Molivos reservoir in sunny weather

I was in Molivos this morning and decided to pay a visit to the reservoir. The weather was very pleasant and sunny. In Greece, we call this mid to end of January mild weather period “Halcyon Days” and like every year I try to open conversations on this and change the common belief that the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis, “Halcyoni” in modern Greek) breeds in the middle of winter (as the Greek gods intended them to).

The reservoir was full of Gulls and here are some numbers:

1150 Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahelis)

4 Mediterranean Gulls (Larus melanocephalus)

2 Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea)

3 Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus)

9 Coots (Fulica atra)

11 Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo)

2 Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo)

The number of Coots together with the absence of any other ducks reflects the mild winter we are running. The list did not become much longer with the non-wetland species of birds…