Back in May equipped with "A birdwatching guide to Lesvos" we set off on another birding trip and packing camera, tripod, scope and binoculars we headed to Manchester airport and after the obligatory scrutiny of all our kit by airport security, we arrived in Mitilini, picked up a rental and drove to our hotel in Skala Kallonis. Our room overlooked Kallonis pools and after checking in we took a short stroll around to get our bearings, and it wasn't long before we caught our first sight of bee-eaters perched on overhead cables while from a tree in the hotel garden we could hear an Eurasian Scops owl calling. Eurasian Scops owl
Kallonis pools we called here early morning before we ventured further afield and called back late afternoons on the way back, the pools were overgrown with vegetation to the point where you couldn't clearly see water but remained a decent site for sightings which included Grass snake, Marsh frog, Terrapins, Tree frog, Great white egret, Squacco heron, Purple heron, Grey heron, Bittern, Marsh harrier, Eastern olivaceous Warbler, Common buzzard, Cetti's warbler and Reed Warbler to mention a few.
Above: Grass Snake, Eastern olivaceous warbler, Below: Tree frog
Metochi Lake is only a short drive away and we visited several times during our trip, the habitat here is diverse with surrounding fields, olive groves, dykes and ridges with rocky outcrops. Early mornings here were much more productive than afternoons and sightings included Little bittern, Black-crowned night heron, Squacco heron, Bee-eater, Golden oriole, Cetti's warbler, Long-legged buzzard, Short-toad snake eagle, Ballions crake, Little crake and Woodchat shrike.
Above: Cetti's Warbler, Metochi Lake, Below: Little bittern
Skala Kallonis area has several locations which are good for owls, in the square at Diana’s gift shop there's a Barn owl which nests each year in the chimney. Outside the hotel Imerti a pair of Long-eared owls was noted roosting. A little further along the road at Agios Nikolaos church a pair of White Stork regularly nests on the roof which in turn becomes a home for Sparrows and frequently attracts a Little Owl. The Long-eared owls were observed at night hunting near the school house over in Papiana, several Scops owls were also noted at this location and were also spotted roosting at the mini soccer pitch across town.
Above: Scops owl and Barn owl, Below: Long-eared owl
Kalloni salt pans is a popular birding spot with many species of bird including Waders, Gulls, Terns, Herons Egrets, Storks, Warblers, Wagtails, Chats, Shrikes, Buntings, Larks and Pipits along with Rufous bush robin, Dalmatian pelican, Greater flamingo, Bee-eater, Stone Curlew, and Collared Pratincole. Raptors noted here were Hen harrier, Marsh harrier, Short-toed snake eagle, Kestrel and Red-footed falcon.
Above: Rufous bush robin and Whiskered tern, Below: Bee-eater
Ipsilou monastery combining the monastery with a visit to the Petrified forest before continuing on to Sigri. A very busy day which was made worthwhile with some great sightings including Isabelline wheatear, Rock nuthatch, Rock sparrow, Cinereous bunting, Cretzschmar's bunting, Black headed bunting, Corn bunting, Cirl bunting, Little owl, Lesser kestrel, Eleonora's falcon, Short-toed snake eagle, Spotted flycatcher, Masked shrike, Red-backed shrike, Great spotted cuckoo, Hoopoe, Icterine warbler, Subalpine warbler, and Garden warbler and this was by no means a complete list.
Above: Masked shrike, Red-backed shrike, Cretzschmar's bunting, Cinereous bunting, Below: Lesser Kestrel
Achladeri forest knowing there are very few breeding pairs of Krüper's nuthatch here we went to Achladeri forest with this in mind, the other target species we wanted to see was Short-toed Treecreeper and we were fortunate enough to catch up with both these birds here, then moving on we took the coastal road towards Skamnioudi where we saw several Olive tree warbler and had great views of a pair of Short-toed snake eagles.
Above: Short-toed treecreeper and Krüper's nuthatch, Below: Olive tree warbler.
Faneromeni Beach spring is such a magical time to visit this wonderful island when the flora is in full bloom and the passage migrants are at their peak, a few other great locations were Faneromeni where we caught up with Rose coloured starlings in significant numbers and Golden oriole while over at Kavaki there's an active breeding site for Rüppell's warbler stopping off at the Raptor view point before returning along the Tsiknias river and Lotzaria track.
Above: Rose Starling, Golden Oriole, Subalpine warbler, Rüppell's warbler, Below: Short-toed snake eagle.
Comments