MY BIRDWATCHING HIGHLIGHTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2007

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1st Sept.  At Malame. 100 plus purple herons.

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2nd Aug.  At Galatas. On the  National road, a dead barn owl.
                At Sirili. We saw 2 honey buzzards.

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4th Sept.  At Neo Chorio. A short toed eagle - the right hand mans favourite bird.
                
At Tavronitis. There were flocks of gargeney, 30 plus another 20; and 13 sandwich terns. 
 

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6th Sept.  At Neo Chorio. A flock of bee eaters passed by.
 

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7th Sept.  At Gerani. Were 12 plus bee eaters.

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8th Sept.  At Neo Chorio. A single kestrel.

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9th Sept.  At Neo Chorio. We saw a short toed eagle.

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10th Sept. At Tavronitis. A little egret, while:-
                 
At Sirili. There was a booted eagle.

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13th Sept. At Neo Chorio. Bee eaters heard passing overhead, plus gun shots, presumably from locals hunters.
                 
At Maleme. 2 purple heron.

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14th Sept. At Neo Chorio. There was a Robin singing.

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18th Sept. At Neradzia.  More bee eaters. If only they would learn to be quiet they would have a better survival rate.
                 
At Sirili. 2 honey buzzards.
                 
At Tavronitis. A kingfisher.

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19th Sept. At Tavronitis. There was a lesser spotted eagle; 1 adult and 1 juvenile purple heron; a sakar;  a white wagtail; a female hen harrier; plus more bee eaters.
 

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20th Sept. At Galatas. A turtle dove, whilst:-
                 
At Tavronitis. Were purple heron; sandwich terns; wood sandpipers; and a light phase eleonoras falcon.


Editors Note: An eleonoras falcon at Tavronitis was the last recorded bird-sighting in Paul
Smiths diary. Paul died from cancer on October 2nd at Chania General Hospital - where he had been admitted just hours previously - and but a few days after his last sighting was recorded. His loss to the bird-watching community is great, his contribution of enormous importance. We will ensure that his diary recordings here at CretanVista continue to be available. **Copyright is now the property of his widow Sandra, and all rights are asserted. Her permission is required for any reproduction in any form. It can be sought via our contact address which will be found on the home page. A link to that page is below.

A few final words for September.

This final time from his widow and 'Right hand man' Sandra, who so selflessly sent the extract from Pauls' diary just a short time after her sad loss. 

"This is the last sightings from your resident bird man and I apologise for it not being up to Paul's standards. He always said that if a job is worth doing it is worth doing properly. Many thanks for reading and hopefully enjoying Paul's pages,  I know that he enjoyed doing them. Take care and God Bless. The Right Hand Man."

Ed: We will try to find someone to resume the bird-watching page, but this may well prove very, very difficult. We are certain that Paul would have wanted his sign-off added, so.....

Until next time, Good watching....

Paul's Diary highlights commenced at the end of August 2001.  The current diary is moved to the diary archive at the end of each month - if you are considering a bird watching trip to NW Crete, the previous highlights may well help you decide the best month for your visit - your link to the diary archive is below.

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