Masked Shrike
Venture to Greece, Lesvos,
Athens, and Delphi
May 3-17, 2004
Greece: How can one go wrong there? Blue skies and warm winds, red wine, plump Delphi olives, tsatziki, ancient ruins, abundant wildflowers and birds - of course! What could be better than watching Rock Nuthatches feeding their young in the Delphi ruins or seeing Red-backed Shrikes on every bush and fencepost as they migrated north over Lesvos? From a fly-by of Rose-ringed Parakeets at Mars Hill, a male Red-footed Falcon hovering over the Parthenon to the Spotted Crake feeding in the evening sunshine along the East River on Lesvos, our Greek migration Venture was terrific. This year we were on Lesvos a few days earlier and because of this, we may have had a greater number of transient warblers, such as Wood, Icterine, Willow and Garden. These Eurasian species are always a challenge with their soft and subdued coloring - not like the bright spring warblers back in the Eastern US. Lesvos was literally crawling with European birders and we were the only US based company on the island - hence everyone knew who we were. It was obvious to all that we were certainly having a good time out birding in the field or eating Greek epicurean delights at dinner! That is what we had - a true Greek experience! Delphi was, as usual, magnificent, and the spectacular scenery almost stole the show. That is, until we found the Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Alpine Chough and Rock Bunting on top of Mt. Parnassos. The muses were again good to us, as we watched European Cuckoos chasing each other in the woods, listened to Serins singing their buzzy songs and enjoying a very obliging Hawfinch that sat in full view for all of us to see. Our excursion along the coast to Messolongi was also very productive and we spent some time working through a huge flock of 500+ Little Stint and Curlew Sandpipers -some in their brick red breeding plumage. Our prizes were a beautiful Red-necked Phalarope, a cryptic Broad-billed Sandpiper and great comparisons of Slender-billed and Little Gulls. Here a seafood luncheon was followed by Eurasian Griffon Vultures soaring along the cliff faces. So what was the bird of the trip? Always a tough one, but the Spotted Crake did steal the show, followed closely by the abundant and very exotic European Bee-Eaters and great views of 2 Northern Goshawks. We will definitely be back!
| Birds | |
| Little Grebe | Green Woodpecker |
| Great Crested Grebe | Black Woodpecker (Heard) |
| Great Cormorant | Middle-spotted Woodpecker |
| European Shag | Greater Short-toed Lark |
| Grey Heron | Woodlark |
| Purple Heron | Crested Lark |
| Great Egret | Bank Swallow (Sand Martin) |
| Little Egret | Eurasian Crag-Martin |
| Squacco Heron | Barn Swallow |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Red-rumped Swallow |
| Little Bittern | House Martin |
| Black Stork | White Wagtail |
| White Stork | Yellow Wagtail |
| Glossy Ibis | Tawny Pipit |
| Greater Flamingo | Red-throated Pipit |
| Common Shelduck | Wren |
| Ruddy Shelduck | Blue Rock-Thrush |
| Garganey | Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush |
| Northern Pintail | Eurasian Blackbird |
| Eurasian Griffon Vulture | Mistle Thrush |
| European Honey-buzzard | Zitting Cisticola |
| Western Marsh-Harrier | River Warbler (Heard) |
| Montagu’s Harrier | Cetti's Warbler |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk | Sedge Warbler |
| Northern Goshawk | Marsh Warbler (Heard) |
| Common Buzzard | Eurasian Reed-Warbler |
