Thursday 24th April
This was a day that I'd been eagerly waiting for. The day when we'd be taken out to a different part of Lesvos in search of some of the birds, and especially one in particular, that I was most interested in seeing, although to be fair I've said that of every day so far. We made an early start, heading out eastwards this time back towards the island's capital, Mytilini. Our primary destination was to an area of coastal heath known as Charamida Scrubland where there was a small population of Rüppell's Warbler, my number one target for the whole trip. Ever since I'd first encountered a Dartford Warbler on Dunwich Heath, the Sylvia family of warblers have been a firm favourite of mine and I'm always keen to see them.
After leaving the main road and heading south-eastwards towards the airport via the largely unused alternative route, we first came to the small village of Loutra, which would also form a part of the day's itinerary, but for now we didn't stop and instead continued on the narrow, and once again empty road. As we neared the scrubland, the road widened into a two lane brand new paved highway. The new surface hadn't attracted much new traffic though, I think we saw just one other vehicle on it in all the time since we'd left Loutra. Suddenly without any warning, Paul (substitute driver on this trip and for the rest of the holiday) pulled into a small lay-by on a bend. Andy and I parked up alongside. Just like that we'd arrived. Absolutely not what I was expecting at all.
We got out of the car and Anne asked me, 'have I seen the partridge?'. Now I knew from my home work that only one form of partridge occurs on Lesvos so I was instantly aghast when she went on to say, after I'd replied 'where?'; 'there, in front of the car!' I walked to where she was indicating and could see nothing, just a vast scrubby hillside dropping down to the sea. I shrugged my shoulders and again asked, 'where exactly'. 'There, right by the car' came the reply. All of the others were already watching the Chukar scratching away at the sandy ground beneath some scraggy vegetation. I hadn't clocked it because it was literally just a metre or two away from the cars. I had to back away to a more respectable distance in order to take photographs. The bird didn't care what any of us did, and just kept on grubbing out its breakfast. That male Chukar was of course another lifer for us and another one that showed no fear and posed incredibly well.
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| Chukar |
We stayed with the Chukar for a few minutes while the gang organised themselves into a plan of action. I carried on taking more photos but was struggling to get a clear view of the bird because it was now almost underneath one of the cars! The Chukar very closely resembles the Red-legged Partridge, as it does the other two species in the group (Rock & Barbary Partridges), but lacks the spotted throat and upper breast below the black "neck-shawl". Fortunately there is no overlap in the ranges of the four separate species so there should never be any confusion as to which one is being looked at, provided you know where you are.
The birding at Charamida is done from the roadside, there should be no access to the scrub itself unless permitted to do so. In the UK it would be dangerous to bird from a public highway with lots of speeding traffic to endure, and evade. Here on Lesvos, it was no more dangerous than walking in your own back garden. The road was absolutely traffic free. We spread out along the road, Jason and Peter walked way off downhill to a track where they'd seen a Rüppell's Warbler the year before. We stayed with Paul and Vicky, I had a sneaky hunch that Paul would be on form, and we could cover both sides of the road from our chosen vantage point. Andy and Hannah were concentrating on another area closer to the parking areas.
We could hear lots of warbler song, many different types of scratchy noises were emanating from the dense cover of the hillsides although none were very visible. However, it was a totally different type of bird that we'd see next when Andy joined us and pointed out a flock of Yelkouan Shearwaters that were following a fishing boat just offshore at the foot of the cliffs. Despite probably being further away than the ones seen from Makara beach the previous day, these were actually easier to see, and to get a record shot of, because at this early hour (it wasn't yet nine o'clock) there wasn't any heat shimmer. You can almost make out some of the transient details that separate Yelkouan from our familiar Manx Shearwaters. In any case, it was safe to assume that the Shearwaters were of the Yelkouan variety because, as with the Chukar seen before, the ranges of the two species do not overlap. Manx Shearwaters do not venture this far into the Mediterranean Sea.
