Greek Delight

Back home now from our favourite Greek island. Here’s a picture or two of birds and Skiathos the place. Click the pics for close-ups. 

The locals told us that this May had been the coldest Skiathos for forty years. For us the northerly breezes meant cool mornings and chilly evenings but the days stayed dry. A number of cloudy days meant that photography was often in poor light but on sunny days Skiathos was as captivating as ever. We took full advantage of every single day with some on the beach, wandering around Skiathos Town or simply enjoying the landscape. 

The Bee Eater fest of Week One continued into the second week. Every single day we would either see or hear gangs of European Bee Eaters overhead, sometimes so high that they were barely visible, other times in view at moderate height but still too high for photos. Just one day I got lucky when a gang of 80 or more spent time around the area of Aselinos beach and when I grabbed a couple of shots into poor light. 

Bee Eaters

Bee Eaters

I am not sure if Bee Eaters breed on Skiathos. It seems more likely that many thousands pass through this part of Greece in the spring and autumn as part of the estimated European population size of 78-90 million individuals and a distribution area extending  over 55.7 million km². While a single Bee Eater can eat as many as 250 bees a day, 80% of their overall diet, it is thought this mainly bee diet has little or no impact upon the bee populations. With the species so numerous and widely distributed is is surprising that they don't occur in the UK more than they do currently. Perhaps that final flight across the English Channel is too much after travelling from deepest Africa?

 

Distribution of European Bee Eaters

Shrikes continued to be a feature of the scrubby fields, scattered trees and even roadsides where there is roadkill or insect activity. We had one or two sightings of Woodchat Shrike but multiples of Red-backed Shrike. The female shrikes seemed much more likely to hang around for a photo while the males proved very unwilling to be pictured.

Red-backed Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Mid week brought a bird I’d not seen in many a year, a Lesser Grey Shrike. It’s a species rarely seen in the UK but one that is widespread in Central and Eastern Europe. 

I spotted a grey shrike on a post some 200 yards ahead while driving to Aselinos beach and thought it could be either Great Grey Shrike or Lesser Grey Shrike. On closer approach and because the bird was fairly obliging, I could name it as the Lesser Grey Shrike after its deep chunky bill, white feather patch in the tail, pinkish breast and long primary feathers.  Black eye in a black mask = always a difficult one!

Lesser Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike

Closer to our base of Spiti Oneiro/Dream House we found a Little Owl, a common enough bird of the island but infinitely shyer than the UK equivalent. The Scops Owl is the most common of the Skiathos owls, one heard and seen at dawn and dusk, the Little Owl less vocal and very difficult to see. 

After a few clicks of the camera our Little Owl would sometimes disappear into the confines of the dilapidated shed upon which it sat. And when a noisy dog protested at our parking close to his property is it my imagination that the owl was not pleased to be disturbed from its afternoon nap?

Little Owl

Little Owl

More pictures below of the island landscape, views around town together with time spent at the boatyard. You see, Skiathos the island and Skiathos Town are places of work and normal life that the islanders are happy to share with tourists from far and wide who are eager to experience this unique and beautiful island.

Skiathos Town, Papadiamontis Street

View from Plakes

View from the hills above Skiathos Town

View from the boatyard

Mending Nets

More Tourists

A dead Leatherback

Don't attempt this at home!

Boatyard scrapyard

Making a new mast

Likewise

Dino's Skiathos Town

Goat Dog

Meating point café

Bourtzi, Skiathos Town

Aselinos

At the airport

Hull

30 Euros a day

Aselinos

Supply Ship

"A knapsack on my back"

Shoring Up

View from Plakes

Skiathos Trails

Greek Delight

Other birds seen - Nightingale, Turtle Dove, Sardinian Warbler, Little Bittern, Little Egret, Roller, Whichat Black-headed Bunting, Hobby Collared Dove, Yellow-legged Gull, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Marsh Warbler, Reed Warbler, Scops Owl, Buzzard.

Back soon. Don't go away

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.

Gone Sunning

Henry The Labrador and daughter Joanne are in charge of the house. Alarm at 2 a.m. Next stop Manchester Airport and a 7 a.m. flight. 

Sue and I set off for Skiathos Greece on Wednesday looking for a break from the British weather, the coldest spring for many a year. The average UK temperature in April was just 8 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees colder than the usual monthly average. 

On a sunny Greek day the sight of JSI runway splitting the landscape gladdens the heart and brings a lump to many a Boomerang's throat. We circled Mamma Mia island (Skopelos), passed close by Skiathos Town low enough to look in cafes and tavernas lining the harbour and then hit the football pitch runway to a roar of air brakes. If we overshot we’d land on Xanemos beach on top of a taverna, shaken but not stirred. 

Skiathos, Greece

Less than an hour later we loaded cases and bags into the Jimny and set off to Spiti Oneiro, Dream House, our base for a day or two. Kostas, Efi and baby Vagelis greeted us with cold beers and a welcome hug. Xenia, Greek hospitality at its best. We strolled to Maistrali our favourite taverna, more hugs, an early night, and an unwelcome but fortuitous thunderstorm. Kosta's Breakfast  set us up nicely for the day ahead.

