Debbie Bangasser
is a photographer/birder from USA. She wanted to do a half-day birding trip in
Athens in order to see and take photographs of European birds. The weather
forecast was not good for that day and, indeed, with the exception of the early
morning hours, it rained all day.
Our first
stop was close to the port of Rafina where a small stream flows to the sea. We
had close views of Mute Swan, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Kingfisher, (European)
Goldfinch and other more common species.
 |
| Juvenile Mute Swan in the rain |
Next stop
was Schinias NP. This place is always
very fruitful and gave us a good look of the endangered Ferruginous Duck, one
of the most sought after species of the area. Despite the rain, birds were very
active and we added many more species new to our list, having many chances to
take photos of different species like the Red-crested Pochard, the Marsh
Harrier, an overwintering Black-winged Stilt, Meadow and Water Pipits,
Sardinian Warblers, Cirl Buntings and many more.
 |
| Male Red-crested Pochard |
A visit to
the beach gave us distant but clear views of Yelkouan Shearwaters and European
Shags.
Our trip was almost at its end, but we still managed to add a few more
species like the Cetti’s Warbler, the Corn Bunting, the Crested Lark etc.
In a day that weather wasn’t an ally, our
final tally was 53 species!!!
BIRD TRIP CHECKLIST (R = Rafina, S = Schinias NP)
| Mute Swan R |
| (Common) Shelduck S |
| Mallard S |
| Gadwall S |
| (Northern) Pintail S |
| (Northern) Shoveler S |
| (Eurasian) Wigeon S |
| (Eurasian) Teal S |
| (Common) Pochard S |
| Red-crested Pochard S |
| Ferruginus Duck S |
| Little Grebe S |
| Yelkouan Shearwater S |
| Great Cormorant RS |
| European Shag S |
| Little Egret R |
| Gray Heron RS |
| (Western) Marsh Harrier S |
| Common Buzzard S |
| Moorhen S |
| Coot S |
| Black-winged Stilt S |
| Green Sandpiper S |
| Spotted Redshank S |
| (Common) Redshank S |
| Black-headed Gull RS |
| Yellow-legged Gull RS |
| Collared Dove RS |
| Little Owl (heard) S |
| Kingfisher R |
| Crested Lark S |
| Meadow Pipit RS |
| Water Pipit S |
| White Wagtail RS |
| Grey Wagtail S |
| (Winter) Wren S |
| (European) Robin RS |
| Black Redstart RS |
| (Common) Stonechat RS |
| Song Thrush S |
| (Common) Blackbird S |
| Blackcap S |
| Sardinian Warbler S |
| Cetti's Warbler S |
| (Common) Chiffchaf RS |
| Great Tit S |
| Magpie S |
| Hooded Crow RS |
| House Sparrow RS |
| Chaffinch S |
| (European) Goldfinch RS |
| Cirl Bunting S |
| Corn Bunting S |
