26th May to 02nd June 2018

By Andrew Kinghorn & Nikola Zalas

Day 1 – Travel and Kalloni Saltpans

There are no direct flights from Newcastle to Lesbos and to save having to get
interconnecting flights we decided it best to fly direct from Manchester to Lesbos. It’s not a
particularly well-known tourist destination and from Manchester itself there is only one
flight a week on a Saturday, returning the following Saturday. The flight was early morning
so we drove to Manchester through the night and arrived in Lesbos around about midday.
We headed straight for our accommodation in Skala Kalloni, which turned out to be a bit of
a hub for birders staying on the island. After dropping our stuff off it was straight out to
Kalloni Saltpans. On arrival it was impossible to miss the Greater Flamingos that were in
evidence on almost every visible salt pan whilst around the outskirts Crested Larks were
commonplace. We drove round and stopped at the entrance to the saltpans, Little and
Common Terns were in evidence and a quick scan revealed a single White-winged Black
Tern. Avocets and Black-winged Stilts were abundant and Kentish Plovers were dotted
about on the outer moat. At least 4 Black Storks appeared from the southern fields and
circled up over the road, before moving to the pans to feed. Bee-Eaters fed over the
southern fields and Swallows and House Martins were whirling around the sewage works.
We moved onto the east end of the saltpans and made our way down the long track, a
distant Short-toed Eagle was the first of the trip and the only Steppe Buzzard soared
effortlessly to the east. Another two White-winged Black Terns were in clear evidence here
and the Greater Flamingos were a lot closer. A distant Stone Curlew stood out in the
afternoon heat haze and Little Stints had gathered on the islands. Yellow Wagtails were
heard, but not seen. We decided to move on.

It is only a short journey from Kalloni Saltpans to Tsknias River Ford. After five minutes or so
we were on the approach road down the eastern edge of the river. The river itself was
looking dry but our first Black-headed Bunting of the trip was a sign of things to come; it
perched up on wires singing before heading off to the fields. The road was alive with
Crested Lark and Corn Buntings, the sheer number of the latter made me realise what dire
straits the species is in back home here in the UK. A few Bee-Eaters hawked insects over the
recently cut fields and our first Nightingales of the trip were singing around either side of
the river ford. Upon arriving at the ford itself, we had Yellow Wagtails and our first taste of
Eastern Olivaceous Warblers singing from deep cover. A Mallard family were on the river
and Spanish Sparrows were in evidence. We decided to check out the river mouth on the
west side and so drove through the ford and onto the bandstand at the bottom of the road
on the west side of the Tsknias river. Birds here were as expected, a Common Tern was
fishing the river and Little Ringed Plovers were in evidence, we had good views of singing
Eastern Olivaceous Warblers and Bee-Eaters were hawking insects over the rough ground.
We headed back to the river ford and standing on the eastern bank I spied a Rose-coloured
Starling flying upriver, I quickly made my way along the road to roughly where it had flown
and to my delight there was a small flock of ten or so birds in the top of a tree. I waited
around watching and
photographing the birds and
during this time I had a few
parties of birds coming and
going from all directions. It was
a safe estimate that during the
thirty or so minutes I watched
the birds there must have been
at least one hundred
individuals. Content with this
spectacle we called it a day. It
transpired that this part of the
river was well known for Rose-
coloured Starling gatherings on
passage, but I had no idea of
this fact at the time so it was a
pleasant surprise.
Bee-Eater – © Nikola Zalas

