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 .

Honey Honey

As you may have guessed we’re still in Greece, headed today for the old harbour in Skiathos where we took a leisurely boat trip to the other main islands of the Northern Sporades - Skopelos and Alonnisos. 

The town of Skopelos is very picturesque, previously honoured as a Traditional Settlement of Outstanding Beauty in 1978 by The President of Greece. The building code for new construction and renovation within the village stipulate that no new buildings shall be of more than two stories, there must be a sloped ceramic or stone roof in the traditional style, and doors, windows and balconies be made of wood. 

Skopelos

Agriculture is widespread on Alonnisos, predominantly mixed farming and vineyards. The main products are almonds, grapes, figs and olives, with a splash of the local speciality honey. Honey hereabouts is mainly pine honey from conifer trees and flower-honey from the nectar of fruit trees and wild flowers, the product forming a large constituent of the famous Greek sweets such as Bacalava. 

Alonissos

Baclava -  Photo credit: Steve Koukoulas / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Housing traditionally consists of closely constructed houses with stone walls, which, until 1965, were centred around the capital. A small fortress protected against enemies and pirates. The island and the village were heavily damaged in the 1965 earthquake. Many inhabitants returned not to the village of Alonnisos, but to Patitiri.

The old village has been restored in recent years, with rebuilt houses now utilised for tourism. The Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus-Monachus) is common around the island, and in 1992 the Alonnisos Marine Park was created to protect these seals and other animals.

The boat trip proved quite eventful for birds, with sightings of Eleanora’s Falcons alongside the cliffs near the village of Glossa with several Gull-billed Terns close inshore as we approached Skopelos harbour. Gull billed Terns pass through this area about now on their way to winter in the Arabian Gulf. Yellow-legged Gulls hung about the jetty as we docked, no doubt waiting for hand-outs from the tavernas and restaurants dotted along the tiny waterfront.

Gull-billed Tern - Photo credit: barloventomagico / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Yellow-legged Gull

With an hour or more to kill, we took a coffee and a piece of honey soaked cake before heading for a stroll through the village towards the pines beyond.

We did see a Honey Buzzard gliding over the hills behind the village, and it’s not surprising as there were lots of large flying insects for them to feast on. Honey Buzzards are specialist feeders, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasps and hornets, although they do take small mammals, reptiles and birds. It is thought that Honey Buzzards have a chemical deterrent in their feathers that protects them from wasp attack.

Honey Buzzard - Photo credit: Sergey Yeliseev / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

The Hobby is a common raptor here and like the Eleanora’s Falcon, the smaller Hobby spends lots of time in the sky looking to grab a passing hirundine or a large insect. 

Hobby -  Photo credit: markkilner / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA 

As we waited for the boat back to Skiathos I noted a Common Sandpiper along the stretch of pebble beach. 

It’s not all milk and honey in Skiathos as there are more common birds too - Yellow Wagtail, Sardinian Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Dove, Hooded Crow, and even our UK garden birds, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and  the humble House Sparrow.

Keep your comments coming as the house-sitter will be updating the blog with comments and I'll catch up with blogging pals very soon.

Mamma Mia!

Readers of a certain age will recognise today’s blog title as the title of a popular song by a  well known Scandinavian group. It is also the title of a not-very-good film starring those should-know-better stars, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. It’s a clue to where the blog comes from today - yes Skiathos and nearby Skopelos in Sunny Greece, the islands where the said film was shot in 2008 and where another wedding takes place this week. No folks, I’m not committing bigamy in Greece, it’s the wedding of daughter Joanne to son-in law-to-be Ian with special guests Mums and Dad.

The island of Skiathos is about 12 km long and 6 km wide on average. Despite its small size Skiathos with its many beaches and wooded landscape is a popular tourist destination. It has over 60 mostly sandy beaches scattered around the 44 km coastline. 

Skiathos, Greece

Much of the island is wooded with Aleppo Pine and a small Stone Pine forest at the Koukounaries location where there is a lagoon and a popular beach. 

The island's forests are concentrated on the southwest and northern parts, but the presence of pine trees is prevalent throughout the island. It all adds up to a good birding spot, especially during September when many birds from Northern Europe make their way south through the Mediterranean towards Africa or the Middle East. 

