It was great to be back on a plane again heading for the Greek island of Crete, and after jumping through all the necessary hoops now associated with overseas travel we landed in the capitol of Heraklion before heading East towards Agios Nikolaos and our apartment in Elounda. By now it was midnight local time so dropping off our gear we headed off for a beer. Here we had our first wildlife encounter in the form of a Cretan Stone Marten aka Beach Marten, foraging around for food and oblivious to our presence we eventually lost sight of the Marten further along the road. European Bee-eater.
The next morning we were woken by the familiar sound of European Bee-eaters who were passing through in large numbers, deciding to stay local, we sorted out our gear and headed towards the Elounda Salt Pans, here we spotted Yellow-legged Gull, Kingfisher, Hooded Crow, Kestrel, Raven, Shag, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant and Little Egret. Continuing along the causeway we crossed the land bridge on to the island of Kalydon stopping at the Ancient Christian Basilica Mosaic next to the location of the Sunken City of Olous. Here we encountered Red-backed Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Crested Lark, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Herring Gull, Chiffchaff, Whinchat, Sardinian Warbler, Italian Sparrow and Blue Rock Thrush.
Continuing further up the track we headed towards the Church of Agios Loukas, here the local Priest puts out fresh water for the birds under the shade of a tree, a cage surrounds the water to prevent the small birds from predation. Visiting the watering station were Great Tit, Blue Tit and Sardinian Warbler while close by we had Subalpine Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Chukar and Red-backed Shrike. Returning back over the bridge we stopped off for refreshments with an old friend near the Salt Pans before heading back to the apartment.
The next day we followed the road inland up to the villages of Kato Elounda, Pano Elounda and Mavrikiano. Sightings here included Swallows, Red-rumped Swallow, Alpine Swifts, Common Swift, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Buzzard, Red-backed Shrike, Hoopoe, Whinchat, Blue Rock Thrush, Italian Sparrows, Sardinian Warbler, Crested Lark and Hooded Crow along with Red Veined Darter, Swallowtail Butterfly and a Gecko.
Dropping down to the coast road through Mavrikiano we stopped at a small park area next to the harbour. Here several 1st winter Yellow Wagtail (motacilla flava) were on nearby rocks and an adult in full colour was close by. A Common Kingfisher sat in a tree overlooking the harbour and occasionally dived for fish, Willow Warbler, Italian Sparrow and a Juvenile Red-backed Shrike was also noted at the park.
Later that day balcony birding the adjacent Olive Groves back at the apartments gave us Hoopoe, Sardinian Warbler, Great tit, Hooded Crow, Spotted flycatcher, Buzzard, Blue Rock Thrush and Red-backed shrike. A passing flock of 34 Alpine and Common Swift were also observed along with Common Buzzard, Yellow-legged Gull and 17 European Bee-eaters heading towards the hills. Tawny Owl could be heard calling from the nearby Cemetery and was later seen in trees opposite the local bar, other sightings of note were a Preying Mantis and a Shield Bug.
The following morning our hire car had arrived so we packed up and set off for the hills above the village of Plaka, our first stop was at the Spinalonga viewpoint where we saw Stonechat, Blue Rock Thrush, Raven, Common, Buzzard, Kestrel, Mash Harrier, Eleonora's Falcon, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, Griffon Vulture, Red-backed Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher, Crag Martin, House Martin, Swallow, Alpine Swift, Common Swift Black Kite and European Bee-eaters.
Driving further on through Vrouhas we headed to the Monastery of Agios Ioannis Prodromos, this area and the surrounding agricultural land and olive groves gave us close views of European Bee-eaters, other sightings included Griffon Vultures, Eleonora's Falcons, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike, Masked Shrike, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Willow Warblers, Kestrel, Whinchat, Crested Larks, Alpine Swift, Common Swift, Swallow and Common Buzzard.
Continuing on the road past Selles we headed to Pano Loumas and the Raptor viewpoint, Here we counted 54 Griffon Vultures which were circling on thermals, some coming very close. After lunch at Mavro Provato we continued through Skinias heading North, driving along the coastal road through Kato Selles to pick up the main road back to Vrouhas. Sightings here were Stonechat, Sardinian Warbler, Griffon Vulture, Crested Lark, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Eleonora's Falcon, Raven and a possible Levant Sparrowhawk. After this we returned back to the apartments.
The next day we headed for the small artificial lake in the village of Dories then continuing on we stopped at the village of Fourni for Lunch before taking the road passed Areti Monastery and returning through Skinas and Vrouhas. During the day we encountered Common Buzzard, Griffon Vulture, Raven, Pied Flycatcher, Subalpine warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Spanish Sparrow, Common Swift, Swallow, Common Redstart, Wren Crested Lark, Blue Rock Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Stonechat and Whinchat.
The following morning we headed through Agios Nikolaos to Almiros Beach and it's protected wetland, the beach was very busy offering limited wildlife sightings although we did see Wood Warbler, Hoopoe, Spotted Flycatcher and Common Buzzard, from here we went to the Mountain village of Kritsa where several Blue Rock thrush kept us entertained through lunch. Continuing on heading to the South coast we reached the town of Lerepetra where we took the coastal road East before heading North to Sitia. Along the way we had Raven, Spotted Flycatchers, Red-backed Shrikes and a flock of 50+ European Bee-eaters.
The next day the hire car was returned so for the last few days we once again stayed local, during our trip we had around 50 individual bird species, quieter than previous years but as this was more of a holiday than a birding tour it turned out to be a very enjoyable trip.
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