| Long-legged Buzzard | Great Reed-Warbler |
| Golden Eagle | Olivaceous Warbler |
| Short-toed Eagle | Olive-tree Warbler |
| Booted Eagle | Icterine Warbler |
| Eurasian Kestrel | Willow Warbler |
| Lesser Kestrel | Common Chiffchaff |
| Red-footed Falcon | Wood Warbler |
| Eleonora's Falcon | Blackcap |
| European Hobby | Garden Warbler |
| Peregrine Falcon | Greater Whitethroat |
| Ring-necked Pheasant | Lesser Whitethroat |
| Water Rail (Heard) | Orphean Warbler |
| Spotted Crake | Subalpine Warbler |
| Common Moorhen | Sardinian Warbler |
| Eurasian Coot | Ruppell's Warbler |
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | Firecrest |
| Black-winged Stilt | Spotted Flycatcher |
| Pied Avocet | Pied Flycatcher |
| Eurasian Thick-knee | European Robin |
| Collared Pratincole | Common Nightingale |
| Spur-winged Plover | Rufous Bush-Robin |
| Grey Plover | Black Redstart |
| Little Ringed Plover | Whinchat |
| Ringed Plover | Common Stonechat |
| Kentish (Snowy) Plover | Northern Wheatear |
| Eurasian Curlew | Isabelline Wheatear |
| Common Redshank | Black-eared Wheatear |
| Common Greenshank | Great Tit |
| Wood Sandpiper | Blue Tit |
| Little Stint | Coal Tit |
| Temminck's Stint | Sombre Tit |
| Curlew Sandpiper | Long-tailed Tit |
| Sanderling | Kruper's Nuthatch |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Rock Nuthatch |
| Broad-billed Sandpiper | Short-toed Treecreeper |
| Ruff | Eurasian Golden Oriole |
| Red-necked Phalarope | Red-backed Shrike |
| Yellow-legged Gull | Masked Shrike |
| Slender-billed Gull | Woodchat Shrike |
| Mediterranean Gull | Lesser Grey Shrike |
| Little Gull | Magpie |
| Common Tern | Jay |
| Little Tern | Alpine Chough |
| Caspian Tern | Eurasian Jackdaw |
| Whiskered Tern | Hooded Crow |
| White-winged Tern | Common Raven |
| Black Tern | House Sparrow |
| Rock Pigeon | Spanish Sparrow |
| Eurasian Turtle-Dove | Rock Petronia |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Chaffinch |
| Common Cuckoo | European Greenfinch |
| Rose-ringed Parakeet | European Goldfinch |
| European Scops-Owl | Eurasian Linnet |
| Little Owl | European Serin |
| Eurasian Nightjar | Hawfinch |
| Alpine Swift | Common Rosefinch |
| Common Swift | Cretzschmar's Bunting |
| Pallid Swift | Cirl Bunting |
| European Bee-eater | Cinereous Bunting |
| European Roller | Black-headed Bunting |
| Eurasian Hoopoe | Corn Bunting |
| Mammals | |
| Bat (sp) | Red Squirrel |
| Beech Marten | Pygmy Shrew |
| Red Fox | Hedgehog (roadkill) |
| Persian Squirrel | European Badger (roadkill) |
| Reptiles | |
| Tortoise | Black Agama (Lizard) |
| Stripe-necked Terrapin | Striped Lizard sp. |
| European Pond Terrapin | European Glass-Lizard (roadkill) |
| Black Gecko | Marsh Frog |
| Balkan Green Lizard | |
| Butterflies | |
| Scarce Swallowtail | Meadow Brown |
| European Swallowtail | Wall Brown |
| Common Festoon | Comma |
| Orange Tip | Fritillary sp. |
| Clouded Yellow | Painted Lady |
| Dappled White | Red Admiral |
| Large White | Small Copper |
| Small White | Common Blue |
| Small Heath | Small Skipper |
| Other Insects etc | |
| Scorpion (small and brown) | Bedstraw Hawk Moth |
Masked Shrike
Drink Stop on Lesvos
Watching Alpine Swifts nesting in Temple of Zeus, Athens
Red-backed Shrike
Little Bittern
Birding in Delphi
Cetti's Warbler
Spotted Crake
Poppies at Delphi
Lesser Gray Shrike
Group birding at Skala Kalloni, Lesvos
Red-throated pipit
Poppys on Lesvos
Greek Roadside Flowers
Black-headed Bunting
Woodchat Shrike
Rock Nuthatch at Nest