North and over the top this morning with Kavaki being the
first stop. It was very quiet and
already too hot to be out in the full sun.
There was not a bird to be seen out to see but I do like the view.
Kavaki
A male Red-backed Shrike waved his tale at me
and a Sardinian Warbler rattled but I did not linger too long and headed up to
Persama where the reservoir has still not been repaired and was devoid of any
water what so ever so I carried onto the end
passing Bee-eaters on the wires and once down at the bottom of the
concrete track I could hear many more. The seemed high and getting closer and soon a cloud of them
came into view as they strongly headed south and I counted about 140 in this
one group and soon added over 60 more on a similar path.
Bee-eater (ACV)
Bee-eaters
Gangs of Ravens tumbled and alerted me to two males and
female Marsh Harrier drifting over high so perhaps there was a little
immigration underway.The Ravens left
the local Short-toed Eagles well alone.
Ravens
Marsh Harrier
Marsh Harrier
Short-toed Eagle
I kept to the shadow edges of the track where the water was
still overflowing from the spring into the trough and there were many Southern
Skimmers and a couple of Red-veined Darters zipping up and down. Both
Whitethroats, Sardinian Warbler and Blackcap were seen.
Southern Skimmer
Southern Skimmer
Small Copper
Chaste Tree - sometimes they are white
A Nightingale was scolding in the Kermes Oak and briefly
popped up and I immediately thought Thrush Nightingale – I even saw a little
yellow gape patch. It dropped back down.Confusingly two minutes later a Nightingale flew from the bushes on the
other side of the track and perched up nicely and was clearly a rich rufous
Common Nightingale!I am always one for
the two bird theory!
Cirl Buntings called and an Ortolan flew over calling but I
could not find it but as I neared the car a Bunting flicked up and into an Oak.
I walked on, stopped as my brain processed the tail pattern and stepped back to
see a rather smart Ortolan sat just within the leaf cover.Fabulous althoughit was so bright when I lifted the camera
that I fluffed the pics.Bins first –
camera second – always.
Essence of Ortolan
Snake-eyed Lacertid
It was already over 30c and not even lunchtime so we headed
down to Petra for a nose about and to pick up some lunch. It does not look much
from up on the main road but it is in fact a delightful little village with
bars, tavernas and local craft shops.As
usual autumn Jackdaws were around town.
Back over the top and searching for some lunchtime shade
sent me up the Klapados track (and no, not the seriously dodgy concrete and
boulder track but the longer safer route closer to the Kalloni Raptor
Watchpoint Bandstand).I found the ‘car
park’ and after a fine cheese pie and some Baklava I headed off down the trail
to the spring and stream I hoped would still be below.Just message me if you would like a dropped
pin!
I have only been down here a couple of times – the first
with my parents and the late and very deeply missed Sam Shippey.I had this tranquil spot to myself and sat
down with the gnarled and boulder contorted Oriental Planes and just soaked it
up and thought about my friend as I watched the same Eastern Willow Emeralds,
various annoying Graylings (I suspect Rock, Freyer’s and Great Banded),
Cleopatras and gliding Cardinals.
Feel free to input on these Graylings
Eastern Willow Emeralds
Eastern Willow Emeralds
Eastern Willow Emeralds
Southern Darter
Southern Darter
Southern Darter
There were Levant Water Frogs and Giant Pond Skaters and a
few Blue Featherlegs (White-legged Damselflies to us Brits) and what I am sure
are Southern Darters but I am hoping Roy will help with that one as he usually
does!
Levant Water Frog
Levant Water Frog
Blue Featherleg
Cardinal
There were birds too with Coal, Blue, Great and Medium-tailed
Tits, Chaffinches, Short-toedTreecreepers, Wren and a delightful 1w male
Collared Flycatcher.I always say that
you have to be lucky to find a Ficedula flycatcher in the autumn but somehow I
always do seem to find a young male of one of these!
Short-toedTreecreeper
I slogged back up to the top where the views back down either
side of the island were glorious but in the distance way off on the east side
of the Gulf a huge fire was raging and smoke was billowing up into the heavens.
Fire in the sky
Time to retreat and roost although I did find a spot outside
the room where I could be in the shade (now 37c) and scan the skies to the
north.Almost immediately I picked up a
Dalmatian Pelican circling overhead and over the next twenty minutes found
three northbound (?) Short-toed Eagles and a distant Honey Buzzard!
Dalmatian Pelican
Dalmatian Pelican
The early evening potter out onto Loutzaria did not reveal
any changes but there were now two Lesser Grey Shrikes and a party of 70
Bee-eaters obviously looking for somewhere to roost and two White Wagtails were in the fields with the Corn Buntings.
