27 April 2012

Booted Eagle, Revma © Steve Dudley

More birds around again inc. a Booted Eagle, a large passage of Bee-eaters, more marsh terns, the Baillon's Crake still at Kalloni Saltpans and much more!

Weather - Blue skies, light to moderate NW breeze, 23C

NEW - news on day trips (those with spaces remaining), events and other info (like what new cafes/tavenras might be worth trying) for the 2012 birding weeks - see here.

Event - Sun, 29 April - Talk on the the proposed Lesvos Geopark at the Hotel Pasiphae. 1800h, for 45 mins. All welcome. The Lesvos Petrified Forest is already a designated Geopark and the proposal is to extend this to the whole of the island. Highly recommended.


BIRD NEWS

Achladeri & Kruper's Nuthatch
One pair feeding young near last years nest site along the top. Park your car by the white building building, walk up the main track through the forest, bear left at the fork, then follow the track left past the rubbish pile on the next corner and up the straight section of track. After c200m look for a thick black pine tree with a sap scar and a pile of 4 sandy-coloured rocks at the base. From this tree look in to the forest at 90 degrees from the track and look for a sheep/rams skull at base. Nest is in this tree on left hand side between two very short broken branch stumps.

Kalloni Saltpans & Alykes Wetlands
BAILLON'S CrAKE - still present along reeded channel in SW corner near pumping station
Tree Sparrow - flock of 11
Common Pochard - fem
White-winged Tern - 64
Whiskered Tern - 46
Zitting Cisticola - 1
Curlew Sandpiper - 42
Ruff - 200
Little Stint - 126
Dunlin - 1
Lapwing - 1
Red-throated Pipit - 5
Black Stork - 5
White Stork - 4
Glossy Ibis - 2
Great White Egret - 3

Hillside above main road by Kalloni Saltpans
Red-footed Falcon - 21
Lesser Kestrel - 1
Gull-billed Tern - 5

Vigla (nr Ipsilou)
Lesser Grey Shrike - 1
Lesser Kestrel
Isabelline Wheatear

Napi
Golden Oriole - 30
Masked Shrike - 2
Short-toed Eagle
Black Stork
Eastern Orphean Warbler
Sombre Tit
Cretzschmar's

Skala Sikaminias
Sardinian Warbler - 1

Skala Sikaminias to Efthalou
Audouin's Gull - 2
Red-backed Shrike - 1
Woodchat Shrike
Masked Shrike
Bee-eater - 2
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler - 1
Turtle Dove - 3
Yelkouan Shearwater - 600

Tsiknias River
Temminck's Stint - 1
Oystercatcher - 1

Sigri & Faneromeni 
Citrine Wagtail - 2 (upper ford)
Bee-eater - 40
Nightjar - 1
Eleonora's Falcon - 1
Golden Oriole - 12

Metochi
Red-footed Falcon - 8
Goshawk - 1
Little Crake - 2
Little Bittern - 1

Meladia Valley
Roller - 1
Pallid Swift - 60
Bee-eater - 100+
Black-headed Bunting - 3+
Collared Flycatcher - 2

Ipsilou
Red-footed Falcon - 10
Lesser Kestrel - 2
Icterine Warbler - 2
More warblers and flycatchers there today

Chrousos (nr Mesotopos)
Temminck's Stint - 1
Green Sandpiper - 1
Isabelline Wheatear - 2

Papania
Scops Owl - 2
Long-eared Owl - 1

Dipi Larisos 
Pygmy Cormorant - 2 still, ranging widely from river mouth, upstream (inc. getting in reeds up from the bridge) and bot hflew off and went down by the Mytilini road
Purple Heron - 1
Magpie - 1
Aghias Ioannis 
Ortolan Bunting - 1
Very good today for usual species here inc Cineresou Bunting and Rock Sparrow
Skala Kallonis Pool
LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE - 1 over
Spotted Crake - one calling outside Kalloni Bay hotel entrance
Little Crake
Squacco Heron

Potamia
Black-headed Bunting - 1

Soumouria Scops Copse
Scops Owl - 1 (in euclyptus with lilac sprig attached)

Kavaki
Ruppell's Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Blue Rock-thrush, etc

Argra
Red-footed Falcon - 2

 Nightjar, Faneromeni © Steve Dudley