PELAYO PARK - TARIFA (PLAYA DE LOS LANCES) - LA JANDA - VEJER - BARBATE MARSHES - SIERRA DE LA PLATA
Another superb day of sunshine was ruined by strong winds with gusts up to 40km/hr, it made birding difficult and kept the birds down. However we saw some good species and enjoyed our day out.
Sam and Meriel joined us for the day so we had a full bus for this trip. We set off at 8:30am as usual and headed for the coast, we noted lesser kestrel, Honey Buzzard, Jay and White Stork, in fact, we counted over 60 occupied Stork's nest between Estacion de Jimena and San Roque.
Our first stop was at the park found just above Pelaya, the eindy conditons kept our count down but we did see Common Nightingale, Blackcap, Bonelli's Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Stonechat and a few Griffon Vultures flew over.
The strong easterly wind wasn't conducive to raptor migration so we by-passed the Observation stations and went straight to Los lances beach. If was pretty aweful trying to keep our optics still as we sat in the hide. Despite the wind there were many birds present including a superb Black Tern and a nice surprise, a Collared Pratincole. We also saw a summer plumaged Red Knot, lots of Dunlin. Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover and a magnificent Grey Plover in all its summer splendour. Amongst the Yellow-legged Gulls we found a single Audouin's Gull and four Gull-billed Terns. A single Sandwich Tern dropped in and on the grass behind the beach we found Short-toed larks, Crested larks a Zitting Cisticola. As we walked back to the car a few Honey Buzzards drifted over with a couple of Booted Eagles.
We arrived at la Janda as the wind was at its worst! Our drive along the central track gaves us Cattle and Little Egrets, White Stork and some distant Calandra Larks. We passed the huge egret colony and ate our picnic lunch in the shelter of some bushes during which time we found Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Turtle Dove, Black Kite, Honey Buzzard and several Jackdaws.
As we drove off La Janda we found Spoonbills, Black-winged Stilts, Collared Pratincoles and more Gull-billed Terns in the recently flooded rice fields. We then made a brief stop at Vejer to watch the breeding colony of Bald Ibis, we counted 10 birds and four nests.
Barbate marshes was quite good as the wind has subsided a little, we found over 25 Glossy Ibis, a single Wood Sandpiper, a couple of Yellow Wagtails, Purple Swamphen and many Common Coots, Mallards and Black-winged Stilts.
The wind was very strong as we arrived at Sierra de la Plata, we had hoped to see some swifts but all we got was a couple of Griffon Vultures, a Blue Rock Thrush and some lovely coloured Honey Buzzards drifting low over us. Before we drove back to Gaucin we stopped at Castellar to watch a nesting colony of Bee-eaters, they performed very well for us, the wind had dropped and we had our best birding of the day!! In the sand quarry we also saw Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail and Little Ringed Plover, we also saw a dark morph Booted Eagle.
Red-throated Bee-eater
join us for a fantastic tour of The Gambia this November
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
ANDALUCIA - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 4 - 10TH MAY 2012
EL COLMENAR - CAMPILLOS LAGUNAS - TEBA RAPTOR OBSERVATORY
Another great day of weather except the strong gusty wind was annoying and spoilt some of the afternoon birding.
We made an early excursion before breakfast, our venue was El Colmenar where a dead tree often plays host to many birds during this early morning period. Today was no exception and I even added two new species to my 'dead tree' list: Turtle Dove and Blue Rock Thrush, which took my list total to 17. But our main target was Golden Oriole and a superb male put in an appearance for us, it sat in bright sunshine and looked exquisite. Another good sighting was a Green Woodpecker which also posed in the dead tree.
It was 11am by the time reached Campillos and the laguna Dulce. First we drove round the back of the laguna and searched the open fields for new species. It wasn't long before we were watching a pair of Montagu's Harriers in the distance, also several Gull-billed Terns were quartering the fields in the same area.
We then had brief sighting of our main target species the Little Bustard, it landed in long grass and it was quite awhile before we saw another one in fight. Other species seen during this time were Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark, Yellow Wagtail and a super find; a pair of Stone Curlews.