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| Yelkouan Shearwater |
I returned to listening to the scratchy warbler songs. With the morning warming up, birds were becoming more animated and we could see several moving around. Paul picked out a Sardinian Warbler moving low down in a bush but I failed to get on it. My company assured me that most of the song was coming from Subalpine Warblers. Up to that point my only (possible) experience of an Eastern Subalpine Warbler, the species that could be encountered on Lesvos, was of a (possible) female bird in the Cot Valley in Cornwall. That bird had been extremely elusive and when I, and others, did eventually see it, the views were considered inadequate to differentiate it between the Western or Eastern species. I had seen a male Western Subalpine Warbler extremely well on Portland last year (see a previous blog) so an Eastern Subalpine Warbler seen here would be a virtual lifer. However, none of us could quite pin any birds down, and all sightings were frustratingly brief.
My big claim to fame came a few minutes later. Paul and I had been listening intently to a warbler singing below us. At times it sounded quite close, but with no other noises to interrupt the general silence other than a slight breeze rustling the trees and bushes, it was hard to pinpoint the actual source area. I set to scanning the tops of prominent bushes and soon heard myself shouting, probably too loudly it seemed to my own ears, 'it's a Rüppell's Warbler, a male Rüppell's!' The Rüppell's Warbler was perched up on the top of a small bush about fifty metres away and was unmistakable with a white moustache set amongst a black head. I couldn't believe my luck. My first Rüppell's Warbler and I had found it myself. I felt doubly delighted!
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| Rüppell's Warbler (male) |
We beckoned the others to join us, the Rüppell's Warbler was a much sought after prize for all of us. Of course, by the time we were all assembled the bird had disappeared but at least we knew that there was one there and so we waited for it to pop up again. Paul and I thought that the Rüppell's had flown closer to us but when we caught sight of a bird moving quickly through the scrub not more than twenty metres away, it turned out to be a very subdued plumaged female Eastern Subalpine Warbler. I grabbed a couple of record shots in the brief time it was visible. Now I was indeed sure that I had the species on my life list.
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| Eastern Subalpine Warbler (female) |
A singing bird on the hillside above the opposite side of the road had us swinging round to see what it was. The bird was perched up prominently and the lovely brick-red throat and white moustache denoted it as a fine male Eastern Subalpine Warbler. It wasn't particularly close and it also was on view very briefly but it was there and presented an easy target for my camera. Therefore I was extremely disappointed to obtain only poor blurred shots of the bird. Sometimes I just don't get it right. I hoped I'd get another chance. Sadly, I didn't.
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| Eastern Subalpine Warbler (male) |
My chagrin didn't last long because the Rûppell's Warbler had appeared again. It was closer, although that hardly made any difference to my photographic abilities. I was having great trouble in getting my camera and lens to focus on anything. A small bird on the top of a bush, although easy to see and watch, was defeating the autofocus on the camera. I tried several settings and failed time and time again to get a good capture. The "best" bird of the trip and I couldn't get my act together. I guess I just needed the bird at closer hand.
When the male Rüppell's Warbler appeared in a spindly conifer tree half the original distance away, I thought that I had my chance to correct my earlier failings. Once again though, I struggled, mainly this time because the bird was extremely furtive among the branches and needles of the fir tree. It didn't require much in which to hide behind. Even when the bird flitted up on to an exposed branch of a nearby dead tree, I wasn't quick enough to get a focussed image. I wasn't too downcast though, because seeing the Rüppell's Warbler was the highlight among many highlights of the holiday so far. That little black & grey bird would take some beating.
I would happily have stayed for much longer but our friends had other delights to track down for us to see. If I ever get back to Lesvos, I will make for this spot again, probably straight away from the airport. Sylvia warblers are definitely my bag and I want to see more. We walked slowly back to the cars. The birds were singing less now anyway, settling down as the heat of the day increased. We did hear and see a Cretzschmar's Bunting high up on a rocky hillside near to the car but there was no more sign of any warblers.
