A Birding Day Skiathos Style

I’m not back in the local routine just yet, so here are some new pictures from Skiathos 2015. 

Skiathos is not the sort of place where we map out the day ahead; it’s more “jump in the Jimny” to see where it takes you. 

Apart from a number of minor roads in pretty poor condition and countless unmade tracks there’s one “major” road which heads across the island in an east/west direction. So we found ourselves heading through Skiathos Town, past the airport en route to Xanemos Beach, the first coffee stop of the day. 

Skiathos

Right next to the airport is the lake of Aghios Georgios where herons can sometimes be found. In our case this was Grey Heron, Little Egret and Great White Egret. A bonus was at least 4 Common Kingfishers, a species we would also see later in the week at Strofilia Lake, Koukounaries. As Skiathos is entirely dry during the summer months I could only think the Kingfishers were migrants here to take advantage of the abundant fish in the clear blue waters of this the Aegean Sea. 

Aghios Giordios Lake

 

Great White Egret

Little Egret

Skiathos

The roadside is a plane-spotters delight as a series of aircraft arrive and leave throughout most days during the summer months. The island reverts to quiet mode from October to May when many islanders return to the Greek mainland. 

Skiathos Airport

We took a leisurely drive alongside the airport runway abutted by small holdings and agricultural land, much of it devoted to growing fruit and vegetables. The Red-backed Shrike seems commonplace, even abundant on Skiathos in September with between 20 and 30 individuals seen in a typical day of laid back birding. I suspect that many are migrant birds whereby they are invariably found in garden and smallholding situations with often two or more sat along a single perimeter fences or line of vegetation. 

 Red-backed Shrike

Whinchats were equally abundant along the roadside, indeed almost everywhere we visited throughout our two week stay. The Whinchats are migrant birds only, Skiathos a stop-off on their journey from Northern Europe to Africa. We stopped at a tomato farm to find good numbers of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and unseen but ever chattering Sardinian Warblers. 

Whinchat

The beach café was deserted, we the first to arrive. I spotted 6 Eleonora’s Falcons playing over the headland to the right but first we had a date with a reviving drink out of the already blistering heat. In Spain it’s difficult to get a bad cup of coffee. In Skiathos it is the direct opposite - hence the fizzy but thankfully ice-cold lemonade. 

Xanemos Beach

Look Out!

Coffee Time - Skiathos

The first planes of the morning began to arrive, speeding in and landing what seemed like just yards behind the café. Yet others motored slowly along the runway, turned the circle and then paused before a mighty blast of jet engines sent them hurtling back down the runway and out over Skiathos Town. In the café the roof and walls shook but luckily the tables were fastened to the floor. Meanwhile the muddy coffee turned darker still following the addition of a dose of sand, grit and unspent jet fuel. 

Beach Landing

Take Off - Skiathos

The effect of the first few planes upon the playful Eleonoras seemed quite dramatic. I climbed the hill to get a closer look at the falcons and disturbed a Blue Rock Thrush from I knew not where. The falcons had gone to be replaced by a single Kestrel and several Hooded Crows. It’s just a mile or two from here up the coast to Kastro where the Eleonora’s Falcons have their major, and in September, still active breeding colony. We would see them later in the week. 

Eleonora's Falcon

Blue Rock thrush

We drove back through Skiathos Town, Suzuki City as some call it. 

Suzuki City

It was lunch time at the Bourtzi and then back to the ranch for a swim and a soak in the sun. But not before we’d stopped to watch a Yellow-legged Gull finishing off an octopus and a European Shag fishing for lunch. 

The Bourtzi- Skiathos

European Shag

Yellow-legged Gull

It’s a hard life being a birder in Skiathos. Log in soon for back to normal birding or more from Skiathos.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Lift Off

We arrived back in the UK just yesterday following 14 days in sunny Skiathos. I’m hoping that blog readers haven’t deserted Another Bird Blog in its absence so I put together a few pictures of Greece so as to get the blog up and running again. Hopefully there will be local birding news soon after the essential catching up with friends, family, post and emails. 

It’s a four hour flight from Skiathos to Manchester and for once Manchester Airport was bathed in Greek-like sunshine. 

Lift Off - Skiathos Style

The town of Skiathos is the only built-up area of the island of Skiathos. It is situated on the south-eastern tip of the island in a windless bay which separates the island of Bourtzi in two. The area of the old and new harbours holds few birds where the requisite Yellow-legged Gulls can be seen flying over the buildings and the waters, occasionally resting on the rocky shore but rarely frequenting the many boats moored there, as if they are not welcomed by the fishermen. 

Yellow-legged Gull

The Bourzti - Skiathos

One morning as we walked the old harbour there was an unfamiliar gull waiting for hand-outs from a man gutting small fish. As this was a shopping for gifts and tourist photo day I had only my 50mm lens so took a couple of shots when I realised the bird to be a Caspian Gull. 

Caspian Gull

I think the current situation is that the pink-legged gulls of Britain and other northern countries are still called Herring Gulls Larus argentatus, the yellow-legged ones from the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast of Iberia, Morocco and the Atlantic Islands are called Yellow-legged Gulls Larus michahellis. The ones that have pale pink or pale straw-coloured legs, and which breed north of the Black Sea, in the Ukraine and east of there, are called Caspian Gulls Larus cachinnans. 

At the wooded Bourtzi there were resident House Sparrows and passage migrants of both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, and along the quayside the resident and ubiquitous but fairly unapproachable Hooded Crow. The only other crow noted during the holiday was Common Raven, numerous around the high tops and rugged coast of the north of the island. 

Hooded Crow

Skiathos Town

Further along our walk and frequenting a waterfront restaurant was another gull, this one a juvenile bird which I suspect is also a Caspian Gull, but I’m far from being a gull fanatic so stand to be corrected.

Caspian Gull

Walking east towards the airport there are numerous waterside restaurants, one of which is splendidly named αλκυόνα - Kingfisher. We stopped for a delicious Greek salad without spotting a Kingfisher however the shallow clear waters and the often rocky shore looks eminently suited to the species. 

Greek salad

Near the airport lake and along the quieter shore were water birds represented by Great White Egret, Little Egret and Grey Heron, plus more Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and unseen Sardinian Warblers. 

Little Egret

Skiathos

Little Egret

 Great White Egret

There's more Greek delight soon from Another Bird Blog. And hopefully back to the patch tomorrow.

Linking today to Skywatch Friday.