The Island of Samos Naturetrek Tour Report 13 - 21 April 2018 Aegean Meadow Brown by Rob Campbell Eurasian Jay by Hazel Millington Spur-winged Plover by John Millington Collared Pratincole, Ruff by Rob Campbell Report compiled by Toby Abrehart Images courtesy of John & Hazel Millington & Rob Campbell Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report The Island of Samos Tour participants: Toby Abrehart and Andrew Bray (leaders) with 10 Naturetrek clients Day 1 Friday 13th April We left Heathrow on the overnight flight to Athens and caught the early flight onwards to Samos where we were met by Andrew. Day 2 Saturday 14th April Weather: Partial cloud with sun, warm The group arrived on Samos at 7am and met up with Toby who was already on the island. The minibuses were quickly organised and we set off on the 45 minute drive to the hotel in Karlovassi. After a quick breakfast the group headed off to their rooms for a rest before an early lunch in the hotel. Our first walk of the trip was from Potami Bay towards Aghios Nikolaos and along the Potami river towards the waterfalls. Along the cliff face were Inula verbascifolia and Ptilostemon chamaepeuce along with the tiny Valentia muralis growing from the cracks in the rockface. Along the beach two Audouin's Gulls were seen resting while a number of Yelkouan Shearwaters were moving offshore. Under the cliffs a small meadow/car park held a number of interesting plants, most noticeably our first orchids with Ophrys fuciflora subsp. fuciflora, O scolopax subsp cornuta (O. cornuta) and finally a single O. reinholdii. Here too were our first Eastern Festoon butterflies (Zerynthia cerisy cerisy) which proved tricky to capture as it was a little windy. On a low rock wall a nice Starred Agama lizard showed well but didn’t allow very close viewing. After walking a little further on the road we set off up along the river with a few more Ophrys to work out. The walk produced few birds but the endangered fresh water crabs (Potamon rhodium) were seen in the clear water of the river. On the meadows near the church we found more orchids including Ophrys umbilicata and gone over Himantoglossum robertianum. On the church itself the uncommon Procopiana circinale was found with an impressive display of Allium subhirsutum. We finished the walk and headed back to the hotel some for a rest, though some went for a walk along to the river Megalo Rema. Here there were few birds, but our first Eastern Olivaceous Warblers in the scrub and a single Squacco Heron along the river were nice, followed by a quick checklist, a beer and then supper. Day 3 Sunday 15th April Weather: Partial cloud with sun, warm A morning walk through the the fields near the hotel produced a few birds with an accompaniment of plants with Rubia tinctoria, Acanthus spinosus and frequent Glebonis coronarium. A Night Heron was found in a mulberry tree and a male Sparrowhawk was hassling the few migrants that were there - mainly wagtails, including some very smart males of the Black-headed subspecies feldegg. A Green Sandpiper was in the stream with the only other birds being the resident Eastern Olivacious Warblers. This was our first full day the island and we drove up the mountain Oros Karnouvis visiting the chapel of Profitis Ilias on the summit. Along the meandering road we made a couple of stops along the way with one © Naturetrek October 18 1 The Island of Samos Tour Report overlooking the olive groves above Mesogio. Here we found our first Serapias with S. bergonii and a few Naked Man orchids Orchis italicus, in the banks which also held three Cistus species along with the shrubby Greek Gromwell Lithodora zahini. Birds again were quiet with a Nightingale heard distantly and a Short-toed Eagle overhead. Moving further up the mountain we made a quick stop for a pair of Chukars which quickly flew off as we stopped but we found a brief resting Southern Comma butterfly. A little further on we stopped for an hour in a nice lightly-wooded clearing. A call from John of ‘I have a tortoise’, captured our attention and looking round we saw that he was holding it - a fine Spur-thighed Tortoise. The orchids here were fabulous with the majority being Orchis pinetorum, with occasional O. anatolica and many Dactylorhiza romana in two colour forms, yellow and pale pink. Birds were entertaining here too, with numerous Ruppell’s Warblers display flighting all around us and a singing Black-eared Wheatear which kept showing and then disappearing, only to pop up on another bush. We were starting to feel hungry so we set off to our lunch spot, a nice open area in the pines with