Skiathos Town

Skiathos Town

Birding from the off in the clear skies, the hills alive with overhead Alpine Swifts and a mix of hirundines, Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows, House Martins and Little Swift. Is Hobby the commonest bird here? Could be simply the number heading back to Africa and following the hirundines but today we had 12/15 Hobby sightings with no effort at all. 

 Alpine Swift- Photo credit: ferran pestaña / Foter / CC BY-SA 

Eastern Olivaceous Warblers seem to be everywhere, vying for attention with good numbers of Woodchat Shrikes. Just a short walk from the hotel I found Cirl Buntings, overhead Common Buzzard and Honey Buzzard, and not far away the calls of Bee Eaters - with luck I’ll find them tomorrow. 

Woodchat Shrike - Photo credit: Muchaxo / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Cirl Bunting - Photo credit: Le No / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

In the meantime we must find somewhere to have an evening meal here in Agia Paraskevi, Taverna Town as we call it, where an unseen-by-most Scops Owl calls every evening as we stroll by. 

Scops Owl

I'm not online much, there's relaxing and touristy things to do, not to mention a wedding to attend.

The house-sitter will be updating the blog with comments in between keeping the garden tidy and checking the post, so keep your comments coming in. But I'll catch up with blogging pals soon and there's more from Another Bird Blog in Greece soon.

Grey Surprise

The morning started grey, drizzly and breezy - one of those mornings when optimism for finding birds and taking photographs doesn’t come easily. But by 11am when the sun finally broke through the clouds the morning hadn’t been too bad after all, and for readers who stay the course there are a few pictures of an uncommon grey goose for these parts. 

At Conder Green I watched 5 Little Grebe fishing the pools, taking the tiny minnows the Kingfishers and Cormorants have been after lately. No sign of a blue streak though, and just one Cormorant and 8 Teal. There rest of the usual stuff proved pretty sparse with just 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Curlew and 2 Spotted Redshank, all enlivened by 11 Snipe plus a single Ruff with head tucked in, roosting and hiding amongst the 20 or so Redshank in the creek. 

I drove through drizzle up to Knott End where hopefully the 1015 tide might bring in a few goodies and a change of weather. I think I missed the bulk of the Oystercatchers heading up river to roost as there were only some 140 left on the incoming tide, other waders 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Ringed Plover, 22 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, 2 Lapwing, 10 Curlew and 7 Grey Plover. 

Also on the incoming tideline were 9 Eider, 8 Cormorant and a single Grey Heron. The heron was having a bad day, being chased from the shore by a Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

Grey Heron and Lesser Black-backed Gull

The poor overnight weather and gloom of the morning had brought lots of terns to the shore where they roosted in between the "dreads" - 450 Sandwich Tern plus several Common Tern. 

Sandwich Terns

Sandwich Terns

Along the river was a Brent Goose, preening almost continually as it floated downstream. I thought maybe it had got slightly oiled to be cleaning itself up so systematically, but eventually it came ashore and fed a little before passers-by caused the bird to drift out to the channel again. Brent (or Brant) Geese are fairly scarce around here and it is quite unusual to get such good views and pictures from what is normally a very wary species, especially when they mix with winter Pink-footed Geese.

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

From Wiki.

"Brent (or Brant) Goose is divided three subspecies:

• Dark-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla bernicla 
• Pale-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla hrota (sometimes also known as Light-bellied Brant Goose in Europe, and Atlantic Brant in North America) 
• Black Brant Branta bernicla nigricans (sometimes also known as the Pacific Brant in North America) 

 Some DNA evidence suggests that these forms are genetically distinct; while a split into three separate species has been proposed, it is not widely accepted, with other evidence upholding their maintenance as a single species.

The body of the dark-bellied form is fairly uniformly dark grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly not significantly paler than the back. The head and neck are black, with a small white patch on either side of the neck. It breeds on the Arctic coasts of central and western Siberia and winters in western Europe, with over half the population in southern England, the rest between northern Germany and northern France.

