Birds of Lesbos

These are some of the birds that we saw during a 10-day trip to Lesbos, Greece in May 2013, near the end of the Spring migration. Many thanks to guide Jack Poll ( jjackpoll@hotmail.com ) for making this an enjoyable and cost-effective trip.

The pictures are copyrighted and should not be used without permission.

Squacco heron

White stork

Black stork were more numerous in early May 2013 than White stork, but we never got very close to them.

Greater flamingo - The next series shows flamingo antics. Flamingos specialize in antics.

Flamingo antics - Top (left to right): The pretzel, the backrub, the itchy ear, the bath, and ... a normal bird? Bottom: The stretch.

Common shelduck (breeding-plumage male) (This bird and his mate were the only ducks that we saw in Lesbos in early May.)

Black-winged stilt

Eurasian pied avocet

Collared pratincole

Little ringed plover (not too cooperative)

Kentish plover sitting on chick

Kentish plover (There really is not room under there for another chick.)

Kentish plover chick ... on the loose.

Kentish plover (OK, guys, where are you?)

Curlew sandpipers and Little stints (Breeding-plumage Curlew sandpipers have mostly red bodies with white throats and long, decurved bills. Most of the smaller birds are Little stints, but there may be a few Ruffs and Wood sandpipers among the crowd. This picture is processed as little as possible and shown at the original resolution of the camera, so the image is not very sharp. Scroll to the right to see all the birds.)

Little stint (breeding-plumage male)

Ruff (two males in different early stages of getting their "Liberace" breeding plumage)

Ruff (female)

Common (Eurasian) snipe

Wood sandpiper is much the commonest shorebird on Lesbos.

Who ordered this?

Common terns fishing

Common tern in tern heaven

Eurasian scops owl (This is our life bird.)

Eurasian scops owl (We saw three different birds; this is Scops 2.)

Eurasian scops owl (This is the third bird.)

Middle spotted woodpecker

Woodlark (We got our life bird on Lesbos, but this isn't it.)

Crested lark

House martin collecting mud for nest

Red-rumped swallow collecting mud for nest

Whinchat (male) (We never got close to this bird.)

Black-eared wheatear

Isabelline wheatear

Blue rock thrush (We could not get close, but this picture shows his spectacular nesting territory in a now-eroded, volcanic pyroclastic flow ~ 10 million years old.)