Grey Heron
Grey Heron
Crested Lark
Corn Bunting and five Bee-eaters
Down at the Racecourse we watched the two fire response
planes (I think they are called Camels?) repeatedly descend to the Gulf to
scoop up water to take back to the fire.There was no visible smoke now so hopefully they were in the process of
dampening down.
There were still two Lesser Grey Shrikes around and a very
dapper Tawny Pipit actually stayed put for once.Off shore there were 17 Sandwich Terns and in
the bay I picked up Curlew and heard two Grey Plover and three Ringed Plover
and best of all an Oystercatcher which as it flew set off alarm bells as the
neck collar was huge and very broad and almost went around to the back of the
neck and there also appeared to be more white in the wing.Once on the beach it seemed to show a browny
back and for some reason felt the wrong shape and with a longer thinner bill.
Tawny Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Tawny Pipit - seldom do they show like this
Lesser Grey Shrike
Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern
Northern Wheatear
Northern Wheatear
I had to do some Googling after dinner as I could not
remember what eastern Oystercatcher race I was thinking off but it seems to fit the form 'longipes' which is the race I saw a few years ago on Shetland. I hope others get
to take a look.Always something to
learn.
Oystercatcher - showing characters of Siberian 'longipes'
There were 12 Dalmatian Pelicans and eight Spoonbills still on the south east pan and several Great Egrets dotted about while the drive out gave much better views of two more Spoonbills and several Slender-billed Gulls once again.
A late start and around the Bay after breakfast where an
adult and juvenile Black Stork were feeding on the Mesa Wetlands but were soon
spiralling up into the cloudless blue where a dark Eleonora’s Falcon briefly
joined them. There were no waders on the
pools at all.
Black Stork (ACV)
Black Storks
It was already 30c by 10am at Achladeri but I found a male Kruper’s
Nuthatch within the first five minutes as he quietly poked around the big pine
cones making contented little meep noises every now and then.
Kruper’s Nuthatch
I continued around the woods but it was getting increasingly
hot even under the trees.I found a
family group of Cirl Buntings and a few Great Tits and Chaffinches and could
hear Short-toed Treecreepers and Middle-spotted Woodpeckers but the heat drove me back to the car where a Hoopoe was feeding on the grass.
Small Skimmer
Scrappy Cirl Bunting
The beach road was cooling but had just two bobbing Common
Sandpipers and the dry fields that hosted so much in the spring were dotted
with chats and wagtails but other than the odd Red-backed Shrike there was nothing
else.The little harbour had its usual four
species with 11 Black-headed Gulls, eight Med Gull, seven Med Shags and 12 Yellow-legged
Gulls including a brute of a immature with a GBBG like black bill.
Common Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Med Gulls
Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow-legged Gulls
Yellow-legged Gull - a monster
Med Shag
Med Shag
A hot Med Shag
Respite and an ice-cream was calling back at the Pela and
three more Black Storks were wading in the northern saltpan channel.
If I come again at my normal late September window then I am claiming this Pela viewpoint as my new back at base lookout to the north
Five hours later it was time to head out but if anything it was
even hotter and topped 37c! A Common Sandpiper was on the channel just past the
bakers and down at the Tsiknias there were five Wood Sandpipers, a Greenshank
and a very long billed Curlew.
Common Sandpiper
Curlew
Curlew
Curlew - as usual most appear incredibly long billed and pale on the underwing and this one had some dark rump streaking which I had not seen before.
Curlew (ACV)
A young potato field was being irrigated and about 150 Corn
Buntings were relishing the sprays while
they poked along the ridge and furrows.
There was no one different species in there with them!
Potato Bunting
On around the Loutzaria Triangle where there felt like there
were a few more bids around with nine Red-backed Shrikes, two Woodchat
and a Lesser Grey, Hoopoe, a good sprinkling of Spotted Flycatchers, Willow
Warblers, Whinchats and Northern Wheatears, eight Short-toed Larks, Tree and
two Tawny Pipits and a blizzard of Sparrows andflava Wagtails.
Spotted Flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher (ACV)
Woodchat Shrike - subtle from this angle
Lesser Grey Shrike
Red-backed Shrike (ACV)
Whinchat
Whinchat
Whinchat
Whinchat and the magic multi-coloured sprinkler head!
Black-headed Wagtail - although more Chocolate-headed in fresh plumage
Blue-headed Wagtail
flava Wagtail
Blue-headed Wagtail
flava Wagtail
Blue-headed Wagtail
Three Common Buzzards were hunting from wires and irrigation
poles and a Marsh Harrier quartered.
Down at the KSP a short scan from the Hide gave better views of the
Slender-billed Gulls but it was still very quiet on the wader front so dinner
called and we bumped back through the middle once again.
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