Our picnic lunch was consumed at the tables near the hide and whilst we ate we listed some good sightings. All three Grebes were there, Black-necked, littel and Great crested. Both Common and Red-crested Pochard, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall and White headed Duck. A couple of good finds were; Lapwing, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Whiskered Tern and Little ringed Plover. Hundreds of Common Coots covered the shrinking laguna surface and several Flamingo's were at the far shore.
A couple of other smaller lagunas found just south of Campillos were also visited. There we found Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Avocet and Black-winged Stilts.
Lastly we stopped at the bird observatorynear the Teba gorge, it was very windy by now and not many species were seen: Griffon vulture, Common Kestrel, Crag Martin and Blue Rock Thrush. We left the area and drove back to gaucin where little wind was present and hadn't been there all day!!
Another great day of weather except the strong gusty wind was annoying and spoilt some of the afternoon birding.
We made an early excursion before breakfast, our venue was El Colmenar where a dead tree often plays host to many birds during this early morning period. Today was no exception and I even added two new species to my 'dead tree' list: Turtle Dove and Blue Rock Thrush, which took my list total to 17. But our main target was Golden Oriole and a superb male put in an appearance for us, it sat in bright sunshine and looked exquisite. Another good sighting was a Green Woodpecker which also posed in the dead tree.
KENTISH PLOVER
It was 11am by the time reached Campillos and the laguna Dulce. First we drove round the back of the laguna and searched the open fields for new species. It wasn't long before we were watching a pair of Montagu's Harriers in the distance, also several Gull-billed Terns were quartering the fields in the same area.
We then had brief sighting of our main target species the Little Bustard, it landed in long grass and it was quite awhile before we saw another one in fight. Other species seen during this time were Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark, Yellow Wagtail and a super find; a pair of Stone Curlews.
Our picnic lunch was consumed at the tables near the hide and whilst we ate we listed some good sightings. All three Grebes were there, Black-necked, littel and Great crested. Both Common and Red-crested Pochard, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall and White headed Duck. A couple of good finds were; Lapwing, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Whiskered Tern and Little ringed Plover. Hundreds of Common Coots covered the shrinking laguna surface and several Flamingo's were at the far shore.
A couple of other smaller lagunas found just south of Campillos were also visited. There we found Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Avocet and Black-winged Stilts.
Lastly we stopped at the bird observatorynear the Teba gorge, it was very windy by now and not many species were seen: Griffon vulture, Common Kestrel, Crag Martin and Blue Rock Thrush. We left the area and drove back to gaucin where little wind was present and hadn't been there all day!!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
ANDALUCIA - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 3 - 9TH MAY 2012
SAN PABLO TRACK - SAN ENRIQUE WOODS - LAGUNA TORREGUADIARO - PALMONES SALT MARSH - GUADIARO VALLEY FROM SECADERA TO CASARES
Another really superb day out, the weather was just fantastic and the bird list contained some real quality species and included some great prolonged views of several hard to see species.
At the 'track' we set off in warm sunshine and soon we were watching the first of up to a dozen Melodious Warblers, these 'lemon' coloured little gems were very obliging and they sang their hearts out to us. Many finches were present too: Gold Finches and Green Finches were joined by Serins, Linnets, Crested Larks, Little Owl, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinain Warblers and Blackcaps.
In the sky were saw very few Honey Buzzards, but enough to appreciate their presence, also Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel and a Raven. A little further along the track we found our target bird the Rufous Bush Robin, it was singing along with all the other species and gave us a fine show. A few Tawny pipits were located int he fields and along the fenceline. It was now getting very warm so set off back to the bus, The return journey was just as friutful as the outward one with plenty to see both on the ground and in the scrub.
Next we stopped at San Enrique Woods where stayed so long we decided to eat our lunch there! Tree Sparrow was one of the first species in the bag but a superb find, a Wryneck, was even better. Then we found a pair of Green Woodpeckers in a dead tree, as you do. Inside the would we were amazed by the volumn of bird song despite the noisy council workers strimming the grass!!! Both Spotted and Pied Flycatchers were found along with Cetti;s Warbler, Bl;ackcap, Common Nightingale and lots Serins. We found Short-toed Treecreepers bringing food to a nest as well as a Great-spotted Woodpecker doing the same to its nest hole. On the river adjacent to the wood we found Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.
After alovely picnic in the woods we drove the short distance to Torreguadiaro and walked around the laguna. The water level was much higher than of late so there were no waders feeding there. Buty we did find a single Little Bittern, 2 Purple Swamphens and several Little Grebes. A pair of LesserKestrels were flying around the tower (torre) and not much else was recorded.