We all retraced the route back to Loutra. I had read about Loutra because it had become a regular site for Laughing Doves, a recent coloniser of Lesvos, spreading northwards from Africa in much the same fashion as Collared Doves had a century before. It could be presumed therefore that in time, Laughing Doves will become as common in the UK. We left the cars at the bottom of the village and walked uphill to wards the centre. According to Jason, a local cafe owner had encouraged a pair of Laughing Doves to feed outside of his establishment. When the others stopped abruptly ahead of us after we'd walked less than a hundred yards, I wondered why. Then I saw a Laughing Dove perched up on an overhead wire. I shouted, 'hey, look, a Laughing Dove!'. The rest of the gang I think were laughing at me, since they had stopped because we'd reached the aforementioned cafe and were staring at a Laughing Dove's nest which had been haphazardly placed upon a pipe extruding from a downstairs window of the apartment behind, and which I'd failed to notice. Still, I guess I had self-found my first Laughing Dove.
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| Laughing Dove |
The Laughing Dove, superficially resembling a Turtle Dove, was a fusion of soft pastel pinks, blues and greys. There was no neck collar, either complete or semi, although the throat patch was mottled. In flight, the white feathers of the tail were noticeable. This was a very alluring bird and another excellent addition to our burgeoning life list.
We settled down on the verandah of the cafe, thinking that the owner deserved our custom for caring and providing for the Doves. In. the small cobbled street there was piles of scattered seed but that street was possibly the busiest section of road I'd seen on Lesvos, with scooters, trucks and an endless stream of locals passing by. The birds, the majority of which were Collared Doves but also at least four adult Laughing Doves plus a few House Sparrows, had limited opportunities to drop down to feed. In the rare quiet moments though a few managed to snatch some seed, although the Laughing Doves weren't quite so brave and stayed up on the wires.
We sipped on the curious local coffee brew, which promised much more than it actually delivered, while watching the Doves, and discussing future plans for the day. I noticed one fly off the wires and land in a small straw filled yard on the opposite side of the street. I walked across and took some photos of the dove pecking around in the straw. It appeared to be selecting a piece to take back to its nest but rather comically couldn't determine which particular strand it wanted. There was me laughing at a dove. Funny that!
After downing a bottle of water to wash down the syrup that passed for coffee, Mrs Caley and I walked to the back of the taverna to view the Laughing Dove's nest. As we watched one of the adult birds delivered a piece of straw and added it to the nest. In an upper window was another nest, judging by the overspilling straw and twigs there. That too belonged to a Laughing Dove as evidenced when one flew off it a few moments later. Over our week on Lesvos, Laughing Doves were reported at several other localities throughout the island so they have taken a firm foothold.
Before we left Loutra, there was time for me to take a few more photos of the very willing subjects. A Laughing Dove in the UK, when it appears, will spark off a very eagerly awaited twitch for many birders. It was time to leave though; there was another Lesvos speciality on the agenda. When I reached our hire car, I noticed a piece of paper under the windscreen wiper. Curiously it was blank except for the number 556 written on it. Even more curious was the old Greek gent who stared at me from his chair on the porch of the building that I'd parked outside of and made me feel a little uneasy, as if I'd done something terribly wrong. I wanted to ask him if there was a problem but knew that we wouldn't be able to convert so I drove away and didn't look back.
We headed back towards Kalloni but turned south off the main road at Mesa wetlands towards Achlideri, a place that is rightly famous amongst any birders that have been to Lesvos or those that are planning to go there. There are pine forests at Achlideri that host a very rare breeding resident plus a couple of other sought after birds. We passed the wetlands at speed so we made a note to stop on the way back to have a better look at the Flamingos that we could see out on the marsh. We spotted a Great Egret stood on an old jetty as well. Apparently the earliest pioneer birders to Lesvos called this area "Derbyshire" because it reminded them of their home; I don't know that county very well so I'll take their word for it but like most of Lesvos it was again very scenic. Our tour leaders pulled into a picnic area on the edge of a forest and we spilled out into the pleasantly warm day.