Day 2 – Kalloni Saltpans, Ipsilou Monastery, and “Scop’s Copse” (in Kalloni)
Up and out eager to explore Kalloni Saltpans further was the name of the game. The moat
held Black-winged Stilts, Curlew Sandpipers, s and singles of Kentish Plover, both of which
afforded breath-taking views. My views of all three species were only rivalled by past
experiences in Israel. The only Garganey of the trip was on one of the pans, as fortune
would have it a stunning drake. The fields around the pans held Bee-Eater and Crested Larks
and a walk along the track to the west of the sewage works proved productive, an
Eleonora’s Falcon flew south west and a Hobby at the same time headed off west. A distant
Kestrel was observed, but views were interrupted by no fewer than 4 Short-toed Eagles,
which were later joined by Black Storks. Passerines came in the form of a Great Reed
Warbler singing from a patch of rather unimpressive reeds off the track, whilst Eastern
Olivaceous Warbler was seemingly ever present. A glance over a walled garden revealed a
stunning male Black-headed Bunting singing, we were rewarded with some stunning views
of this simply beautiful species. We headed on over to the eastern edge of the saltpans and
walked down the long track that lead south. Along here we had excellent views of Greater
 Flamingo once again and
Yellow Wagtails buzzed about.
Ruddy Shelducks were clearly
on the move and there were
what seemed like hundreds,
with pairs buzzing about
between the pans. A Woodchat
Shrike was on the fields to the
east and Common Buzzard was
present, a good interaction
came in the form of the Shrike
attacking the Buzzard. Some of
our only Greenshanks of the
trip went over, this time as a
flock of four. We decided to
move on and a last-minute
Little Stint – © Andrew Kinghorn decision was made to take a
look around Ipsilou Monastery.

We had no sooner left Kalloni when I spotted my first lifer of the trip, a stunning Middle
Spotted Woodpecker perched up on a telegraph pole just outside of Kalloni itself. Sadly, it
headed off into a wooded area and that was that. A short pitstop en route to Ipsilou
Monastery provided us with our first Black-Eared Wheatear of the trip and they were as
stunning as I had remembered. On arriving at the Monastery, itself we headed up to the top
and parked just outside of the military base. We then walked slowly down the road that
takes you down from the Monastery. The road was lifting with birds, Western Rock
Nuthatch were common and vocal here and it was not long until we were watching our first
Cinerous Buntings of the trip, some cracking views of singing males and of birds feeding
recently fledged young. We had our first Red-rumped Swallows of the trip here as they
buzzed about above and below us. A Short-toed Eagle hunted the area and recently fledged
Woodlarks were in attendance not far south of the Monastery. Black-Eared Wheatear were
common here and they too were buzzy feeding quite well grown young. The other star
songster here was definitely the Cirl Butnings, being from the north of England these are
quite a treat as I have only seen the Devon birds on a few occasions. We headed off to take
a look in the Monastery itself and we inadvertently flushed a Chuckar, whilst unfortunate it
was a trip tick! A cracking Blue Rock Thrush was signing and doing its song flight around the
tops of the Monastery and after a look around we decided to head off back to Kalloni. Our
final stop of the day was “Scops Copse” the famous site on the island for Scop’s Owl. There
was a heaving market on and just as we were about to leave after a fruitless search a bird let
out its call, it took a good five minutes or so but I eventually located the bird. A good end to
the day!

Day 3 – Mauria, Platania, Sigri, and Faneromeni

On the way to our first stop I had a Chukar on the road briefly before it ran for cover.
However, things went bad after this, I foolishly took us the wrong way somewhere north of
Mauria. However, on this thirty minute wrong turn we did see Woodchat Shrike, a cracking
Middle Spotted Woodpecker and a handsome male Cirl Bunting. Nikola also found a
Buzzard nest and watched one of the adults take a snake back to the nest. Once I had got
my act together we took the long walk down into the Napi Valley. The place was alive with
birds and no sooner had we set off than we saw our first Western Rock Nuthatches of the
walk, soon after we were treat to a singing Eastern Orphean Warbler that showed well as it
sang atop of a tree for us. Then we had our first Sombre Tits of the trip along with some
Great Tits for comparison. We came across a farm complex which was alive with Cirl
Buntings and it was great to see these glorious birds benefiting from the farmyard itself. We
had a Hoopoe on the track and a few Woodchat Shrikes added some variety. We arrived at
the site famed on Lesbos for Olive-Tree Warbler, it is the cattle grid site outlined in Steve
Dudley’s book. Not a sound of one. We had Sombre Tits and some cracking views of
Masked Shrike feeding young but not a peep or movement from Olive-Tree Warbler. We
decided to head back west toward Sigri, I had been given some site information for Olive-
Tree Warblers that were in high density in an olive grove around Faneromeni in early May
so decided to give it a go. We arrived in Sigri and were tread almost immediately with views
of Red-rumped Swallow, Lesser Kestrel, and Alpine Swifts wheeling over the town. In the
harbour itself I was delighted to find a moulting Whiskered Tern pottering about its
business. We headed off next to Faneromeni, to the site where I had been tipped off about
Olive-Tree Warbler. En-route we had Stonechat and another Lesser Kestrel but little else. At
the site itself, it was immediately obvious the evening bird song had started up and the first
songster came in the form of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. Down the olive grove I managed
some awesome views of Black-headed Bunting and a pair of Red-backed Shrikes were
feeding around some reeds and bushes on the other side of a field. In the olive grove itself
there was a stunning Masked Shrike going about its business feeding. It took a while but
eventually the Olive-Tree Warbler started up singing. As expected it was hard work to try
and get a perched view, but in the end I was treat to a brief but excellent view of a bird in a
dead section of a bush before it moved off into a small olive tree to feed, shortly after it flew
again to the base of a different bare tree and again I had some good views before I lost it.
Whilst waiting to see the bird we had Ravens over, our first Long-legged Buzzard and two
different Eleonora’s Falcons. One was an absolutely stunning dark morph and was a
contender for bird of the trip for me. I was really happy to have seen Olive-Tree Warbler
and it was one of the birds I had been looking forward to seeing the most since we first
booked the trip.

