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birding...
Greece Lesvos
Lesvos, at approx 25x40 miles in area is the second largest of the Greek islands after Crete. Situated only between 5-8 miles from Turkey it is ideally situated to receive migrants tracking along the Turkish coast in spring and autumn, and also to host several species of restricted breeding range - with Kruper's Nuthatch and Cinereous Bunting probably ranking as the most important. A new introduction to birding Lesvos has been written exclusively for Fatbirder, adapted from A Birdwatching Guide to Lesvos by Steve Dudley (See ‘Useful Reading’). As it is so comprehensive it has a page all of its own… just click on the link below. Steve has also kindly suggested a number of other improvements to this page and it has been revised in the light of those suggestions. If you are thinking of visiting this magical isle you need to read his article, which has certainly whetted my appetite to read his book! Bird Recording View LBRC species: http://lesvosbirdrecords.blogspot.com/2009/04/lbrc-species-list.html
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top sites |
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See the new Lesvos page for top sites...
Lesvos – Migration Islandcontributor |
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Steve Dudley
Lesvos Birding
((Hunts, England))
steve.dudley@toadsnatcher.com
http://www.lesvosbirding.com
useful reading |
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A Birdwatching Guide to Lesvos
Steve Dudley - Part of the Arlequin Press ‘birdwatching guide’ series - August 2009272 pages; a detailed guide to over 60 of the best birding areas/sites across the island; over 45 specially maps; 32 pages (over 90 images) of colour photos of sites, habitats and species; a 39 page checklist to the birds of Lesvos (up to and inc. spring 2009); separate tick lists for birds, butterflies, dragonflies and orchids; appendices detailing island place names and pronunciations, and bird lists in Greek and Dutch; cover and numerous black-and-white line illustrations by renowned bird illustrator Dave Nurney. 2009.
ISBN: 9781905268061
Buy this book from NHBS.com
Birding on the Greek Island of Lesvos
Edited by Richard Brooks Series: BIRDING ON THE GREEK ISLAND OF LESVOS 246 pages, col plates, 26 line illus, maps. 1998NB Out of Print
ISBN: 0952724928
Buy this book from NHBS.com
trip reports |
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Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!
2000 [May] - Papilio
http://www.papilio.co.uk/A quick lunch and we were soon out looking at the Kalloni II Pool just outside the hotel. Sixty Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, Little Bittern and Wood Sandpiper were amongst the birds on the pool – all just a stone`s throw from our hotel...
2000 [September] - Maurizio Sighele
http://www.maudoc.com/maudocbirding/lesbos.htmItalian trip report
2001 [April] – Pat & Judy Hayes – Lesvos
http://www.realbirder.com/lesvosreport.htmA drive or walk along the East River can be very rewarding. The area between the road bridge and the sea is very popular but don’t ignore the river above the bridge as this tends to be less heavily birded and some of the rarer birds have been found here...
2002 [May] - Birdwatching Report from Vatera
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/vatera/report.htmMore a list of birds than a report...
2003 [April] - Honeyguide
http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/2003lesvos.pdf2003 [May] - Bob Biggs
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/Greece/lesbos7/lesbos-may-2003.htmWe had notched up 146 species on our 1996 trip and I knew that I would fall some way short of that number this year. I had decided not to jeopardise future trips so thought that I would keep my solo birding to a minimum. As it turned out, all three of us went out most mornings and then I nipped out for a couple of hours in mid to late afternoon while the rest of the family went to the swimming pool at the Kalloni 2 Hotel. Lorraine is very interested in birds, wild flowers and using her digital camera. However, she is also interested in sunshine so she had lots of choice on this holiday!
2003 [May] - Terry Fenton
http://www.birder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Lesbos0503.htmThis was to be the first holiday I`d had where birding was high on the agenda! It was also our first spring trip to southern Europe...
2003 [May] Paul Wetton
http://www.paulos.uk7.net/frame.htmlSarah and I visited the beautiful island of Lesbos for the second time from 1 May to 15 May 2003. We stayed at the Madonna Apartments, courtesy of Dimitra Balkizas, the owner, in the resort of Vatera which is situated on the southern coast of the island...
