LESVOS 2011 - DAY 2 - APRIL 24TH

KALLONI POOL - CHRISTOU SALT MARSH - TSIKNIAS RIVER - KALLONI SALT PANS - METOCHI POOL

What a great today was, we saw 90 species and had wall to wall sunshine all day! Wew began at 6:30pm with a walk down to the Pool at Kalloni where a Savi's Warbler was performing, we heard it but didn;t get satisfactory views. Thousand of hirundines were scattered by the appearance of an Eleanora's Falcon and on the marsh we saw Cetti's Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Common Nightingale.

The salt marsh adjacent to the river Christou produced a good selection of waders, egrets, herons and storks. Great White Egret, Black Stork and Pueple heron being well appreciated.
Common and Whiskered Terns danced over the river and mnay Little Egret fed in it. Round by the bridge we found several Whinchats, Stone Curlew and Kentish Plover.

We returned to the hotel for breakfast and then set off for a day at the Tsiknias River and Saltpans. The best sightings along the river were of Collared and Semi-collared Flycatcher, a fantastic find.

The saltpans had the usual array of hundreds of birds, mainly waders, flamingos and egrets. Over 70 Glossy Ibis, 9 Collared Pratincoles, 2 Black Necked Grebes, Red-throated Pipit, Ruddy Shelduck were our highlights.

At a road side pool near the salt pans we found a superb male Citrine Wagtail, also Temminck's Stint, lots of Wood Sanpipers and yellow Wagtails.

We decided to finish the day at the small pool at metochi but we stopped along the way to admire a Western rock Nuthatch at it's nest site, we also found cretzchmar's bunting there too.

At the pool we quickly located half a dozen Little Crakes, along with Great Reed Warbler, Squacco Heron, Night Heron, lots more Whinchats and a Woodchat Shrike.

Back at the hotel we were treated to great views of a Long-eared Owl sitting high up in a eucalyptus in the garden!