A SUNBIRD BIRDING TRIP TO LESBOS, GREECE
>From 22-30 April I had booked a birding trip with Sunbird to the Greek island
>of Lesbos (or Lesvos, as the greek beta now is more pronounced as a v. Lesbos
>is situated in the northern Aegean sea, very close to the coast of Turkey. We
>were based on Kalloni, in the centre of the island, at the bottom of the
>large, almost landlocked Gulf of Kalloni, and from there we could reach the
>whole island, along good, but very curvy roads, within a radius of ca 60 km or
>so, so that the amount of driving was restricted and more time remained
>avalaible for the actual birding. We were 14 participants and two leaders, who
>were driving the two minibuses we had at our disposition. Generally we had a
>pre-breakfast excursion from 6 30 to 8 am, and later were out all day (9am to
>7 30 pm), with an excellent picnic lunch somewhere out in the free. The
>weather was fair to excellent during most of the week, and we only had a few
>hours of rain.
In general, the island was just what I had hoped for: a not all too large,
very varied area, with many migrants coming through, and some specialités de la
maison, in the form of the Cinereous Bunting and the Krüper's Nuthatch, both of
which we duly got to see, although the bunting at a distance where a telescope
was very handy. Fortunately our excellent leaders, Killian Mullarney and Ian
Lewington, both carried a telescope all the time, and there were at least 6 of
the participants who had brought their own, so that we always got a chance to
peep in somebody's telescope. The nuthatch, which is a little bird with a
personality, we found after a quite long search in the pine forests; John, the
eldest participant (beat me with a few years), discovered the bird at a new
locality, at what clearly was a nest site in a pine stump.
During this trip I discovered again, that I am pretty hopeless when it comes
to bird spotting, hopefully mostly due to my weak eyes and diminishing hearing.
Therefore a guided trip just as this one, with leaders who take great care that
everybody sees all the birds they discover, and a few participants with eagle
eyes, is for me a great boon and I see almost twice as many birds as I would
have seen on my own. And then it is easy to forget the slight disappointment
every time somebody has to point out the birds to you, and you don't find them
yourself. I had also bought a book of Mediterranean flowers for the occasion,
and had great pleasure of that (flowers are easier to spot and don't fly away),
but I shall keep to the birds in this short report
Our hotel was Kalloni II, situated behind the Kalloni pools, now heavily
overgrown, and thereby not quite as fantastic maybe as before, but still good
in the mornings for a large concerto of Sedge, Reed and Cettis Warblers,
mingling with the ever active jubilant Nightingale from the garden behind the
hotel. Stilts were always present, and litterally 'stood out'when scanning the
pool, but a search usually also revealed the many Moorhens, the few Coots and
Little Grebes, and the Garganeys . A flock of Glossy Ibises came and
went, and on the nearby sea Common Terns fished, Yellow-legged Gulls were
always present and now and then an Black-necked Grebe could be found if one was
early up, i.e. before the pre-breakfast excursion. Many of the others also
heard Water Rails at night from these pools, but on the days I walked there in
the late evening, I heard only Marsh and Tree Frogs and the Moorhens.
Something which really was a pleasant surprise from me, who comes from northern
and colder shores, was the enormous amounts of swallows everywhere; the reeds
in the Kalloni pool, and also in the Kalloni inland pool, where we went one
morning in beautiful light in a (successful) quest for Little Crakes and Little
Bitterns, were often bent down by thousands of swallows, the majority probably
Sand Martins, but with also large numbers of Swallows and House Martins. In the
low sun of the early mornings this is one of the sights that maybe made the
most lasting impression upon me of the whole week. During the day there were
swallows hunting everywhere on the island, to the highest hills. In addition to
the above mentioned most common three, there were also regularly Red-rumped
Swallows (who fly just a little differently, and therefore can be picked out at
a distance even for armadillo-eyed me), and in rocky outcrops in the hills and
also along some sea cliffs there were Crag Martins. Swifts became more and more
common during the week; they were mostly Common, but also regularly the large
Alpine Swifts.
Close by the hotel was also the East River, where there were somewaht bumpy
tracks on both sides, and where we had the chance to see both wading birds and
migrants in the bushes (a lot of tamarisk), and where Nightingales and
Olivaceous Warblers always sang, whiloe the last days also the Black-headed
Buntings were back in force. In the fields behind fat, juicy Crested Larks
walked around (often dust-bathing on the tracks itself, together with the
enormous numbers of sparrows (House and Spanish)), while Corn Buntings
scratched from the wires and bushes. In the river---which had little water
already--- there were again stilts, often also Common and Wood Sandpipers and
Little Ringed Plovers, as well as larger waders, such as Little and Great
Egrets, Squacco Herons and the occasional Black Stork (there were more Black
than White Storks on the island). The first day we also saw a Kingfisher, and
the very first morning, before I was up, the most intrepid people of the group
(we had arrived that morning at 2 am!) had the only Osprey of the trip. Among
the migrants Great Reed Warblers were common, while the singing Whitethroats
may already have been summer guests. One of the last days we chased and finally
found a recently arrived Rufous Bush-Robin, one of the many instances where our
leaders did not rest before we had found the bird and everybody had seen it. A
bumpy track through fields led from the East River to the Kalloni Saltpans;
along the way there was usually a Little Owl or two (This species was common
and conspicuous everywhere on the island, while we only saw Scops and
Long-eared Owls at a roost stake-out).