2004 [April] - Honeyguide
http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/lesvos-salisb2004.pdf2004 [April] - Honeyguide
http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/lesvos-2004.pdf2004 [May] - Bob Buckler
http://www.birdfinders.co.uk/news/lesvos2004.htmThe drive to our hotel in Skala Kallonis was a fair one and we didn`t arrive until late afternoon, but we still had time, after checking in and freshening up, to do some birding around the Kallonis (pronounced Kalloni) pools – literally just outside the hotel...
2004 [May] - Jos Wanten
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/Greece/lesvos9/lesv-may-04.htmAlthough this was already our 7th visit to Greece this was actually the first time that bird watching was one of our main occupations....
2004 [May] - Terry Fenton
http://www.birder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Lesbos0504.htmFor our third trip to Lesbos we left the expensive tours and first charter from Manchester (First Choice) to either the rich or hard-core birders and opted for one of the cheaper packages that flew out on the 6th May. As we were a week later than last year, I expected fewer birds but more settled weather. The birds did not disappoint...
2005 [April] - Honeyguides
http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/Lesvos-2005.pdf2005 [May] - Robert Hoare
http://www.tripreports.cliftongrovebirds.com/lesvosmay05.htmlWe arrived in lesvos in the late afternoon on thursday 12th May. The one & half hour coach ride from the airport to Anaxos in the north of the island produce the first sightings of White Stork nesting on a chimmney in Kalloni and 140+ Greater Flamingo on Kalloni salt pans...
2005 [May] – David & Amanda Mason – Lesvos
http://www.realbirder.com/LesvosTripReport2005.htmAfter breakfast we headed up the Napi Valley to the Olive-tree Warbler site. On the way we had 5 Red-footed Falcons and 2 Hoopoes. At the site itself we had Honey-buzzard, 2 Long-legged Buzzards, single Eleanora's Falcon, Golden Oriole, a pair of nesting Masked Shrikes, Sparrowhawk, Middle-spotted Woodpecker, Woodlark, Hawfinch, a number of singing Orphean Warblers, Cirl Bunting and about 5 singing Olive-tree Warblers...
2005 [May] – Pat & Judy Hayes – Lesvos
http://www.realbirder.com/LesvosTripReportPat2005.htmI am aware that organised birding trips have an agenda to maximise the amount of birds seen, against the time spent in the field but this should not be to the detriment of both birds and other birders. Several birding companies were guilty of both. Early morning trips to the inland lake were spoilt by mini buses containing a dozen birders or more disgorging their human cargo as soon as they arrived, pushing birds clearly visible prior to their arrival into dense cover...
2005 [September] - Robert Hoare
http://www.tripreports.cliftongrovebirds.com/lesvossept05.htmlFor our two week stay in Lesvos we choose to stay in the north of the island just outside Molyvos hoping to catch up with migrants moving south through Turkey,and over the next 2 weeks we were not to be dissapointed...
2006 [April] - Rob Lucking & Steve Henson
http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/2006lesvos.pdfHoneyguides tour - pdf
2006 [May] - Robert Hoare
http://www.tripreports.cliftongrovebirds.com/lesvosmay06.htmlWe arrived onto the island of Lesvos in the late afternoon, after clearing customs we set of on the coach to Anoxos. Lesser-Grey Shrike, White-Winged Black Tern and Greatear Flamingo were all seen on route. Arriving at the excellent Anoxos Hotel we off loaded our luggage and sat down with a few cold beers watching Alpine Swift and Red-Rumped Swallow flying overhead. We then sorted out the car hire for the following 2 weeks and retired to the hotel bar... [not just excellent reports but very nicely illustrated with Robert's own field sketches]
2007 [May] - Anser Birding
http://www.anserbirding.com/At last I can publish the trip report for this destination, thanks to Phil Shepherd for writing it up in his usual style and to Nick Goatman for some rather excellent images. The heat of the day was used wisely if not a little frantically around the pool on some days, the food was a hit and the birding great. Thanks to all who went on the trip, I am glad you all got your target lifers...
2007 [September] - Honeyguide
http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/2007-Lesvos.pdf2008 [May] - Pat and Judy Hayes
http://www.realbirder.com/Lesvos2008.htmlWithout any tales of woe with regard to Lesvos this trip, we expected business to be very much as usual for our fourth visit to this wonderful island and we weren’t disappointed. Prior to our visit of 2005 we had read Richard Brooks’s update, which told of severe winter temperatures decimating both the olive and citrus trees on the island and the abortive attempt to drain Kalloni pool. I have to say that the latter is still a shadow of its former self with very little open water visible to any of us less than 8ft tall. All the trees have now recovered...