Palmones was the same, it seemed devoid of life, There were no gulls or terns on the sand spit and very few waders on the low-tide mud. A few Dunlin, Ringed Plover and a single Common Sandpiper were recorded. On the marsh we saw only Little Egret a few Yellow Wagtails.
We drove back towards Gaucin on the Jimena road passing through Castellar where many White Storks are breeding, there are over 40 nests on the pylons, it is a lovely spectacle. At the San Martin crossroads we stopped to watch a Lesser Kestrel colony, they nest in the railway bridge there, up to 10 pairs are present.
Lastly we drove through San Martin and turned into the Guadiaro valley at Secadera and after 5km we stopped at the riverside to search for Western Olivaceous Warbler in the tamarisk scrub. No problem, we found 3 -4 birds whithin yards of where we parked, two of them were singing. We also had a treat when a Collared Pratincole landed on the shingle bank and stayed for the duration of our stay, we also found lots of Bee-eaters, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper and another bonus, two Wood Sandpipers.
We arrived back at gaucin at 6pm and took an early dinner so that we could go out and afterwards to look for Red-necked Nightjars. This part of the day was a failure, not a single bird was calling despite the weather conditions being perfect, you can't them all we had had agreat day nonetheless.
Another really superb day out, the weather was just fantastic and the bird list contained some real quality species and included some great prolonged views of several hard to see species.
TAWNY PIPIT
A clear blue sky greeted us as we emerged from the house and set off for the coast via San Pablo and San Martin. We saw several birds along the way and we stopped to watch a Bee-eater colony near San Pablo.At the 'track' we set off in warm sunshine and soon we were watching the first of up to a dozen Melodious Warblers, these 'lemon' coloured little gems were very obliging and they sang their hearts out to us. Many finches were present too: Gold Finches and Green Finches were joined by Serins, Linnets, Crested Larks, Little Owl, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinain Warblers and Blackcaps.
In the sky were saw very few Honey Buzzards, but enough to appreciate their presence, also Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel and a Raven. A little further along the track we found our target bird the Rufous Bush Robin, it was singing along with all the other species and gave us a fine show. A few Tawny pipits were located int he fields and along the fenceline. It was now getting very warm so set off back to the bus, The return journey was just as friutful as the outward one with plenty to see both on the ground and in the scrub.
Next we stopped at San Enrique Woods where stayed so long we decided to eat our lunch there! Tree Sparrow was one of the first species in the bag but a superb find, a Wryneck, was even better. Then we found a pair of Green Woodpeckers in a dead tree, as you do. Inside the would we were amazed by the volumn of bird song despite the noisy council workers strimming the grass!!! Both Spotted and Pied Flycatchers were found along with Cetti;s Warbler, Bl;ackcap, Common Nightingale and lots Serins. We found Short-toed Treecreepers bringing food to a nest as well as a Great-spotted Woodpecker doing the same to its nest hole. On the river adjacent to the wood we found Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.
After alovely picnic in the woods we drove the short distance to Torreguadiaro and walked around the laguna. The water level was much higher than of late so there were no waders feeding there. Buty we did find a single Little Bittern, 2 Purple Swamphens and several Little Grebes. A pair of LesserKestrels were flying around the tower (torre) and not much else was recorded.
RUFOUS BUSH ROBIN
We drove back towards Gaucin on the Jimena road passing through Castellar where many White Storks are breeding, there are over 40 nests on the pylons, it is a lovely spectacle. At the San Martin crossroads we stopped to watch a Lesser Kestrel colony, they nest in the railway bridge there, up to 10 pairs are present.
NIGHTINGALE
Lastly we drove through San Martin and turned into the Guadiaro valley at Secadera and after 5km we stopped at the riverside to search for Western Olivaceous Warbler in the tamarisk scrub. No problem, we found 3 -4 birds whithin yards of where we parked, two of them were singing. We also had a treat when a Collared Pratincole landed on the shingle bank and stayed for the duration of our stay, we also found lots of Bee-eaters, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper and another bonus, two Wood Sandpipers.