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose appears blackish-brown and light grey in colour. The body is different shades of grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly are significantly paler than the back and present a marked contrast. The head and neck are black, with a small white patch on either side of the neck. It breeds in Franz Josef Land, Svalbard, Greenland and northeastern Canada, wintering in Denmark, northeast England, Ireland and the Atlantic coast of the U.S. from Maine to Georgia."

More birds and sunny days from Another Bird Blog soon. Stay posted.    

On The Up….

Are the numbers of Spotted Redshanks at Conder Green. There were three this morning, 2 juveniles and 1 still dusky adult bird, all three feeding together in the roadside creeks where 30/40 Common Redshanks also fed. 

The overall Common Redshank numbers are harder to fathom since there’s a constant movement of birds to and from the marsh where distant Redshanks numbered 4/500 when I looked along the river from Glasson. The picture shows part of the flocks along the river where 2000+ Lapwings outnumbered Redshank by a ratio of 5 to 1, and where 5 Curlew and a single Dunlin were clearly outnumbered.

Curlew

Lapwings and Redshanks

Below is a nicely shot video of a Spotted Redshank by Luuc Punt.

A Spotted Redshank feeds in noticeably deeper water than is the case with the Common Redshank, a difference which shows a distinction in the ecology of these two closely related species. The Spotted Redshank often feeds with the bill at a small angle to the water and the bill swept rapidly from side to side, also feeding by probing with a nearly vertical bill in a similar manner to Redshank. The bill of a Spotted Redshank is noticeably thinner and longer than that of a Common Redshank. While both species have bright red legs, the Spotted Redshank has the longer of the two. 

 

Redshank

Similar number of other waders and wildfowl with 2 Common Sandpipers, 3 Greenshank, 10+ Snipe, 10 Teal, 2 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron and 3 Cormorant. No sign of Little Grebes today.

I paid Lane Ends a visit where a slow walk to Pilling Water and back revealed 20+ Goldfinch, 1 Skylark, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank and 10 Little Egrets.
  

Sparrowhawk

The Sparrowhawk was a young female and taking an unsuccessful pop at one of the recently released white Red-legged Partridge. HiFly have released lots of birds in recent days with hundreds of normal red-legs and dozens of the white variety now swarming through the fields.

Red-legged Partridge

Flying against wintry clouds the white birds may be difficult for shooters to target but for birds of prey like Peregrine, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard and female Sparrowhawks the white blobs in the green and brown landscape must provide a tempting and easy target.

More blog and more birds soon. Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog. Linking today to Anni's Blog.

More Fishy Tales

The fishy bit comes during post-birding grandparent duties, but first the bird news from a couple of hours Wednesday, later than desired due to BT being down on Wednesday afternoon. 

I don’t know why the sign warns of ducks crossing at Conder Green because the road is far too busy for birds to walk across the road. Mostly they fly above the road to and from the creeks, the pool and the more distant Lune marshes. 

Ducks crossing?

There were lots of Lapwings, a combined count of 300 on the creeks and pool but more like a couple of thousand out on the marsh beyond the railway bridge. I was walking the old railway track when it became obvious a Peregrine was about from the mass of Lapwings suddenly in flight, but it’s not always easy to spot a hunting Peregrine which might fly below, above or through the flocks of birds it panics into flight. Eventually I picked it up, the anchor shape cruising down river towards Lancaster and moving steadily away. Oh well, there will be other days with the magical raptor when wintering Peregrines are an almost daily occurrence in these parts. The Lapwings are very wary at the moment but I managed a half decent shot of a juvenile bird at the poolside. 

 Peregrine

Lapwing

The railway path was quiet with a single Whitethroat seen, a rather loud and emphatic “hweeting” Chiffchaff from the trees at the car park and a couple of overflying Goldfinch. Near the pool I at last found a decent flock of Goldfinches with 35 or more feeding on the extensive clumps of thistles, the number of plants enough to support a much bigger number of finches if only they were about. There was an addition to the regular waders with the appearance of a Ruff, too distant for a picture and constantly in and out of view as it walked behind a grassy bank. Two Spotted Redshank again plus 3 Greenshank, 10 Snipe and 40+ Common Redshank. 

