LESVOS - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 6 - MAY 3rd 2012

TSIKNIAS RIVER - FILA RADIO MAST  - IPSILOU MONASTERY - SIGRI FIELDS - MELADIA VALLEY

BIRD OF THE DAY   -   CINEREOUS BUNTING

 

 CINEREOUS BUNTING

The blistering heat continues, which is making birding very difficult. A stronger breeze was present all day which brought the temperature down but we still got hot.


Our day started at 8am as we left the hotel and headed for the Tsiknias river to look for a Spotted Crake that had been reported the night before. After a short while we found the crake but only half the group saw it before it walk into cover. A couple of Wood Sandpipers were there too.

Our main destination for today was the Fields at Sigri so we set off through the centre of the island heading for Dafia and then to Filia. At Filia we pulled over near the radio mast where a lovely area of oak woodland is found. Our target bird was the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler, we heard at least 3 singing and we had good views of one of them. Other species found in the woodland were Subalpine Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Cirl Bunting, Jay. We heard Turtle Doves and Golden Orioles and a Hobby flew over us just before we left.

 EUROPEAN BEE-EATERS

A few miles out of Vatousa we stopped in the canyon at Lardia to look for Rock Sparrows which were very obliging, there was also Red-rumped Swallows, Crag Martins, Black-eared Wheatears and a Blue Rock Thrush.


Passing through some wonderful scenery our next stop was the monastery at Ipsilou, this active, 'silent order' montasery is perched on the top of a high pinnacle of rock and all the slopes are covered in oak woodland, which is, under normal weather conditions, a magnet for migrant warblers. Today it was barren, during our 2 hour stop we only found a couple of Blackcaps and half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers. The disappointment was counteracted with good views of Cinereous Bunting, Rock Nuthatch, Little Owl, Eurasian Nuthatch and lots of Black-eared Wheatears.

RED-BACKED SHRIKE

Sigri fields proved to be the same, devoid of migrants, although the wind there didn't help. We heard a few Golden Orioles, saw several Woodchat and Red-backed Shrikes and during one walk we found Orphean Warbler and Olivaceous Warblers both in full song. Other species seen included a singing Masked Shrike (this confused some of the group as such a sweet melodic sound wasn't expected from a shrike), we also found Wood Warbler, Lesser Kestrel, Turtle Dove and Black-headed Wagtail.

We returned home the long way round taking the dirt track from Sigri to Eresos, a couple of stops in the Meladia valley produced a few more birds. At the small chapel near the ford we found a stunning Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher (2), Spotted Flycatcher, Common Whitethroat and a Marsh Warbler was singing from the deep scrub.

At the fig plantation we had a good time watching Bee-eaters, there were also plenty of flycatchers but not much else.

It had been a long day out as we arrived back at the hotel at 7pm. I think the scenery of this beautiful island had been just as enjoyable as the birding today!