Brett and Madeleine came all the way from Australia for a big European tour. Greece was one of their destinations and they wanted to add some more lifers to their list. Even though most of the summer visitors (e.g. Ruppell's Warbler, Black-headed Bunting) have already departed from their breeding grounds, there are still plenty of birds around. As they wanted two full days of birding, we planned a full day around Athens for start and then a full day at Messolonghi Lagoon.
DAY 1
August is a windy month so we had to monitor the weather forecast till the very last day to decide where we should go birding on the first day (August 9th). The final verdict was Athens as the following day would be very windy.
The first stop was Erythres plain, NW of Athens. A fairly unknown place for most birders but very rich in birds. As fall migration had started, we quickly saw many migrants like Subalpine, Icterine and Wood Warblers, Woodchat and Lesser Grey Shrikes, Northern Wheatears and Hoopoes. Lesser Kestrels on their post-breeding dispersion were very common. There were also two very low flying Short-toed Eagles and a Honey Buzzard! Another surprise was a migrant Ruppell's Warbler, seen along with the other migrants.
 |
| Honey Buzzard |
 |
| Icterine Warbler |
 |
| Short-toed Eagle |
Just before we go, the call of a Syrian Woodpecker was the best surprise ever; in a few minutes we managed to find the bird, this being the first record of this species in Athens!
We left Erythres and moved to Kopaida plain, a vast area outside of Athens but close enough from where we were. We visited the area to find Bee-eaters and we were not dissapointed as we saw more than 20, along with another Syrian Woodpecker, Turtle Doves, Marsh Harriers and Red-rumped Swallows.
 |
| Bee-eater |
After Kopaida, we headed back to Athens, this time visiting the eastern part and more specifically Schinias National Park, the best place to look for the Ferruginous Duck. We saw at least 20 birds and another surprise was the presence of 2 Pygmy Cormorants, Europe's least common cormorant. It is known to overwinter here but staying during the summer is something new; perhaps a resident population will be established shortly. In the area there were also many swifts of all three species, Coots, Moorhens and Great Reed Warblers, to name a few of the birds.
 |
| Ferruginous Duck |
 |
| Pygmy Cormorant |
 |
| Pallid Swift |
From Schinias we moved south to Artemis Lagoon, where we saw several waders: Black-winged Stilts, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers, Curlew Sandpipers and Wood Sandpipers and Little Stints.
Early in the afternoon, we reached Mt Hymettus, looking for Chukars at the top, to no avail...A Eurasian Sparrowhawk, however, was added to their lifer list. We moved lower, at Kaisariani Forest and saw a very nice Cirl Bunting, Firecrests and Jays, among other birds.
 |
| Cirl Bunting |
The day was over and the count reached the staggering number of 71 species!
TRIP CHECKLIST
Mallard - Anas
platyrhynchos |
| Ferruginous Duck - Aythya nyroca |
| Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| Rock Dove - Columba livia |
| European Turtle Dove - Streptopelia
turtur |
| Collared Dove - Streptopelia decaocto |
| Alpine Swift - Apus melba |
| Common Swift - Apus apus |
| Pallid Swift - Apus pallidus |
| Water Rail - Rallus aquaticus |
| Common Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus |
| Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra |
| Black-winged Stilt - Himantopus
himantopus |
| Kentish Plover - Charadrius alexandrinus |
| Little Ringed Plover - Charadrius dubius |
| Curlew Sandpiper - Calidris ferruginea |
| Little Stint - Calidris minuta |
| Common Sandpiper - Actitis hypoleucos |
| Wood Sandpiper - Tringa glareola |
| Pygmy Cormorant - Microcarbo pygmaeus |
| Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo |
| Purple Heron - Ardea purpurea |
| Little Egret - Egretta garzetta |
| European Honey-buzzard - Pernis apivorus |
| Short-toed Eagle - Circaetus gallicus |
| Western Marsh Harrier - Circus
aeruginosus |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
| Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo |
| Eurasian Hoopoe - Upupa epops |
| Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis |
| European Bee-eater - Merops apiaster |
| Syrian Woodpecker - Dendrocopos syriacus |
| Lesser Kestrel - Falco naumanni |
| Common Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus |
| Red-backed Shrike - Lanius collurio |
| Lesser Grey Shrike - Lanius minor |
| Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator |
| Eurasian Jay - Garrulus glandarius |
| Common Magpie - Pica pica |
| Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix |
| Common Raven - Corvus corax |
| Coal Tit - Periparus ater |
| Sombre Tit - Poecile lugubris |
| Great Tit - Parus major |
| Crested Lark - Galerida cristata |
| Zitting Cisticola - Cisticola juncidis |
| Icterine Warbler - Hippolais icterina |
| Great Reed Warbler-Acrocephalus
arundinaceus |
| Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica |
| Red-rumped Swallow - Cecropis daurica |
| Common House Martin - Delichon urbicum |
| Wood Warbler - Phylloscopus sibilatrix |
| Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti |
| Long-tailed Tit - Aegithalos caudatus |
| Lesser Whitethroat - Sylvia curruca |
| Ruppell's Warbler - Sylvia ruppeli |
| Subalpine Warbler - Sylvia cantillans |
| Sardinian Warbler - Sylvia melanocephala |
| Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis |
| Common Firecrest - Regulus ignicapilla |
| Eurasian Blackbird - Turdus merula |
| Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata |
| Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe |
| Black-eared Wheatear - Oenanthe hispanica |
| House Sparrow - Passer domesticus |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus |
| Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs |
| European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris |
| European Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis |
| Corn Bunting - Emberiza calandra |
| Cirl Bunting - Emberiza cirlus |
