The West River - a tidal river with brackish lagoons - will have many passage waders, little stint, Kentish and little ringed plover being most numerous. The occasional grebe might be seen on the open water of Kalloni Bay whilst around the lagoons the resident and numerous crested larks could be joined by races of yellow wagtails, collared pratincoles plus feeding and nest-gathering house martins and red rumped swallows.

East of town provides some of the most varied and spectacular birdwatching for the visitor. An afternoon will be spent walking along the banks of the narrow East River where the species list changes almost daily. Large numbers of wood sandpipers rest here to feed up before continuing their journeys north and they can be joined by marsh sandpiper, little stints possibly with Temminck's amongst them. Olivaceous warblers sing from Tamarisk bushes being interrupted by the guttural song of the great read warbler or the loud burst of the Cetti’s warbler. The most common birds are however the crested lark and corn bunting, joined in late April by the striking black-headed bunting. Little egrets, white stork and glossy ibis also frequent this river. The East river along with other wet areas along this southern coast can come alive at this time year with passage marsh terns (mainly whiskered and white-winged black).

The next area that compliments the East River is the Kalloni Salt Pans - now being worked again so the water levels can vary - a habitat rich in bird life, whether it be the large numbers of waders: stone curlew, little stints and Kentish plovers, beautifully coloured brick red curlew sandpipers or the elegant black-winged stilts and avocets. This is a favourite area for Montagu’s harrier. So, add to these the migrating passerines which could include lesser grey shrike, red-throated pipit or short-toed larks and bee-eaters and you can understand why we may well return here on more than one occasion.

The rocky outcrop known as "Derbyshire" because of its similarity on a small scale with the peaks in England is another favourite site. Adjacent to the sea with associated lagoons, black storks are often encountered and garganey found amongst the vegetation. There is a large lake which can dry up in summer but at this time of year we have seen great white egrets, ruff and ruddy shelduck. Overhead we must keep our eyes alert to the possibility of short-toed eagle, long-legged and common buzzard.

Further east still are the woods favoured by Kruper's Nuthatch a rare speciality of this island found no further west in Europe than this. Looking for them may involve a walk high into the wooded hills. Other species favouring this area are honey buzzard, short-toed treecreeper, hoopoe, middle-spotted woodpecker and serin.

From Kalloni a winding drive over the mountains to the north of the Island brings new habitats and birds. Around Petra are some stunning walks and the dry stony slopes which hold good numbers of Cretzschmar's bunting, woodchat shrike and sub-alpine warblers. Onwards to Molyvos where, with the bay as an idyllic backdrop, Ruppell's warbler can be seen very close to the road, with cirl bunting, rock nuthatch and Orphean warbler sharing the slopes for nest sites.

A stunning scenic drive takes us to Sigri in the far west of the island. In the harbour shag and Audouin's gulls are often seen. The olive groves can be alive with shrikes: masked, woodchat and red-backed all being possible. A small inland river is home to night heron and a variety of passage migrants. This is a good area to watch for birds of prey - the lesser kestrel has a breeding stronghold but passage red-footed and Eleanora's falcon are also a possibility. The journey itself is not without some exceptional birdwatching. Isabelline wheatear, rock sparrow and Cinereous bunting are all locally common en route so we shall make frequent stops to find them. Ipsilou Monastery perched on top of an extinct volcano is an ideal spot to look for crag martin, golden oriole and long-legged buzzard.

Additional sites which we may include are the Petrified Forest, Eressos river valley and the Potamia valley.

Each day we shall take a picnic lunch with us and wherever possible make a taverna stop for refreshments and toilets (our tour is very early in the Lesvos season so not all of the tavernas are open but we do our best!). The hotel usually arranges a typical Greek evening with entertainment by professional Greek dancers on one night.

We return to London via Athens -depending upon flight times we might be able to spend a little time near the hotel bird watching before the journey to back to Mytilini.

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