Trip report: Bird tour around Athens, April 27th

Athens bird trip, April 27th 2024

The last week of April is ideal for birdwatchers seeking specific target species. During this time, Red-footed Falcons are migrating, and there are a few spots where they can be found. On April 27th, in the fields around Schinias National Park, we observed a flock of approximately 40 Red-footed Falcons, one of the highest counts in the last 10 years. Along with the falcons, we saw at least five Marsh Harriers and seven Montagu's Harriers, putting on an aerial show over the fields.

Red-footed Falcons (Falco vespertinus)
 at Schinias National Park

Montagu's Harrier

Montagus Harrier on a flight show

Later, we moved to a more rocky area near the summit of Mt. Penteli. There are two resident birds of interest there, the Blue Rock Thrush and the Western Rock Nuthatch, and we had good sightings of both. We also saw distant views of breeding Eastern Black-eared Wheatears and hope to photograph them and capture some nice videos of the birds in their natural habitat.

Chukar Partridge at Mt Pendeli

Blue Rock Thush

Western Rock Nuthatch

So overall, we saw 45 species during a spring birding tour around Athens.