30th September
Weather....0900....27.0oC....Sea, calm..Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud thin , high 20%.... Wind, S 2-3m/s....1011mb... Sunny
Species list Kaliviani.... Goldfinch....Hooded Crow....Spotted Flycatcher.... Kestrel.... Blue Rock Thrush....
Moronis.....Redshank 1....Greenshank 1....Yellow Wagtail 4....Little Egret 2 Little Ringed Plover 4....Italian Sparrow....Grey Heron 1....Yellow-legged Gull 2
Agyia ....Marsh Harrier 2....Eleonora’s Falcon 2....Sparrowhawk 1....Teal 40+ Common Buzzard 8....Shoveler 10+.... Ferruginous Duck 6....Mallard 1.... Gadwall 1.... Pochard 1xm, 8+ f ....Little Grebe 30+.... Coot 90+.... Moorhen 10+ Grey Heron 9....Purple Heron 1....Little Egret 2.... Great Egret 1.... Mute Swan 1.. Sand Martin 20+....Kingfisher 2....Cetti’s Warbler....Goldfinch.... Blackbird.... Spotted Flycatcher....Hooded Crow....Italian Sparrow.... Barn Swallow....20+ Starling 7.
A few pics will be added throughout the day
Three ages of Yellow-legged Gull.... Larus michahellis at Kissamos harbour
Hooded Crow....Corvus cornix at Agyia 
Greenshank....Tringa nebularia at moronis
Redshank..... Tringa totanus and Greenshank....Tringa nebularia at Moronis
I think, Common Darter ....Sympetrum striolatum At Moronis
Stripe-necked Terrapin...Mauremys caspica at Agyia
Great Egret....Ardea ( Casmerodius ) alba at Agyia
Grey Heron....Ardea cinerea at Agyia
From left.... Grey Heron, Little Egret and Purple Heron at Agyia
Ferruginous Duck....Aythya nyroca
Female Pochard, Moorhen and Ferruginous Duck at Agyia
Male Pochard... Aythya ferina
Kingfisher...Alcedo atthis
29th September
Weather....0900....26.4oC....Sea, calm..Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 10%.... Wind, NW 1m/s....1012mb... Sunny
Falcons rather than aquila's today and 6 Gull-billed Tern seen in the bay again. Scopoli's Shearwater once again feeding on shoals of small fish and as its a Sunday local pleasure fishermen chasing the fish in their small boats !! A small group of grey heron also along the rocky area of coastline.
Species Kaliviani.... Blue Rock Thrush 6....Blackbird.... Crested Lark.... Goldfinch.... Hooded Crow.... Sardinian Warbler....Collared Dove....Stonechat.... House Martin Common Buzzard 10.... Scopoli's Shearwater 10+....Yellow-legged Gull 2.... Spotted Flycatcher.... Kestrel.... Greenfinch.... Woodlark....Griffon Vulture 3.... Italian Sparrow.... Northern Wheatear....Grey Heron 6.... Eleonora's Falcon 1.... Gull-billed Tern 6....Sparrowhawk 1....Peregrine Falcon 1.
Alan reports 3 Bee-eaters near Karines and Black Kite at the landfill near Arkadi monastery.
The autumn raptor migration on Antikythira has now ended for this season to see the results of the survey see...................... http://blogs.ornithologiki.gr/osa/?p=3431#comment-9550
Once again we set up the camera trap, so far we have photo captured..... Hedgehog, Beech Marten, Blackbird , Great Tit, Stonechat, for photos videos see our Facebook page
28th September
Weather....0900....26.5oC....Sea, calm...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 40%....Wind, NW 2m/s....1012mb Mostly sunny
Highlights today.... Red-footed Falcon female, Golden Eagle, Black kite, Booted Eagle and some Steppe Buzzard in with the Common Buzzard. All these birds were seen almost at the same time and quite high. Also a feeding frenzy of Scopoli's shearwater into a shoal of small fish that were being pursued by even larger fish
Species list Kaliviani....Blue Rock Thrush....Great Tit ....Hooded Crow... Rock Dove Crested Lark.... Collared Dove....Red-footed Falcon 1.... Golden Eagle 1.... Black Kite 1.... Common Buzzard 5.... Woodlark....Booted Eagle 1 dark morph.... Griffon Vulture 7.... Yellow-legged Gull.... Goldfinch....Scopoli's Shearwater 50+... Stonechat
Golden Eagle....Aquila Chrysaetos
Black Kite....Milvus migrans
Red-footed Falcon....Falco vespertinus
Steppe Buzzard....Buteo buteo vulpinus
Booted Eagle....Aquila pennata
Nikos reports .....Today at Agyia: Great Egret, Glossy Ibis, 2 Little Egret, 2 Purple Heron, 20 Night Heron and 85 Grey Heron...