The saltpans---in active use, and therefore not generally accessible for the
public--always had lots and lots of birds. There were tracks all around, from
where one could see
quite a lot, and the telescopes were also here very useful. There were c 200
wintering Flamingos here, and the first pan near the road held a similar number
of my great favourite, the Avocet. Otherwise of course all kinds of shorebirds,
among which a Marsh Sandpiper was the most exotic, while some Curlew Sandpipers
were already in full coppery summer finery. Most common were Ruffs,
Greenshanks, Little Stints, and Kentish Plovers, while the little dams between
the pans held Stone Curlews, and one glorious day also a flock of Collared
Pratincoles. There were always many tens of Common and Little Terns around, the
latter fishing in their well-known spectacular style, and a few Sandwich Terns.
Later in the week we enjoyed an increasing number of the White-winged Tern, one
of the most elegant and beautiful birds I know, and also a few Black and
Whiskered Terns, as well as small groups of Gull-billed Terns, with their at
first sight 'small gull-like' direct flight (there was also a single Little
Gull). In the course of the week first the cozy Red-footed Falcons appeared on
the overhead wires, and still later also the dazzling Bee-eaters.
On the 'sheep-field', between the saltpans and the sea, and more or less a
high-lying saltmarsh, with lots of sheep, there were Short-toed Larks
songflighting on the sandy foreshore, lots of glistening yellow Yellow
Wagtails--many subspecies-- with the sheep, and also regularly Red-throated
Pipits (the Tawny Pipits kept more to bare sandy areas). Both here and on the
saltpans themselves there were often pairs of Ruddy Shelducks, and more rarely
also Common Shelduck. Harriers flew over and panicked all the birds, usually
Marsh Harriers, but we also got Montague's and even a single Hen Harrier; also
Peregrine Falcons visited the area regularly.
I could go on and on and on, of course. About the higher hills, where
Black-eared Wheatears and Cretzschmar's Buntings were the most conspicuous
small birds, apart from the one area with Isabelline Wheatears, and where
Short-toed Eagles and Long-legged Buzzards were the prominent raptors. Here the
leaders also conjured up a Rock Sparrow, that I suspect them of having placed
out there, as they stopped at exactly the right place. At the Ypsilou
monastery, high on a hilltop, there were Sombre Tits ---last seen by me in 1959
in Turkey, just as the Ruppells Warbler that also was around here--, while
Persian Squirrels frolicked along the old walls. Here was also the place where
we watched the Cinereous Bunting ecstatically singing its simple typical
bunting jingle, in spite of limited talent, and where I missed out on the
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler. As usual in those areas, there were also Blackbirds
and Cirl Buntings, while Orphean Warblers competed with the Blackcaps for most
musical song, while Subalpine Warblers were more dependent on looks.
Further on, at the coast near Sigri and Faneromeni, the olive and fig orchards
were good migrant traps. One day there were many flycatchers (Spotted, Pied and
Collared), another
day the trees were suddenly festooned with Wood Warblers, and on the last day
we watched at leisure a Thrush Nightingale in a pile of half-burned wood. That
day we already had been gladdened by a colourful Roller on a wire---always a
spectacular bird to watch--, and had chased and found a reported Great Snipe in
a small river bed with little water, but thousands of tadpoles. These
Faneromeni orchards yielded, as did many other places on the island, many
colourful shrikes, the first days only Woodchats and (my personal favourite)
Masked Shrikes, but the last two days also an increasing number of Red-backed
Shrikes; no Lesser Grey Shrikes as yet, though.
From Faneromeni one could also seawatch and observe the long lines of Yelkouan
Shearwaters, albeit at some distance, as well as the somewhat closer
Mediterranean Shags.
(The only Cory's Shearwaters we saw, were at long distance.) At Sigri we also
viewed our only Audouin's Gull of the week, but that one had learned its
lessons very well, and circled around close to our lunch spot for a
considerable time. Faneromeni was also one of two spots where we saw
Mediterranean Gulls, in full summer dress. And this was also the area where the
Lesser Kestrels hunted in a loose flock all day along the ridge, and where we
saw several Eleonoras Falcons, migrating(?) over the last day, my third life
bird of the trip.
On the oak slopes, the many Chaffinches and Blackbirds, as well as the
calling Cuckoos, gave an initial impression of 'home', but there were also
flashes of gold from Orioles, Hoopoes calling and a constant murmuring of
Turtle Doves, the woodpeckers were Middle Spotted , Cirl Buntings took over for
Yellowhammers, and Orphean Warblers for Blackcaps. It was here also that we
finally got to see one of the target species for many, the bulky Olive-tree
Warbler with its almost growling song. The bird led us a merry dance, but was
finally seen well by all interested enough to hold out.
Probably more than you ever wanted to know about these birds, but hopefully
sufficient to give an initial impression of the cracking good time I had, due
in large parts to
excellent leadership, and also a most congenial group. I can't wait to do
something similar again, and am very grateful to Ian and Killian, and to all
participants who made it happen and be such a success.
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway
(NB Note
change)
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