In Scotland pine forests are our big thing, somewhere where we walk for hours hoping to catch sight of the number one bird, in our opinion; the Capercaillie. As far as I knew there were no Capercaillies on Lesvos but we were assured that we'd see a couple of unusual species whilst in the wood. We had barely moved fifty yards along the path and literally just entered the first conifers when our friends sharper hearing had picked up the call of a Serin. Careful scrutiny revealed the bird perched high up in a conifer tree, although it took me a fair while to actually pin it down despite helpful directions on where it was. I'd only seen a couple of Serins before, one near Barcelona (big story attached to that but irrelevant here), the other in Kent so excused myself for being so hopeless. Seen from underneath the bright yellow parts of the female bird was hard to distinguish so the streaky brownish bird blended in with the surroundings extremely well.
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| Serin |
We walked on, stopping when Andy found a Treecreeper. This bird was equally as hard to see as the Serin had been but eventually gave itself up for a few brief views although I couldn't get a photo of it. This was the first Treecreeper we'd seen in 2025, which was amazing in itself. Also using the range factor once more, this bird would be a Short-toed Treecreeper since our familiar Eurasian Treecreeper is not known to exist on the island. We'd probably seen a Short-toed Treecreeper before, on Jersey, where they also occur but overlap of the two species does occur there so I was never too sure. I never got a photo of that one either. But at least now I could be sure that I did have Short-toed Treecreeper on my list.
It was only a little further along the track until we reached the nest tree of the main target species. Krüper's Nuthatch is one of the most sought after species for birders visiting Lesvos. This small Nuthatch is only found in the pine forests of Lesvos and Turkey, plus a few other isolated spots around the Black Sea. We didn't have to search for the nest hole, situated high up a dead tree trunk, all we needed to do was find the half dozen birders who were already looking up at the nest. Keeping a good safe distance away we sat on a fallen log and watched as both parent birds made regular flights in and out of the nesting hole. We didn't stay long either, knowing that we shouldn't disturb such rare breeding birds. I took a few record shots and then left the birds in peace. If I visit Lesvos again, I'd spend more time in these woods, to see if I could find more of the interesting birds of the forest. I do enjoy forest birding after all.
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| Krüper's Nuthatch |
On the walk back to the car, Jason found us another Serin, this time a nice bright male. It wasn't that much easier to see though. It's amazing how tricky some colourful birds are to see at times in some habitats. Apparently the male bird was singing but I couldn't hear it. My constant tinnitus doesn't allow me to hear high-pitched songsters although I never had a problem with hearing the bird in Kent that I saw. A male Serin sound a bit like a trilling Firecrest. I can't hear them either anymore.
Our time in the woods was over. The others were heading straight back to Kalloni but I wanted to stop at Mesa and take some photos of the Flamingos. They were pretty close to the road as we drove to Achlideri and I wanted to improve on my efforts from the salt pans at Kalloni from earlier in the week. No surprise then that, by the time we'd pulled up alongside the Flamingo flock, they'd moved further out on the coastal marsh. They were still in the same lagoon though and in fact fitted into the viewfinder better than they would have if closer. Being slightly further away meant that the heat shimmer affected my photos more but it was just nice to sit and watch them at length anyway. I'd already decided that if we ever make a subsequent visit to Lesvos, which I hope we will, we'd book a fortnight so that we could spend longer just sitting and watching some of the birds rather than buzz around trying to get them all in half the time. I couldn't fault our friends at all though, they had delivered bird after bird, and lifer after lifer. The Krüper's Nuthatch was our twenty-fifth new bird of the trip. That can't be bad in less than five full days birding.
