I drove down to Athens today with not too many opportunities for birding. I stopped off for a short while at Lake Karla, seeing a nice selection of the usual species, including Ferruginous Duck and both species of pelican. A Western Rock Nuthatch was singing from the SW corner.
I thought that would be about it for the trip, but there was one last notable sighting to come. I stopped off at the Almiros Rest Area on the main highway between Thessaloniki and Athens. This is the same place I stopped on my first day. I got a sandwich for lunch and set outside in the pleasant sunshine. A quick scan revealed an interesting looking raptor over the nearby forested hills. I soon realised it was my first Goshawk of the trip and eventually it started displaying. Displaying Goshawks are certainly the kind of feature I appreciate in a motorway service station. The habitat looks absolutely great in this area, and I'm sure would be worthy of exploration.
Then it was on down to Athens and I'm staying near the airport tonight before an early flight back tomorrow morning. I've recorded 168 species in all and it's been very enjoyable. I'd certainly recommend northern Greece as a winter destination - surely some of the best birding in Europe at this time of year and it's easy and fairly cheap to do. Thanks to all for reading and for the encouraging comments.
I thought that would be about it for the trip, but there was one last notable sighting to come. I stopped off at the Almiros Rest Area on the main highway between Thessaloniki and Athens. This is the same place I stopped on my first day. I got a sandwich for lunch and set outside in the pleasant sunshine. A quick scan revealed an interesting looking raptor over the nearby forested hills. I soon realised it was my first Goshawk of the trip and eventually it started displaying. Displaying Goshawks are certainly the kind of feature I appreciate in a motorway service station. The habitat looks absolutely great in this area, and I'm sure would be worthy of exploration.
Then it was on down to Athens and I'm staying near the airport tonight before an early flight back tomorrow morning. I've recorded 168 species in all and it's been very enjoyable. I'd certainly recommend northern Greece as a winter destination - surely some of the best birding in Europe at this time of year and it's easy and fairly cheap to do. Thanks to all for reading and for the encouraging comments.
