Wildlife highlights from a week's holiday in Kos

Kos is the second largest of the Dodecanese Islands, and after Rhodes, is by far the most popular. Only 4km from  Bodrum, the island’s flora and fauna is perhaps more Turkish than it is Greek. We stayed in Kos Town for a week in May 2005.

Unlike Lesvos, little birding or wildlife watching information seems available for Kos, although I was able to find a couple of bird reports on the internet that proved useful in planning my visit. At this point in my life I was only just getting into birds so I really only paid attention to the more conspicuous species. I was fortunate to bump into a couple of UK birders that helped me out with some of the waders and raptors.

One of the most productive places for wildlife on the island is the Alyki saltmarsh between Tingaki and Marmari on the north coast.



On my visit I was surprised to see good numbers of Greater Flamingo, together with Little Egrets and Common Ringed Plover. Kentish Plover, Curlew Sandpiper and Whiskered Tern were pointed out to me by other birders, while Cattle Egret and Crested Lark were observed in the surrounding fields.

Our trip coincided with a good passage of Wood Sandpipers and Lesser Kestrels. The latter could be seen hunting together in flocks around the fringes of the marsh.

A small pond near the saltmarsh first appeared to be home to nothing but various items of rubbish, including a pile of bathroom tiles and a kitchen sink!



Closer inspection revealed a healthy population of Balkan Terrapins that were extremely shy and impossible to photograph. More confiding was the most beautifully coloured Grass Snake I have ever seen.



I would be very surprised if the pond wasn’t built upon by now, especially as it was situated next to a rather large apartment complex.

More Terrapins were seen basking around the saltmarsh.



Further along the coast at Marmari, we stumbled across a large flock of European Bee-eaters, together with some Hooded Crows and more Lesser Kestrels. Crested Lark seemed especially numerous around this area and I also saw my first ever male Black-headed Bunting.



Leaving the coast, we decided to explore the mountains and took a drive up to Paleo Pyli. The scenery in this area is spectacular, although birds seemed thin on the ground. I did see a couple of Spotted Flycatchers, as well as more familiar Blackbirds etc. I am sure that a more experienced birder would have seen much more, including Raven and perhaps a Bonelli’s Eagle. Snake-eyed Lizards were easy enough to see basking around the path up to Byzantine Castle.



The next day, while enjoying a particularly delicious meal at a taverna in Mastihari, I bumped into some birders I had first met earlier in the holiday. They tipped us off about a nearby dirt track that had turned up some decent wildlife.



It was good information and ten minutes later we were watching our first wild Spur-thighed Tortoise as it ambled along the roadside.  Displaying European Roller and a couple of Long-legged Buzzard were also seen, together with a noisy flock of Bee-eaters.

 

Somehow we ended up at the Knights’ Castle, east of Andimahia (this is not to be confused with the Knights’ Castle in Kos Town) and decided to pop in for a look around. It’s a good thing we did because exploring the crumbled grounds of the fortifications turned up an impressive amount of wildlife.

Just outside the castle we met a couple of over-excited British tourists who took great delight in telling us the place was crawling with ‘horrible lizards’ and ‘huge snakes’. They even suggested we turn back now to avoid being bitten to death, before helpfully adding that the remains of a particularly vicious snake had been placed as a warning by the door.

Well I’ve never entered a place of historic interest so quickly in all my life! My excitement soon turned to dismay when on entering the courtyard I spotted the corpse of a Scheltopusik (European Glass Lizard), decapitated and swarming with ants. This poor creature had obviously been mistaken for a snake by some muppet and killed out of ignorance (not that I think killing snakes is acceptable).

Walking around the ruins we saw significant numbers of Starred Agamas (below) and Snake-eyed Lizards taking advantage of the afternoon sun. A Male Black-eared Wheatear was an unexpected bonus, as were the Alpine Swifts that flew overhead with the Common Swifts. More Rollers and Long-legged Buzzards were spotted in the surrounding countryside from the high vantage point of the castle.



I was happy with the abundance of species but still wanted to see one more creature. Walking quietly around the more overgrown paths and away from the other tourists I patiently stalked my target. An hour or so later I was rewarded with my first ever live Scheltopusik. These creatures move very fast, especially when hot, so my sighting was brief to say the least. I was overjoyed all the same. Another Spur-thighed Tortoise was found in the car park as we returned to our hire car.

Other good birds seen on Kos included a flock of Elenora’s Falcon near Kamari on the east of the island. Fortunately they were seen by another birder who was able to confirm my ID. On a visit to Paradise Beach, we spotted a female Blue Rock Thrush from the car and finally, a large flock of Yellow-legged Gull were seen from the coach on the way back to the airport.

It is worth mentioning again that I was new to birding at this time and so virtually ignored anything smaller than a lark. Many birds of prey, warblers and waders escaped unidentified.

Also of interest reptile wise was a road killed Scheltopusik that was seen on a drive up to Zia, while a dead adult Balkan Green Lizard was found near Kamari.

Kos is a beautiful island, especially in the Spring. It’s small enough to explore within a week, yet large enough to contain some spectacular scenery, varied habitat, quiet beaches and great wildlife. Compared to Lesvos it is very under-watched bird wise.