Birdwatching around Athens: Jan 3rd 2023

Happy New Year everyone!

May 2023 bring joy and many travels to all fellow birders.

And what a better way to start the year than a full day tour around Athens?

D.Parsley from Tennessee, USA was our first visiting birder for this year. He had no particular target species list but he wanted to a lot of European species, as part of his birding holiday in Greece.

We started early in the morning and our first destination was Oropos Lagoon, a premium birding site at this time of year. Greater Flamingos, Little and Great Egrets, several different waterfowl species (Mallard, Teal, Pintail, Widgeon etc), Slender-billed and Mediterranean Gulls were few of the numerous birds that we saw.

Greater Flamingos, Black-headed Gulls and Mallards at Oropos Lagoon

There were also Kentish and Common Ringed Plovers, Turnstones and Curlews were also present, as well as many small passerines.

Leaving Oropos, we headed to Schinias National Park for the site's mascot: the Ferruginous Duck. We managed to see quite a few at the rowing center, together with a couple of Tufted Ducks and hundreds of Coots. The real surprise, however, came at the marshes; we saw two Black-winged Stilts that decided to spend the winter in Greece instead of Africa.

Tufted Ducks at Schinias National Park

David taking photos of the Ferruginous Ducks

After Schinias, we visited the small river mouth of Rafina, getting great close views of a Water Rail and a female Teal, and the marvelous archaelogical site of Vravrona, where we enjoyed a Little Owl perched right at the temple of Artemis.

Water Rail at Rafina river mouth

Little Owl nesting at Artemis Temple in Vravrona

Just before dusk, a Hen Harrier and hundreds of Starlings were the last birds to see before returning to the hotel. We managed to record 64 species, the best way to start a birding year!

TRIP CHECKLIST

Species	Scientific name
Eurasian Wigeon	Mareca penelope
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
Northern Pintail	Anas acuta
Green-winged Teal	Anas crecca
Ferruginous Duck	Aythya nyroca
Tufted Duck	Aythya fuligula
Greater Flamingo	Phoenicopterus roseus
Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis
Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
Water Rail	Rallus aquaticus
Eurasian Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Coot	Fulica atra
Black-winged Stilt	Himantopus himantopus
Black-bellied Plover	Pluvialis squatarola
Northern Lapwing	Vanellus vanellus
Kentish Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus
Common Ringed Plover	Charadrius hiaticula
Eurasian Curlew	Numenius arquata
Ruddy Turnstone	Arenaria interpres
Dunlin	Calidris alpina
Common Greenshank	Tringa nebularia
Common Redshank	Tringa totanus
Slender-billed Gull	Chroicocephalus genei
Black-headed Gull	Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Mediterranean Gull	Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Yellow-legged Gull	Larus michahellis
Great Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo
Gray Heron	Ardea cinerea
Great Egret	Ardea alba
Little Egret	Egretta garzetta
Hen Harrier	Circus cyaneus
Eurasian Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus
Common Buzzard	Buteo buteo
Little Owl	Athene noctua
Common Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis
Eurasian Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian Magpie	Pica pica
Hooded Crow	Corvus cornix
Great Tit	Parus major
Crested Lark	Galerida cristata
Common Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita
Cetti's Warbler	Cettia cetti
Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus
Eurasian Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla
Sardinian Warbler	Curruca melanocephala
Eurasian Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes
European Starling	Sturnus vulgaris
Song Thrush	Turdus philomelos
Eurasian Blackbird	Turdus merula
European Robin	Erithacus rubecula
Black Redstart	Phoenicurus ochruros
European Stonechat	Saxicola rubicola
Dunnock	Prunella modularis
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus
Gray Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea
White Wagtail	Motacilla alba
Meadow Pipit	Anthus pratensis
Common Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs
European Greenfinch	Chloris chloris
European Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
Corn Bunting	Emberiza calandra
Reed Bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus