More Lesvos 2015: Long-legged Honey(Moon) Buzzards

Long-legged Buzzard ( Copyright T D Wright )

I read with interest Steve Waite's account of his Honeymoon trip to Rhodes. I'm amazed he had the time (or energy fnarrr!) to get so much birding in. However, I was interested by what he said about L.L. Buzzards. Personally, I struggled to convince myself that this was a L.L. on plumage and wing-length alone. There are a few Common Buzzards on Lesvos; and the Longlegs vary so much in terms of colouration that I wondered how I could be sure I'd got one. It was only when I noticed the legs of this bird trailing out beyond its tail that I thought "Er...Oh Yeah..I suppose it must be a Long-legged then".Sometimes bird-names can be helpful. Perhaps I'll get my eye in as regards the long wings too at some point! For now, I like to see one standing on a rock with a huge shank of tarsus showing. Perhaps it's my eyes, Steve. I do need my glasses. Anyway, to change the subject here's a shot of Molyvos from further away...                                                                                                                            

Molyvos ( Copyright T D Wright )

With all this talk of Urban Birding nowadays, Molyvos might be regarded as such a place. Especially if you use it as a vantage point to scan the sky or the sea. You can pick up shearwaters and also birds of prey coming and going between here and the Turkish mainland. Hirundines and swifts too. The nearby Molyvos reservoir also gets BN Grebe, Ruddy Shelduck and migrant terns. Staying in Petra, it was right close by too. Other people even claimed Lesser Spotted Eagle but I failed to see one myself. Nevertheless, it's a built-up headland a bit like Portland or Hartlepool, so getting into the town by car can be a pain with traffic and narrow streets at times. The reservoir doesn't require this as it's on the inland side of the town though.                                                      

Black-eared Wheatear ( Copyright T D Wright )