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| Greater Flamingo |
I spotted another much smaller bird weaving its way along the closest shore. The Greenshank wasn't as small as the Wood Sandpipers that were, of course, present as well, but with the metre plus high Greater Flamingos dwarfing it, it did look tiny. I'd been hoping for a Marsh Sandpiper on this holiday but it seemed as if we'd missed the passage of those by a week with many being reported a few days before we'd arrived. Birding on Lesvos is mostly about migrant birds and they pass through the island at different times. in our one short week, we'd luckily encounter some but miss out on others. I took a few more photos of one of the island's resident Greater Flamingos and then took us back into Skalla Kalloni for lunch and one of the mega ice-cream sundaes that we'd promised ourselves since seeing them on our first night there. It was a holiday!
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| Greenshank |
We were on our own now so decided to venture back out to the salt pans where I hoped the Spur-winged Plover would still be. It was and was parading along the near shore of the pump house pool. I parked up on the bridge and viewed the bird from the car, not choosing to drive down the track because there was another car there and the occupants were pointing their own cameras at the bird. So I stayed at the top and took photos from there. At least we could now appreciate the full height of the Plover as it walked through the millions of gnats that were going a long way to sustaining its existence. It was keeping loose company with a Black-winged Stilt.
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| Spur-winged Plover |
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| Black-winged Stilt |
I got bored with waiting for the other car to move, and wanted some of the close photos that the people inside it were getting for myself. I drove slowly and then waited for the Spur-winged Plover to walk slowly past. The marvellous bird put on a marvellous show, sauntering past at about ten feet away and giving me the chance to get unrivalled shots of it. I was absolutely delighted, this was a bird I had really wanted to see and this dispelled the slight disappointment of it being asleep the previous day. We were enjoying taking it easier, and had almost relaxed at last. The frantic start of the trip was forgotten.
The other car made to leave so I moved aside to let it past. Only then did I realise that it was Jason, Peter, Paul and Vicky inside! They had wondered why it had taken so long for me to drive down the track. We had a quick chat, me telling them how pleased I was to see the Spur-winged Plover up so close. Nonchalantly, as they got ready to leave, I was asked if I'd noticed the Temminck's Stint on the other side of the pool. Of course I hadn't, one of my faults is that I often get blinkered by one bird and fail to see what else is around. I had seen a Wood Sandpiper over there but now I put the opposite shore under closer scrutiny, I could see that it had company in the shape of a much smaller bird, the Temminck's Stint. We'd seen lots of Temminck's Stints in the past but had never had a really close view so this breeding plumaged bird feeding about thirty metres away was probably our best yet.
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| Temminck's Stint (& Wood Sandpiper) |
However, those views were to get even better when the Temminck's Stint decided to swap sides and fly to within a few feet of our car. I had to wait for it to scuttle away a little before we could both see it and before there was enough distance between us and the bird for my camera to focus! This was absolutely astonishing. Lesvos was throwing up outstanding photo opportunities time and time again. To have this stonking little wading bird at lens length away was just incredible. I was giggling as I took shot after shot. The Temminck's Stint stood there eyeing us up and didn't seem to have a care in the world. Being able to use the car as a hide was a big bonus.
When the Temminck's Stint began feeding I slowly followed alongside it, pulling up ahead of it and then waiting for it to walk past, taking photos as it did. The images I was taking wouldn't even need cropping later on, and the sunshine made correct exposure easy. I couldn't remember many birds posing as well as this one. It was so close that at times you could even see the tiny morsels that the bird was eating. I was in birder/togger heaven. This was why I came to Lesvos!
The Temminck's Stint was only startled away back to the far side of the pool when another driver aimed his car down the track. I could hardly complain, both the Spur-winged Plover and the Stint had been real diamond subjects, as was the Black-winged Stilt that fluttered in as we made to leave. Of course I'd already gained good photos of the Stilts this week so I took just a few quick photos and then drove out of the track and back towards the pans again.