We arrived back at gaucin at 6pm and took an early dinner so that we could go out and afterwards to look for Red-necked Nightjars. This part of the day was a failure, not a single bird was calling despite the weather conditions being perfect, you can't them all we had had agreat day nonetheless.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
ANDALUCIA - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 2 - 8TH MAY 2012
GAUCIN (BULL RING) SWEET CHESTNUT WOOD - RIO GUADIARO AT CORTES - LLANOS DE LIBAR (MONTEJAQUE) - RONDA - ENCINAS DE BORRACHES TRACK
HONEY BUZZARDS - HONEY BUZZARDS AND MORE HONEY BUZZARDS
Weather: dry sunny and warm most of the day with cloud later
We must have seen well over a 1000 Honey Buzzards throughout the day, they were everywhere, even from the early hours of the day.
Our day started at 8:30am as we left thevillage and headed north towards Ronda, we stopped at the chestnut woods and stayed for an hour during which time we found Eurasian Nuthatch, Crested Tit, Firecrest, Cirl Bunting, Serin and lots of common English' garden birds. A pair of Bonelli's Eagles circled above and a Booted Eagle drifted over whilst we were there.
As we drove down into the Guadiaro valley we noted our first Honey Buzzards coming up out of the woods. At the river we had a great time in perfect weather. A hazy sunlight gave us excellent light and it wasn't too hot. The river level was quite high after last weeks' rain but we found many species around it. Blackcaps, Cetti;'s Warbler and Common Nightingale were the most voiciferous followed by Chaffinch, Serin, Stonechat and Sardinain Warbler. The species came thick and fast as we walked the river bank looking into the open fields, cork woods and riverine scrub. Woodchat Shrike, Garden Warbler, Corn Bunting, Common Cuckoo, Short-toed Treecreeper, Rock Sparrow, Mistle Thrush, Hawfinch, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Little Ringed Plover and Long-tailed Tit.
But it was the Honey Buzzard passage that stole the show, small 'kettles' were seen in many areas and over most hilltops aorund us, soon they got bigger with larger ones having 50-80 birds circling together. We also saw many Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel and small groups of Bee-eaters.
At Montejaque we spent some time looking for Rock Thrush in the Llanos de Libar without success, however we did add, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Black Wheatear and Black Kite to our list and again we saw hundreds of Honey Buzzards. Some distance Chough and Alpine Swifts joined Crag Martin onto our day list. Next stop was the limestone valley at the Montejaque dam (that doesn't work) where good views were had of Black Wheatear, Black Redstart, Red-billed Chough, Crag Martin and lots of Blue Rock Thrushes.
A cork oak woodland was our next venue, we walked for about 30 minutes and got good views of a Subalpine Warbler bathing, Bonelli's Warbler and plenty of Blue and Great Tits.
After a brief visit to the centre of Ronda (to look at the famous bridge) we spent our last couple of hours walking the Encinas de Borraches track. Birds were everywhere, we quickly logged: Southern Grey Shrike, Thekla Lartk, Woodlark, Black-eared Wheatear and a very showy Spectacled Warbler. Other species in the area were Common Cuckoo, Linnet, Goldfinches and a single Red-legged Partridge.
Weather: dry sunny and warm most of the day with cloud later
We must have seen well over a 1000 Honey Buzzards throughout the day, they were everywhere, even from the early hours of the day.
Our day started at 8:30am as we left thevillage and headed north towards Ronda, we stopped at the chestnut woods and stayed for an hour during which time we found Eurasian Nuthatch, Crested Tit, Firecrest, Cirl Bunting, Serin and lots of common English' garden birds. A pair of Bonelli's Eagles circled above and a Booted Eagle drifted over whilst we were there.
As we drove down into the Guadiaro valley we noted our first Honey Buzzards coming up out of the woods. At the river we had a great time in perfect weather. A hazy sunlight gave us excellent light and it wasn't too hot. The river level was quite high after last weeks' rain but we found many species around it. Blackcaps, Cetti;'s Warbler and Common Nightingale were the most voiciferous followed by Chaffinch, Serin, Stonechat and Sardinain Warbler. The species came thick and fast as we walked the river bank looking into the open fields, cork woods and riverine scrub. Woodchat Shrike, Garden Warbler, Corn Bunting, Common Cuckoo, Short-toed Treecreeper, Rock Sparrow, Mistle Thrush, Hawfinch, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Little Ringed Plover and Long-tailed Tit.
