Athens birding tour around Athens, June 2022: Black-headed Buntings, Short-toed Eagle, Little Owls and more
Lisse and Phillip from Berlin, Germany were in Athens for a few days and decided to have a half day birdwatching tour around Athens.
Birding tour around Athens has just started
We met at Pallini Metro Station and headed east, arriving at Spata fields a few
minutes later. Despite the hot and sunny summer day, we had very good views of
3 male Black-headed Buntings, one of them carrying food to its nest. Pallid and
Common Swifts were flying above our heads, while several Kestrels were
hovering, looking for prey.
Black-headed Bunting digiscoped at Spata fields, Athens
As we move
around the fields, Lisse spotted a big bird of prey coming towards us. It was
an impressive Short-toed Snake Eagle, holding a snake (probably Grass Snake)
with its beak. A really exciting sighting. A Crested Lark appeared in the grape
yards, as we were enjoying a couple of Stonechats.
Our next stop was Artemis Lagoon. This year, the lagoon is full of water, thus
it is hard for small waders to stay in the deep waters. We spotted 3
Black-winged Stilts, House Martins, Barn Swallows, Common and Pallid Swifts. We
also had a few seconds to stare at a singing Zitting Cisticola.
Short-toed Snake Eagle carrying a snake.
Digiscoped in Spata fields, Athens
Our final
destination was Schinias National Park. We started with the small pond that
holds the colony of Black-winged Stilts. More than 8 active nests were observed
from a secure distance with our spotting scope. We observed at least 3 recently
fledged chicks, together with a female Ferruginous Duck, a successful breeder
in the area.
As we move to the heart of the wetland, we had another sweet sighting, a female
Mallards followed by 8 of her chicks! Another highlight bird was Turtle Doves
that are still around the area with the olive orchards. Very shy birds, we
could only see them from a certain distance. A Hoopoe was also very active in
the fields, showing up for a few seconds and disappearing again behind the
rocks.
As we moves
towards to the pine forest, a Little Owl was perching right beside the road, on
a telephone wire. This was one of the target species for Lisse and Phillip, and
they were both so enthusiastic to see it well and even take with the mobile
phone, through binoculars. Actually, this is how Lisse takes bird pics, through binoculars or spotting
scope. This requires an high amount of patience and hand stability, with she
has since she her profession was camera woman.
Little Owl of Athena, a target species for many birders
Digiscoped in Schinias National Park, Marathon
At the
Olympic Rowing Center, several Great Reed Warblers were singing and also
carrying food to their nests. As we were about to leave the area, a Cattle
Egret and a Squacco Heron flushed over our heads! Cattle Egret was really
unexpected sighting and was an excellent way to finish our birding trip around
Athens.
The full
bird list for an afternoon birding tour around Athens, June 1rst 2022:
Cory’s
Shearwater
Little Grebe
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Moorhen
Coot
Mallard
Ferruginus Duck
Black-winged Stilt
Little Stint
Ruff
Common Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Little Owl
Yellow-legged Gull
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Turtle Dove
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
Barn Swallow
Jay
Magpie
Hooded Crow
House Martin
Crested Lark
Blackbird
Stonechat
Cetti’s Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Zitting Cisticola
House Sparrow
Black-headed Bunting
