LESVOS - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 1 APRIL 28TH 2012

MYTILINE – SKALA KALLONI VIA DIPI LARISOS MARSHES. LATER WE VISITED  – SKALA KALLONI – TSIKNIAS RIVER AND KALLONI SALT PANS

BIRD OF THE DAY  -  PYGMY CORMORANT      

    

;but also Temminck’s Stint, Little Bittern  and high numbers of Squacco Herons.

The group of 9 met at Gatwick Airpoort in preparation for the direct flight to Mytiline, Lesvos. Everything went smoothly at both airports and by 2:30pm local time we were on our to our hotel in Skala Kalloni which is situated in the centre of the island. The weather was superb, a clear sky a little breeze and a temperature of 21C.

We saw Hooded Crow, Barn Swallow and Yellow-legged Gull as we worked our way through Mytiline town and before long we were on the highway heading out towards the Gulf of Gera. There was one short stop planned en-route and that was at Dipi Larisos Reedbeds found on the Gulf of Gera where a pair of Pygmy Cormorants had been reported.

VIEW LOOKING UP THE RIVER TSIKNIAS - PLENTY OF WATER THIS YEAR

Sure enough one of the birds were there, a super bird for our tour list and a lifer for me, it was a little too distant to photgraph. At the same place we found Great Cormorant, Spanish Sparrow, Yellow Wagtail and we heard aCetti’s Warbler.

We arrived at our hotel at 4pm and after a short settling period we set off for our first birding excursion on this superb island. In Skala Kalloni we stopped to admire a beautiful Squacco Heron seen in a ditch, it was in full breeding plumage and the afternoon sun made it looked exquisite. Along the track to Tsiknias river we found 9 more Squaccos, a lot of Wood Sandpipers and more Yellow Wagtails. We also found several Corn Buntings House Martins and Sand Martins. At the river we found an Oystercatcher, Common Terns, Little Terns, Wood Sandpipers, but the star of the show was a magnificent adult Black Stork.

SEVERAL SHOTS OF A VERY CONFIDING LITTLE BITTERN

Upriver at the ford we spent some time watching a Little Bittern feeding, with its ridulously long neck it would lean from its reedy perch and snatch food from the water. Also at the ford were many more Wood Sandpipers (30+), Little Ringed Plover (2), Temminck’s Stint (2), Reed Warbler, Whinchat and another Black Stork, lots of Yellow Wagtails were also feeding at the ford, we saw Black-headed, Blue headed and Grey Headed. A little further upriver we came across a party of 8 Gull Billed Terns, they were feeding in a small pool area.

Lastly we paid a visit to the salt pans, it was brief stop to look for a reported Baillon’s Crake which failed to show, however we enjoyed great views of White-winged Terns, Gull-billed Terns, Kentish Plover, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Wagtail, 2 more Black Storks and we had distant views of Avocet and Greater Flamingo. This finished off our day nicely so we drove back to the hotel in readiness for our 7:30pm dinner.

What a great day our first full day proved to be we only saw 40+ birds but there was good feeling in the group about future sightings – watch this space.