2009 [October] Pat & Judy Hayes
http://www.realbirder.com/Lesvos2009.htmlHaving birded Lesvos on 4 occasions during the spring since 2001, we wondered what it would be like in early autumn. As usual we trawled through the various websites looking for trip reports. We were frankly surprised and a little sceptical at the lack of both bird numbers and species recorded, especially when compared to spring trips. So in order to satisfy any doubts, we booked 2 weeks at the back-end of September...
tour operators |
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Birdfinders
http://www.birdfinders.co.uk/tours/greece.htmBirdfinders offer a late April/early May trip each year...
Caligo
http://www.caligo.com/europe/greekislands.it.htmlThe nearby Kalloni salt pans and surrounding fields provide one of the very best sites, and one that we shall return to several times. We watch the telegraph wires for birds, including Lesser Grey Shrike, Red-footed Falcon, Bee-eater, and possibly Roller on passage, while the surrounding fields can hold Collared Pratincole and Red-throated Pipit. The salt-pans themselves should hold a mass of Greater Flamingos and Avocet, together with hundreds of waders, including Curlew Sandpiper in their lovely breeding plumage. Raptors in the area can include both Montagu`s and Marsh Harriers and Short-toed Eagle...
Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays
http://www.honeyguide.co.ukIf you are looking for a quality natural history holiday, this is a great place to start. The Honeyguide programme offers a mix of the very best of wildlife in fascinating parts of Europe...
Lesvos
http://www.richard-brooks.co.ukMy four years of organizing early spring visits for people ahead of the main tourist season have confirmed the island`s terrific potential for bird and wildflower spectacles in early spring, when everywhere is green and fresh, the wetlands are at their most productive and the weather largely pleasant, without being too hot or plagued with tiresome insects! There is always something new from day to day and the mass influx of birders and tour groups peaking in the first half of May (when the main impetus of migration is arguably over) has not yet occurred.
Lesvos Birding
http://www.lesvosbirding.comBird and wildlife tours, spring and autumn, with Steve Dudley, author of A Birdwatching Guide to Lesvos and the man behind www.lesvosbirding.com.
Lesvos island travel guide
http://www.lesvos-safaritours.comLesvos Safari Tours organizes and structures Tours and Outdoor activities on the island 12 months a year, enabling the intrepid independent traveller, family, group or other to access the traditional wild side of the island...
Lesvos Travel
http://www.lesvostravel.co.uk/For a real taste of Greek country life and the chance to lose your self in a rustic atmosphere that still retains the slow pace of a bygone age, the island of Lesvos is second to none. Situated in the Northeast Aegean Sea it is the second largest of the Greek islands after Crete and until recently was virtually unknown as a tourist destination to all but the Greeks themselves. By the way, the correct spelling is Lesvos and not Lesbos although you will constantly come across both versions even on the island itself...
Magical Journeys
http://www.magicaljourneys.com/Lesvos/lesvos-interest-birdwatching.htmlBirdwatching on the Greek Island of Lesvos...
Ornitholidays
http://www.ornitholidays.co.uk/Ornitholidays offer two separate trips to Lesvos each year...
Sappho Travel
http://www.sapphotravel.com/Flights, ferries and accommodation...
Sunbird Tours
http://www.sunbirdtours.co.uk/brochure_2003/europe/greece/lesvos.htmlLesvos – spring migration through the Aegean
Travelling Naturalist
http://www.naturalist.co.uk/tours2009/lesvos.phpJust a few miles off the Turkish coast, the attractive Greek isle of Lesvos is now firmly on the map as one of the best places, not just in Greece, but in the whole of Europe, for watching birds on spring and autumn migration. Add to this wonderful scenery, lovely flowers in spring, and resident birds including Krüper`s Nuthatch and Cinereous Bunting in their only European breeding location, and you can see why the island is proving so popular!
Vatera
http://www.aphroditehotel.gr/en_birdwatch.htmLesvos in resent years has more than proven its green credentials. So come on over to Vatera, with the welcoming people, the lovely accommodations to stay in, good food and all creature comforts. Avoid the big towns, walk the forests, the valleys and the hills Listen to the sounds, observe the flights of the birds, see the wild flowers and be part of the local community life, for a little while. Don`t forget to bring with you your photographic equipment, as it is truly worth it to capture Mother Nature at her best.
