Nightingales, a new Orchid and a Skink

Summary - Sunday 7th April
This will follow large today (Wednesday) as I keep running out of time .... !!

Grounded Migrants: Words to follow 

Visible Passage: Words to follow

Raptors: 1 Marsh Harrier 

Bird Ringing: 5 Pied Fly, 2 Savi’s Warbler, 2 Nightingale, 1 Robin, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Great Reed Warbler, 1 Wood Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler 

Overall Total: 16 birds ringed from 96m of nets.

Weather: Variable F0-2 to start, Overcast. Clearing from 10am. Light winds in afternoon, direction not recorded, clear and sunny.

A male Redstart at Kokinoghia

Hoopoes near Aghirokambi

Violet Limodore - Limodorum abortivum

Greek Legless Skink - Ophiomorous punctatissimus

A Ruppell's Warbler near the Lighthouse

Cuckoos, Nightingales and more Collared Flycatchers

Summary - Saturday 6th April

After a dreadful start due to the weather (but a welcome lie in) it proved to be an excellent day's birding with good numbers of a wide variety of species present. The most abundant species were Nightingale, Subalpine Warbler, Hoopoe and Pied & Collared Flycatchers. Numbers of other species also showed a marked increase: Wryneck, Cuckoo, Woodchat Shrike, Whitethroat and Black Redstart.

Presumably due to birds making landfall at the first opportunity there were good numbers on the southern part of the headland including 20 Subalpine Warblers on the approach to the lighthouse.

We also had our first Sedge Warblers (3), Garden Warblers (2), Quail (1) and Common Sandpipers (3).

Grounded Migrants: 25 Hoopoe, 7 Wryneck, 5 Cuckoo, 7 Woodchat Shrike, 8 Wood Warbler, 33 Blackcap, 11 Whitethroat, 71 Subalpine Warbler, 71 Nightingale, 6 Redstart, 4 Black Redstart, 14 Black-eared Wheatear, 11 Northern Wheatear, 20 Pied Flycatcher and 34 Collared Flycatcher.

Visible Passage: a 20 minute seawatch late morning saw 6 Scopli's Shearwaters go east and 11 Yelkouan Shearwaters fly west. No other obvious movement with the exception of a Purple Heron that came in from the south and then veered out west without making landfall. 

Raptors: 4 Marsh Harrier, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk and our second Merlin.

Bird Ringing: Nets not opened until 10.00 and ringing from then until 17.30. A reasonable day, with the biggest variety of species so far: 9 Subalpine Warbler, 8 Pied Fly, 5 Nightingale, 3 Blackcap, 3 Collared Fly, 2 Wood Warbler, singles of: Wryneck, Woodchat, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler and Whitethroat.

Overall Total: 36 birds ringed from 94m of nets.

Weather:  Torrential rain all night with near gale force NE winds. Rain lighter after 08.00 and had stopped by 09.30. Overcast. Weather improved during the morning to give blue skies and excellent, later extraordinary visibility (Crete was clearly visible over 150km away). Wind seemed to stay in NE or ENE all day Force 4-5.

A male Subalpine Warbler at Akhirokambi

Wryneck feeding in an olive grove at Kokinoghia

Purple Heron arriving at Cape Tenaro

Black Redstart at Koginoghia

Cuckoo at Kokinoghia

Ophrys tenthredinifera

Subalpine Warbler Arrival and a Merlin

Summary - Friday 5th April

An interesting day. There were very few visible migrants and it initially appeared that there had been a major clear out of grounded migrants. However reasonable numbers were trapped and ringed so it appears that birds were finding the most sheltered areas. Subalpine Warbler (49) was the most abundant species.

Other birds of note were 3 Sparrowhawk, 2 Semi-Collared Flycatcher and a Merlin seen from the ringing site before it headed north. This is a new species for the headland.

Grounded Migrants: Words to follow

Visible Passage: One flock of 80+ Spanish Sparrows flew north and landed near Koureli.

Raptors: 3 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel and a Merlin.

Bird Ringing: 17 Subalpine Warbler, 6 Nightingale, 4 Blackcap, 3 Robin, 2 Chiffchaff, single Collared, Pied & Semi-Collared Flycatchers, also single Savi’s & Sardinian Warblers and a Woodchat Shrike

Overall Total: 38 birds ringed from 94m of nets.