Day 4 – Kavaki, Skala Sikaminas, Platania, and Kalloni

A much more relaxed day planned, we made our way to out first stop which was Kavaki, the
site is well known as one of the only sites on the island for Ruppel’s Warbler. On this visit we
were not successful, though on arrival we were greeted by Turtle Dove and it wasn’t long
until we were watching Black-eared Wheatear, along with good views of Eastern Subalpine
Warbler alongside a single Eastern Orphean Warbler. A Shag was the only notable bird on
the sea and a Blue Rock Thrush was heard singing. The highlight of the visit was a Middle
Spotted Woodpecker buzzing around and it showed well a few times but only in flight. We
left here and headed to the nearby ice cream parlour for dessert, very nice too! Our next
stop was Molivas Castle. By this time of the day it was roasting hot and for me this was by
far the warmest moment of the holiday. The castle itself is worth a visit and from inside we
had Black-eared Wheatear flying around the castle and its surrounds. We had good views of
Red-rumped Swallows and at least six Alpine Swifts. From here we drove on down to Skala
Sikaminas, it was a rather unfruitful area for birds if truth be told. We had Eastern Subalpine
Warbler, a single Grey Heron and a fair few Red-rumped Swallows, though a trip tick came
in the form of a brief Peregrine. We decided to spend the evening at Platania (Napi valley), I
had in the back of my mind that we had perhaps failed to see Olive-Tree Warbler because
we had visited at a bad time of the day. The walk there and back was superb, we had Turtle
Doves feeding in the farm itself and Cirl Bunting were common in this area. There was a fair
few shows from Common Buzzard and a Short-toed Eagle was hunting the valley. We
arrived at the renowned cattle grid to absolute radio silence from Olive-Tree Warbler,
though the family of Masked Shrikes still put on a show. The walk back had produced a few
Woodchat Shrikes and we had superb views of Western Rock Nuthatch. Our final call of the
day was Kalloni Saltpans. It was a productive visit with Wood Sandpiper being the highlight
and an accompanying Ruff. It was good to see Kentish Plover and Black-winged Silts with
tiny young. Black and White Stork were also present, we did visit in the morning and on that
visit, I had a single and my only Pallid Swift of the entire trip.

