. In fact the colours were largely reversed green below, brown above unlike even late April when the island is already drying out. Pink and white honey scented Almond trees dotted gardens and hillsides and were alive with the sound humming Honey Bees and singing Song Thrushes and Robins warming up before they headed back north.

The Asphodel was just coming into its own and the chance to see the ephemeral ground hugging spring bulbs and carpets of pink and white was a joy and although it was very cool, I got generally very lucky with the weather. I thought that I would see more insect life but I suspect that it was just too cold for all but the most hardy.

Quite simply, if you love Lesvos then do visit away from the traditional spring period.  That certainly is a magical time of year but the island has so much more to offer and when you factor in the scenery, food and welcoming people then it goes beyond a birding break.  I believe that there are more gems to be found in the winter period so wrap up snug and remember that Lesvos will always warm your soul.

 

Lesvos Day 6 - 3rd March 2022

The morning cat and breakfast routine did not prevent me getting back to Dipi Larisos by just after 8.30 to meet up with Eleni and Stylianos for an impromptu ringing session in the huge reedbed. It was a little bright and gusty and the first two checks of the two nets revealed nothing so we went for a walk down to where I saw the Moustached Warblers yesterday. Two were quietly singing away and at least two more calling. A couple of brief views were had as they skulked through the reeds. Cetti's Warblers were vocal and we could hear Water Rail and Little Grebe. The Water Pipit had a fly round and two Reed Buntings called.

The quiet sub-singing of a Moustached Warbler practicing before heading for home

A final walk to the nets to take them down revealed one bird in the lower pocket... A Moustached Warbler. Eleni professionally removed the bird from the net and it was already sporting a ring. The bird was weighed and fat scored and was first trapped on the 5th December last year. It will soon be back to off to Turkey and perhaps a little further north and west. It was a striking bird in the hand and I was keen to watch it as it flew off afterwards as the short wings, general colouration and whirring flight make it very similar to Cetti's. A few House Martins dropped in and Buzzards and Marsh Harriers were above the reeds.

Moustached Warbler

With time pressing on we followed them down the road and around to Loutra in the hope of seeing one of the Laughing Doves that bred in this quaint hillside village last year. They now have semi celebrity status and one of the local cafe owners told us that there may be more than a family party now. Eleni soon found one sitting on a porch where he preened in the sunshine before posing in an Lemon tree. I had forgotten about these birds before coming out so it was pleasing to add nb #15.

Laughing Dove

Dove watching

We bid our farewells to Eleni and Stylianos after a fine morning of birding and excellent company and continued a little further down the coast of the Gulf of Jera and had lunch with terraced steps of olives and Anemones one side and majestic views down across the Gulf to the other.  Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk soared over head and at least eight Blackcaps were moving through the Olives and making that peculiar squelching call that I associate with continental birds.  Back in the UK I only hear it from wintering ones.

Yellow-legged Gull

Gulf of Jera

A diversion back towards Achlederi to check the woodland just beyond the river bridge was completely birdless but the yellow Gagea penduncularis flowers were attracting Anthophora and Andrena Bees (I think) and the wondrous Eucera longicornis with its outsize antenna as well as a couple of spiky bummed Tachinid flies that do not feel quite right for the usual Tachina fera type and more like a huge Eriothrix.

Eristalis hoverfly - fat femurs suggest E tenax but does not feel right

Eucera longicornis

Gagea penduncularis

Anthophora ?

Andrena ?

A large Tachinid fly

Time for a coffee top up and the back down to the Eastern Salt Pan track once again, passing a male Hen Harrier over Stilt Corner on the way. Cloud was building and this made viewing easier once down the track but it did mean that the temperature dropped quickly as what sun there was disappeared. A superb almost adult male Hen Harrier greeted me at the end as it dipped in and out of the grove edges and a young female was not far away. Such a joy to watch them hunting. Up on the wooded ridge another two males and a female drifted in together from the east before heading back towards Mesa while three female Marsh Harriers were terrorising the ducks and waders.

Hen Harrier

It was my first good look at the ducks since day one and most were about the same in numbers with 150 Wigeon, 60 Shoveler, 42 Teal and 18 Mallard but there were now an impressive 26 Gadwall and two female and male Pintail. 

female Pintail

Wigeon

Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and three Ruff

Gadwall and two Teal

Gadwall, Curlew and Shelduck

Waders were about the same with at least 12 Grey Plover and 14 Ruff which actually looked smarter than they do in April, two Golden Plover flew around and 45 more were out circling Alykes. Nine Spoonbills were still loafing around and five of them gave me a fine fly past. Starlings were gathering and parties of Larks and Meadow Pipits were milling about as I started to head back. 

Little Egret

Spoonbills

Golden Plover

Starlings

It was cold and an early dinner beckoned before packing commenced but there was still time for a post Dionysis serenade from both the  Long-eared and Scops Owls.