While we were admiring the rattling song of a Corn Bunting, I checked the local WhatsApp group for any updates and noticed that a sighting of a Richard's Pipit was sparking a lot of interest. I hadn't realised, although I should have since many birders repeatedly visit Lesvos including our friends, that many of the folk that were on the island, keep a Lesvos list. And of course, I'm a big keeper of lists myself. Earlier in the week after a long day out west, our travelling companions had made the effort to see an Isabelline Shrike because it was a first for them on Lesvos. I regret now, not going for it myself but didn't bother at the time since it was only six months or so since I'd seen one. The Richard's Pipit was a very rare find this far south so Mrs Caley thought that we may as we go and see it for ourselves even though we'd seen one as recently as February. Some excellent photos posted by the finder Raymond de Smet proved that the bird was showing reasonably closely in a recently harvested hayfield. The field was alongside the Bay of Kalloni but on the eastern side which meant driving back past Achlideri where we'd been earlier.
As we drove past Mesa marsh, we whistled past a Black Stork that was feeding near to the road. This was an opportunity too good to miss so I did a U-turn and doubled back. Naturally when we stopped alongside the bird, it became anxious and moved away to the banks of a channel but still provided the best views we've ever had of a grounded Black Stork and I was able to get some nice photos for my portfolio. You rarely go far on Lesvos without a choice encounter with something good.
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| Black Stork |
We continued on and just past the turning into the forest where we were that morning, had the extra delight of a Woodpecker flying across the road just ahead of us. It was a black and white woodpecker, very similar looking to our familiar Great Spotted Woodpecker seen at home. Crucially it also had a red crown noticeable as it winged across in front of us. I would love to have stopped and looked for it but I was sure that it flown deep into the wood. Once again though the geography of Lesvos, and the distribution of different species, enabled us to identify the bird as a Middle Spotted Woodpecker since they are the only black and white woodpecker that occurs on Lesvos (apart from very rare sightings of vagrants). Not the best view of a lifer but another one all the same. Hopefully I'd get a chance at seeing another one day. One which I can study at length or when I won't be driving when I se it.
It was a relatively long drive around the bay on varying standards of surface before we saw the line of cars parked up ahead. The Pipit had indeed sparked a twitch, providing the most popular attraction I'd witnessed since arriving on Lesvos. We walked down the row of birders and noticed our friends already there. I joined them, and probably annoyed them a bit more by asking the usual, 'where is it?' question. Now that we'd arrived of course, the Richard's Pipit had retreated to the far end of the field. Taking a photo was a waste of time but I tried anyway. Incredibly, stood just a few metres away from the Pipit was a Wryneck as well, which was a year tick. Because I have taken lots of good photos of the ground loving woodpecker before, I didn't even try to get that one; well I did but failed miserably. Two woodpeckers plus a rare pipit in fifteen minutes. That's Lesvos.
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| Richard's Pipit |
The hayfield was packed with birds. Our first Ortolan Buntings of the trip, there were at least three, were stood amongst the cut heads of the grass, which made for a scene vaguely resembling winter snowfall in Scotland. Not much chance of snow here though. We'd only seen one Ortolan Bunting before so this was another huge bonus bird for us; it wasn't one that I had on my radar at all.
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| Ortolan Bunting |
Also feeding alongside the Ortolan Buntings were a small number of Red-throated Pipits. Recently installed as my new favourite pipit species, they provided a challenging subject to photograph amongst the cut grass. A couple of Woodchat Shrikes patrolled the field edge, often perching up on the roof of a small hut and the guide wires to a small flagpole. The majority of the birds had retreated to the furthest end of the field, out of camera range, possibly because of the presence of the birders lined up on the road. As well as those already mentioned there was also at least two Greater Short-toed Larks, a Tawny Pipit (nice for Mrs Caley since she missed the one at the salt pans), several Crested Larks, and a Tree Pipit. I find pipits and larks some of the most difficult birds to identify so it was useful and interesting to see so many close together thus allowing for comparisons between them.
