Day 1:
After the red-eye out of Heathrow to Athens and then the
early-bird to Mytilini there was nothing to do at dawn but head to the Pela to be
greeted by Thekla, her Dad and a much needed breakfast and caffeine intake
before venturing out onto the road through Lotzaria to the saltpans beyond.
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| Good morning sunshine arriving over Turkey |
It was a rewarding morning with my first time guests, Dave
and Margaret, having a plethora of new birds. The Tsiknias track was alive with
the sound of Nightingales and Eastern Olivaceous Warblers and the ubiquitous Corn
Buntings and Crested Larks liberally obstructed the road in front. It was so
good to be back amongst so many birds.
The mouth of the river held a small
party of terns; two Little, two Common,
two Whiskered and a solitary Sandwich. The Alykes wetlands and sheepfields
delivered with 137 Glossy Ibis, seven squat Squacco, 31 Red- throated Pipits
with rosy gorgets, various headed flava Wagtails including a yellow supercilliumed
Black-head and a smoky Grey-head, a brief female Citrine on the sheepfield
channel, two Northern Wheatears and a couple of mobile Short-toed Larks.
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| Glossy Ibis |
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| Sheepfields - which only have Donkeys and Horses |
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| Squacco |
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| Looking back at the salt pile |
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| xanthophrys - Black-headed Wagtail |
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| Yellow Horned Poppy - Glaucium flavum |
A Great Crested Grebe bobbed around offshore
in the stiff breeze and Red-rumped Swallows prospected under the bridge.
Two young male Pallid Harriers were picked up quartering the
fields with their elastic wing beats and almost accipter like zippyness. One was a little browner than the other but
both sported the tell tale collar, three primaries and ultra light outline.
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| 2cy male Pallid Harrier #1 |
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| 2cy male Pallid Harrier #2 |
Marsh Harriers were also seen and the first
views of Short-toed Eagle (two pairs) and a very distant Long-legged Buzzard
hunted somewhere over the upper Tsiknias.
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| Short-toed Eagle |
A good selection of waders were present along the saltpan channel with 13 spangled
Marsh Sandpipiers amongst the Wood Sands and Ruff along with a brick red Curlew Sandpiper.
Three Common Snipe – not always an easy species erupted from the fields
after the harrier went through and a Stone Curlew followed suit and dapper
Whinchats dotted the stouter stems and fences with a couple of sentinel Little
Owls looking on.
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| Marsh Sandpipers and two Ruff |
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| Marsh Sandpipers and Ruff |
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| Spotted Redshank in front of Wood Sandpiper and a Black-winged Stilt |
Two Collared Pratincoles hawked the pool and a Gull-billed Tern
flew powerfully through while both Storks cruised across the view with three
Black and two White. By this stage I am not sure where M&D knew quite where
to look.
Ruddy Shelduck and Greater Flamingos
were also new to them while I was actually distracted by the four Mallard and
17 Pintail – all dabbling duck out here are noteworthy. A solitary Great White
Egret would prove to be one of only two sightings all week – every year is
different.
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| Great White
Egret |
More sustenance was required so
a fairly relaxed lunch was taken back at the Pela with more Stork flyovers to
keep our eyes up before heading out once more with a well hidden Scops Owl at
Papiana giving itself up along with a smart Black-capped Jay.
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| Pair of White Stork |
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| Black Stork |
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| Scops Owl |
On to the Metochi Lake circuit.
Chattering Masked and Woodchat Shrikes were encountered along with three
diminutive Little Crakes and a calling but invisible Penduline Tit at the
southern end of the lake but it was actually fairly quiet with just one Little
Bittern, barely a croak from a Great Reed Warbler and just singles of
Black-eared Wheatear and Rock Nuthatch up on the crag.
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| Metochi Lake |
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| Woodchats |
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| Iris orientalis |
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| Lysimachia atropurpurea |
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| Giant Wasp - Megascolia maculata flavifrons on Lysimachia atropurpurea |
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| Balkan Green Frog |
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| Masked Shrike |
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| Stripe-necked Terrapin |
A Green Sandpiper exploded from the terrapin
filled channel and Vagrant and Common Emperors cruised around. Eight Coot and
numerous Moorhen and Little Grebes were on the lake with plenty of fighting as
was to be expected! Two Squaccos headed out and a dagger-billed Purple Heron
lumbered off towards the Christou.
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| Black Capped Jay |
We finished up with a drive down
the Tsiknias River from the Kalloni end with Little Ringed Plovers, Wood and
Green Sandpipers, a severely crested Hoopoe probing on a sandy bank, 13
communally feeding Little Egrets but the highlight was six determined
Red-footed Falcons (4m2f) heading up river on silvery wings.
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| Little Egrets |
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| The seriously horny Billy Goat thethered on the river bank |
By the time it came to write my
daily report I was dog tired having been up for nearly forty hours so I gave in
after my first G'n'T and headed for my bed with the
sound of Scops Owl and Tree Frogs in my head...
