We recently found a newly tarmaced road leading up above the
Irini Gorge - it goes to a telephone mast, and then continues as a
track. Height about 1,200 metres. So, our first report this month,
on 3rd, relocates to our trip to this road, and a stop at Agia on the
return.
3rd. Enroute to the top of the Irini Gorge, 3 eleonoras, and
our first booted eagle since January (light phase). We walked from
the telephone mast and became surrounded by sheep and goats, but no
birds. A wooded area further on turned up a short-toed treecreeper,
and yet again no chance of a photo of this little bird which was
glimpsed several times between leaves as it climbed. Back at the
car we picnicked in the hope of some larger raptors - we had a huge
area of sky to look at. A single griffon was the only sighting,
until a harrier raced by. Two quick photos have not identified the
bird, which had white on the upper parts of the tail coverts - size
would suggest montagu's or pallid.
We next drove down to the Omalos plateau. All the birds you would
expect were there; jay, linnet, goldfinch, whinchat, woodlark, corn
bunting.
Finally at Agia we were entertained by 3 terns. We agonised over
identification as 2 were roughly together most of the time and were
whiskered. The other appeared to have much faster wingbeats and
continually dived into the water. None of these birds were adult,
so id was more difficult. Other birds there included several
kingfishers, pochard, shoveller, little grebe, grey heron, little
egret, common sandpiper, yellow wagtail and marsh harrier. A photo
of little grebe with juvenile below.
Photo above by and © A&M
Whiskered Tern,
photo above by and © A&M
6th. A walk from the house, broadly aiming for the far side
of Georgioupolis viewpoint. A cettis' warbler was disturbed at very
close quarters - nearly trod on it!, and then a quick glimpse of a
redstart. No black redstarts in our area yet. Further along a
small river at the back of the lake revealed a grey heron, a single
white wagtail, and a spotted flycatcher.
Crossing the ford and making for the Georgioupolis to Vrisses old
road, I had a great view of light phase booted eagle and marsh
harrier in the same air space, both being mocked by five hooded
crows. At the lake (viewpoint) the water level was extremely high
and nothing to be seen except coots and a kingfisher. However,
walking towards Georgioupolis and entering the eucalyptus avenue, I
noticed Stelios at the water works. He let me in, and I walked down
to the weir. The water was gushing from the lake into the river. I
hung around long enough to see a grey wagtail there, and a little
ringed plover (photo of latter below). Back at the eucalyptus avenue,
another display by the crows, this time after a sparrowhawk which
almost looked as if it was enjoying the encounter. This was a two
hour stroll on my own, and is becoming a favourite walk - while we
can still cross the ford!
Photo above by and © A&M
7th. Margaret's choice - she wanted to walk "Roy and Raye's" track
high above Asfendou.
The weather was perfect - warm with clear blue skies, and
far-reaching views to Psiloritis in the east and the White Mountains
in the west. The birding was unremarkable, though enjoyable - a
couple of griffons and ravens, sand and house martins, hordes of
goldfinches and linnets, several woodlarks being very vocal, a wren
in similar habitat to my photo last month, spotted flycatchers, corn
buntings, a yellow wagtail following a flock of sheep, and a single
blackbird. Blackbirds are very few and far between in our part of
Crete, and extremely wary, as are the robins when they winter here.
We walked as far as the mast and the final shepherd's hut, before
returning. I decided a quick drive up to the radar scanners (Chonistra
on the map at 1,243 metres) would complete our trip, as we had never
been there when the weather was clear. What a fabulous spot with
360 degree viewing - earmarked for future picnics weather
permitting. Similar birds were seen, until Hawkeye saw something
grey below us on a wire. It was a long way off, but flew around and
re-settled on the wires. We were really surprised to identify it as
a male red-footed falcon, as we hadn't seen one in the autumn
before. It appeared to have strayed into a patch dominated by
kestrels, as two were harassing it most of the time. A really
pleasing trip; the photography this time mainly focussing on the
views, so one attached.
Photo above by and © A&M
8th. The same walk as on 6th - I said it was a favourite! Notable
sightings were three hoopoe, just off the eucalyptus avenue. I had
seen a marsh harrier on 3 or 4 occasions during the walk, always at
distance. As I approached the bridge from the eucalyptus avenue, I
saw it again. No longer interested in the reed beds around the
lake, this time it was practically in the village. (See photo
below). For
anyone reading this who knows Georgioupolis, the building in the
harrier picture is the first one on the left, as you cross the
bridge, leaving Georgioupolis towards Vamos.