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| Red-throated Pipit |
The showiest birds were the Yellow Wagtails, with both the nominate Blue-headed (Motacilla flava flava), and Black-headed (M f feldegg) represented. A couple of White Wagtails flittered around too. A few of the Wagtails were feeding in the closest edge of the field to the path. It was nice to see them from a level viewpoint rather than looking down on them from a high riverbank.
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| Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail |
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| Black-headed Yellow Wagtail |
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| Common Sandpiper |
As we passed Mesa wetlands there was no sign of the Black Stork or any Flamingos so we headed straight back to the hotel, opting for a quick drive around the marsh at the mouth of the Christou river. A fine singing Corn Bunting outside of the Aegean Hotel caught my attention so I parked carefully, opened the window of the car and took a few shots.
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| Corn Bunting |
Another message on the Lesvos Birding WhatsApp group related that a Collared Pratincole had been hawking insects over the Kalloni Pool just an hour before, and had last been seen over the Pasiphae Hotel (where we staying) just a few minutes ago! We were only just around the corner so drove straight there. The wires above the lush grassy fields and the sky above were filled with hirundines. I jumped out of the car, turned my bins skywards and was amazed to see the Pratincole directly above us. It was high, and was moving so fast that I daren't take my eyes of it. The important job of getting Mrs Caley onto it was successful, and we had another bird on the trip list. The Pratincole, obviously larger than the attendant Martins and Swallows, and even the Swifts that were flying high up as well, was extremely dynamic. We locked onto it several times before it drifted away northwards. My thanks to Peter for lending me a superb photo of one that he saw earlier in the week.
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| Collared Pratincole (courtesy of Peter Barker) |
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| Swallows and Martins |
I drove back to the marsh again to see out the last half hour or so of daylight. There was a large flock of Spanish Sparrows congregating in the Tamarisks and long grasses. I took a few record shots, distant but not as far away as the flock in the Meladia Valley seen previously. I'd try the locality of the Aegean Hotel again before leaving in the hope that I can gain a better photo of the species.
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| Spanish Sparrow |
We wrapped the day up by watching the serene scene of a flock of Greater Flamingos, all busily feeding away in the shallow water. A few reports of Dalmatian Pelicans at the same spot had been made during the day but there was no sign of them. I'd love to get a closer view of one of those.
It had been another brilliant day, we added another seven lifers plus some other noteworthy birds to our trip list. I loved touring around picking up new birds but also wish I could have stayed longer at Charamida with the very special warblers of the scrubland but if we had then I would have missed out on much more. Another holiday to the island will be required one day. My friends and guides had served up another load of treats. We'd also grown more independent so our friends were more likely to remain friends for longer, now I wasn't tormenting them so much!
Plans were afoot for another sortie west the next day, to the famous Ipsilou Monastery. I couldn't wait!
Birds seen 24-04-2025; 111) Chukar, Sardinian Warbler, 112) Eastern Subalpine Warbler, 113) Rüppell's Warbler, Yelkouan Shearwater, Raven, 114) Chaffinch, Cretzschmar's Bunting, 115) Laughing Dove, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Common Swift, Greater Flamingo, Great Egret, 116) Greenshank, Black Stork, 117) Serin, 118) Short-toed Treecreeper, 119) Krüper's Nuthatch, Spur-winged Plover, 120) Temminck's Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, 121) Middle Spotted Woodpecker, 122) Richard's Pipit, 123) Ortolan Bunting, 124) Wryneck, Short-toed Lark, Red-throated Pipit, Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail, Black-headed Yellow Wagtail, Woodchat Shrike, Crested Lark, Tawny Pipit, Common Tern, Common Sandpiper, Corn Bunting, 125) Collared Pratincole, Spanish Sparrow, Avocet, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Little Ringed Plover
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