But it was the Honey Buzzard passage that stole the show, small 'kettles' were seen in many areas and over most hilltops aorund us, soon they got bigger with larger ones having 50-80 birds circling together. We also saw many Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel and small groups of Bee-eaters.
At Montejaque we spent some time looking for Rock Thrush in the Llanos de Libar without success, however we did add, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Black Wheatear and Black Kite to our list and again we saw hundreds of Honey Buzzards. Some distance Chough and Alpine Swifts joined Crag Martin onto our day list. Next stop was the limestone valley at the Montejaque dam (that doesn't work) where good views were had of Black Wheatear, Black Redstart, Red-billed Chough, Crag Martin and lots of Blue Rock Thrushes.
A cork oak woodland was our next venue, we walked for about 30 minutes and got good views of a Subalpine Warbler bathing, Bonelli's Warbler and plenty of Blue and Great Tits.
After a brief visit to the centre of Ronda (to look at the famous bridge) we spent our last couple of hours walking the Encinas de Borraches track. Birds were everywhere, we quickly logged: Southern Grey Shrike, Thekla Lartk, Woodlark, Black-eared Wheatear and a very showy Spectacled Warbler. Other species in the area were Common Cuckoo, Linnet, Goldfinches and a single Red-legged Partridge.
Monday, May 7, 2012
ANDALUCIA - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 1 - 7TH MAY 2012
MALAGA AIRPORT - DESEMBOCADURA DEL RIO GUADALHORCE - SIERRA CRESTELLINA - GAUCIN
Weather: a beautiful sunny day, top temperature 25C, very light SW wind.
We had a marvellous start to our 7 day tour in Southern Spain. I collected the group of 6 at Malaga Airport at lunchtime and before we knew it we were birding at the Guadalhorce Nature Reserve. Our first 30 minutes was spent eating a picnic lunch on the west embankment where we saw plenty of species. Waders included Kentish and Ringed Plovers, Sanderling, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone. A Kingfisher flew up the river, Spotless Starlings sang from nearby rooftops, several Crested Larks flitted around and a couple of Sardinian Warblers did what they do best - hid in the tamarisk scrub. Oh I forgot to mention the noisy passage of sevarl flocks of Monk Parakeets.
Our walk to the Laguna Grande was also full of great sightings, more Kentish Plovers, a Hoopoe, Zitting Cisticola, Reed Warbler and lots of Barn Swallows. At the raised hide we were pleasantly surprised by the presence of a good selection of gulls, a pair of lovely Slender-billed Gulls were joined by Audouin's, Black-headed, Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls. Wow, that was good.
In the water it got even better with White-headed Duck, Black-necked Grebes (in summer plum.), Greater Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbill, Little Egret, Common Pochard, Gadwall and lots of Little Grebes. More waders included Red Knot (also in summer plum), Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilts and Dunlin looking very smart.
At the smaller laguna we found Purple Swamphen, Redshank and we had several views of Black-headed Weaver (escaped birds now breeding here). On the return route to the minibus we added Red-rumped Swallows, these little beauties were collecting mud from the side of a puddle (from the recent rains), they allowed close approached and were much appreciated by the group. A couple of Collared Pratincoles hunted insects high above us, a second Hoopoe flew over and a Bee-eater was located from its call.We had logged nearly 60 species and we left well satisfied with our first outing.
After an hours drive we stopped at Sierra Crestellina, near Casares, where we focused our attention on the Bonelli's Eagle nest. The chick was visible, and now well grown, a parent bird arrived to feed it, it was another great species for our list. Also in good supply were Griffon Vulture, Woodchat Shrike, Corn Bunting, Thekla Lark, Stonechat and a single Melodious Warbler. We also had sightings of Red-billed Chough, Crag Martin, Egyptian Vulture (a pair that I think is breeding there) , Common Kestrel, Booted Eagle and a perched Short-toed Eagle.
We arrived at Gaucin at 6:30pm and settled into our rooms before enjoying the bird-log and a delicious home cooked meal made by wifey Dawn, ta darling!!!
Weather: a beautiful sunny day, top temperature 25C, very light SW wind.
