Hoopoes and Northern Wheatear

,,Today started slowly with seemingly few grounded migrants, a walk to the lighthouse and back also revealed relatively little the highlights being 29 Short-toed Larks, 27 Tawny Pipits and our first Peregrine. However by midday there were clearly more birds present along the main headland road than first thing, a loose group of 10 Northern Wheatear and 3 Woodchat Shrikes near the 'lonesome' pine being the best example. After lunch there were also 1 or 2 Hoopoes to be found pretty much anywhere we stopped.

Notable totals for the day were: 6 Quail, 20 Hoopoe, 8 Woodchat Shrike, 19 Blackcap, 21 Subalpine Warbler, 15 Nightingale, 6 Redstart and 44 Northern Wheatear, the latter being a new peak count for Cape Tenaro. 

Scarcer migrants were represented by 4 Collared Dove, a Common Starling (at Mianes), a new male Rock Thrush (on the terraces around 'Magic Bush') and a Sparrowhawk.

Hirundines were in short supply all day and the only other obvious visible migrants were small numbers of Linnet and Goldfinch visibly heading north.

Migrant Raptors - 2 Marsh Harrier and 2 Kestrel

Weather - wind WNW for most of the day, 5-6 early on then dropping briefly before freshening later in the afternoon. Mostly clear skies. No rain. Visibility again good with Antikythira visible for most of the day.

Common Starling at Mianes - the fourth spring record for the headland

A male Blue Rock Thrush on the terraces around Magic Bush

Northern Wheatear - at least 44 were seen today

A Nightingale at Porto Kagio - 29th March 2016

A view of the Cape Tenaro headland from the north, looking across the narrow neck. Porto Kagio is the village in th bay on the left