The Listless Twitcher: Lesvos Spring 2013

It's a rare occurrence in one's life when hand on heart you can say that
there is nowhere else in the world you would rather be right now...

It was a great pleasure to share the first week with Andy Last and Dave Lowe in what
was a full on hardcore birding week with each day comprising of at least 12 hours in the field.
I felt privileged to be able to share in Andy's enthusiasm at seeing new species (56), on this his
first foreign birding trip and also to bird this legendary Island with Dave who is without doubt
one of the sharpest birders I've met. Such a brilliant and very memorable week, thanks chaps.

Highlights included a group of 9 Rollers,
6 Golden Orioles sat in the same bush,
Watching a flock of Red-foots fly in off the sea,
Multiple Pallid and Montagu's Harriers,
~~Eleonora's Falcon~~ Dusky Falcon of DEATH & Griffin Vulture,
Short-toed Snake Eagles,
A close encounter with a Goshawk,
Long-eared Owl & chicks,
2 Baillon's Crake together,
6 Little Crake together,
Spur-winged Plover & Marsh Sandpiper,
15 Purple Herons in flight,
Slender-billed Gulls,
Singing male White-throated Robin,
Rock Sparrow,
Falls of migrating Collard Flycatchers & Shrikes,
Alpine Swifts in mid air courtship flights & calls,
Black-eared (at least 2 races...Collins should dedicate a whole page to B-e.W)
and Isabelline Wheatear,
Picking out Citrine Wagtails and various other races in falls of Wagtails,
False Apollo Butterfly,

Lesser-grey Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Golden Orioles courtesey of Andy Last

In the second week Mrs Badger arrived as did Mr 'Paranoid' and

Jean his wife, in what was a more sedate week but not without its highlights...

Levant Sparrowhawk,
Caspian Tern,
Yelkouan & Scopoli's Shearwaters,
Rufous Bush Robin,
Olive Tree Warbler,
Sardinian & Ruppell's Warbler,
Bee-eaters (sorry Andy)
Pallid Swifts,
Collared Pratincole,
Icterine Warblers,
Marsh Warblers,
Nightjar,
Red throated Pipit landing on the windscreen (of the stationary) Hire car,

In the third week the migrating bird numbers were starting to tail off
so it was time to get up close and personal with some of the other outstanding
wildlife resident on the Island...