Day 5 – Achladeri Forest, Kalloni Saltpans, Aghia Ioannis, Sideras, Skala Eresou, Pithariou,
Meladia Valley, and Faneromeni
I was up before dawn today and made the short drive to Achladeri Forest. On arriving at the
site, I was greeted with a load of Chaffinch and good views of singing Nightingale. I took the
path going off right at the dry riverbed; it didn’t take long for the first Krüper’s Nuthatch to
start up calling. I was then treat to a family party of three birds feeding and showing well,
the male bird even sang briefly! During this time, I also managed to connect with my first
Short-toed Treecreeper of the trip and a Black Stork flew overhead, it was just above the
treeline so I even got to hear the
air whistling through its wings.
Content with awesome views of
the nuthatch I went back to the
hotel for breakfast. Our first
stop after breakfast was Kalloni
Saltpans, there were still a few
Black Storks showing well and of
course the Greater Flamingos
were in good numbers. There
were singles of Kentish Plover
and a lone Wood Sandpiper
along with the now expected
Avocets and Black-winged Stilts.
We did not hang around today.
Instead we decided to explore
the southwest part of the island Black-winged Stilt – © Nikola Zalas
and so headed off to Aghia Ioannis. We arrived and made our way up the slope to the small
chapel. Along the way we had a stunning male Blue Rock Thrush briefly and Sombre Tit was
easy to see here, as they had recently fledged young. A Buzzard flew over and Western
Rock Nuthatch were seemingly easy to see and very vocal. Black-eared Wheatear was of
course present but not in great numbers. The star of the show here was our first
Cretzschmar’s Buntings of the trip, three in total with some stunning males belting out their
beautiful song. The walk back to the car gave us good views of both Eastern Subalpine and
Eastern Orphean Warbler. Next, we stopped at the roadside in the Sideras area, it was
blowing a gale but no sooner had I set up the scope than I could hear the lovely song of
Cinerous Bunting. It took a minute or two but I located a bird singing atop a rock on the
slope. A scan of the fields revealed a few Black-headed Buntings a smattering of Crested
Larks as well as singles of Black-eared Wheatear and Cirl Bunting. It was getting warm and
so we headed off for a coffee at Skala Eresou, this is a lovely little town facing out onto the
Aegean Sea. I picked up at least three groups of Yelkouan Shearwater numbering around
fifty birds minimum. The birds were distant but the distinctive flight behaviour helped to
pick them out, even Nikola managed to get onto the last group with her RSPB bins.

Next stop was Pithariou Reservoir, the approach road revealed twenty or so Ravens around
what we assumed was something that had recently died! As we drove past they all took off.
The reservoir itself was a little disappointing, we had Buzzard overhead and Yellow-legged
Gulls were on the reservoir, but we did have a trip tick in the form of Common Sandpiper.
We moved onto the long winding road of the Meladia Valley, it was very productive. We had
our second Long-legged Buzzard of the trip and at least two Cretzchmar’s Buntings (our
best views of this species of the trip), we also had a fair few Western Rock Nuthatches and
Black-eared Wheatear were common throughout the valley. I had a frustratingly brief
falcon in the bins, which I suspect was an Eleonora’s but never confirmed. Near the end of
the valley (toward the Sigri end) we reached the Meladia Valley Ford, we hadn’t even
stopped the car yet but it showed promise with a Ruddy Shelduck sitting on some
hardstanding calling its head off! We got out the car and inadvertently flushed a Squacco
Heron which was feeding under a small bush in the ford! The bushes and fields were almost
quite literally alive with House Sparrow and Corn Buntings, I cannot recall a time in my life
when I have seen so many. We
took a walk down a track and had
Crested Larks galore, along with
some Bee-Eaters feeding in a
plantation. The same plantation
held both Woodchat and Masked
Shrikes. Some familiarity came in
the form of small flocks of
Goldfinch and Linnet, but there
was a juicy bonus amongst them
in the form of a single Serin. A
sheep farmer inadvertently
flushed a Cretzchmar’s Bunting
onto the fence (which was good
for me) and Western Rock
Nuthatch were vocal on the rocky
areas to the west of the track. Roller – © Andrew Kinghorn
We headed off back toward Sigri and a distant backlit bird caught my attention and my
suspicions were confirmed, an absolutely cracking Roller, a species I honestly thought we
were just too late for on this visit. We continued on further and were treat to a few Crested
Lark family parties as well as a Chuckar with its recently fledged young in tow.
Final call of the day was Faneromeni, first of all we did the beach area. A patch of reeds
provided Reed Warbler and Great Reed Warbler, the latter seen only in flight but it was
belting out its awesome song. Next, we moved onto Faneromeni pool where we had four
Spoonbill at a location we had been tipped off about, here we also had Woodchat and
Masked Shrike darting around the fields and gardens all to the soundtrack of Eastern
Olivaceous Warbler. I moved onto the Olive-Tree Warbler site where I had further views of
the species and on this occasion, there were at least two males singing. The birds did not
show as well as the last time I visited but I did get a few seconds perched view now and
then, one such view pertained to a bird landing on the front of an olive tree briefly before
daring in to cover, whilst the other a bit more distantly but with more prolonged views
moving from left to right in the middle of a sparse section of an olive tree before darting off
to the right, seeing sections of the bird at a time. Distractions came from Red-backed
Shrikes, Black-headed Buntings, and Cirl Buntings that were showing so beautifully they
could not be glossed over. The only other notable sightings came in the form of Lesser
Kestrel flying over.