Redshank

Spotted Redshank

A Kingfisher put in a brief appearance by flying at head height across the pool from direction of the canal and off towards the road bridge of the A588. Just one Little Grebe and 2 Cormorant, 12 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck and 2 Wigeon. 

Time allowed a quick look at Glasson where Coot numbers are now circa70 and Tufted Duck close on 15. Swallow numbers are down everywhere now that September beckons and I could find less than 10 here and similar numbers at Conder Green. 

There was a Buzzard circling over Thurnham on my journey back south and lunch time. 

Buzzard

Grandparenting duties took us to Knott End with Theo and to Knott End Chippy, a friendly little establishment which also happens to serve probably the best traditional fish and chips in the Fylde. 

The pictures of Knott End are for blogging pal Kay, a lady who enjoys Adventurous Travel yet has never visited the village of Knott End. Shame on you Kay. 

 

Knott End

 

 The Esplanade at Knott End

 

GranPa's Toy Shop

Knott End Chippy

 Haddock, Chips and Mushy Peas

More tales and more birds soon from Another Bird Blog.

Fishy Tales

I returned to Conder Green today where I found much the same species but with a little variation to recent counts. 

For a week or more I suspected there might be more than one Spotted Redshank, confirming it today with one in the main channel and a second one in the channel nearest to the Stork. More Snipe today, with a count of 18 a possible underestimate, plus 5 Greenshank when a flight of three arrived from the west calling loudly to join the two already counted. Still 2 Common Sandpiper around plus the regular 50+ Redshank and 300+ Lapwings roosting in the creeks and on the secluded margins and islands of the pool. 

Wildfowl numbers remain similar with 10 Teal, 6 Wigeon and 3 Little Grebe. Three Pied Wagtail around the water margins, a couple of “tacking” Whitethroats, a “ticking” Robin and handfuls of both Goldfinches and Linnets proved to be the only passerines. A single Raven was an early fly over. 

Little Grebe

Pied Wagtail

Recent high tides and the resulting water inflow seem to have increased aquatic life/tiny fish stocks in the pool, as suggested by the appearance of more Cormorants, the grebes hanging around the inflow and the regularity of the Kingfisher. There were two Kingfishers this morning, the birds travelling together across the pool and then back towards the creek and the road bridge, their regular spot. 

Kingfisher

This morning I watched as a flight of 9 Cormorants came from the direction of the Lune, twisting and turning, whiffling down to the pool, looking for all the world like a gaggle of geese landing on a winter’s day. They then proceeded to fish the water as a pack, their black bodies disappearing below the surface before one by one they resurfaced briefly before dropping below again. After a while the Cormorants flew back out to the Lune, singly or in twos or threes. 

Cormorants

Cormorant

The Cormorant is another bird which is very good at catching fish but which is not as popular as the Kingfisher or the supreme angler the Osprey. Unfortunately, unlike that of the Kingfisher and Osprey, the fishing prowess of the Cormorant is not universally admired, anglers in particular being jealous of the Cormorant's expertise. 

Most people are familiar with Cormorant fishing, an age-old art practiced in China, Japan, and a few other countries, which today exists largely due to the tourism industry. It is not so generally known that a similar method was once practiced in England. 

The ornithologist Francis Willughby (1635-1672), quoting Faber’s Annotations of Rechuss says ‘It is the custom in England to train Cormorants to catch fish. While conveying the birds to the fishing grounds the fishermen keep the heads and eyes of the birds covered to prevent them from being alarmed. When they have reached the rivers, they take off the hoods and having first tied a leather strap loosely around the lower part of the neck that the bird will be unable to swallow down what fishes they catch, throw them into the water. They immediately set to work and pursue the fish beneath them with marvellous rapidity. When they have caught one they rise to the surface, and having first pinched it with their beaks, swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew the chase until they have caught from five to six each. On being called to their master’s fist, they obey with alacrity and bring up one by one the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther than that they are slightly crushed. The fishing brought to an end, the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the strap is untied and a few of the captured fish thrown to them as their share of the booty are dextrously caught before they touch the ground.” 

Cormorant

More unlikely tales soon from Another Bird Blog.