Thanks Nikos thats a fantastic count of Ciconiiformes there today !!!
27th September
Weather....0900....24.9oC....Sea, rippled...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 50%.... Wind, NW 5m/s....1012mb Mostly sunny
A very poor day today we could only manage 12 species !!!!! There were 30+ Grey Heron that lingered along the coast until 1200hrs and 1 Kingfisher there also
Species, Kaliviani....Hooded Crow...Blackbird....Blue Rock Thrush....Collared Dove.... Goldfinch.... Rock Dove.... Sardinian Warbler.... Crested Lark.... Grey Heron 30+....Griffon vulture 1....Kingfisher 1.... Kestrel 1
Alan reports three groups of what appeared to be Grey Heron near to Almyros Bay approx numbers 12, 30 and 20.
26th September
Weather....0900....27.9oC....Sea, rippled...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 50%.... Wind, NW-W, 3-6m/s....1016mb Mostly sunny
Not too much about again today, with the winds in the NW we thought we would get some raptors , but apart from an early morning Booted eagle and Sparrowhawk there was nothing else. ! It was also a quiet day on Antikythira so we cannot expect anything tomorrow, but who knows !
Species Kaliviani.... Griffon Vulture....Spotted Flycatcher....Italian Sparrow.... Hooded Crow.... Collared Dove.... Rock Dove.... Booted Eagle 1.... Blackbird.... Yellow-legged Gull....Great Tit....Goldfinch.... Greenfinch.... Blue Rock Thrush.... Whinchat.... Sparrowhawk.... Cormorant.... Barn Swallow.... Sardinian Warbler.... Common Buzzard....Olivaceous Warbler....
In the Kamares area lots of Griffon Vulture 41 , a Bearded Vulture tagging along on occasions too.
At Agyia....Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great Egret, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Eleonora's Falcon, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Mute Swan Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Ferruginous Duck, Shoveler Duck., Glossy Ibis.
25th September
Weather....0900....27.2oC....Sea, rippled...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 2%.... Wind, W-NW, 2-5 m/s....1014mb. sunny
With the wind settled from W-NW we had hoped for some raptors moving through, no such luck ! it was also a very quiet day for small birds. Our first Scops Owls appeared this evening we heard one last week but a few could now be heard in the hills , soon they will come close with their "tyuh Tyuh " call, sometimes annoying relatives staying with us when they are metres away from their room ! Me , I love them............
Sue took off to the local beach to get some plant pictures and left myself to scan the empty skies. All that was to be seen was several small groups of Griffon Vulture heading to and from Deliana / Polyrinia area.
Species list Kaliviani....Common Buzzard 2....Greenfinch.... Blue Rock Thrush.... Great Tit....Blackbird....Sardinian Warbler....Crested Lark.... Collared Dove.... Rock Dove ....Hooded Crow.... Italian Sparrow....Red-backed Shrike.... Griffon Vulture 11.... Spotted Flycatcher....Raven....Barn Swallow....Whinchat.... Northern Wheatear.... White Wagtail....Scops Owl.
A few of the flowers Sue found this afternoon along the beach area
Chaste Tree...Vitex agnus castus
Sea Daffodil....Pancratium maritimum
Prickly Saltwort.... Salsola cali
24th September
Weather....0900....25.6oC....Sea, choppy...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 30%.... Wind, NW, 3-8 m/s....1014mb Mostly sunny
A few small migrants arrived this morning , mainly Spotted Flycatcher, quite a few Greenfinch. The wind is back from the Northwest.
Species list Kaliviani.... Spotted Flycatcher 5...Blue Tit....Great Tit.... Greenfinch.... Chaffinch.... Hooded Crow....Collared Dove....Sardinian Warbler....Blue Rock Thrush Stonechat....Italian Sparrow.... Woodchat Shrike....Barn Swallow.... Whitethroat....Red-backed Shrike....Willow Warbler....Common Buzzard... Sparrowhawk 1...Raven ....Griffon Vulture 6....Icterine Warbler....Sand Martin Cormorant 1....Whinchat....Blackbird....Goldfinch and an unidentified high flying harrier.