Day 6 – Kalloni, Faneromeni, Ipsilou Monastery, Perivolis Monastery, Lardia, and Tsikinas
River
The day started with a visit to Kalloni Saltpans there was not a lot around in all honesty with
Kentish Plover, Black-winged Stilt and Black Storks being the only birds of note amongst
the suspected Avocets and Greater Flamingos. The surrounding fields held Bee-Eaters and
we were afforded some of our best views of the species of the trip. We moved on from here
to explore the Petrified Forest museum at Sigri, which was very interesting and the outside
section of the museum added Northern Wheatear to the trip list. From here I had a quick
check of Faneromeni, the four Spoonbills were still present at first but one bird took off and
flew off high (presumably to the north). I had good views again of Black-headed Bunting
and Corn Buntings were commonplace. As per the previous days the Eastern Olivaceous
Warblers were still in full song going about their business. Content we moved onto Ipsilou
Monastery, we adopted a different approach on this visit. We parked up down at the
bottom of the Monastery and walked up the road on the south side. Young Hoopoes were
in attendance here and Black-eared Wheatears were feeding young. A few Isabelline
Wheatears were darting around, often chasing Black-eared. The now expected Western
Rock Nuthatches showed well as they went about their business and a Buzzard put in a
brief appearance. Walking slowly further up the road we had a Peregrine alight, flushing
most of the birds in the valley in the process! Fortune would have it that we were standing
in the right place at the right time when a Rock Sparrow started giving its distinctive call
right about our heads, frustratingly no sooner had it appeared than it was gone again. We
walked further up the slope to the backdrop of Cinerous Buntings singing, though every
single one managed to evade detection visually. Nearing the top of the road two Golden
Eagles alighted, they were not particularly far away, they gradually made their way down in
the valley before making their way up the slope opposite, they eventually gained some
height and kept disappearing over the rise until they were so distant we left them. We were
really excited by the encounter as I had not anticipated to see the species on this trip and it
was Nikola’s first ever Golden Eagle. It later transpired these birds consisted of the first ever
Lesbos record of two birds together and the species is very rare on the island, presumably a
vagrant from Turkey. Meanwhile we added Blue Tit to the day list and it was good to see
Red-rumped Swallows in good numbers buzzing around our heads. Whilst not deliberate
we seemed to have been on a tour of Monastery’s and so we called in for a look at Perivolis
Monastery, it was closed and locked up but a colony of Red-rumped Swallows were
immediately apparent with lots of birds flying into the compound to their nests. A walk
down to the river was productive, a Grey Heron flew off up river before returning a short
while later, whilst a Black Stork departed off south and didn’t return. I heard a Bee-Eater
but did not see it as I was too busy watching Red-rumped Swallow collect mud from the
steam to build their nests in the Monastery. Following a short drive onto Lardia valley, as
soon as I got out the car I was enjoying nice views of a male Blue Rock Thrush. A Wren was
heard singing from here as was Cinerous Bunting and Chaffinch. Some Buzzards alighted
over the valley and a Cirl Bunting put in a brief appearance.

