Marie is a French journalist who came to Greece for a few days' break from her job. She is not a birdwatcher but she wanted to get to know better of the Athenian wildlife. Even though it was literally a last-minute call as she contacted us on Friday Nov, 2 morning and wanted to have a tour on the same day, we could arrange a few hours' visit to Schinias National Park, Athens' most important freshwater wetland and a very nice place for complete amateur birders.
We focused on the Olympic Rowing Center, as the two lakes are easy to scan with the field scope and there are a lot of different birds around, from the very common Coot to the rare Pygmy Cormorant.
Ferruginous Ducks were also very easy to see along with Common Pochards, Wigeons and a few Garganeys
They were even Barn Swallows; a flock of c.20 was hawking overhead while typical winter visitors like the Black Redstart and the White Wagtail had already taken their wintering posts.
We focused on the Olympic Rowing Center, as the two lakes are easy to scan with the field scope and there are a lot of different birds around, from the very common Coot to the rare Pygmy Cormorant.
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| Coot |
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| Pygmy Cormorant |
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| Ferruginous Ducks |
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| Garganey |
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| After watching waterfowl at the lake, Marie is looking at the details of a beautiful Black Redstart |
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| Male Black Redstart |
In less than three hours, we managed to see and hear 42 species! Another very successful tour was completed!
TRIP CHECKLIST
| Garganey - Spatula querquedula |
| Eurasian Wigeon - Mareca penelope |
| Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos |
| Common Pochard - Aythya ferina |
| Ferruginous Duck - Aythya nyroca |
| Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto |
| Water Rail - Rallus aquaticus |
| Eurasian Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus |
| Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra |
| Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis |
| Pygmy Cormorant - Microcarbo pygmeus |
| Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo |
| Gray Heron - Ardea cinerea |
| Little Egret - Egretta garzetta |
| Eurasian Marsh-Harrier - Circus aeruginosus |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus |
| Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis |
| Eurasian Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus |
| Eurasian Magpie - Pica pica |
| Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix |
| Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis |
| Crested Lark - Galerida cristata |
| Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica |
| 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 |
| Eurasian Blackbird - Turdus merula |
| European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris |
| Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea |
| White Wagtail - Motacilla alba |
| Meadow Pipit - Anthus pratensis |
| Water Pipit - Anthus spinoletta |
| Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs |
| European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris |
| Eurasian Linnet - Linaria cannabina |
| Corn Bunting - Emberiza calandra |
| House Sparrow - Passer domesticus |
