Lesvos features high in HRC 2008 rarities report

Juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Polichnitos Saltpans, 20 Sept 08. © Steve Dudley
This first record for Lesvos and only the fourth record for Greece was found by Terry Robinson and was present for just one day.

The Hellenic Rarities Committee has just published the Greek rarities report for 2008.

Among the many records in the report are plenty of accepted records from Lesvos from 2008 and previous years. These include at seven (!) new species for the island such as the above Pectoral Sandpiper, plus Steppe Eagle, Dotterel, Knot, Little Swift, Bluethroat and Southern Steppe Shrike.

March 08 bird news

Black-winged Stilts, Kalloni Saltpans, 22 March 2008 © Eleni Galinou

These stilts were part of 50+ present around the saltpans in mid-March. Eleni also reports 35+ Ruddy Shelduck in fields by the saltpans and numbers of Swifts and hirundines present from around the 20th and Northern Wheatear and Hoopoe seen on the 22 March.

Joris and Ineke Peeters-Lenglet at the Lesvos Wildlife Hospital tell me they had the first House Martins on 14 March and Common Swifts on 18 March, and the pair of White Storks that nest on the olive oil factory in Agai Paraskevi returned on the 28 March. The pair of disabled Barn Owls at the Wildlife Hospital are breeding and have four eggs!

I hope to be able to include more regular bird news updates from Eleni in coming weeks ahead of the main birding season starting on 17 April (when I myself will be present on the island for three weeks). Anyone with news from the islands can email me at steve(at)toadsnatcher.com (work it out!) and I will carry worthy records on here as part of my more regular spring updates.