This was really a chill-out holiday with the wife but did some birding which may be of interest to those who have been there before or are thinking of going.
Stayed at Katelios in the south of the island - a lovely, quiet resort with fields and olive groves etc in the vicinity. Most of the island is mountainous.
Common around Katelios ;goldfinch,greenfinch,house sparrow,jay,house martin,swallow,red-rumped swallow,cetti's warbler,olivaceous warbler,sardinian warbler,buzzard,yellow-legged gull,crested lark,woodchat,blackbird,blue tit,chaffinch,kestrel,swift.Scops calling every evening,single sightings of hooded crow,kentish plover,bee-eater,short-toed eagle and a possible lanner.
Skala headland single black-headed bunting singing,kentish plovers and corn buntings plus large whip snake.
Livadi marsh very disappointing (supposed to be the best site) and difficult to view/access; little egrets,grey herons,crested larks,hooded crow.Highlight was nearby pee-stop when both me and the wife stepped over a nose-horned viper in a ditch which i noticed on the return to the car!
Mt Einos the best spot I found . Not the mountain itself but the junction where the road up the mountain leaves the main road (little chapel there ) Short-toed eagle,pair long-legged buzzards,stonechat,black-eared wheatears,linnets,Cretzschmar's bunting singing.
Also seen/heard;cuckoo,raven,cirl bunting,mute swan,moorhen.
There was an influx of two-tailed pasha's at the end of the week.
The one bird I needed was Rock Partridge but not able to find one despite trying.They are probably high up on the mountains at this time of year and access is difficult.
A very pleasant holiday destination and nice to see the familiar Med. birds again.
Best part of the marsh is right at the back ( away from the road) but there's no paths . There was plenty of water in the nearest section but very few birds. It surprised me that there were no waders (e,g, avocets or stilts ).
Another surprise was that I only heard one nightingale while the habitat looked good. had they stopped singing already? On Lesbos last year at exactly the same week, they were everywhere !