EAST TRACK KALLONI SALT PANS - SKALA KALLONI TO KALLONI SALT PANS TRACK - LOTZARI TRACK - SOUTH WEST CORNER OF SALT PANS - FILIA RADIO MAST TRACK - RETURNE TO SALT PANS
WEATHER; hazy sunshine all day, very windy at the coast, light winds inland. Cold all day.
I love this last day dash! Where you try to find all of the species you have missed during the week, there are always some to go after.
For our pre-breakfast dash we set off to visit the eastern track of the Kalloni Salt Pans, it was very cold out there with an easterly strong breeze. The light was good as we marched along the track in the hope of finding a White Pelican and some Slender-billed Gulls.
A pair of Pelicans - Dalmatian the larger one and White in the foreground
The pelican was still present, it sat with 3 Dalmatian Pelicans, 9 Eurasian Spoonbills, a few Little Egrets, a Grey Heron and about 50 Greater Flamingos. Whilst watching the Pelicans we found an Osprey circling over the marshes, also a Marsh Harrier and we searched the pans for the Gulls without success. We did see Common Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis, Short-toed Eagle and all the usual suspects on the various salt pans.
the Pelicans with a Eurasian Spoonbill and a Grey Heron
After breakfast we planned to visit the west side of the Salt Pans, via the River Tsiknias and the Lotzaria Track. Just outside of Skala Kalloni on the track to the Tsiknias river we bumped into our first Lesser Grey Shrike, that was a new species for our list and an unexpected find by Peter. As we watched the shrike we found a second bird and plenty of European Bee-eaters.
Lesser Grey Shrike
The Lotzaria track produced very few species, we saw Common Whitethroat and later we discovered that we had driven past 3 Rollers!!
At the Pumping Station at the south-west corner of the Salt Pans we found a Spur-winged Plover and in the channel that runs alongside the pump house we found Spotted Redshank, our target bird! It was with some summer plumage Curlew Sandpipers asnd dozens of Ruff. Other species seen in the area included: Red-throated Pipit, Black-headed Yellow Wagtail, Little Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper and a few Gull-billed Terns.
Spotted Redshank (left) with a Curlew Sandpiper (right) and a bunch of Ruff in the middle of them
From the west side of the Salt pans we drove to Messa Marshes, our first stop produced a nice flock of 20+ Little Stints and at least 8 male Red-footed Falcons with one female. We enjoyed watching them trying to feed in the very strong winds, eventually they all gave up and perched in a bush. Just before we left, a dark morph Booted Eagle flew over us, this was another unexpected species and a welomed newcomer to our list.
another shot of the Spotted Redshank with some Ruff.
there are still plenty of Red-throated Pipits about, we saw several at nearly every stop around the marshes
Driving back towards the Salt pans were turned off the main road at Kandri Marshes where at least 25 White-winged Terns were feeding, they were joined by a single Whiskered Terns and a couple of Little Terns. We took the track down to the beach and there we parked the bus and walked towards a sandbar.
our fourth Lesser Grey Shrike of the morning
On the sandbar sat a Dalmatian Pelican with a good number of Yellow-legged Gulls, a couple of Sandwich Terns with Common and Little Terns accompanying them. An adult summer plumage Black-headed Gull dropped onto the sadnbar, wow!! Another unusual sighting. We spotted Great Crested Grebe in the bay and a few Cormorants on the sandbar.
the Beach at Mandri Marsh
Driving into Kalloni Town we stopped for coffee and cake before driving inland to the large Radio Mast near the village of Filia. We spent nearly three hours there, walking, having lunch and birding. Over the 3 hours we found a pair Sombre Tits feeding young, a Subalpine Warbler singing, a Woodlark on the wires above the bus, an Eastern Bonelli's Warbler (we heard several), a European Robin, Masked Shrikes, Red-backed Shrikes and Cirl Buntings. Plenty of other, common species, showed up.
A Ruff with a Black-winged Stilt
It was 5pm when we returned to thw River Tsiknias, we parked above the ford and scanned the reedbeds. Common Snipe, Temminck's Stint, Little Bittern, Little Crakes (3), Reed and Sedge Warblers, Black-headed Yellow Wagtails, Black-headed Bunting and lots of Wood Sandpipers were on show. We enjoyed them all.
It was 5:30pm when we left the area and drove back to the hotel, on the marsh at the hotel we saw 4 Glossy Ibis and a Purple Heron dropped in whilst we watched the Ibis.
three of the four Glossy Ibis seen just outside of our hotel
From Lyn's rooms we could see the roosting Scops Owl in the rear garden of the hotel, how's that for a balcony tick?
the garden Scops Owl seen from Lyn's hotel room
We added 9 species to our trip list today, which now stands at...... 158