During a bird trip in the middle of August, you cannot expect much. But it is when you do not expect, that the unexpected happens!
First we visited Loutros Spata, behind the airport: Zitting Cisticola & Lesser Grey Shrike were the highlights there.
Then Loutsa Lagoon proved to be more than a just a stop before Schinias. Even being so small, there is such a positive change after the cleaning of the area. Full of water even in the middle of the summer, with decades of waders and other birds. The highlight (and new lifer for me), which is not a very common species for Greece: the Red Knot. Not only a rarity for Greece, but also here seen with the summer plumage, nice redish coloration.
Red Knot @ Loutsa Lagoon
Apart from that, we also saw 4 Ferruginous Ducks, a world endagered species!
Add to all the above, a Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlins, Sanderlins, Little Stints, Black-winged Stilt, Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Mallard, Little Grebe, Hoopoe, Red-rumped Swallow and you can imagine how great the day started
At the end, we spent a few hours at Schinias National Park. There again, shrikes' attack: Red-backed, Lesser Grey and Woodchat Shrikes, together with 5 Ferruginous Duck, Hoopoe, Peregrine Falcon, Kingfisher, and other more common species
Lesser Grey Shrike @ Schinias National Park
