Blue rockthrush and little owl

This video is called Lesvos Birds Spring 2012.

After the early morning of 6 May in Lesbos, Greece, we continued to the north of the island.

In the central mountains, a blue tit and a rock nuthatch.

This is a stellion video.

The nuthatch has company on the rocks. The biggest lizard species of the island, the stellion, is there as well.

A Cretzschmar’s bunting singing from the top of a bush. Very rarely, this species is a vagrant in the Netherlands.

The first blackbird that we see on Lesbos.

This spot is famous for raptor migration. Today, however, we see just one sparrowhawk and two short-toed eagles.

We go on to the north coast. A turtle dove on the telephone wire. A black-headed bunting singing on a telephone pole.

A black-eared wheatear.

A male linnet.

Rüppel’s warbler. A subalpine warbler singing from a leafless branch in a bush.

A red-backed shrike. A masked shrike .

Eurasian crag martins flying around.

Then, a beautiful male blue rockthrush, sitting on a fence to the right of a black-eared wheatear.

Five juvenile shags swimming in the sea below us.

Two ruddy shelducks flying overhead.

Just as we are about to leave, two short-toed eagles come, flying closely to us.

We arrive near the medieval fortress of Mithymna. A little owl sitting on a fence.

Again, stellion lizards.

Over ten bee-eaters flying around.

Alpine swifts flying near the fortress.

A Balkan marbled white butterfly sitting on a field scabious flower.

A great tit on a fence.

At our next stop, more to the east along the north coast, a red-backed shrike. A painted lady butterfly.

A lesser spotted eagle overhead.

A chaffinch singing.

Next, to the Petra reservoir.

Many yellow-legged gulls. A couple of ruddy shelducks, with ducklings.

A male subalpine warbler singing.

Then, something special: a rare Eleonora’s falcon flies past.

Back to the south. Back to our first stop of the morning.

In a bush, two linnets, and a red-backed shrike sitting on the branch under them.

Near Skala Kallonis: a greenfinch singing. Marsh frog sounds.

Barn swallows driving a jay away from a swimming pool.

Late in the evening: a European mole-cricket crossing the road.

2 incompletely described species of Gryllotalpa (Gryllotalpidae) from China: here.

Here we present the first unequivocal evidence that an individual bird of the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) can stay airborne for migration, foraging and roosting over a period of more than 6 months: here.

Related articles

• Trip report – Day’s guiding in Paphos, 4th October 2013 (cyprusbirdingtours.com)
• Good numbers of migrants noted on east of island today (cyprusbirdingtours.com)
• More wheatears than raptors at Cape Greco this morning (cyprusbirdingtours.com)
• Red backed shrike, wheatear and other such pics 101 birds! (bitterbirder.wordpress.com)
• Texel island rare migratory birds (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Birdwatch: Red-backed shrike (theguardian.com)
• Red-backed Shrike Dawlish Warren (parrotletsuk.typepad.com)
• This Weekend and later this Month (birdingfrontiers.com)

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