We had a marvellous start to our 7 day tour in Southern Spain. I collected the group of 6 at Malaga Airport at lunchtime and before we knew it we were birding at the Guadalhorce Nature Reserve. Our first 30 minutes was spent eating a picnic lunch on the west embankment where we saw plenty of species. Waders included Kentish and Ringed Plovers, Sanderling, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone. A Kingfisher flew up the river, Spotless Starlings sang from nearby rooftops, several Crested Larks flitted around and a couple of Sardinian Warblers did what they do best - hid in the tamarisk scrub. Oh I forgot to mention the noisy passage of sevarl flocks of Monk Parakeets.
Our walk to the Laguna Grande was also full of great sightings, more Kentish Plovers, a Hoopoe, Zitting Cisticola, Reed Warbler and lots of Barn Swallows. At the raised hide we were pleasantly surprised by the presence of a good selection of gulls, a pair of lovely Slender-billed Gulls were joined by Audouin's, Black-headed, Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls. Wow, that was good.
In the water it got even better with White-headed Duck, Black-necked Grebes (in summer plum.), Greater Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbill, Little Egret, Common Pochard, Gadwall and lots of Little Grebes. More waders included Red Knot (also in summer plum), Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilts and Dunlin looking very smart.
At the smaller laguna we found Purple Swamphen, Redshank and we had several views of Black-headed Weaver (escaped birds now breeding here). On the return route to the minibus we added Red-rumped Swallows, these little beauties were collecting mud from the side of a puddle (from the recent rains), they allowed close approached and were much appreciated by the group. A couple of Collared Pratincoles hunted insects high above us, a second Hoopoe flew over and a Bee-eater was located from its call.We had logged nearly 60 species and we left well satisfied with our first outing.
After an hours drive we stopped at Sierra Crestellina, near Casares, where we focused our attention on the Bonelli's Eagle nest. The chick was visible, and now well grown, a parent bird arrived to feed it, it was another great species for our list. Also in good supply were Griffon Vulture, Woodchat Shrike, Corn Bunting, Thekla Lark, Stonechat and a single Melodious Warbler. We also had sightings of Red-billed Chough, Crag Martin, Egyptian Vulture (a pair that I think is breeding there) , Common Kestrel, Booted Eagle and a perched Short-toed Eagle.
We arrived at Gaucin at 6:30pm and settled into our rooms before enjoying the bird-log and a delicious home cooked meal made by wifey Dawn, ta darling!!!
LESVOS - 7 DAY TOUR - LAST DAY 5TH MAY 2012
Kalloni Salt Pans - Skala
Kalloni – Mytiline Airport.
Some of the
group decided to go out early on the last morning and the others took a
leisurely walk around the village and the hotel grounds.
Our outing at
6:30am was to the salt pans at Kalloni where a Dalmatian Pelican had been seen the previous night coming in to
roost. Sure enough there it was sitting like a giant prehistoric bird amongst
the much smaller Avocets. We saw it
in flight a couple of times and a bit later sitting on the dead-calm sea in
Kalloni Bay.
In the meantime
we spent an looking into the flooded field behind the pans, it was full of
birds. There was a good variety of waders as well as herons and egrets but no Glossy Ibis. Over the hour our
highlights were: a single Garganey,
Spotted Redshank, summer plumaged Curlew
Sandpipers, Little Stint, a huge number of Ruff, 2 Greenshank, Avocets,
Black-winged Stilts, Ruddy Shelduck, Little Ringed Plover and lots of Squacco Herons which looked fabulous in
the early morning light as the orange sunlight enhanced their beautiful
plummage. Flying over the pools were good numbers of Terns, Common, Little and White-winged as well as several Whiskered Terns.
We set off back
to hotel for an 8am breakfast before departing for the airport at 9:30am. One
last stop at Dipi Larisos along the way to the airport proved fruitless as we
search for a Spur-winged Plover that
had been been on a number of occasions over the last few days.
After
checking-in our hold luggage we were able to sit on the beach and watch Scolopi’s Shearwaters in the distance
and the last bird of note for the trip list was a Honey Buzzard that drifted over the distance hills beyond the
airfield. Our flight was on time and we arrived back in London mid-afternoon,
it was 9C and raining, oh........ to be back on a Greek Island in 25C
again.......I am looking forward to next year’s trip already.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
LESVOS - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 7 MAY 4TH 2012
TISKNIAS RIVER - MADAROS - NAPI VALLEY - PLANTANIA - MESA - KALLONI SALT PANS - TSIKNIAS RIVER
BIRD OF THE DAY - GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO
Our last full day and another fantastic one, wall to wall sunshine, the wind had shifted to the north so it was a little cooler.
