September is a busy month, in terms of both migration and bird tours. On September 13, we ran another half day trip, this time with Steve, an enthusiastic American birder who wanted to see birds before the start of his cruise with his family.
The first stop of the day was the small but very important for waders Artemis lagoon. We saw, among others, a juvenile Purple Heron!
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| Purple Heron |
Other birds seen include the Garganey, the Little Ringed Plover, the Sanderling and the Curlew Sandpiper.
Next stop was Vravrona Wetland, quite dry at this time of year but still important for birds; the Penduline Tit was the highlight of our visit.
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| Penduline Tit |
Red-backed Shrikes, Sardinian Warblers and Cetti's Warblers were quite common in Vravrona, while Fan-tailed Warblers and Cirl Buntings were also present.
After Vravrona, we stopped for half an hour at the famous stand of Turpentine Trees close to the town of Spata. These trees are full of fruit and migrant birds! We saw, among others, a lovely Lesser Whitethroat.
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
Last stop was the Aesthetic Forest of Kaisariani, the closest birding hotspot to Athens. Even though we spent little time there, we managed to have some really good views of birds like the Spotted Flycatcher and the Common Redstart
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| Common Redstart |
Another great birding day was over. Steve, tired but happy, returned to his family to start the "mainstream" part of his holiday in Greece. We are looking forward to birding with him again!
