Friday 18th April 2008
Skala Kalloni. Lesbos.
The contrast between the busy Gatwick airport and the rudimentary Mytillini airport on Lesbos was endearing and greatly impressed me as an indicator of how enjoyable this holiday should be without the mass tourism of other resorts. There was just one runway and a small terminal building which the plane pulled up to as close as it could. You could kid yourself into thinking the staff were surprised a plane had even turned up. The best I witnessed during the coach transfer to Skala Kalloni was a couple of Blue Rock Thrushes. There was a two hour shift forward between Lesbos and back home but it did not take too long to get used to it.
After a decent breakfast this morning, we popped into Skala Kalloni to get a few things then I lazed on the balcony of our apartment in the Pasiphae Hotel. A few Spanish Sparrows were in some trees close to the balcony with some Hooded Crows a bit further out. Hooded Crow is the common corvid. Not a single Carrion Crow was seen during the next two weeks. Many Swallows, House Martins and Common Swifts were in the air and a flock of Squacco or Night Herons drifted past. This was the stuff, decent birds whilst lounging on the balcony in the sunshine.
In the afternoon I had a look at the River Christou also frequently termed by birders as the West River simply due to lying west of Skala Kalloni. Just outside the Pasiphae Hotel, there was a marshy pool with a large amount of reed and small trees known as Kalloni Pool. Some excellent birds were on it such as Wood Sandpipers, a Little Ringed Plover, smart black headed male feldegg Yellow Wagtails, a Squacco Heron, a drake Garganey and a Sedge Warbler. There were a couple of small colourful lizards with bright green stripes on their backs. My best guess is they were Balkan Wall Lizards. There were also several Stripe-necked Terrapins of various sizes and we were to see loads of these wherever there was water.
Yellow-legged Gulls, a Great Crested Grebe and some Common Terns were noted in the vast Kalloni Bay before turning west along the beach towards the river. A stray dog took pity on me and provided company all the way. Wherever I stopped to check some birds, it would stop and wait for me to start off again. I called him David for no particular reason. I went off the dog as soon as it stopped to wolf down some maggot ridden excrement. Understandably, I actively discouraged the dog from following me.
Birds seen on the river and saltmarsh were eight Wood Sandpipers, two Kentish Plovers, plenty of Crested Larks, several Corn Buntings, a Black Stork, a Great White Egret, four Ruff, a male Marsh Harrier and a Glossy Ibis. There was also a ringtail harrier species that was too far off on the other bank with a strong heat haze in between. It would probably have been a Montagu‘s Harrier but both Pallid and Hen Harriers can not be dismissed.
On the way back to the hotel, I got lost but it allowed me to enjoy watching a White Stork flying over. In the evening, we walked into Skala Kalloni again and negotiated a hire car for ten days from Sunday. It was a good first day with plenty of quality birds of which some posed really well for photographs. A few butterflies were also noted including Swallowtails, Clouded Yellows and some white species that were too mobile to identify.
Saturday 19th April 2008
Skala Kalloni. Lesbos.
After breakfast, we walked out to the River Tsiknias east of Skala Kalloni. Kalloni Pool had some Squacco Herons and Wood Sandpipers. The river and surrounding arable fields were an avian goldmine. There was a wonderful lemon headed male Citrine Wagtail at the ford. A few birders came round to admire it. It was showing well enough to get some half decent pictures. Other birds seen were a female Marsh Harrier, a Black Stork, two Little Ringed Plovers, a female Sparrowhawk, two Whitethroats and three Eastern Olivaceous Warblers. There were plenty of butterflies too such as Scarce Swallowtail, Swallowtail, Eastern Bath White and a probable Spotted Fritillary.
An afternoon visit to the River Christou yielded two Great White Egrets, loads of Wood Sandpipers, four Little Stints, a Ruddy Shelduck, Black-winged Stilt, feldegg Yellow Wagtails and a Little Ringed Plover having a minor altercation with a Kentish Plover.
I had managed a few photographs today with the light being adequate and many birds confiding enough. At the end of the day, I spoke to a birder back at the hotel who had a good haul today courtesy of having the valuable mobility of a car. Many of what he saw would be new to me so I look forward to getting the car tomorrow.
Sunday 20th April 2008
Ahladeri, Messa & Kalloni Saltpans. Lesbos.
We collected our car from Dimitris in Skala Kalloni straight after breakfast. It was a Daewoo Matiz at two hundred Euros for ten days. Not cheap but a lot less than the major car hire firms. It was not pristine but looked decent enough to get around. We would not worry about this car as much as we would with a brand new car from someone else.
Immediately, we drove eastwards round Kalloni Bay to Ahladeri with a target of seeing one of the islands lucrative specialities, a Krüper’s Nuthatch. After parking up in the shade, we set off for an exploratory walk around the pine wood. There were plenty of wonderful birds such as a Masked Shrike, four Short-toed Treecreepers, three Black-eared Wheatears, two Cirl Buntings, a Hobby, a Common Buzzard and a probable Lesser Kestrel.
All this was quite enjoyable but I was growing frustrated not having connected with the bird I came to see. After three or four hours of searching, there was one track left to search but I was thinking of heading away in defeat. I decided to have a look anyway and thankfully, at the top of the ascending track, there was a pair of Krüper’s Nuthatches bringing food to a nest in a pine tree stump of about five or six foot tall. I was so elated with this discovery. The birds were quite tolerant of me. I was able to get some reasonable photographs without causing any undue disturbance to the feeding process.
From here we returned towards Kalloni with a stop at Messa to scan a salt marsh also known as ‘Derbyshire’ simply because a granite outcrop reminds some birders of the Peak District. Birds noted were a Subalpine Warbler, Red-rumped Swallows, Ruddy Shelducks and Shelducks. There was a linear procession of hundreds of goats making their own way along the road then on to the salt marsh exposed by the falling tide for a feed. It was an amazing sight and went on for ages.
A brief visit to Kalloni Saltpans on the way back produced Yellow Wagtails, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Greenshanks, three Whiskered Terns, a large flock of Flamingo and some Avocets.
An evening stroll down to Kalloni Pool was good for seeing a Great Reed Warbler. It was a satisfactory day today and with any luck tomorrow will be just as good as we will try to see a Cinereous Bunting.