Pbirdarc1104

MY BIRDWATCHING HIGHLIGHTS FOR NOVEMBER 2004

	1^stNov. At Neo Chorio. A flock of 7 honey buzzards circled for some time then drifted south.
	2^ndNov. At Nembros. A single eleonoras falcon powered by.
	9^thNov. At Kamisiana. A male lesser kestrel rested on power lines.
	11^thNov. Near Chania. A flock of 30+ meadow pipits foraged on a hillside, while a single raven flew by.
	15^thNov. At Tavronitis. A male great tit was in full song, telling us the new breeding season is not too far away.
	19^thNov. At Tavronitis. A group of 5 starlings and then a very late redstart.
	23^rdNov. At Aghia Reservoir. A disappointing trip where we found only a male marsh harrier; a flock of 30+ starlings; 200+ moorhen; 13 wigeon; 3 mallard; 3 grey plover; 1 grey heron; and a kingfisher.
	28^thNov. At Astratigos. We found a raven; a very smart peregrine falcon; 3 honey buzzards; and a black redstart loudly claiming ownership of several gardens.
	29^thNov. At Tavronitis. An extremely late wheatear.
	30^thNov. At Ano Vouves. A male merlin shot by very low down and very fast. In a nearby gorge. We saw and heard an alpine accentor; a raven; and a single adult golden eagle. Further on we saw an adult bonellis eagle; a pair of golden eagles; 9+ ravens; a very smart rough legged buzzard; 10 cirl buntings; a flock of 20+ linnets; and several woodlarks were calling from the hillsides. Above soared a pair of bearded vultures of which one was not yet in full adult plumage. There have been other reports of a new pair of bearded vultures in this area so there may be hope for them yet. On the way back home we spotted a booted eagle.

And a few final words for November..... A disastrous month for us. For the first ten days I was laid up recovering from that damned spider bite, it really set me back. All was not lost however as I managed to collate all my data and forward it for inclusion in the forthcoming "Birds of Crete". This publication should be available next spring.

Then my right hand man had to up and leave me for a while as her mother was taken ill. Sandra shot back to England. Panic now over, her mother is much better so my right hand man is back keeping me under control.

Then just to cap things off we had ten days of heavy winter rain - that meant no bird watching at all for some days.

The trip to Aghia reservoir was a great disappointment, as when we got there the lake had been completely drained, apparently to remove the submerged vegetation to improve water quality. We hear the appropriate authorities have been fined 60,000 Euros for doing this at a critical time for the birds and further that the matter is now being taken to the courts. The lake has now been filled again.

A bit of excitement that we missed was that an upland sandpiper turned up at Aghia in late November, the first for Greece. It was seen and photographed by several observers but not by yours truly!

Reports from the bearded vulture project are that the only breeding pair left on the island had eggs by mid October, the earliest ever recorded. Good luck to them!

Perhaps December will be less hectic and we will be able to get out more though we have lots of orange, lemon and olive trees to prune now it is cooler.

Wherever you are, enjoy your birding and we send early Christmas greetings to you all.

Until next month, good watching. Paul Smith.