Photo above by and © A&M
9th. Showed Margaret the hoopoe spot - 2 still there, plus 2
little-ringed plovers and a spotted flycatcher. Drove via Imbros to
Aradena. Beyond the bridge we turned on to tracks and had good
clear views towards the foothills of the white mountains. We were
rewarded with a clear sighting of a pair of adult golden eagles - a
nice birthday present for me!
11th. 5 turtle doves in field off the eucalyptus avenue. Georgioupolis viewpoint, a single ferruginous duck amongst dozens of
coots. 2 little grebes and a few moorhens there.
12th. Flock of Pintail flying past Georgioupolis in heavy
weather, see photos
below.
Photo above by and © A&M
Photo above by and © A&M
13th. A visit to Aghia late morning. First sightings were two marsh
harriers and a booted eagle vying for best positions over the weir
end of the lake. More coots than I could count, but amongst them at
least 6 ferruginous duck, a few gargeney and pochard. Further
across 3 shoveller, 3 grey herons. To the left a single little
egret in the corner reed beds, but also in the reeds the head of a
great white egret could be seen. A slow walk along the path gave me
great views of the latter. (photos below). Also seen this morning
were little grebes, kingfishers, willow warblers, sand martins and
possibly a spotted crake scurrying into the the reeds, where the
little egret had been.
Great White Egret, photo above by and © A&M
Great White Egret, photo above by and © A&M
I decided to see if the ferruginous duck was still at Georgioupolis
viewpoint later in the day, as so far all my sightings had been
fairly distant. It was there, but the longer I looked at it, the
more I wasn't convinced. Checking in my Collins Bird Guide, I
looked at the page on hybrids and realised that this was a cross
pochard/ferruginous duck. There are several pointers to this in the
book, and most of them were identified.
The hybrid, photo above by and © A&M |
15th. My "favourite" walk to Georgioupolis water revealed 2
common snipe, one kingfisher, the hybrid pochard/ferruginous duck
and 2 shoveller. Enroute, first starling of the winter period -
somewhat surprised to see it alone, and three serins. Earlier
today, first wintering robin in olive grove opposite house.
Nothing of note while walking the eucalyptus avenue - the hoopoe
have gone, so too the turtle doves and little ringed plovers, though
there were three of the latter at Petres beach yesterday. Spotted
flycatchers are still everywhere. Returning via Kalivaki beach,
another two kingfishers, and a grey heron off the headland beyond
the beach.
16th. While at a Georgioupolis bar for a drink we were accompanied
by a collared dove strolling around between the tables. There are
often more than 20 of these birds in small flocks around the
village, and are now seemingly prevelant in all Cretan urban areas.
17th. A lunch date with Mike and Angela Domijan. We met at Spili,
and as we prepared to drive off 3 griffons made a flypast overhead,
straightlining it above the village. Great sightings of more
griffons later and a display by 4 ravens.
Later, a curry night at our neighbours. Sitting on their balcony,
Margaret had a close view of a barn owl gliding past the house. I
was obviously sitting in the wrong seat!
19th. A visit to Lake Kournas to watch some canoe racing gave us
long distance views of 7 griffons, and only little grebes staying on
the lake with so much activity there. As we arrived a light morph
booted eagle swept across the road, and then rapidly made height
above the lake until it was barely visible, even using bins. A few
chiffchaffs were seen in the area too.
Back home, during the afternoon, a dark morph booted eagle appeared,
and stayed in the area for some time. Photos of both below.
Also seen from the house today were whinchat, raven, kestrel and a
female marsh harrier.
Above the pale morph booted eagle, photo above by and © A&M
Above the dark morph booted eagle, photo above by and © A&M
20th. Credit goes to our friends Helen Stuart, and her mother Rita,
for a phone call alerting us to a pair of pelicans at Georgioupolis
viewpoint this morning. We arrived to find two juvenile white
pelicans standing in shallow water near the roadside. One was
darker, and obviously younger, than the other. They eventually
separated and swam out of sight to different parts of the lake. We
telephoned Colin and Sue Turvey, who decided to make the long trip
despite not knowing if the birds would be sighted again. Later, at
home we had a call from them to say they were there, but no birds
seen. We went down to join them, only to find both birds were back
in view, and coming back to the roadside area of the lake. Many
good photos; some attached. We only hope that the local population
don't see them as target practice or food. When we last saw them
they were standing on the bank near the water pumping station -
hopefully they will make for the river, where they will find plenty
of fish. Will they stay?