Whitethroat....Sylvia communis
Sardinian Warbler....Sylvia melanocephala
Sparrowhawk....Accipiter nisus
Whinchat....Saxicola rubetra
Spotted Flycatcher....Muscicapa striata
Icterine Warbler ....Hippolais icterina
23rd september
Weather....0900....24.7oC....Sea, choppy...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 60%.... Wind, East, 3-8 m/s....1014mb Mostly sunny
The Long-legged Buzzard was again seen near the house where it was holding up into the wind, it stayed around until about 1330 then disappeared. In the late afternoon we had an Eleonora's falcon trying to catch a kestrel there were a good few minutes of aerial combat before the kestrel managed to dive into our neighbours small fenced sheep pen, one lucky kestrel !!!!
Species List....Blue Rock Thrush.... Hooded Crow....Common Buzzard 3.... Italian Sparrow.... Goldfinch....Raven....Crested Lark...Griffon Vulture 8 am, 7pm... Long-legged Buzzard 1.... Great Tit.... Barn Swallow....Peregrine Falcon.... Eleonora's Falcon....Kestrel....Collared Dove....White Wagtail....Barn Owl.
Long-legged Buzzard....Buteo rufinus
Common Buzzard ....Buteo buteo
Our two local birds sat on the rocks above the house as then moon sets above them
Sunset over Rhodapou.
The wind is staring to change from east back to the north hopefully some more migrants tomorrow
22nd September
Weather....0900....24.9oC....Sea, choppy....Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 70%.... Wind, East 3-8m/s....1014mb Mostly sunny
We found Claes and son Patrik from Sweden birding nearby and invited them to come to the house , where we had fantastic views of a Long-legged Buzzard that stayed around all day only disappearing as darkness fell, hopefully we will see it again tomorrow.
As the wind was coming in from the east we were not in for a great migrant day like yesterday, however we were rewarded with a pale morph Booted Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Eleonora's Falcon and several Griffon Vultures. Earlier in the day a group of 32 Little Rgret flew along the bay , with other groups on the north coast, 45 at Moronis and over 200 at Georgopouli.
Species Kaliviani...Blue Rock Thrush 4.... Hooded Crow 20+...Common Buzzard 5. Greenfinch.... Chaffinch....Italian Sparrow....Little Egret 32....Goldfinch.... Booted Eagle 1.... Crested Lark.... Woodchat Shrike ....Long-legged Buzzard 1... Griffon Vulture 12....Peregrine Falcon 1....Kestrel 1.... Grey Heron 1.... Raven 6.... Eleonora's Falcon 2.... Spotted Flycatcher 6.... Northern Wheatear 3.... Little Ringed Plover 4.... White Wagtail
Long-legged Buzzard....Buteo rufinus taking off from neighbours roof
Booted Eagle....Aquila pennata
Peregrine Falcon....Falco peregrinus
Grey Heron....Ardea cinerea a close to the house flyby
21st September
Weather....0900....26.7oC....Sea, choppy...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 50%.... Wind, NNW, 1m/s....1012mb Mostly sunny wind veered to the east and increased to 7m/s around 1400hrs
What a day this turned out to be !! after a few fairly quiet days we managed a total of 42 species today with only four seen away from the house , a superb male Grey Plover in summer plumage, Little Ringed Plover , Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher, these we spotted when we wandered to the beach area below the house. Here we also met up with Nikos who came to spend the day with us, and did he bring some birds with him.
Out of the 38 species seen from the balcony 10 were raptor species. A really good enjoyable day. Whilst sat on the balcony eating goat stew and homemade bread, we were interrupted by our first Sparrowhawk of the season and seconds later by the second Peregrine Falcon. My new lucky "Birds of Greece" T shirt from Nikos will be worn on all outings....Thanks Nikos a great day !!
