Lesvos 1st/15th May 2008
Scop's
Scops Owl. This little beauty was seen roosting in roadside trees just outside Kalloni.
Nuthatches & Woodpecker
Krupers Nuthatch actively feeding young in a small tree stump nest site at Achladeri
Rock Nuthatch nest site near the Inland Lake. The most amazing nest I've ever seen.
Middle Spotted Woodpecker Nest site in a dead popular tree.
Bunt's & finch's
Cinerous Bunting sightings at Ipsilou was one of the weeks highlights, as this difficult to find bird was watched from just a few feet away on several occasions catching Crickets.
Black Headed Bunting were seen daily throughout the 2 weeks.
Corn Bunting a very common bird throughout
Cirl Bunting singing male at Ipsilou Monestry.
Rock Sparrow I just couldn't get anywhere near to this bird for a decent photo.
Linnet at Faneromeni Ford
Greenfinch Skala Kallonis pool
Bittern
male
Little Bittern hunting Marsh Frogs in a small pond just outside Anaxos.
Redthroat
One of several
Red-throated Pipit seen on Kalloni Salt Pans.
Flycatcher's
Collared Flycatcher in the small pine plantation near Faneromeni Ford
This one took some working out. Grey rump and worn white tips to the inner median covets that are just visible, very possibly a Semi-Collared Flycatcher. This bird was again in the Faneromeni Ford area.
Shrikes & Cuckoo
Red-Backed Shrike the most common shrike seen on the island.
Lesser-Grey Shrike the rarest of the shrikes with only a few birds seen.
Woodchat Shrike fairly common in the north of the Island.
This Great-Spotted Cuckoo showed down to 30ft preening for over half an hour at Petra, Just a shame the it is obscured by so many branches.
Subalpine
Subalpine Warbler. This confining individual was photographed at Petra
Isabelline & Rosey Starling
Isabelline Wheatear seen in the crossroads area towards Ipsilou
10 Rose Colored Starling seen on the last day of the holiday feeding in a mulberry tree at Kalloni Salt Pans.
Turtle Dove
It was nice to see so many Turtle Dove passing through the island as these birds seem to get scarcer each year in the UK.
Marsh Tern
Whiskered Tern at the Inland Lake.
Ruff, Stilt, Stints and Curlew Sand
Ruff numbers increased throughout the 2 weeks at Kalloni salt pans.
Black Winged Stilt. breeding in good numbers on Kalloni Salt Pans.
Little Stint.Numbers increased steadily throughout the 2 weeks.
Curlew Sandpiper were present in good numbers on the second week.
Spotshank & Spur-winged
This was the only Spotted Redshank I saw this year.
Stork
This was the only White Storknest that we could find.
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Shelduck. I had lots of sightings of this very smart duck throughout the 2 weeks.