MY BIRDWATCHING HIGHLIGHTS FOR JANUARY 2007

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1st Jan.  At Neo Chorio.  At the estuary of a nearby river was an early flock of 20+ chiffchaffs  that included one of the eastern race, P.albietinus.  Also a little bittern; a steppe buzzard; a pair of white wagtails; a flock of 10+ ferrugimous ducks; and a male blackbird.
                Near Kamisiana.  A steppe buzzard; a pair of booted eagles; 5+ meadow pipits; a linnet; and 2 stonechats


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2nd Jan.  At Neo Chorio. A single swallow flew by.

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3rd Jan. Along the Coast. Daily trips along our local coastal strip between 3rd and 6th  revealed a lot of small flocks of meadow pipits; several resident marsh harriers; white wagtails; stonechats; whinchats; kestrels; and even a lone cormorant.
 

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7th Jan. At Neo Chorio.  A flock of 10+ ‘leaf’ warblers defied closer identification despite long and careful looking – showing that with warblers sightings alone are often not enough to be certain of identification. Song or in hand examination are essential to avoid hopeful guesses that so many visiting twitchers come up with. A single and beautifully plumaged orphean warbler presented no such problems as it foraged for insects in an orange tree right outside our lounge window.
               At Vlacheronitsa. We saw a rough legged buzzard, then,
               On the coast. Another flock of chiffchaffs, this time 30+.
               At Kamisiana. A feeding flock of 14+ calandra larks; plus the usual whinchats; stonechats; white wagtails; meadow pipits; a kestrel; and a moorhen.


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8th Jan. A trip up to a new mountain site. Was worthwhile as we found ravens; a rough legged buzzard; a red kite that could only have been wintering on the island; a golden eagle; a colony of 15+ rock doves; an immature imperial eagle (3or 4 CY for the specialists); lots of song thrushes; blue tits; great tits; an adult bonellis eagle; and along a small mountain stream 4 grey wagtails were foraging.
              
At Neo Chorio. At dusk, the first calling scops owl of the year was heard.

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9th Jan. A trip to a gorge not visited before.  Revealed 2 honey buzzards; a flock of 16+ jackdaws: a male goshawk; a pair of displaying kestrels; 9+ crag martins; a booted eagle; and lots of singing blackbirds. Chaffinches; goldfinches; sardinian warblers; and a single blue rock thrush; and a raven added their calls as well.

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10th Jan. At Neo Chorio. A male goshawk jolted the local sparrows out of their lethargy and had them diving for cover.

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11th Jan. On the Coast. Along the coast were 3 honey buzzards; 5+ corn buntings; a flock of 28 linnets; a flock of 34_starlings; a pair of marsh harriers; a female goshawk; a flock of 60+ meadow pipits; a flock of 40+ red throated pipits; another female goshawk; a stonechat; an early calling cettis warbler; and a flock of chiffchaffs, again with one from the eastern race present and very obvious with its pale and very grey plumage.

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14th Jan. On the Coast. Was a swallow - and the usual whinchats, stonechats, blackbirds, meadow pipits, some greenfinches, two black redstarts and a marsh harrier.

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16th Jan. On the coast. Were the usual birds, but this time plus a flock of 30+ red throated pipits.
 

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17th Jan. At Chania. Visiting Chania hospital for a check-up, we managed also to see 3 honey buzzards; and a short toed eagle. On the way home we saw 2 booted eagles and then,
                 On the coast. Two flocks of 20+ and 50+ red throated pipits plus black redstartsl; stone and whin chats; meadow pipits; robins; a marsh harrier; 8+ greenfinches; a corn bunting; and  a flock of 15 linnets.
 

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19th Jan. At Neo Chorio. A flock of 30 hooded crows gathered at dusk. We have not seen this for a long time.
 

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21st Jan. On the Coast. Our regular run along the coastal strip was rewarded with all the expected birds, plus a male sparrow hawk - and out to sea a dolphin reminded us that there are other living things as well as birds in the world to spot and record.
 

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22nd Jan. At Neo Chorio. 3 honey buzzards flew by.
 

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25th Jan. At Neo Chorio. A lively pair of kestrels were screaming and displaying for ages over the garden and in one of the walnut trees. A male goshawk again came by and frightened all the small birds into diving for cover again.
                 At Sirili. A rough legged buzzard was hunting in tight, low circles over an olive grove.
 

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26th Jan. At Chania. On yet another visit to Chania we saw a dead barn owl on the motorway and then, at the hospital, were a lovely pair of long legged buzzards circling close to a pair of local common buzzards. Then a pair of short toed eagles; a white wagtail; and a pair of crested larks.

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29th Jan. At Neo Chorio. In brilliant spring sunshine a lanner falcon displayed over our garden for some time, though no mate was seen.
                 On the coast. In addition to the usual birds were three large flocks of Spanish sparrows that totaled over 1,000 individuals.
 

A few final words for January.

January was a lovely month with long sunny, warm days that seemed to go on and on – where has winter gone this year? We usually get a few nice days called the Halcyon Days this month but never all day every day for the whole month. I actually found myself sunbathing after a visit to a new and excellent museum that has opened in Kastelli while my right hand man managed a swim in the sea on the way home.  

The raptor sightings show that migration is getting underway already so we can look forward to lots of especially egrets and herons soon as well as large numbers of hirundines.  

With spring approaching we need to spend some time getting the garden into shape before the new growth sprouts up to amaze the coming tourists with its luxuriant and brilliant growth and colours. A worthwhile activity as the flowers attract many small insects that in turn attract feeding birds and later the seeds will be much in demand so a little effort now will be well rewarded although I know that all the weeding makes my poor old back ache!

Until next month, good watching.  Paul Smith.

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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