Species List....Goldfinch 20+....Blue Rock Thrush 4.... Chaffinch 10+.... Italian Sparrow 10+....Willow Warbler 1....Crested Lark 10+....Hooded Crow 20+ Great Tit 5....Collared Dove 5.... Kestrel 1.... Stonechat 2....Blackbird 2.... Eleonora's Falcon 3...Red-backed Shrike 1.... Northern Wheatear 3.... Garden warbler 1....Grey Plover 1....Little Ringed Plover 3....Common Sandpiper 1 Kingfisher 1....Little Egret 8....Squacco Heron 4....Yellow Wagtail 10+.... Marsh Harrier 4....Common Buzzard 5....Honey Buzzard 23.... Griffon Vulture 25 Booted Eagle, pale morph 1.... Sparrowhawk 1.... Peregrine Falcon 1....Raven 6 Whinchat 2.... Woodchat Shrike 1.... Greenfinch 6... Yellow-legged Gull 3.... Grey Heron 1.... Cory's or Scopoli's Shearwater 1...Barn Swallow 8....Rock Dove 11 Sardinian Warbler 5.... Hen Harrier 1.
Grey Plover....Pluvialis squatarola
Common Buzzard ...Buteo buteo and Eleonora's Falcon...Falco eleonorae
Common Sandpiper....Actitis hypoleucos
Common Buzzard....Buteo buteo
Honey Buzzard....Pernis apivorus coming in from the bay
and, over the house
Coastal Kingfisher....Alcedo atthis
Marsh Harrier....Circus aeruginosus
Hen Harrier....Circus cyaneus
Red-backed Shrike....Lanius collurio
Whinchat....Saxicola rubetra
Spotted Flycatcher....Muscicapa striata
Yellow Wagtail... Motacilla flava
I have this down as a Sparrowhawk.... Accipiter nisus, not too sure but it may be a Goshawk.... Accipiter gentilis
Two images by and copyright Nikos Samaritakis taken at Viglia beach
8 Little Egret...Egretta garzetta and 2 Squacco Heron....Ardeola ralloides
Booted Eagle....Aquila pennata
distant over Gramvousa our first autumn migrant
20th September
Weather....0900....25.4oC....Sea, choppy....Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 80%.... Wind, NW 3-5m/s....1010mb Mostly sunny AM ,Mostly cloudy PM
Frustrating is birding !! the only morning this week that we have not been along our local beach and a visiting birder gets a Grey Plover along there !!!! At least it was seen and recorded and Oddbjorn from Norway has added another species to his Crete list. Nice find............
Our highlights were 3 Marsh Harrier and a Woodchat shrike that stayed around for most of the day with Blue Rock Thrush chasing each other along the slopes above the house.
Species Kaliviani...........Blue Rock Thrush 3....Woodchat Shrike 1.... Goldfinch .... Blue Tit....Great Tit.... Raven.... Crested Lark....Spotted Flycatcher.... Woodlark Hooded Crow.... Sardinian warbler.... Collared Dove.... Red-backed Shrike.... Willow Warbler....Greenfinch....Blackbird....Common Buzzard.... Marsh Harrier 3 Little Egret 1....Barn Swallow....Griffon Vulture 3
19th September
Weather....0900....28.9oC....Sea, choppy...Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 40%.... Wind,NW 3-9m/s....1008mb Mostly sunny
Species were a bit thin on the ground today at Kaliviani. we had good views of several Grey Heron flocks as they flew low into the bay and circled near to the port of Kissamos gaining height then disappearing south west with the wind taking them off fast on their journey. The first group carried a Little Egret along with them !!
New arrivals................. Redstart, Tree Pipit.
Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Great Tit numbers increasing
Species....Woodlark....Crested Lark ....Hooded Crow....Italian Sparrow....Great Tit Grey Heron....22+17+4+20....Chaffinch....Red-backed Shrike....Little Egret.... Tree Pipit.... Griffon vulture 2+3....Blue Rock Thrush....Common Buzzard.... Stonechat.... Barn Swallow.... Yellow-legged Gull 1.... Kingfisher.... Redstart.... Spotted Flycatcher....Greenfinch....Raven....Goldfinch
Some images added to the 14th and 18th from Alan
18th September
Weather....0900....29.8oC....Sea, calm....Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 80%.... Wind, NW3-5m/s....1007mb Mostly cloudy
Highlight of the day , 6 Gull-billed Tern flying around Kissamos Bay in the kaliviani / Viglia area. Another new species for us on Crete and from home too. Our Crete species stands at 236 and home species now at 152 .
Still not too much to be seen today at Kaliviani...Goldfinch....Hooded Crow.... Blackbird....Common Buzzard 5....Greenfinch....Blue Rock Thrush....Italian Sparrow.... Collared Dove....House Martin 2.... Woodlark...Great Tit....Crested Lark Gull-billed Tern 6.