We set off at 8am in search of new species to add to our list, but before we did that, we visited the Tsiknias River to try to see the Spotted Crake for a second time because some of the group never had good views of it the first time around. Unfortunately the bird had gone, but we did see Great Reed Warbler, Bee-eater and a good number of Wood Sandpipers.
We then took a track from the Upper Tisknias river to Madaros where we searched for a Rufous Bush Robin. As soon as we got out of the bus we heard it singing and quickly located it on the top of a bush, great result, a smashing bird. We also had good views of Cirl Bunting, Black-eared Wheatear and a Long-legged Buzzard flew over.
We then drove round to the Napi Valley and stopped just after the village of Napi. The air was full of bird song and it wasn't long before we found some good species. The best was, of course, Great Spotted Cuckoo, we found two of them and had great, extensive views of them. Other species seen were Hoopoe, Masked Shrike, Turtle Dove, Sombre Tit, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Woodlark, Jay, Long-legged and Common Buzzard and lots of common species.
We drove back toi Kalloni and on to Mesa where we sat on a bridge overlooking the marsh whilst we ate our picnic lunch.The marsh held several species, Squaaco Heron and Purple Heron, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Little Stint, Ruddy Shelduck, Little Egret and a few pairs of Black-winged Stilts.
We then followed the road along the south of the Kalloni Bay passing Achladeri and into some olive groves where we stopped and looked for Olive Tree Warbler, again. However none were calling, we did see plenty of Masked Shrikes, Bee-eaters, Olivaceous Warbler and a Raven.
It was now late afternoon so we drove back to the hotel in Skala Kalloni where some of the group decided to call it a day. The rest of us decided to have a mini bird-race and set off to find 50 species in 3 hours and only visiting areas around Skala Kalloni.
We achevied our goal in 2 hours 30mins by visiting both the Tsiknias and Christou rivers and the Salt Pans. We had great views of Long-eared Owl one of our first birds.
At 7pm we concluded the birding for the day.
BIRD OF THE DAY - GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO
We set off at 8am in search of new species to add to our list, but before we did that, we visited the Tsiknias River to try to see the Spotted Crake for a second time because some of the group never had good views of it the first time around. Unfortunately the bird had gone, but we did see Great Reed Warbler, Bee-eater and a good number of Wood Sandpipers.
RUFOUS BUSH ROBIN
We then took a track from the Upper Tisknias river to Madaros where we searched for a Rufous Bush Robin. As soon as we got out of the bus we heard it singing and quickly located it on the top of a bush, great result, a smashing bird. We also had good views of Cirl Bunting, Black-eared Wheatear and a Long-legged Buzzard flew over.
BLACK STORK
Grass Snake
Following the excitement of the cuckoo we visited an area called Platania where we hoped to see Olive Tree Warbler. After an hour or so we gave up, not a single bird was seen or heard. The Olive Tree Warbler is a late arriving migrant which normally arrives during the first few days of May.We drove back toi Kalloni and on to Mesa where we sat on a bridge overlooking the marsh whilst we ate our picnic lunch.The marsh held several species, Squaaco Heron and Purple Heron, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Little Stint, Ruddy Shelduck, Little Egret and a few pairs of Black-winged Stilts.
We then followed the road along the south of the Kalloni Bay passing Achladeri and into some olive groves where we stopped and looked for Olive Tree Warbler, again. However none were calling, we did see plenty of Masked Shrikes, Bee-eaters, Olivaceous Warbler and a Raven.
It was now late afternoon so we drove back to the hotel in Skala Kalloni where some of the group decided to call it a day. The rest of us decided to have a mini bird-race and set off to find 50 species in 3 hours and only visiting areas around Skala Kalloni.
We achevied our goal in 2 hours 30mins by visiting both the Tsiknias and Christou rivers and the Salt Pans. We had great views of Long-eared Owl one of our first birds.
At 7pm we concluded the birding for the day.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
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
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.
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.
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!
