Birdwatching tour in Messolonghi - July 3, 2021

Dimitris is a Greek birder who currently lives in the US. He is new to birdwatching so almost every European bird is a lifer to him. When he planned to visit his homeland, he contacted us and arranged a weekend full of birds. The first day was dedicated to wetlands so we visited Messolonghi National Park, a unique lagoon complex 230 km west of Athens. 

Our first stop, however, was the gorge of Kleisoura, north of Messolonghi, with the Griffon Vultures that still persist there. 

Griffon Vulture

After Kleisoura, we visited one by one the lagoons of Messolonghi, having the opportunity to see hundreds of herons, flamingoes, pelicans, spoonbills, avocets, stone curlews, collared pratincoles, waders (including more than 100 Spotted Redshanks), Slender-billed Gulls and terns but also passerines like the Rufous-tailed Bush Robin, the Western Rock Nuthatch and the Spanish Sparrow. 

Pied Avocet

Rufous Bush Robin

Spanish Sparrow

A full 69 species were seen in one day of July! 

Common Shelduck - Tadorna tadorna

Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos

Greater Flamingo - Phoenicopterus roseus

Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto

Common Swift - Apus apus

Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra

Eurasian Thick-knee - Burhinus oedicnemus

Black-winged Stilt - Himantopus himantopus

Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta

Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus

Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola

Kentish Plover - Charadrius alexandrinus

Little Ringed Plover - Charadrius dubius

Eurasian Curlew - Numenius arquata

Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa

Common Sandpiper - Actitis hypoleucos

Spotted Redshank - Tringa erythropus

Common Greenshank - Tringa nebularia

Common Redshank - Tringa totanus

Collared Pratincole - Glareola pratincola

Slender-billed Gull - Chroicocephalus genei

Black-headed Gull - Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Mediterranean Gull - Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis

Little Tern - Sternula albifrons

Gull-billed Tern - Gelochelidon nilotica

Caspian Tern - Hydroprogne caspia

Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida

Common Tern - Sterna hirundo

White Stork - Ciconia ciconia

Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo

Dalmatian Pelican - Pelecanus crispus

Gray Heron - Ardea cinerea

Purple Heron - Ardea purpurea

Little Egret - Egretta garzetta

Eurasian Spoonbill - Platalea leucorodia

Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus

Eurasian Marsh-Harrier - Circus aeruginosus

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo

Lesser Kestrel - Falco naumanni

Eurasian Magpie - Pica pica

Eurasian Jackdaw - Corvus monedula

Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix

Eurasian Blue Tit - Cyanistes caeruleus

Great Tit - Parus major

Eurasian Penduline-Tit - Remiz pendulinus

Crested Lark - Galerida cristata

Zitting Cisticola - Cisticola juncidis

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler - Iduna pallida

Eurasian Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Bank Swallow - Riparia riparia

Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

Red-rumped Swallow - Cecropis daurica

Common House-Martin - Delichon urbicum

Cetti's Warbler - Cettia cetti

Sardinian Warbler - Sylvia melanocephala

Western Rock Nuthatch - Sitta neumayer

Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin - Cercotrichas galactotes

European Robin - Erithacus rubecula

Blue Rock-Thrush - Monticola solitarius

Black-eared Wheatear - Oenanthe hispanica

House Sparrow - Passer domesticus

Spanish Sparrow - Passer hispaniolensis

Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus

Western Yellow Wagtail - Motacilla flava

Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs

European Greenfinch - Chloris chloris

European Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis

Corn Bunting - Emberiza calandra