Rob Van Epps in an enthusiastic nature lover who as on vacation on the island of Santorini and was so determined to see some cool birds that he flew from Santorini on Saturday, Jun 6 to go birding with us.
Picking him from the airport early in the morning, we headed straight to the adjacent farmland, to look for the Black-headed Bunting and the Rufous Bush Robin. We found both of them and had some really nice photos.
 |
| Rufous Bush Robin |
 |
| Black-headed Bunting |
There were also lots of Common Swifts, Crested Larks, Barn Swallows, as well as a Little Grebe and a Moorhen in a ditch close to the airport.
We then moved north, to the still-flooded Spata fields. The Ferruginous Ducks were one of the highlights along with the Black-winged Stilts, the Great Reed Warblers and the Zitting Cisticolas. A Short-toed Eagle flew overhead while, Alpine and Common Swifts were flying around all the time.
 |
| Ferruginous Duck |
It was time for one of the Athenian specialties: the Ruppell's Warbler. We drove west and reached Mt Hymettus, where we managed to find one bright male at its usual post.
 |
| Ruppell's Warbler |
It was time for Mt Parnitha, Athens' highest mountain. The main target, the Sombre Tit, was found rather easily and along with that we saw Lesser Whitethroats (the sole breeding area in Athens), Red-backed Shrikes, Subalpine Warblers, Black Redstarts, Woodlarks, Nightingales, lots of finches and Cirl Buntings, among other species.
 |
| Subalpine Warbler |
Leaving Mt Parnitha, we headed east and reached Mt Penteli. Thre, we saw Rock Nuthatches, Cretzschmar's Buntings and a Tawny Pipit, which is a rare summer visitor to Athens. There were also Blue Rock Thrushes, Black-eared Wheatears, Stonechats etc.
 |
| Tawny Pipit |
The last stop for the day was Vravrona wetland. There we found Green Sandpipers, most probably very early fall migrants, Little Egrets, a Peregrine Falcon with prey in its tallons (most probably a chick Black-winged Stilt from Spata Fields or Artemis Lagoon), dozens of swifts (including Pallid), Cetti's and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and Goldfinches.
The day was over and the tally was 57 species. Rob was very happy to have seen many lifers in a single day!
TRIP CHECKLIST
| Ferruginous Duck -
Aythya nyroca |
| Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| 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 |
| Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus |
| Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis |
| Little Egret - Egretta garzetta |
| Short-toed Eagle - Circaetus gallicus |
| Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo |
| Common Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus |
| Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus |
| Red-backed Shrike - Lanius collurio |
| Common Magpie - Pica pica |
| Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix |
| Woodlark - Lullula arborea |
| Crested Lark - Galerida cristata |
| Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica |
| Common House Martin - Delichon urbicum |
| Coal Tit - Periparus ater |
| Sombre Tit - Poecile lugubris |
| Great Tit - Parus major |
| Western Rock Nuthatch - Sitta neumayer |
| Short-toed Treecreeper - Certhia
brachydactyla |
| Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti |
| Eastern Olivaceous Warbler - Iduna
pallida |
| Eurasian Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus
scirpaceus |
| Great Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus
arundinaceus |
| Zitting Cisticola - Cisticola juncidis |
| Lesser Whitethroat - Sylvia curruca |
| RΓΌppell's Warbler - Sylvia ruppeli |
| Subalpine Warbler - Sylvia cantillans |
| Sardinian Warbler - Sylvia melanocephala |
| Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis |
| Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata |
| Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin - Cercotrichas
galactotes |
| Common Nightingale - Luscinia
megarhynchos |
| Black Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros |
| Blue Rock Thrush - Monticola solitarius |
| European Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola |
| Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe |
| Black-eared Wheatear - Oenanthe hispanica |
| Eurasian Blackbird - Turdus merula |
| Tawny Pipit - Anthus campestris |
| Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs |
| Common Linnet - Linaria cannabina |
| European Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis |
| European Serin - Serinus serinus |
| Black-headed Bunting - Emberiza
melanocephala |
| Cirl Bunting - Emberiza cirlus |
| Cretzschmar's Bunting - Emberiza caesia |
| House Sparrow - Passer domesticus |
