News from the island

The weather is cloudy, warm and humid. Water levels remain high, much higher than last year, and Eleni Galinou says she expects good surface water to remain for the next couple of weeks. Check the weather using the link on the right.

More hides!
A hide is currently being erected on the west side of Christou River (the west river – turn down the track on west side of the road bridge), a shade has been erected over part of the old road bridge here also. At Parakila Marsh there is a new hide being finished (take the track nearest the village). Eleni also says there are new wildlife information boards being erected in several places too.

Above - the new sun shade at the old road bridge over Christou River

The new screen being erected at the western side of Christou River. This will prove popular and looks over a rather neglected area

But what of the birds I hear you cry!

Here is a run down of birds seen by Eleni on 4 April –

Kalloni saltpans – 25 Greenshank, 4 Marsh Sandpiper, 3 Black Stork, 15 Black-winged stilts, 10 Avocets (around nesting islands), 2 Stone-curlew, 3 Great White Egret, 26 Little Egret, 1 (fem) Marsh Harrier.

Between Mesotopos and Agra – 5 male Cinereous Buntings, 2 Short-toed Eagles, 1 Long-legged Buzzard, a male Lesser Kestrel and a probable Eleonora's Falcon.

Skala Eresou (from the new bridge by the old river ford) – a male Citrine Wagtail (early), yellow wagtails including Black-headed and Squacco Heron.

Mute Swan at Parakila Marsh. A few winter around the island with the odd bird lingering in to spring

Photos © Eleni Galinou

Kalloni Saltpans and surrounds

News from Lesvos birder Eleni Galinou is that the rain keeps falling and surface water levels continue to improve. The rivers are flowing and seasonal pools such as those above, opposite the entrance to Kalloni Saltpans, are holding plenty of water which should, barring an early heatwave, stay into May. Its whetting my lips for when I get out their on the 17th!.

Here is the second hide to be erected overlooking the Kalloni Saltpans. As you can see by the salt mound in the left of the image, this is near the saltpans entrance looking north. The Google Earth image below shows you the position of both hides.

Eleni has also heard that there might be a hide being erected at Parakila Marsh. Question is, why? This latter site has been in decline over the years and very few birders now bother to watch it. Perhaps a hide might encourage more to stop and perhaps more might be seen. We'll see.

Here's something that UK birders aren't familiar with. A flock of migrating Grey Herons! This flock of 28 birds went straight over the saltpans to the north on 5 April along with a flock of 12 Glossy Ibis. So things certainly on the move.

Eleni also reported the following from the Kalloni Saltpans on 5 April - 10 Ruddy shelduck, 7 Black-tailed Godwit , 5-6 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 13 Kentish Plover, 6 Black-winged Stilt, 8 Little Egret, 3 Great White Egret and 210 Avocet.

Photos © Eleni Galinou

Scopoli's Shearwater

Scopoli's (Cory's) Shearwater (c) Lesvos Wildlife Hospital.

Now here's one of the more unusual finds the Lesvos Wildlife Hospital has to cope with. This Scopoli's Shearwater was found on the beach at Skala Eresou on 20 March. It weighed only 414g (should be 700-800g) and today it weighs 626g, so successful release is expected shortly!

Lesvos holiday checklists available

Order your Lesvos holiday checklists here. For a PDF of the species accounts see further below.

Checklists include 8-day tick columns for birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles. Available for spring and autumn (please state which). £2.50 each (inc. p&p).

Cheques only for £2.50 payable to SP Dudley to -

SP Dudley, Lesvos Birding, PO Box 417, Peterborough PE7 3FX.

NOTE - I cannot process orders received AFTER 20 April.

Sample page.

FULL SPECIES ACCOUNTS

The latest draft of the species account from my forthcoming book A Birdwatchers Guide to Lesvos (Arlequin Press, due August 2009). I can send you a PDF of this chapter. This is an extended version of what appears on on this website.

Cheques only for £2.50 payable to SP Dudley to -
SP Dudley, Lesvos Birding, PO Box 417, Peterborough PE7 3FX.
NOTE - I cannot process orders received AFTER 20 April.

The sad side of Lesvos

This Common Buzzard was found in Mechálochori near Plomari. Lesvos Wildlife Hospital has reported it to the relevant island authorities.

Visiting birders might want to think about informing their hoteliers, guest house folk or whoever you stay with on Lesvos that incidents such as this can only damage their tourist industry, not help it!

Photo courtesy of Lesvos Wildlife Hospital.

March 08 bird news

Black-winged Stilts, Kalloni Saltpans, 22 March 2008 © Eleni Galinou

These stilts were part of 50+ present around the saltpans in mid-March. Eleni also reports 35+ Ruddy Shelduck in fields by the saltpans and numbers of Swifts and hirundines present from around the 20th and Northern Wheatear and Hoopoe seen on the 22 March.

Joris and Ineke Peeters-Lenglet at the Lesvos Wildlife Hospital tell me they had the first House Martins on 14 March and Common Swifts on 18 March, and the pair of White Storks that nest on the olive oil factory in Agai Paraskevi returned on the 28 March. The pair of disabled Barn Owls at the Wildlife Hospital are breeding and have four eggs!

I hope to be able to include more regular bird news updates from Eleni in coming weeks ahead of the main birding season starting on 17 April (when I myself will be present on the island for three weeks). Anyone with news from the islands can email me at steve(at)toadsnatcher.com (work it out!) and I will carry worthy records on here as part of my more regular spring updates.

Cattle Egret, nr Sigri, December 2007

Cattle Egret, 26/12/2007, near Sigri seen by E. Kakalis and L. Grybilakou (photo E. Kakalis).

Not the large influx of Cattle Egrets seen in the UK this winter, but one for Lesvos is an excellent find given that there is next to no coverage of the island in mid-winter. This is only the sixth record for Lesvos since 1995, the first since 2002, and like the UK, it was part of an influx (64 records of 127 birds) into Greece during 2007.