Wingspan Bird Tours
http://www.wingspanbirdtours.com/WINGSPAN BIRD TOURS offer a range of exciting bird-watching holidays and Bird Tours throughout Spain, Morocco, Lesvos and Portugal. Our Bird-watching breaks range from day trips in Andalucia to 10 days in Morocco. We cater for beginners and accomplished birders alike, we offer good value, good company and great birding...
places to stay |
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Hotel Pasiphae
http://www.pasiphae.gr/english.htmThe birder’s choice! Home to Lesvos Birding each spring from where a daily sightings log is run and birders gather for a drink and to exchange bird news each evening...
Pela Hotel - Skala Kalloni
http://www.pelahotel.gr/english.htmLooking for birdwatching (birding) or Vacation in Greece? PELA HOTEL at Skala Kalloni of Lesvos (Lesbos) Island Greece... The Wetland of Kallonis Gulf is one of the most significant parts of the ecologic assets of Lesvos. The coastal areas that stretch perimetrically to Kallonis Gulf consist a unified ecologic system, as this area is consisted of a mosaic of salt-pits, small rivers and torrents estuaries, reedy-areas, pine-trees woods and olive groves...
other links |
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Birdwatching at Vatera Lesvos
http://www.aphroditehotel.gr/en_birdwatch.htmA few kilometres from the beach of Vatera is one of the largest waterlands of Greece. It is composed of a rare and unique ecosystem...
Friends of Green Lesbos
http://www.greenlesbos.comLesbos is the most beautiful and ecologically rich of the Eastern Aegean Islands. Its beauty and richness are important both to those who live and work there and to its many visitors. The Friends of Green Lesbos is an international society for all who want to see the rich and wonderful environment of Lesbos protected and enhanced. Membership is free to all. Please join us.
Greeknet.com
http://www.greeknet.com/birding.htmThe basic geography of Lesbos, together with its size and location so close to the Turkish coast, mark it out as an area of varied habitats, with some good wetlands, likely to prove extremely attractive to spring and autumn migrants; wet enough to keep a fair variety of wintering wildfowl, waders etc.; yet also playing host to a good mix of breeding birds - some of them, like Cinereous Bunting and Kruper's Nuthatch, quite outstanding...
Lesvos Birding
http://www.lesvosbirding.com/This is the only truly dedicated birding website for Lesvos. It includes a full up-to-date systematic species status list, site guide, extensive trip report section, photo gallery links, maps, background info on how to get there, where to eat, etc. and during the main birding weeks from mid-April to mid-May, a daily summary of the days main sightings is posted each evening (see entries for spring 2008)...
Molivos Friends
http://www.molivosfriends.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28Lesbos is world-renowned as a capital for bird watchers. Home to home to more than 200 species of birds, the island hosts a unique combination of indigenous and migratory birds. Within the past five years, Lesbos has become home to a flock of migratory Flamingos, in addition to the many thousands of other birds who pass through here every year!
OSME - Lesbos: Jewell of the Aegean
http://www.osme.org/osmeweb/lesbos.htmlWhen describing Lesbos, words like magical island, migration hotspot. and jewel of the Aegean tend to trip off the tongue with monotonous regularity. On top of all these accolades I would just add the words a wildlife photographers dream. Above all it is this fact that has now lured me back to the island six times in the last five years.
Visible Migration of Birds of Prey in Lesbos
http://www.greenlesbos.com/downloads/migration.pdfBirds of prey are predominantly diurnal migrants. In order to save energy during migration, the broad winged species: buzzards, honey buzzards, eagles, hawks and harriers try where possible to soar, utilising favourable head winds and exploiting thermals that rise from the land...
Wildlife & Wild Birds
http://www.lesvos.com/wildlife.htmlLesvos is known to the birding world as one of the best locations in Europe to see migrating birds. The islands vast and varied landscape offers numerous species of birds exactly what they want and thus it is a haven not only for birds but for birdwatchers too who arrive in droves in the spring. This is also the best time to see the beautiful display of wildflowers. For people interested in birds the best place to stay is Skala Kaloni.
artists |
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Kit Day Bird Photography
http://www.kitday-uk.com/lesvos_2008.htmlExcellent images of birds taken on the island...
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