birdmeister
Well-known member
EDIT: The title says "No Photos", but I forgot that I had one. However, it is not good quality at all, so the thread title may as well say "No Photos" . 
Hello all,
I took a trip to Greece during late May and early June of this year. Thanks to my Collins guide, I did not have too much trouble with most bird IDs, but I do have a few questions. Unfortunately I do not have a good quality camera so I do not have many photos at all. It was a real adventure photographing swifts with a simple Canon PowerShot Elph camera through my 10 X 40 binoculars!
This post deals with all ID questions in Athens and Copenhagen (layovers here). I will add another post with village birds and others.
In Athens one morning, two birds flew by that I am reasonably sure were Ring-necked Parakeets. They were decidedly green-looking and had very long tails. The Collins guide lists these as being in Athens, but no similar species. Is there anything I could have confused these with?
Also in Athens, I was puzzled a bit by the kestrels. I saw at least one or two by the Parthenon that gave Common Kestrel calls, so I believe those were Common. A sign there suggested the same. However, on a few occasions I observed a kestrel over the city itself. I think one was carrying food, one was flying low over the buildings, and a pair flew over the city and eventually flew down into the city. Is it reasonable to assume these were Lesser Kestrels on habitat alone? I was unable to see plumage details and none vocalized. Collins (2nd edition) lists Common Kestrel as a bird of open country, while listing Lesser as a bird occurring in towns.
There were many swifts over Athens. It was a mix of Common/Pallid and Alpine. I did not try hard to distinguish between Common and Pallid, as Collins seemed to imply that they are extremely difficult to tell apart. Collins also seemed to imply that they have similar calls and both live in towns. I will try to attach a picture of one, but it is not good at all. Could there have been a mix of both species in Athens, or is there no way for me to tell now?
Finally, I took a ferry ride to the island of Aegina. I was treated to Yelkouan Shearwaters and what I assumed to be Cory's Shearwaters (Scopoli's subspecies). Have Cory's and Scopoli's officially been split?
Copenhagen:
There were decent numbers of corvids at the airport. I wonder if I may have overlooked Carrion Crow, but I was able to confirm Hooded Crow. I think I saw two or three Jackdaws, but I'm not sure. They were viewed at a distance through airport windows (!), so no plumage details observed. One red flag I had was seeing Hooded Crows and thinking they might be smaller than they were (a result of distance). However, these possible Jackdaws seemed to have faster wingbeats than the other corvids. Also, I observed one that looked like it was alongside a Black-headed Gull, and the gull seemed about the same size as this bird. Again, though, they were distant so I can't confirm that they were both the same distance away from me. Is this information inconclusive, or does it point definitively to Jackdaw? I have the feeling that Jackdaw should best be kept off my list of life birds from the trip, as they were just too far away to see much about them.
Also, a cormorant flew by. I remember it looked large and bulky with a thick, kinked neck. Is there any possible confusion with European Shag or does that sound like a textbook Great Cormorant?
Many thanks in advance!
Hello all,
I took a trip to Greece during late May and early June of this year. Thanks to my Collins guide, I did not have too much trouble with most bird IDs, but I do have a few questions. Unfortunately I do not have a good quality camera so I do not have many photos at all. It was a real adventure photographing swifts with a simple Canon PowerShot Elph camera through my 10 X 40 binoculars!
This post deals with all ID questions in Athens and Copenhagen (layovers here). I will add another post with village birds and others.
In Athens one morning, two birds flew by that I am reasonably sure were Ring-necked Parakeets. They were decidedly green-looking and had very long tails. The Collins guide lists these as being in Athens, but no similar species. Is there anything I could have confused these with?
Also in Athens, I was puzzled a bit by the kestrels. I saw at least one or two by the Parthenon that gave Common Kestrel calls, so I believe those were Common. A sign there suggested the same. However, on a few occasions I observed a kestrel over the city itself. I think one was carrying food, one was flying low over the buildings, and a pair flew over the city and eventually flew down into the city. Is it reasonable to assume these were Lesser Kestrels on habitat alone? I was unable to see plumage details and none vocalized. Collins (2nd edition) lists Common Kestrel as a bird of open country, while listing Lesser as a bird occurring in towns.
There were many swifts over Athens. It was a mix of Common/Pallid and Alpine. I did not try hard to distinguish between Common and Pallid, as Collins seemed to imply that they are extremely difficult to tell apart. Collins also seemed to imply that they have similar calls and both live in towns. I will try to attach a picture of one, but it is not good at all. Could there have been a mix of both species in Athens, or is there no way for me to tell now?
Finally, I took a ferry ride to the island of Aegina. I was treated to Yelkouan Shearwaters and what I assumed to be Cory's Shearwaters (Scopoli's subspecies). Have Cory's and Scopoli's officially been split?
Copenhagen:
There were decent numbers of corvids at the airport. I wonder if I may have overlooked Carrion Crow, but I was able to confirm Hooded Crow. I think I saw two or three Jackdaws, but I'm not sure. They were viewed at a distance through airport windows (!), so no plumage details observed. One red flag I had was seeing Hooded Crows and thinking they might be smaller than they were (a result of distance). However, these possible Jackdaws seemed to have faster wingbeats than the other corvids. Also, I observed one that looked like it was alongside a Black-headed Gull, and the gull seemed about the same size as this bird. Again, though, they were distant so I can't confirm that they were both the same distance away from me. Is this information inconclusive, or does it point definitively to Jackdaw? I have the feeling that Jackdaw should best be kept off my list of life birds from the trip, as they were just too far away to see much about them.
Also, a cormorant flew by. I remember it looked large and bulky with a thick, kinked neck. Is there any possible confusion with European Shag or does that sound like a textbook Great Cormorant?
Many thanks in advance!
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