We headed back to freshen up before setting off for an evening walk along the Tsikinas
River. We parked up from the ford (ensuring we were not blocking any access of course) and
walked north and south along the river. It was seemingly alive with birds; the Mallard young
were getting larger and Nightingales were in full song. We saw both sexes of Black-headed
Bunting, whilst the Eastern Olivaceous Warblers were showing well. We were afforded
good but brief views of Cetti’s Warbler and Bee-Eaters went about their business on the
fields on the other side of the river. Little Ringed Plover were in attendance along the
southern section of the river, whilst the northern section held a single Green Sandpiper.
There was a Sand Martin amongst the hirrundines. Finches came in the form of Goldfinch
and Greenfinch. There was a nice flyover Short-toed Eagle and five mid distance White
Storks flew east over Kalloni.
Final bird here was a Little
Owl, which we assumed was
occupying the buildings on the
east side of the river ford.
After such a productive walk
we decided to give the
Saltpans a whirl, it paid off
with a bonus trip tick in the
form of a Mute Swan. A bit
odd! We called it a day and as
we went for a walk for our
evening meal we had Scops
Owl calling again in Skalla
Kalloni.

Short-toed Eagle – © Nikola Zalas

Day 7 – Achladeri Forest, Polichnitos Saltpans, Kalloni Saltpans, Kalloni, and Madaros
First stop of the day was back as Achladeri Forest, the intention was to show Nikola the
Krüper’s Nuthatch as she did not come with me on my crack of dawn raid earlier in the
week. We arrived and were treat to a flock of Long-tailed Tits with a few Blue and Great Tits
thrown in, they showed well but soon moved off deeper into the forest. As per the last visit
both Chaffinch and Greenfinch were vocal whilst Common Buzzard and Raven occupied the
airspace and canopy. It didn’t take us long and we soon heard a single Krüper’s Nuthatch, a
few moment later we were watching the bird that was showing really well close to the path.
Trying to find the Krüper’s Nuthatch revealed at least five Short-toed Treecreepers buzzing
around and the car park held a pair
of hunting adults Masked Shrikes.
We headed off to Polichnitos
Saltpans, on arriving it was obvious
that this site has a lot of potential.
No sooner had we arrived than we
were watching Greater Flaimingos
at close range, as per Kalloni
Saltpans Little and Common Terns
were buzzing about and Black-
winged Stilt and Avocet were
commonplace. The fields
surrounding the saltpans had a
smattering of Corn Bunting and
Crested Larks and a single Black-
headed Bunting was present. It was
getting really warm and we decided Krüper’s Nuthatch – © Nikola Zalas
to head off for a coffee for the heat of the day.

Mid-afternoon we headed back to Kalloni Saltpans, annoyingly we missed some Gull-billed

Terns that we had no idea were there as we drove past on the morning; however, I did find
a nice little flock of marsh terns consisting of a single Black Tern and four Whiskered Terns.
As usual Greater Flamingo, Kentish Plover, Avocet, and Black-winged Stilts were numerous
around the various pans. I picked up five distant small gull species which rang alarm bells,
they had positioned themselves on saltpans that were not really easily visible without
mammoth walks and even then, access was a bit ropey for disturbing breeding birds. I didn’t
need to worry though as they were mobile, I drove down toward the main road around the
moat and the gulls were nowhere to be seen. I drove back to where I had been and bingo
the bids had moved and my suspicions were confirmed; five Slender-billed Gulls. I decided
to move on and a fortune was favouring us on the way out, as the birds landed pretty close
to the main road. We had decent views and got a few photos before they were off again.
Passerines on this visit included the now expected Crested Lark as well as European Bee-
Eater and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, one rather clever pair set up on a lone bush on the
other side of the moat away from birders/photographers. We met a helpful couple who
informed us the Scops Owls were showing well in the copse at Kalloni. We went in for a look
and had a single adult Scops Owl sitting on the edge of the nest hole, joined later by a fat
downy youngster clambering up the inside of the tree and peeking out behind its mum. I
checked a tree I had found a bird in the other day and sure enough it was there again,
clearly the male overlooking the nest hole.
We headed back to freshen up before heading back out again for our evening walk. We had
been tipped off about a Rufous Bush Chat in the Madaros area. We arrived on site and made
our way along; some very confiding Black-eared Wheatears were a nice treat as were some
vocal Western Rock Nuthatch. Overhead we had Buzzard and Hooded Crow and a flyover
Woodpigeon was a trip tick! It didn’t take long for the target bird to start up singing and
sure enough we had some
awesome views of singing and
displaying Rufous Bush Chat,
surely one of the best birds in
Europe(?)! The walk back had
Nikola’s keen eyes spy a
Cretzchmar’s Bunting on a fence
before being flushed by an
approaching farm vehicle and
we were serenaded by Black-
headed Bunting and Rufous
Bush Chat. Not far from the car
we had a really confiding
Woodchat Shrike. The Scops
Owl kept waking me up in Skalla
Kalloni during the night, but I
just laughed it off, what a treat!
Rufous Bush Chat – © Nikola Zalas