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
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
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!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
LESVOS - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 5 MAY 2ND 2012
ACHLADERI - DIMITRIOS - VATERA - AGIOS FOKOS - KALLONI SALT PANS - TSIKNIAS RIVER
BIRD OF THE DAY - KRUPER'S NUTHATCH
BIRD OF THE DAY - KRUPER'S NUTHATCH
KRUPER'S NUTHATCH (PHOTO BY STEPHEN LEES)
It got hotter still today and there was hardly a breeze, so we took it very leisurely and kept mainly to woodland birding.
We set off from the hotel at 8am and drove directly to Achladeri to the pine woods where the Kruper's Nuthatch breeds. After a short walk into the forest we found a beautiful Woodlark, it was carrying food for its young.
WOODLARK
We also saw Cirl Bunting and we heard a Common Cuckoo. We worked our way deeper into the wood until eventually we found a Kruper's Nuthatch, it was also carrying food, we watched it drop down to a nest hole (see picture above) where we all enjoyed great views. Whilst watching the Nuthatch we found a pair of Short-toed Treecreepers which were feeding in nearby trees.
From Achladeri we drove up the mountains to Dimitrios where we spent some time looking for more woodland species we also stopped for coffee. Species found included: Serin, Wren, Red-rumped Swallow, Crag Martin, Short-toed Eagle, Common Buzzard and Long-legged Buzzard.
SERIN
At Vaterea we had a great time on the bridge over the Alimortopatos
River just west of this lovely seaside town. Just below the bridge on
the concrete wier we found a superb Citrine Wagtail, a Little Stint, a
Common Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover.
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER
We drove a short way upriver and took lunch by a ford where we watched both House and Spanish Sparrows bathing with Goldfinch and Black-headed Bunting. Whilst eating our food an Olivaceous Warbler sang from a nearby bush and a Little Bittern flew across the reeds.
At the small headland at Agios Fokos we saw both Yelkouan's and Scolopi's Shearwaters out in the bay, European Shag on the rocks and on the land we watched Sardinian Warblers, Whinchat, Woodchat Shrike, Red-backed Shrike and more Black-headed Buntings.
We headed back to Kalloni at 4pm making a brief stop at Makara Marshes where we saw a couple of Purple Herons, Squacco Heron, Ruddy Shelduck and a Little Grebe. Our tour of the Salt Pans finished off the day, we saw many of the usual species and added Marsh Sandpiper to our trip list. Last port of call was the mouth of the Tsiknias river where two Oystercatchers were joined by aRuddy Turnstone which was also a new species for the trip. We finshed at 7pm - it was a long day but it we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
LESVOS - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 4 - 1ST MAY 2012
BIRD OF THE DAY: LITTLE CRAKE
It got too hot today, up to 30 C in the afternoon, a very slow birding day with nothing major to report. We set off at 6:15am to Metochi Lake just noirth of Kalloni. We saw 5 Little Crakes, one or two showed extremely well and the group had excellent views. Not much else was on show.
GREAT WHITE EGRET - SHOWING ITS FACIAL BREEDING PLUMMAGE
THE GROUP STANDING ON THE 8.5 METER HIGH KREMASTI BRIDGE (16TH CENTURY)
At Petra we stopped at Kavaki on the coast road and spent a nice hour watching Ruppell's Warblers on two breeding territories. We also found Subalpine Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Turtle Dove and Blue Rock Thrush.
RED-THROATED PIPIT - NOT MUCH OF A RED THROAT YET!
Other birds seen on the res were Ruddy Shelduck and a Grey Heron. We ate our lunch on the beach at Eftalou, it was cooler there and we saw a Shag and several groups of Yelkouan Shearwaters from there.The afternoon got really hot, we spent our time in the shade of trees whislt looking for raptors and woodland species along tracks in the Napi valley; we found Red-footed Falcon, Hobby, Common Buzzard, Short-toed Eagle, Raven and a Common Kestrel. Woodland species included: Sombre Tit, Hoopoe, Common Cuckoo, Turlte Dove and lots of common species.
At the Salt pans we saw all the usual species with noteable additions of: Collared Pratincole (2), Red-footed Falcon (8), Black Stork, Garganey (2) and Stone Curlew.
We got back to hotel at 7pm. it had been a long hot day, but we enjoyed it emensely and logged nearly 100 species!!!
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