This is a Red-backed Shrike, one of many species I was hoping to see
– N. Hughes

One of my favourites, the beautiful Barred Warbler
– N. Hughes

The beautiful Greek Isle of Lesvos is situated in the eastern Mediterranean, close to the Turkish coastline. This is Molivos Harbour
– N. Hughes

Because of its location, Lesvos has a fascinating, and very rich history dating from the 11th Century BC through Byzantine and Ottoman Empire times – Wikipedia Commons

Getting there was not a sure thing! This is the volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, 23 April 2010 – Wikipedia Commons

The resulting dust plume soon travelled around the globe, grounding most air travel – graphic by the MAAC Project

In a lot of ways, Lesvos is a typical tourist destination in the Aegean Sea…nice!
– N. Hughes

It has some unusual features. The town of Erresos is home to the Annual Erresos Women’s Festival. But it’s pretty quiet in April, apart from a few other birders and myself!
– N. Hughes

This bridge was very, very old, very sturdily built, and only as wide as my outstretched arms. Definitely built for one-way traffic!
– N. Hughes

One of the nice things about Lesvos is the great system of walking trails
– N. Hughes

Greek is a tough language to learn, so Lesvos becomes Λέσβος… but fortunately some of the map signage was in English!

By the way, most of these images were made with my small point-and-shoot, through a telescope. This is a lovely Collared Flycatcher
– N. Hughes

So you’ll notice a lot of wires in my photos…they made it easier to focus! This little guy is a Black-headed Bunting
– N. Hughes

Birds, of course, don’t need maps. Lesvos is situated on one of the major African-European migratory flyways, where many species follow coastlines to avoid long overwater flights

Just as they do between North and South America

The Red-throated Pipit is just one of many such long-distance migrants between Europe and Africa
– N. Hughes

The island itself is mountainous, with considerable habitat diversity

Some of the scenery was wonderful. This is driving along the north coast
– N. Hughes

I loved all the old olive orchards, filled with poppies…and birds
– N. Hughes

Newer orchards tend to be more agriculturalized, and without the poppies!
– N. Hughes

Africa has lots of bee-eater species, but Europe has only one, named, appropriately, the European Bee-eater
– N. Hughes

Just a scenic village…
– N. Hughes

This Common Nightjar was sleeping on a rock, and didn’t even blink when I got this shot
– N. Hughes

Another pastoral setting…
– N. Hughes

We have several oriole species in North America. This is the beautiful Eurasan Golden Oriole
– N. Hughes

The riparian areas were calm, beautiful…and full of birds
– N. Hughes

I finally got to see a Citrine Wagtail…and then one showed up in Courtenay!
– N. Hughes

Cretzschmar’s bunting
– N. Hughes

The flight pattern of the European Roller is quite amazing, as they literally do roll and convort their way through the air
– N. Hughes

My last night on Lesvos. Note the Common Nightjar bidding me a fond farewell
– N. Hughes

Did the European Collared Doves follow me home?
– N. Hughes

Neil Hughes – “Spring migration on the Isle of Lesvos”
by Andrew Bryant, 21 Apr 2015. 

Neil is a Powell River-based forester during regular business hours, and a keen birder and globe-trotter at all other times.  In 2010 he travelled to the Greek island of Lesvos (or Lesbos) to experience spring migration there.

And what an experience it was!  After the difficulty of getting there (a volcanic eruption had grounded air travel around the globe), Neil was treated to a magical mixture of quiet off-season resort restaurants, pastoral  landscapes, and olive groves.  And, of course, birds!

Lesvos is Greek in name, but Asian-minor in terms of biogeography.  Situated closer to Turkey than mainland Greece, the island is also the epicentre of several major bird migration flyways.   Thus it is similar to Canada’s Point Pelee, but it also unusual in that the avifauna of Europe and Asia meet here, so it presents a rare opportunity for European birders to see many Asian species that rarely show up further west.

For anyone interested in learning more about birding on the Isle of Lesvos, there’s a really nice website with annual reports, bird checklists and more located here.

Finally, Neil only touched on some of the conservation issues facing migratory birds in Greece, particularly regarding the illegal trapping of birds with mist nets or limesticks.   You can learn more about the severity of the issue from the Hellenic Ornithological Society or BirdLife Cyprus.