We had an enjoyable couple of hours with Colin and Sue, who also had
their first sightings of common snipe - there were 5 today, which is
the most we have seen. Other notable sightings included a single
spotted flycatcher and a swallow, neither of which we had seen for a
few days. Also seen were little stint, serins, willow warblers, a
chiffchaff, a grey wagtail, a marsh harrier and a pale morph booted
eagle. The hybrid pochard/ferruginous duck appears to have moved
on.
Above four photos of the juvenile White Pelicans, photos by and © A&M
21st. As our grandson, Alex, was off school through a teachers'
strike, we walked down to see if we could find the pelicans. They
were both there, near the roadside viewpoint, but later moved away
to a quieter part of the lake. They appeared "less tired" than
yesterday.
Common snipe are increasing daily - seven today, all together with
one little stint amongst them. Water rail seen briefly along lake
edge immediately opposite viewpoint. Dark morph booted eagle, male
marsh harrier and a dog-fight between a hooded crow and sparrowhawk
completed the sightings.
Later in the day, we saw a small flock of (c18) newly arrived
starlings, a juvenile red-backed shrike - haven't seen one since
last month, and two spotted flycatchers along our lane just before
dusk.
22nd. Both pelicans still on Georgioupolis water. Unusually from
the viewpoint, a gathering of 12 griffons stacking high above
Georgioupolis. First black redstart seen from the house - a
good-looking male, which heralds the beginning of winter for us.
23rd. Took friends out to Aradena area, where another distant
viewing of two golden eagles seen this time from the Bailey bridge.
Upon return to Georgioupolis, the younger pelican was now standing
on the quayside near the fishing boats, and causing much interest.
The second pelican not seen today, but now hearing it may have moved
to Kournas Lake. Having been sent a photo of that bird, it does
look very similar in plumage to the one we had seen at Georgioupolis
this week.
25th. The Kournas lake pelican is the 3rd in the area. After
speaking to one of the taverna owners there, he confirmed it arrived
last Monday - same time as the other two. Meanwhile in
Georgioupolis, the younger pelican is being fed by local fishermen,
and many tourists are having their photo taken standing right next
to the bird - even stroking it! The other has not been seen now for
two days, so can't confirm if it's still around. Had a look around
the Kalives and Kiliaris river areas today looking for more
pelicans, but none there.
26th. A cooler and windy day. We decided on a drive to Arkadi
monastery area, and in particular the huge landfill site nearby in
hope of seeing a black kite. We were not disappointed - amongst
dozens of noisy ravens, a marsh harrier and then the kite. (see pics
attached - I was lucky enough to get both harrier and kite in the
same frame, albeit in silhouette). By now it was raining and very
windy, and so decided to earmark the track, that might allow us to
walk nearer to the landfill site, for another day. Staying in the
car, we drove across the mountains to Thronos at the head of the
Amari Valley, and then cut back towards the new dam. The water
level is between 2 and 3 metres higher already. Only bird seen was
a female sparrowhawk skirting the edge of the water, and then
soaring high above us. Earlier, enroute to Arkadi, more good
sightings of griffons, which seem quite active this month.
The Black Kite, photo above by and © A&M
The Black Kite left, Marsh Harrier right, photo above by and © A&M
We noticed many hillsides turning purple with heather, and there was
definitley a hint of winter in the air today. The clocks went back
last night, and I for one am disappointed with the thought of
shorter afternoons - we are not early morning people......yet!
27th. Pelican still in Georgioupolis at quayside. Three
kingfishers on the river. First black redstart in the garden.
29th. My "favourite" walk this afternoon with Margaret and
Grandson. Despite all the chatter between us, the following list of
birds were encountered.
house sparrow
common buzzard (particularly pale specimen)
kestrel
hooded crow
sardinian warbler
stonechat
blackbird
robin
wren
chaffinch
goldfinch
greenfinch in small flocks
great tit
white wagtail
starling, small flock
coot x 100
little grebe
mallard
cetti's warbler (a photo at last!)
grey heron x 2
yellow-legged gull
collared dove
and the white pelican still at Georgioupolis quayside.
31st. Breakfast on our balcony gave us a great display by sparrowhawk, light morph booted eagle and hooded crow all vying for
the same airspace.
Later, in the afternoon we had a walk along a track on the hillside
opposite Argiroupolis - a new walk for us. Nothing of note except
for a pair of cirl buntings occupying a disused quarry. Many robins
seen and heard in this area - guess they will be fighting for this
territory soon.
Finally, the pelican is seemingly enjoying life on the river at
Georgioupolis. It is being fed by fishermen, but will hopefully
fish for itself too. Last time I saw it, it was "hanging around"
near a priest who was fishing. The bird was paddling around the
float bobbing on the river - obviously a quick learner. The priest
was not impressed! |