picnic tables and great views. As we prepared lunch the group headed off to explore a little, finding some interesting birds including Woodlark and Cretzschmar's Bunting, and during lunch a cracking male Golden Oriole appeared briefly in the pines Pinus nigra. Doronicum orientale formed lovely patches of yellow in the glades with Veronica glauca forming blue areas on the trackside. The walk after lunch took us up the road towards the chapel. A few birds were in the bushes with lots of Ruppell’s Warblers, more Cretzschmar's Buntings and Black-eared and Northern Wheatears. A single Meadow Pipit took off from the chapel. Along the route we had lots of Fritillaria gracea, Iris attica and the endemic Erodium sibthorpianum all along the limestone outcrop with scattered Burnt Candytuft Aethionema saxatile and patches of Aubretia deltoides. On our way down the mountain we made another little detour and stopped at an open glade which was pleasant. There was a fabulous display of flowers with a carpet of Orchis simia, numerous O. lutea with the limited distribution O. minutula right next the parked bus. Large patches of Aristolochia incisa were of interest, while in the woods there was quite a display of Paeonia mascula subsp. mascula showing well in the dappled sun. On our return journey we stopped in Pyrgos for an ice-cream break before heading back to the hotel. Day 4 Monday 16th April Weather: Partial cloud with sun, warm Our early morning walk produced a few familiar birds with Night and Squacco Herons and a single Green Sandpiper. Following this we set off to the Alkyi wetlands and lagoon at Psili Amos in the south east of the island, which is an old saltworks that is now a nature reserve and at the time of our visit was filled with water. On leaving the bus at the saltworks we slowly made our way towards the lagoon, where there were a number of new birds here with lots of calling Ruddy Shelduck and numerous Black-winged Stilts. A few new dragonflies were found around the sharp rush including Dark Spreadwing Lestes macrostigma and Emerald Spreadwing L. dryas, while larger species included Vagrant Hawker Anax ephippiger and Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker. In the marshes leading to the wetlands were large numbers of Serapias with S. orientalis and mainly S. bergonii being most frequent and some hybrid swarms all over the place. Following on from this we wandered along the dunes towards the 2 © Naturetrek October 18 The Island of Samos Tour Report military compound. In the dunes a Tawny Pipit flew off but we were able to find a few ladybird spiders and had a lovely display of Silene gallica and S. colorata. Further along the road we went past areas of Euphorbia acanthothamnos and plenty of crown daisies. We moved on around the hill for lunch. Looking across the marshes to the south, seeing a Little Owl and Purple Heron on the way. Around the lunch spot more orchids were about with but also interesting were the arable weeds in the field margin with Galium tricornutum and Ranunculus arvensis. After lunch we set off to Mykali beach and the adjacent reedbeds where we found some more interesting birds with two Savi’s Warblers calling in the reeds and a brief Great Reed Warbler. There were still good numbers of serapias here, and small numbers of Green Sandpipers were feeding in a pool. There were some active goats grazing across the marsh so we went looking for a another orchid in a nearby small patch of halophytic marsh near the car. In this small area was a small colony of Ophrys bombiliflora with its tiny flowers. Starting to feel pooped with the long day we set off back to the hotel with a Red-backed Shrike being seen on the roadside on the way. Some had a quick walk to the river and then supper and a good rest. Day 5 Tuesday 17th April Weather: Partial cloud with sun, warm Our morning walk through the fields to the river and the sea produced a few birds although nothing out of the ordinary. After breakfast we began the day on the upper slopes near Marakathambos within an Aleppo pine (Pinus halpense) wood alongside agricultural fields which supported large numbers of Himantoglottis robertianum and Small Crown Vetch (Securigera cretica), while on an adjacent trackside Small Yellow Ophrys (Ophrys siculum) was growing. Birds were limited but a few butterflies including Green-underside and Common Blues feeding which were nice. After this we took the drive down the hill to the coast towards Limnionas. We made a single stop on the way to the beach looking at our first Violet Bird’s-nest Orchids (Limadorum abortivum) both with only a single flower.