Day 8 – Airport
It was time for home. There was a massive queue out of the airport for my flight and Nikola
kindly kept our space in the queue whilst I sea watched from the shade under a tree by a
chapel opposite the airport. I had not been watching long before I had a Scopoli’s
Shearwater lazily feeding offshore, I had a second one not long after as well as a flock of 10
Yelkouan Shearwaters and a single Grey Heron. Perfect little sea watch to end a superb trip.

Lesbos, I will almost certainly be back! Loved it.

(More photos and trip list below)

Rose-coloured Starlings – © Andrew Kinghorn

Scops Owl – © Nikola Zalas

Crested Lark – © Andrew Kinghorn

Swallowtail – © Nikola Zalas

Complete Trip List

1. Mute Swan 47. (European) Turtle 84. (Western) Rock

2. (Common) Shelduck Dove Nuthatch
3. Ruddy Shelduck 48. Little Owl 85. Short-toed
4. Mallard 49. (Eurasian) Scops Treecreeper
5. Garganey Owl 86. Red-backed Shrike
6. Chukar 50. (Common) Swift 87. Woodchat Shrike
7. Little Grebe 51. Pallid Swift 88. Masked Shrike
8. Yelkouan 52. Alpine Swift 89. (Eurasian) Jay
Shearwater 53. (European) Bee- 90. (Western) Jackdaw
9. (Great) Cormorant eater 91. Hooded Crow
10. (European) Shag 54. (European) Roller 92. Raven
11. Squacco Heron 55. (Eurasian) Hoopoe 93. Starling
12. Little Egret 56. Middle Spotted 94. Rose-coloured
13. Grey Heron Woodpecker Starling
14. White Stork 57. Crested Lark 95. House Sparrow
15. Black Stork 58. Woodlark 96. Spanish Sparrow
16. (Eurasian) Spoonbill 59. (Common) Sand 97. Rock Sparrow
17. (Greater) Flamingo Martin 98. Chaffinch
18. Golden Eagle 60. Barn Swallow 99. Linnet
19. Short-toed Eagle 61. Red-rumped 100. Goldfinch
20. Long-legged Swallow 101. Greenfinch
Buzzard 62. (Common) House 102. Serin
21. Steppe Buzzard Martin 103. Cretzschmar’s
22. Common Buzzard 63. White / Pied Bunting
23. (Common) Kestrel Wagtail 104. Cirl Bunting
24. Lesser Kestrel 64. Yellow Wagtail 105. Cinereous Bunting
25. Hobby 65. Wren 106. Black-headed
26. Eleonora’s Falcon 66. Nightingale Bunting
27. Peregrine Falcon 67. Stonechat 107. Corn Bunting
28. (Pied) Avocet 68. Blackbird 108. Long-tailed Tit
29. Black-winged Stilt 69. Blue Rock Thrush 109. Black Tern
30. Stone Curlew 70. Wheatear 110. Slender-billed Gull
31. Little Ringed Plover 71. Isabelline Wheatear 111. Rufous Bush Robin
32. Kentish Plover 72. Black-eared 112. Wood Pigeon
33. Ruff Wheatear 113. Scopoli’s
34. Curlew Sandpiper 73. Eastern Orphean Shearwater
35. Little Stint Warbler 114. Rufous Bush Robin
36. Wood Sandpiper 74. Eastern Subalpine
37. Green Sandpiper Warbler
38. Common Sandpiper 75. Cetti’s Warbler
39. Greenshank 76. Reed Warbler
40. Yellow-legged Gull 77. Great Reed Warbler
41. Little Tern 78. Olive-tree Warbler
42. Common Tern 79. Olivaceous Warbler
43. White-winged Tern 80. Great Tit
44. Whiskered Tern 81. (European) Blue Tit
45. Rock Dove 82. Sombre Tit
46. (Eurasian) Collared 83. Krüper’s Nuthatch
Dove