At Plakias , Alan spotted singles of Sanderling , Dunlin and Little ringed Plover.
At Agyia a visiting birder from Norway and Panos spotted a juvenile Egyptian Vulture, there was also a Black Stork sighted there at 1830.
From Alan at Plakias.....Singles of Dunlin...Sanderling and Ringed Plover ands 2 Shag
Four images by and copyright Alan Hargrave
Dunlin ....Calidris alpina
Sanderling....Calidris alba
Shag....Phalacrocorax aristotelis
Ringed Plover....Charadrius hiaticula
17th September
Weather....0900....29.3oC....Sea,calm...Vis 20+ miles....Cloud 70%....Wind NW 2-5m/s...1007mb mostly sunny
Nothing much around today but we spotted our first peregrine falcon for the season, perched on the rocks above the house. An unidentified bird again and no camera to hand looked like a red-backed shrike in size and shape but with a straight bill similar to an olivaceous warbler, it did not stay around long and a pic was missed !! A small warbler has given us a headache , it is the cantillans V communis problem rearing its head again in the autumn but we now think its a communis, someone is bound to tell us different ! pic below and on Facebook. From the front it does not look like a whitethroat to me !!!
Kaliviani species ....Greenfinch....Hooded Crow....Blue Rock Thrush.... Blackbird....Sardinian Warbler.... Italian Sparrow....Rock Dove....Red-backed Shrike....Woodlark....Common Buzzard...Griffon Vulture 2.. Goldfinch.... Peregrine Falcon....Subalpine Warbler....Little Ringed Plover ....Great Tit.... Whitethroat.
Whitethroat....Sylvia communis
Peregrine Falcon....Falco peregrinus
16th September
Weather....0900....26.2oC....Sea, calm....Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 60%....Wind, 3-12 m/s....1012mb........ Thunderstorm at 1800
Very quiet at kaliviani this morning most of the small birds of yesterday seem to have moved on ....
Species Kaliviani....Barn Swallow....Italian Sparrow....Goldfinch....Sardinian Warbler....Hooded Crow .... Collared Dove....Crested Lark....Common Buzzard.... Red-backed Shrike....UID Harrier... Little Egret.... 1 Italian Sparrow.... Blue Rock Thrush...Grey Heron 6.....Greenfinch...Eleonora's Falcon 1...Kingfisher.... Cormorant......Chaffinch 1.... Blackcap....Barn Swallow
At Moronis.... Little Egret 1....Common Sandpiper 1....Little ringed Plover 1.... Yellow-legged Gull 2
At Agyia ....Great views of a Hobby hunting with Eleonora's Falcon and flyover by a Glossy Ibis.......... Coot....Moorhen....Little Grebe....Little Egret 2....Grey Heron 4....Eleonora's Falcon 4.... Hobby 1....Common Buzzard 3....Common Sandpiper 1....Snipe 1....Wood Sandpiper 1....Shoveler 4.... Ferruginous Duck 2....Pochard 28....Hooded Crow....Blackcap....Great Tit....Kingfisher....Mute Swan.... Cetti's Warbler....Italian Sparrow....Glossy Ibis 1
Red-backed Shrike....Lanius collurio
Grey Heron ....Ardea cinerea at Viglia beach
Little Egret....Egretta garzetta
Glossy Ibis ....Plegadis falcinellus at Agyia
Eleonora's Falcon ....Falco eleonorae at Aygia
Hobby....Falco subbuteo
Whiskered Tern....Chlidonias hybridus
15th September
Weather....0900....28.9oC....Sea, rippled....Vis 20+ miles....Cloud 1%....Wind NWbyN 2-5m/s...1015mb
A good day with lots of migrants arriving some in good numbers ,
Todays highlights , Our first Red-breasted Flycatcher, we have seen these on Antikythira but a new Crete and Home patch species . Hoopoe, Yellow Wagtail, Turtle Dove and 5 Wryneck.
