Birds

Lesvos is one of the top destinations for bird watchers in Europe. This is due to the island’s location, right in the crossroads of multiple migratory bird routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, its proximity to Asia Minor, the multitude of wetlands, large and small, on Lesvos and the variety of ecosystems and habitats. Approximately 320 bird species have been recorded on the island, passing, migratory or permanently nesting on the island. Three Asiatic species are at the top of the list: Krüper’s nuthatch (Sitta krueperi) detected in only two other habitats besides Lesvos (in Turkey and Georgia), the cinereous bunting (Emberiza cineracea), and the pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis). Additionally, the bird fauna of Lesvos includes: the black stork (Ciconia nigra), pink flamingoes, all kinds of herons (“tsikniades”) the black-winged stilt  (Himantopus himantopus), the glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), the pied avocet (Recurvirostra avocetta), the common redshank (Tringa totanus) and many others. The rocky islets of Lesvos are the nesting and breeding grounds for Audouin gulls (Larus auduini), a species under extreme danger of extinction worldwide, protected by special regulations for the safeguarding of its colonies.

Bird watchers arrive at the island in the spring and in lesser numbers in the fall in order to catch the migratory seasons between Europe and Africa. Their main objective is to photograph and locate with their spotting scopes and binoculars as many bird species as they can.