Birding Greek Style

Here are a few pictures from the recent holiday to Skiathos, Greece. 

There’d been an overnight thunderstorm storm and in the morning still rain in the air so Sue set off on the local bus into Skiathos Town for a cool shopping trip leaving me to drive the Jimny to Aselinos. Here I could search for migrant birds. 

Aselinos is a well-known beach in the north of the island, a quiet shoreline where tourists spend the day lounging on the sand and cooling off in the beachside taverna. Behind the beach is an area of low scrubby habitat, and beyond that a number of olive groves and stands of reeds, all hidden inside a well wooded valley; all in all a perfect place to bird but not in the 30 degrees heat of a typical Skiathos day. 

Aselinos- Skiathos

There seemed to be Red-backed Shrikes everywhere this year, no doubt some of them locally bred but so many of them that they could only be migrants from Europe. In two weeks I didn’t see a male shrike wearing its striking colours and suspect that 90% of the ones I saw were juvenile birds. The brown colouration of the female/juveniles makes them difficult to spot, especially as they can sit motionless for many minutes on a fence, branch or on the edge of a bush where the only give away is the slow-motion up and down movement of their tail. Nor are they especially approachable and it took two weeks of trying to obtain half decent pictures. 

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Rain still threatened with occasional heavy showers which soaked the back seats of the half open Jimny. We later learned that the thunderstorms had diverted planes from Skiathos to land instead in Athens where tourists faced an on overland bus and then ferry journey to make them 12 hours late for their Skiathos holiday. Oh the joys of travel. 

A wet Hooded Crow

 Aselinos - Skiathos

Behind the beach were hundreds of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs plus dozens of Whinchats, a good number of Yellow Wagtails and a dozen or more Wheatears. Along the track and in the olive groves I found shrikes, Hoopoe, Scops Owl, Cuckoo, Sparrowhawk, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and Wood Warbler. 

Olive grove

When a couple days later I searched the same area, the sun blazed down and 99% of the birds I’d seen before were no longer there - migration in action.

Whinchat

 

Whinchat

Willow Warbler

Whinchat

Whinchat

The Jimny is a great vehicle for exploring the rough tracks of Skiathos, a bright red one with a white roof not the best colour scheme to serve as a hide.

Suzuki Jimny

Chiffchaff

 Spotted Flycatcher

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

 Wood Warbler

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

The goats give up their milk to be used in the production of the famous feta (Φέτα) cheese. This herd comprised about 150 goats.

Goats in Skiathos

Wheatear

When the sun finally came out all that birding made for thirsty work and it is just amazing what those beach tavernas can cook up for hungry birders.

Beach Skiathos

Chicken Souvlaki

 Aselinos - Skiathos

Agistros - Skiathos

More Greek Delight soon from Another Bird Blog. Book your table now.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

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.

Home Again

There’s a mound of letters on the kitchen table, a string of messages on the answerphone, two suitcases stuffed full of clothes to be washed, and a camera bursting with memories of Skiathos. 

Outside, and after two weeks of unremitting Greek sunshine there’s the forgotten sound of rain and the unwelcome sight of grey British skies. Looking to the bottom of the garden I can see the barbecue cover plastered over the berberis - no need to enquire of recent weather then? So instead I’ll spend an hour or two updating the blog and then worry about other normalities of life. 

There was WiFi at The Ostria but with a wedding to attend, and a burning desire to explore beautiful Skiathos once more after a visit in 2007, the best I could manage on the Internet was a couple of sessions with clumsy big fingers over a tiny Asus netbook. So apologies to message leavers and blog followers, I will catch up with you all as soon as poss. 

Hotel Ostria is tucked away in a secluded spot some 50 yards from the main coastal road which runs through Agia Paraskevi, a little tourist spot some five miles from the hustle and bustle of Skiathos Town. The resort has a fine beach, lovely surrounding countryside and most importantly, more than enough tavernas to satisfy a 14 night stay. Skiathos Town is a Euro 1.60 bus ride away for the obligatory shopping trips or to board a ferry or tourist boat to neighbouring islands. Angela Merkel is not popular in Skiathos where tee shirts or advertising boards bearing legends deride the German Chancellor. 

 Skiathos Town

Skiathos Town

 Boat Trip Skiathos 

At this point I give an unashamed plug to The Hotel Ostria run by the wonderful Matthinou family, together with my recommendation that should anyone wish to visit Skiathos there cannot be a finer, more welcoming and peaceful place to stay. “Arrive as a guest, leave as a friend” seems to be the family’s working mantra. In a lovely hillside setting and with less than 30 rooms this small hotel has beautifully spacious grounds with vegetable plots, varied fruit trees and vines, the origin of much of the food which is served. Makis is justly proud of his fine Aubergines. 

Hotel Ostria, Skiathos 

 

 Hotel Ostria, Skiathos

 

Makis at Hotel Ostria

Hotel Ostria, Skiathos 

 

Apart from the resident Hooded Crows and House Sparrows the first bird I saw here was a juvenile Red-backed Shrike which frequented the hedgerow leading down to Makis’ vegetable plot. There was an eclectic mix of species in the grounds of the hotel or along the nearby lanes, both Red-rumped Swallows and Barn Swallows hawked the swimming pool and on cooler mornings, Common Swifts or Alpine Swifts above plus regular parties of Bee Eaters. Spotted Flycatchers were daily inhabitants of the hotel's grounds.

The commonest small bird around the hotel, and possibly the island was the humble Great Tit, perhaps due to the species ability to exploit the countless nesting cavities in the millions of olive trees which cover the island. 

Red-backed Shrike

Bee Eaters

Spotted Flycatcher

 House Sparrow

Great Tit

Red-rumped Swallow - Photo credit: Perry van Munster • Photography / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA 

Back to normal soon for Another Bird Blog with more Skiathos pictures, new book reviews and local news.

So don't forget to ‘click the pics’ and remember, you read it here first. And I'm linking today to Stewart's Gallery .