For a specific bird in one place, 2 hours at a time for me, shorter if my wife is with me 😬. My record for the total time spent solely on one bird at the same spot is around 20 hours. This was for Kruper’s Nuthatch in Lesvos, we made multiple visits to Achladeri Forest during 3 trips to the island.

Last image from the Lesvos trip, a very showy Stonechat by the old Sigri Sanatorium. The Sigri to Eresos track was quieter than May, as some passerines had already left. Still, it was good for Rock Nuthatch, Red-backed Shrike, Stonechat, Whinchat, Pipits, Warblers, Kestrel and Lesser Kestrel. #birds

6/6 Sometimes soft myzithra is added to the bag, to help fill in the spaces. A whole, filled skin weighs about 160 pounds. Most touloumotyri ages for at least 3 months. And that's all folks! Thanks for reading for the Greek cheese of the day! Enjoy! Lesvos is also famous for their Ouzo! Yiamas!

3/n and burgeoning with chunks of soft white cheese, is startling at best. It is a sight one is likely to encounter in village shops in Lesvos and Samos, although the cheese is still made pretty much throughout the Aegean.

🧵 ALERT! 1/? Greek cheese of the day! woohoo! Have you been waiting patiently? Oh well wait no more, here it is! Today we're going to the North-East Aegean were we find Touloumotyri: Soft, grainy, pungent touloumotyri is named for the goat skin (touloumi) in which it is stored.

Clearing down the SD card from last week. One of a small flock of Wheatears flitting around farmland next to the upper Ennia Kamares marsh in Lesvos. Occurring as summer residents and on passage, eBird records show Wheatears are one of the last passerines to leave the island for winter. #birds

There was an abundance of Spotted Flycatchers in Lesvos last week. Their numbers peak in September, when birds on passage bolster the summer breeders. By the end of October they, and any remaining migrant passerines such as Wheatear and Red-backed Shrike, will have left to winter in Africa. #birds

A mixed flock totalling 12 Spoonbill, 3 Great White Egret and up to 23 Little Egret taking flight at the Christou (or Ennia Kamares) wetland on Lesvos. The group stayed together the whole week, moving to various parts of the wetland, in particular the marsh north of the Christou River bridge #birds

Swallowtails were the second most common #butterfly seen last week in Lesvos. This one is settled on vegetation next to the lower section of the Tsiknias River.

Afternoon temperatures in Lesvos last week were 26 to 30 deg C, well above the seasonal average. On most days there was little point in birding between midday and four o’clock. There were plenty of insects around though, like this female Red-veined Darter #dragonfly#odonata lifer for me.