Weather: Overcast N4-5 to start, occasional light showers, becoming prolonged and heavier from lunchtime. Wind increasing NE 6 later. Rain after dark.

Spanish Sparrow

A Badger caught on a camera trap near Koureli (our first sight record for the  headland)

Ophrys argolica

Thursday 4th April - Stone-curlew and Golden Jackal

Summary


Fewer birds about however there was still some enjoyable birding and the totals for some of the commoner migrants were still reasonable. The bird of the day was a Stone-curlew flushed from by the mosaics, it flew across Porto Sternes and landed close to the car park at Kokinoghia.


We also recorded our first Turtle Dove (at Porto Kagio late afternoon) and Savi's Warbler (heard singing at the ringing site) of the year.


An additional treat was good, but brief, views of a Golden Jackal in the central part of the headland.

Grounded Migrants: 7 Hoopoe, 1 Wryneck, 1 Woodchat Shrike, 5 Wood Warbler, 50 Blackcap, 53 Subalpine Warbler, 1 Savi’s Warbler, 3 a Song Thrush, 29 Nightingale, 2 Whinchat, 6 Redstart, 3 Norther Wheatear, 2 Robin, 1 Chaffinch, 30 Spanish Sparrow, 2 Cretzschmar's Bunting

Visible Passage: 19 Yelkouan and 11 Scopoli's Shearwaters flew east during a half hour seawatch.

Raptors: None !

Bird Ringing: 9 Blackcap, 6 Subalpine Warbler, 3 Wood Warbler, 1 Redstart, 4 Nightingale, 1 Robin and 1 Stonechat.


Overall Total: 25 birds ringed from 96m of nets.

Weather: Overcast and calm early on. Wind increasing ENE 4-5 during morning, cloud clearing. Little wind during afternoon.

Stone-curlew at Kokinoghia

Golden Jackal at Cape Tenaro

Collared Flycatcher watching a bee

Whinchat watching a bee

Northern Wheatear above Porto Kagio (looking for a bee)

Ophrys iricolor 

Wednesday 3rd April - Collared Flycatcher Fall

Summary - A really enjoyable day, with a decent and varied arrival. Many of the birds arrived during the course of the day. Subalpine Warblers (81) and Collared Flycatchers (44) were the two most conspicuous species. The undoubted highlight was a fine male Semi-Collared Flycatcher that gave stunning views as it fed along the road by the church at Paliros. We also recorded the first Whinchat and Cretzschmar's Bunting of the year.

Grounded Migrants: A decent fall with migrants being conspicuous in all locations visited. Totals for selected species were: 19 Hoopoe, 2 Wryneck, 3 Cuckoo, 1 Woodchat Shrike, 4 Wood Warbler, 1 Willow Warbler, 19 Chiffchaff, 7 Whitethroat, 81 Subalpine Warbler, 1 Whinchat, 20 Northern Wheatear, 14 Nightingale, 1 Robin, 5 Redstart, 1 Black Redstart, 44 Collared Flycatcher, 1 Semi-Collared Flycatcher and 6 Pied Dlycatcher.

Visible Passage: 17 Swallows nad 1 House Martin.

Raptors: A Sparrowhawk was flushed near Mianes and a Marsh Harrier flew northwards high up late afternoon.

Bird Ringing: A good day that started poorly with rather surprisingly no birds caught in the first two net rounds. Birds then started to move through. Totals for the day were: 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Wilow Warbler, 3 Willow Warbler, 9 Blackcap, 3 Subalpine Warbler, 1 Nightingale, 1 Robin, 11 Collared Flycatcher and 3 Pied Flycatcher.

Overall Total: 40 birds ringed from XXM of nets.

Weather: Winds mostly light and variable F1-3. Largely clear skies with small amounts of cloud. Visibility fair.

Collared Flycatcher at Marmari

Bird of the Day - a Semi-Collared Flycatcher at Paliros

Tuesday 2nd April - Getting Started

Text to in next few days much of day spent clearing the mist net lanes and putting up the nets.

Monday 1st April - Hoopoes and Swallows

Text to follow in next few days

Cape Tenaro 2019

Regular posts, technical glitches allowing, should start by tomorrow; in the meantime here are a few wildlife photos from the headland (comments on orchid identification welcome) all taken on Monday.

Hoopoe

 Ophrys mammosa

Woodcock Ophrys (O.scolopax)

Ruppell's Warbler

 Ophrys argolica