Shrikes

Woodchat Shrike, near Sigri

Female Red-backed Shrike, Skala Polichnitou

Male Red-backed Shrike, near Skala Polichnitou

Shrikes, shrikes, and more shrikes. We saw four species (from most common to scarcest): Red-backed, Woodchat, Masked and Lesser Grey. On a couple of days, as we drove around, we saw a Red-backed Shrike every 200m! This passage tailed off towards the end of the week.

Masked Shrikes were mainly seen in olive groves (we watched one collecting scraps of plastic for its nest), Woodchats were often sitting atop roadside bushes or on telegraph wires, and our only Lesser Grey Shrike was seen perching near a grove where dozens of Black-headed Buntings were chirping away.

Unfortunately I failed to get (m)any good photos of any of them, but we had some great shrike-watching.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Crag Martins

Crag Martins were down at the mouth of the Vourkos to gather wet mud for their nests. Damp areas were certainly at a premium on the island, which must surely have an effect on birds requiring mud for nestbuilding.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Squashy Heron

Fishing Squacco Heron at the mouth of the Vourkos River, just east of our base at Vatera. Overall we were a bit short of herons/egrets/bitterns, but this bird was quite showy. I missed the vital fish-catching moment, though...

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Wildflowers

Purple things among the rocks at Ipsilou (below)

Ipsilou view

Cornflower?

Poppies

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Insects

Thread Lacewing, Nemoptera bipennis, Potamia valley

Cricket thing, Potamia valley

Clouded Yellow, Potamia valley

A kind of Marbled White-type thing, quite common in grassy areas

Orange-tip-type thing, but without any orange...

Small Copper

Some kind of skipper - these were very common all over the island

Don't know what this is, either... it was at Ipsilou

Brown Argus, near Vasilika

unidentified darter dragonfly, Potamia valley

Unidentified moth (seemed quite common)

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Rooms with a view

This was the view from the Madonna Studios in Vatera, on the island's south coast. Looking out over the northern Aegean, we quickly added Yelkouan Shearwater to the balcony list, as well as Short-toed Eagle, Bee-eater, Red-rumped Swallow, Black-eared Wheatear, Subalpine and Olivaceous Warblers. Early-morning alarms (well, songs) were provided by a Black-headed Bunting singing right outside.

Thanks to Dimitra and Vaios Balkizas for all their help and hospitality.

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Black-eared Wheatear

Male Black-eared Wheatear (of the black-throated form), Petra

These beauties were as common as muck all over the island, both around human habitation (there was usually one singing outside our apartment) and in the most remote mountain areas.

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20-60x zoom eyepiece

Lesvos

The view from above Limonas monastery, looking towards the Gulf of Kalloni

Got back yesterday evening from a wonderful week on the Greek island of Lesvos...

Lots of pictures to sort out (and I need to re-learn how to use a keyboard after eight days of not doing so!) so watch this space. Then later on I'll probably reorganise the chaotic posts into some kind of trip report.

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Large Reds

They've only just emerged and they're ovipositing already!

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Come on EU, get on with it!

It's great to see that this story - Clock ticks for Malta's spring hunt - is currently the sixth most-emailed from the BBC News website.

Malta's spring bird hunt is in full swing for what could be the last time before the country is taken to court accused of violating the EU Birds Directive.

The European Commission began infringement proceedings against the country last year, for allowing the hunting of two migratory birds - the quail and the turtle dove - as they travel to their breeding grounds. Malta is the only country in the EU that allows bird hunting in spring.

There's also a lovely picture gallery of some of the victims, including Swifts, Bee-eaters, Purple Herons and even a Pallid Harrier! The last one, of a taxidermist's confiscated collection, is priceless. How many herons does a man need?!

Visit the BirdLife Malta website and see what you can do.

New list started

Earlier today, a Swallow became the first bird to add itself to our 'birds seen or heard inside the house' list. Not one I'd anticipated keeping, but there you go...

I wasn't there to see it, but I'm told one flew in through the open window of the downstairs loo, twittered a bit, and flew out again.

Better keep that window shut for now.

The Lodge

I went to The Lodge this morning to do some recceing for the Beds bird race team. I failed on that front, but had some photographic successes.

Birds. Yes, I photographed some birds!

Here's one that fledged earlier: baby Blackbird

Another delivery of still-wriggling caterpillars on its way to a Robin nest near you

A tiny Grass Snake swimming in one of the ponds. Whether it was after insects or newts (both plentiful, I'm not sure)

Odonata. Yes, it's dragon- and damselfly time again.

Female (I think) Hairy Dragonfly

Zoomed-in, you can see the hairs

Large Red Damselflies: mating

and teneral (just-emerged)

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)

Speckled Wood

Small Copper

Holly Blue (nectaring on holly, appropriately enough)

Green-veined White

Adela reamurella - weird, long-antennaed moths

And now for some leaves..

Rowan (I think)

Oak

Maple

Lime

Horse-chestnut

Bracken

Beech

Miscellaneous bugs:

Green Shield-bug

Bee-fly on bluebell

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM