Cape Tenaro Birder: Bushchat Delight !!

Monday, 4 April 2022

Bushchat Delight !!

Highlights - 4th April

The change in the weather delivered a modest but interesting arrival. The star attraction was a Rufous Bushchat (= Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin) found at ‘swallow hollow’ just north of the lighthouse late morning, this is our first record for the headland.

Also of interest were 11 Serin (a surprisingly irregular migrant at Tenaro), a Scops Owl trapped by the ringing team - who also caught 2 Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers - and a very early Spotted Flycatcher (seen at Porto Kagio).

Grounded Migrants: an increase in some species with Redstart (12) and Wood-chat Shrike (16) both breaking in to double figures for the first time this year. Other notable totals: 10 Hoopoe, 2 Golden Oriole, 19 Blackcap, 9 Whitethroat, 2 Wood Warbler, 14 WillowWarbler, 8 Sedge Warbler, 15 Nightingale, 2 Black Redstart, 3 Whinchat, 2 Isabelline Wheatear, 3 Collared Flycatcher and 1 Pied Flycatcher.

Visible Passage: Flavas, Pipits and Swallows - totals were 53 flava, 17 Tawny Pipit, 33 Tree Pipit and 17 Swallows

Raptors: 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Montagu’s Harrier, 2 Kestrel, 1 Lesser Kestrel, 2 Kestrel Sp

Bird Ringing: 58 new birds comprising: 18 Eastern Subalpine Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 5 Tree Pipit, 5 Nightingale, 3 Woodchat Shrike, 3 Sedge Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Eastern Bonelli's Warbler, 2 Rüppells Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Redstart, 1 Scops Owl, 1 Robin, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Chiffchaff

Weather: NE 5-6 increasing F7 in afternoon, bright and sunny but hazy after mid morning. Visibility good early on, we could see Antikythira for the first time since we arrived, but fair later.

Other Wildlife: a Mirror Ophrys near Paliros (found yesterday by some Swiss friends) is only the second record for the headland - the last one seen was in 2003!