Kaliviani list ( seen on our one acre ) a nice 35 species .............. Blue Tit 1....Great Tit 6....Hoopoe 1 Hooded Crow 20+....Italian Sparrow 6.... Common Buzzard 2.... Sardinian Warbler 8.... Kestrel 1.... Crested Lark 10+....Stonechat 2....Blackbird 3....? Lesser Kestrel 1 ?.... Spotted Flycatcher 10+.... Red-backed Shrike 2....Whinchat 5....Wryneck 5....Rock Dove 1....Blue Rock Thrush 3.... Raven 12.... Willow Warbler 4....Griffon Vulture 21....Little Egret 28....Barn Swallow 7....Northern Wheatear 1.... Subalpine Warbler 3....Eleonora's Falcon 2....Kestrel 2....Collared Dove 3....Cormorant 2.... Whinchat 6.. Greenfinch 5....Turtle Dove 1.... Yellow Wagtail....Red-breasted Flycatcher....Scops Owl
Wryneck....Jynx torquila
Willow Warbler.....Phylloscopus trochilus
Whitethroat.....Sylvia communis
Whinchat....Saxicola rubetra
Turtle Dove....Streptopelia turtur
Subalpine Warbler.....Sylvia cantillans
Spotted Flycatcher.... Muscicapa striata
Subalpine Warbler juvenile left and Spotted Flycatcher right
Red-backed Shrike....Lanius collurio
Little Egret....Egretta garzetta
Hoopoe ....Upupa epops
Sardinian Warbler....Sylvia melanocephala
Carpenter Bee....Xylocopa violacea
Silver washed fritillary....Argynnis paphia
Hummingbird Hawkmoth....Macroglossum stellatarum
From Alan....At Agyia
Six images by and copyright Alan Hargrave
Glossy Ibis....Plegadis falcinellus
Marsh Harrier ....Circus aeruginosus
Eleonora's Falcon....Falco eleonorae
Willow Warbler....Phylloscopus trochilus
14th September
Weather....0900....29.7oC....Sea, calm....Vis 20+ miles.....Cloud 60%....Wind, 3-7 m/s....1016mb
Todays highlight , see our resident Bonelli's Eagles again as the adult pair flew high over the house this morning. Little Egret and grey heron on migration and a large unknown tern seen near the herons that we could not get a good look at.
Species in and around Kaliviani....Goldfinch....Crested Lark.... Common Buzzard 3....Blackbird 4.... Blue Rock Thrush 3 m....Collared Dove....Hooded Crow 12....Greenfinch....Raven 4.... Stonechat 2.... Sardinian warbler 4....Griffon Vulture 8....Bonelli's Eagle 2....Great Tit 1.... Spotted Flycatcher 2.... Red-backed Shrike.... Italian Sparrow ....Little Egret 18....Grey Heron 6....Red-rumped Swallow 3.... and a large unknown tern ?
Stonechat....Saxicola torquata
Griffon Vulture ....Gyps fulvus
Bonelli's Eagle....Aquila fasciata
From Alan....
Georgioupoli Lake now has a single ferruginous duck, a few shoveller and garganey, at least one common snipe, grey heron, female marsh harrier, and the pygmy cormorant. Water level finally drained off a little.
13th September
Weather....0900....30oC....Sea ....rippled....Vis 20+miles....Cloud 1% and building....Wind W 2-3B ....1015MB
Highlight today was 1 Marsh Harrier on migration , Antikythira had good numbers through yesterday but nothing else was seen.
Species Kaliviani....Crested Lark.... Blackbird....Hooded Crow....Blue Rock Thrush 2m 1f....Kestrel 1 Red-backed Shrike 1....Goldfinch....Common Buzzard 3.... Collared Dove 3....Sardinian Warbler 2.... Rock Dove.... Woodlark....Yellow-legged Gull 2...Scops Owl
12th September
We arrived back on Crete on the 10th onboard the ferry from Gythio to Kissamos and chose to spend the night in the camper on the Kaliviani beach road. We had hardly stopped when we heard a Barn Owl really close, a nice greeting.
We set off up to the house at 0700 on the 11th a lot to do but we kept a lookout for birds throughout the day.
Its good to be back ! We found that the water to our bird drinking stations was turned off so there has been no water on site, this was rectified straight away and we hope some birds will return or migrants drop in, also sheep had been grazing to keep the weeds down but they have overfed and the area has lost a lot of low cover and is a dust bowl !!! some rain is needed now to get things looking good again.
11th ......Temps in the mid 30sC it was very sticky with the humidity. After a long hot summer everything is looking very tired and dried out, the ground is dusty and there is not much green to be seen, however birds were about and we spotted Blue Rock Thrush f....Common Buzzard....Sardinian Warbler.... Stonechat.... Griffon Vulture 4....Blackbird....Italian Sparrow....Goldfinch....Hooded Crow.... Kestrel.... Crested Lark.... Collared Dove, we heard the Barn Owl again in the evening.
