Athens birding and wildlife tour: Bird and Wildlife Photography around the city, during a hot summer day
Erythres Plains are known among birders for the special avifauna that can be seen, especially during summer time.
Seva from Russia, is a young avid birdwatcher and enthusiastic wildlife photographer, that had 10 lifers and wanted to see as many as he could in a half day trip close to Athens. Indeed, we managed to get all his lifers in a few hours birding around the north part of Attica, from Erythres Plains to Oropos Lagoon. Here is a trip report from that day.
Sombre Tit, one of Seva’s targets, seen at Erythres Plains
A first stop of our birdwatching tour was the village of Erythres. The main church holds an impressive White Stork nest, with 5 chicks that were constantly fed by their parents. We managed to get a digiscopped video footage and some nice pics. A small colony of Spanish Sparrows breed in the brunches used for the nest construction.
Feeding time at the White Stork nest
The church of the village with the Stork nest on top.
The small
stream that passes close to the village was full of Eastern Olivaceous Wablers and
Common Whitethroats that were singing continuously. Black-headed Buntings were
all over the grape yards, one of their favorite plants to use for perching. The
first Short-toed Eagle of the day passed over our heads, but he had good views
with the scope, since the bird usually stays a few seconds motionless up in the
sky, in search of a reptile prey.
Tuscany-style landscape
An old stone bridge
Headed east
towards the hills, several Sombre Tits were jumping from one tree to another,
using Kermes Oak as their playground. Subalpine Warbler, Cirl Buntings and Corn
Buntings were also present.
An abandoned
quarry is always worth visiting while looking for birds. We found a pair of
Blue Rock Thrushes displaying well and perching on the same bush! This species
was one of the main lifers that Seva had, and he was so excited to see! On the
rock, a pair of Common Kestrels was taking care of their nest. Eastern
Black-eared Wheatears were feeding their young, as some other immature members
of the family were making their first flight attempts. Of course, Rock
Nuthatches could not be absent from this ideal habitat for them.
Best area close to Athens for Black-headed Bunting
Around the
village of Dafni, we saw the first Lesser Grey Shrikes and Woodchat Shrikes for
the day. An awesome Short-toed Snake Eagle was carrying a Glass Lizard, ready
for lunch time.
Short-toed Snake Eagle carrying European Glass Lizzard
Moving to
the coast, we drove to Oropos Lagoon. Little Tern breed in the area, together
with Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plovers and Black-headed Wagtails. That make
four more lifers for the young Russian birder, and lots of excitement for both
of us.
Black-headed Wagtails breed in Oropos Lagoon
Ladybird Spider (Eresus chrysopus), male
Other
wildlife that we observed were Glass Lizards, Eastern Montpellier Snake, Balkan
Whip Snake, unfortunately no Tortoises or other lizards for the day.
Also, a tiny male Jumper Spider (Eresus chrysops) and a couple of Ant Lions!
Birders' selfie after reaching 10 lifers
The full bird list for June 12th 2022,
White Stork
Greater Flamingo
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Redshank
Kentish Plover
Black-winged Stilt
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Common Buzzard
Common Kestrel
Yellow-legged Gull
Little Tern
Common Tern
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
House Martin
Red-rumped Swallow
Barn Swallow
Common Nightingale
Black-eared Wheatear
Blackbird
Blue Rock Thrush
Rock Nuthatch
Lesser Grey Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Magpie
Hoopoe
Hooded Crow
Eurasian Jay
Jackdow
Crested Lark
Great Tit
Sombre Tit
Black-headed Wagtail
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Corn Bunting
Cirl Bunting
Black-headed Bunting
