Bill Tweit is a veteran birder and eBird reviewer for the state of Washington in the United States.
He came to Greece with his wife Lucy and had a full day to spend birding with Greece Bird Tours.
We started just before dawn so as to find Scops Owls, a lifer; Lycabettus Hill is one of the best sites in Athens to see them and we did!
Next stop would be Mt Hymettus, where we enjoyed dozens of passerines (Chaffinches, Hawfinches, Siskins, Great, Blue and Coal Tits, Short-toed Treecreepers, Firecrests etc).
We drove north and reached Oropos Lagoon, where we found some 100 herons (Gray Heron, Little and Great Egret), lots of Pintails and Mallards, a couple of Great Flamingos, 9 Slender-billed Gulls, more than 100 Mediterranean Gulls and a nice collection of waders: Black-bellied, Kentish and Common Ringed Plovers, Sanderlings, Dunlins, Greenshanks and Redshanks.
Leaving Oropos, we drove southeast in order to reach Schinias National Park. On the way, we found Sombre Tits, another lifer for Bill.
Schinias was also full of birds, including a group of Barn Swallows and a single House Martin!
Other interesting sightings included Ferruginous Ducks, a Garganey and Pygmy Cormorants. A distant Osprey was seen heading northeast, while lots of pipits, finches and buntings were all around.
TRIP CHECKLIST
He came to Greece with his wife Lucy and had a full day to spend birding with Greece Bird Tours.
We started just before dawn so as to find Scops Owls, a lifer; Lycabettus Hill is one of the best sites in Athens to see them and we did!
Next stop would be Mt Hymettus, where we enjoyed dozens of passerines (Chaffinches, Hawfinches, Siskins, Great, Blue and Coal Tits, Short-toed Treecreepers, Firecrests etc).
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| Firecrest |
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| Short-toed Treecreeper |
We drove north and reached Oropos Lagoon, where we found some 100 herons (Gray Heron, Little and Great Egret), lots of Pintails and Mallards, a couple of Great Flamingos, 9 Slender-billed Gulls, more than 100 Mediterranean Gulls and a nice collection of waders: Black-bellied, Kentish and Common Ringed Plovers, Sanderlings, Dunlins, Greenshanks and Redshanks.
Passerines were also plentiful; Reed Buntings, Penduline Tits and Cetti's Warblers being the most widespread.
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Slender-blled Gull |
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| Eurasian Sparrowhawk |
Leaving Oropos, we drove southeast in order to reach Schinias National Park. On the way, we found Sombre Tits, another lifer for Bill.
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| Sombre Tit |
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| Barn Swallows and House Martin (center) |
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| Ferruginous Duck |
At the end, we had seen the impressive number of 83 species. Another great day of birding with Greece Bird Tours!
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| Bill and Lucy@Oropos Lagoon |
| Mute Swan - Cygnus olor |
| Garganey - Spatula querquedula |
| Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos |
| Northern Pintail - Anas acuta |
| Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca |
| Ferruginous Duck - Aythya nyroca |
| Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| Eared Grebe - Podiceps nigricollis |
| Greater Flamingo - Phoenicopterus roseus |
| Pygmy Cormorant - Microcarbo pygmeus |
| Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo |
| European Shag - Phalacrocorax aristotelis |
| Gray Heron - Ardea cinerea |
| Great Egret - Ardea alba |
| Little Egret - Egretta garzetta |
| Osprey - Pandion haliaetus |
| Eurasian Marsh-Harrier - Circus aeruginosus |
| Hen Harrier - Circus cyaneus |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
| Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo |
| Eurasian Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus |
| Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra |
| Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola |
| Kentish Plover - Charadrius alexandrinus |
| Common Ringed Plover - Charadrius hiaticula |
| Sanderling - Calidris alba |
| Dunlin - Calidris alpina |
| Common Snipe - Gallinago gallinago |
| Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus |
| Common Greenshank - Tringa nebularia |
| Common Redshank - Tringa totanus |
| Slender-billed Gull - Chroicocephalus genei |
| Black-headed Gull - Chroicocephalus ridibundus |
| Mediterranean Gull - Ichthyaetus melanocephalus |
| Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis |
| Sandwich Tern - Thalasseus sandvicensis |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto |
| European Scops-Owl - Otus scops |
| Little Owl - Athene noctua |
| Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis |
| Eurasian Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus |
| Eurasian Jay - Garrulus glandarius |
| Eurasian Magpie - Pica pica |
| Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix |
| Wood Lark - Lullula arborea |
| Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis |
| Crested Lark - Galerida cristata |
| Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica |
| Common House-Martin - Delichon urbicum |
| Coal Tit - Periparus ater |
| Sombre Tit - Poecile lugubris |
| Eurasian Blue Tit - Cyanistes caeruleus |
| Great Tit - Parus major |
| Eurasian Penduline-Tit - Remiz pendulinus |
| Short-toed Treecreeper - Certhia brachydactyla |
| Eurasian Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes |
| Firecrest - Regulus ignicapilla |
| Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti |
| Common Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita |
| Zitting Cisticola - Cisticola juncidis |
| Eurasian Blackcap - Sylvia atricapilla |
| Sardinian Warbler - Sylvia melanocephala |
| European Robin - Erithacus rubecula |
| Black Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros |
| European Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola |
| Eurasian Blackbird - Turdus merula |
| Song Thrush - Turdus philomelos |
| European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris |
| Dunnock - Prunella modularis |
| White Wagtail - Motacilla alba |
| Meadow Pipit - Anthus pratensis |
| Water Pipit - Anthus spinoletta |
| Cirl Bunting - Emberiza cirlus |
| Reed Bunting - Emberiza schoeniclus |
| Corn Bunting - Emberiza calandra |
| Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs |
| Hawfinch - Coccothraustes coccothraustes |
| European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris |
| Eurasian Linnet - Linaria cannabina |
| European Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis |
| European Serin - Serinus serinus |
| Eurasian Siskin - Spinus spinus |
| House Sparrow - Passer domesticus |