12th.....
Weather ...0900....26.5oC....Sea, Flat....Vis 20+ miles....Cloud 0.... Wind 0 .... 1015mb At 1600hrs the temperature was 32.2oC
Kaliviani list....Black Kite 1....Hooded Crow....Blackbird....Raven 11....Goldfinch... Blue Rock Thrush 2....Sardinian Warbler....Eleonora's Falcon 2.... Crested Lark.... Woodlark....Kestrel....Collared Dove....Italian Sparrow. Not too many species but nice to see a Kite and the Eleonora's.
We now have a camera trap and that has been set up tonight in the hope of capturing images of some of the mammals and maybe bats and Owls.
A new moth for us very similar markings to the Heliothela ophideresana we found on the 6th March but its not the same. Thanks to agis Paliouras for the species name.
Four-spotted ....Tyta luctuosa ( Nocctuidae )
If any visiting birders would like to contribute trip reports they will be gratefully received and credited accordingly and added to the "Trip Report" section.
11th September
Again Nikos gets lucky when he calls in at Moronis and has a fleeting glimpse of 39 Gull-billed Tern before they are disturbed and beat a hasty exit. Any pics Nikos ?
Once again thank you Nikos
Image by and copyright Nikos Samaritakis
Gull-billed Tern.... Gelochelidon nilotica
9th September
Nikos found a Citrine Wagtail.... at Agyia hopefully he will send us a photo ;-)
Thanks very much Nikos !
Image by and copyright Nikos Samaritakis
Citrine Wagtail....Motacilla citreola
8th September
Some images and report from Alan
Red-backed shrikes are seen more frequently now, but today was our first immature (1st winter?), at Drapanos Head. In the garden, warblers
All images by and copyright Alan Hargrave
Red-backed Shrike....Lanius collurio
Subalpine Warbler....Sylvia cantillans
7th September
Some images and report from Alan
A day out to Anopolis (Sfakia) produced a good variety of birds, though nothing unusual. A flock of 80+ bee-eaters were very noisy high above us, but difficult to pick out, despite their numbers. On the ground, six Hoopoe....three Jay... two Black-eared Wheatear, a few Northern....three Red-backed Shrike.... two Whitethroat..... two Willow Warbler, and glimpses only of a Lesser Grey Shrike. Plenty of Griffon Vulture around this area as usual. Most birds too distant for good images, so just a Kestrel - an immature/female? Back at home, many Barn Swallow descended on our overhead cables with just one Red-rumped Swallow amongst them.
All images by and copyright Alan Hargrave
Kestrel...Falco tinnunculus
Red-rumped Swallow.... Cecropis daurica
6th September
Some images and report from Alan
A successful trip to Agyia with UK birder, who managed three new lifetime birds while we were there. Initially, a distant Purple Heron, which landed on a tree on the far side of the reservoir, but was subsequently viewed more closely, as it flew around with a couple of Grey Herons. Scanning the distant hills we found three Griffon Vulture circling. Then the "show" started proper, when an Eleanoras' Falcon was eventually joined by six more - all hunting on the far side, but occasionally one was above us. Not a lot else to mention - Mallard, Mute Swan, probable Wood Sandpiper, Little Egret, Black-winged Stilt, and the usual residents.
All images by and copyright Alan Hargrave
Eleonora's Falcon....Falco eleonorae
Grey and Purple Heron
3rd September
Some images from Alan
All images by and copyright Alan Hargrave
Subalpine Warbler....Sylvia cantillans
Whitethroat....Sylvia communis
Ist September
Καλό μήνα!
Nikos kickstarts September with a trip onto Rodopou peninsula .... Common Redstart....Spotted Fycatcher....Willow Warbler....Icterine Warbler Sardinian Warbler.... Woodchat Shrike....Red-backed Shrike...Northern Wheatear Black-eared Wheatear...Blackbird....Goldfinch....Blue Tit ....Great Tit ...Whinchat Crested Lark........Stonechat....Whitethroat all within a few metres of dry, windy land... Distant views of Griffon Vulture.... Kestrel....Buzzard....Marsh Harrier.... Peregrine Falcon....Bearded Vulture too...