We hit the road north in the Suzuki Jimny, the best car to ever leave Japan. The island has a roundabout under construction this year, an interesting addition to the perils of driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, especially since according to local gossip it won't be finished until October. 

Jimny

The storm had done the trick with a huge flock of Bee eaters some 200 birds strong which tucked into the plentiful flying insects. Grey skies and into the light didn't make for the ideal morning but the best was yet to come with shrikes, Black-headed Buntings, Red-rumped Swallows, a European Roller and a simply superb Little  Bittern. Several hundred clicks later the camera batteries needed a top up.

Bee eater

Black-headed Bunting

European Roller

European Roller

Little Bittern

Red-rumped Swallow

Red-backed Shrike

It's not all about birding. Here are few pictures of the other Skiathos until I get around to going through the hundreds of pictures so far. 

Goatherd and goat

From Plakes

Spring Jimny

Black Swan

Boatyard

Towards Skiathos Town

The Bourtzi

Plakes Skiathos

More soon from Skiathos. Now go back and click the pics for a break from the UK weather.

 

Sand Martin Hat Trick

We have three Sand Martin recoveries in one week. This unprecedented glut of news began on Monday after a visit to the Sand Martin colony out Cockerham way. We knew that roughly 100-130 Sand Martins have been seen at the colony following our three recent visits, two visits to count followed by one for catching purposes. 

Monday looked to be the best morning of zero wind and minimal sun, the lack of bright sunshine ideal for making mist nets mostly invisible. It’s early season when Sand Martins are around in numbers but not necessarily glued to their nest holes, males or females. 

Many are on their way further north than Lancashire, into Cumbria and as far as the north of Scotland. Our 10% or thereabouts catch of 15 was pretty good with the preponderance of females (10) also pointing to the possibility that females were more intent on gaining access to last year's nest holes than wayward dilly dallying males. 

Sand Martins' Colony

The fifteen included a recapture from July 2022 and also a “control” a ring number not ours but from elsewhere, AAX9650. On Thursday came the news that AAX9650 had been ringed on 14 April 2023 at Woolston Eyes, Warrington, Cheshire almost directly 180 degrees south of Cockerham. 

Sand Martin

 

And then came the second piece of news that another Sand Martin, ALJ4781 a "3J", code for a very young bird, born at Cockerham in 2021 and ringed on 5 June 2021 was recaptured on the way back to North West England. This second one was recaptured on 6 April 2023, also at Woolston Eyes, Warrington. There is no record as to where this bird was during 2022 but safe to assume it was somewhere in North West England where it evaded capture by bird ringers. 

The hat trick of Sand Martin news emerged with ALP8530 another 3J ringed at Cockerham on 30 June 2022 and recaptured at Woolston Eyes on 13 April 2023. During the first two weeks of April counts of Sand Martins at Woolston had reached over 350 using the area to feed and to roost before continuing their northward migration. 

The Merseyside Ringing Group of Woolston Eyes took good advantage of the high counts of Sand Martins during those first two weeks of April. I'm pretty sure their catches included many new ones and probably ones ringed elsewhere in the UK and probably ones with French rings. 

Cockerham and Woolston Eyes x 3

 

Stay tuned for more bird news, views and pictures very soon.

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.

Windy Week, Sunny End

Last week was a little wild and very unlike April. Here in coastal Lancashire high winds toppled trees, wrecked fencing and blew sea ducks inland as far as Preston and probably beyond. 

Andy phoned to say friends had a Common Scoter on their garden pond for a day or more and would I like to go and “grab a picture or two”? You know the rest. The wind subsided, the Scoter decided that Poulton -le-Fylde wasn’t quite so nice after all and did a moonlight flit. 

Common Scoter

Not to worry, Saturday morning looked a goer for ringing at Oakenclough so I met up with Andy and Will at the appointed 0630. When I arrived on site the dashboard read 1.5°, a major improvement on the -0.5° when setting off from home 35 minutes earlier. 

The sun was on the rise and gave way to a pleasant enough morning with a good mix of species to ring but not many birds on the move in the clear blue sky. Fifteen birds caught – 6 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Dunnock, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Great Tit, 1 Siskin. 

Click the pics for close up views.

The most unexpected bird of the morning was a Reed Bunting, a species quite scarce on site and at the elevation here of about 700ft above sea level. It’s a species more generally thought of as a lowland farmland dweller. 

Reed Bunting

 

The single Siskin caught was a fine adult male. 

 

Siskin

 

Six new Lesser Redpoll added to recent catches of the species while the two Coal Tits came from previous visits here in the winter of 2022/23. 

 

Lesser Redpoll

Coal Tit

 

Goldfinch

Other species seen – 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Swallow, 5 Sand Martin, 3 Jay, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard. 

Great-spotted Woodpecker

All three Jays flew overhead, unusually silent as they disappeared into nearby trees. Jays are normally noisy when they are around as their Latin name of Garrulus glandarius would suggest. Garrulus is a Latin word meaning "chattering", "babbling" or "noisy". The specific epithet glandarius is Latin meaning "of acorns", a woodland fruit in which the Jay specialises. 

Jay

 

See you in the week folks. 

“It’s warming up” said the BBC weatherman. If it's on the BBC it must be wrong. You heard it here first.