With lots of BA miles to get rid of we decided to have five days in Athens at the start of June. Now, Athens is famous for culture, not birds, so I didn't pack the bins (OK, I did take a little pair) or the good camera/lenses. Naturally we dedicated most of our time to ruins and museums (plus some eating and drinking of course). Fortunately many of those ruins are either on wooded hills or set in archaeological sites that are kept as parks...
After we got settled in to our hotel we took a stroll to the National Gardens via the Temple of Zeus. This gave us our first birds, Sardinian Warblers, Great Tits, Monk and Rose-ringed Parakeets and House Sparrows
Monk Parakeet nest - if you strain your eyes you might be able to make out a parakeet...
Next morning we headed early to Lykabettos Hill, the one with a funicular railway running up part of it. Actually, if you're halfway fit you can just walk up, it's cheaper - well, free, and since the train runs in a tunnel you don't miss seeing anything. The views from the top are outstanding - see above. The birdlife was restricted to Swifts and House Martins above and Sardinian Warblers in the scrub and woods on the slopes.
We were invited out by a friend to Lake Marathon. The road out was a bird desert - nothing, not a single bird of any description. Even at the lake there were only a couple of Hooded Crows and Yellow-legged Gulls plus an elusive Reed Warbler.
Obviously we had to visit the Acropolis - hint, go EARLY. Be in the queue before it opens and miss the tour parties. From a bird point of view there were Alpine and Common Swifts overhead and a Kestrel hanging in the air level with us. The Alpine Swifts nest in at least one of the caves on the north side of the hill.
Close by is Philopappos Hill. Here we had our first Hoopoes - still one of my all-time favourite birds.
There were a lot of Great and Blue Tits about as well as the ubiquitous Sardinian Warblers. I wish we could have spent more time here, it could be quite rewarding from a bird point of view. The only other notable inhabitant was this fellow - having the food left out for him (or her, who can tell) stolen by a mob of thuggish feral pigeons (they also steal the food left out for the thousands of stray cats - risky).
On our last day we visited the Agora. Passing through one of the older parts of town we saw these interestingly coloured Swallows. I've enquired about this and apparently it's a not uncommon variation. What it isn't is a different species - damn!
The Agora provided us with more Hoopoes
Another fine tortoise and a rubbish picture of a Sardinian Warbler - they're very, very elusive - noisy though.
In the evening we went again to the Temple of Zeus and saw this little fellow sitting on the top...
Great city, fantastic culture, no riots while we were there - always a bonus, and a few nice birds.
I'll leave you with the thought of me relaxing on my hotel balcony with a can of Mythos Beer in my hand. All the time the sparrows are chirping loudly, Great Tits are hunting through the foliage on apartment balconies and this strange bug is crawling around my feet.
Oh, I forgot, there were no corvids in the city at all, apart from hundreds of Magpies - very odd.
Hugely enjoyable report SV with very interesting pics, love those Hoopoes and, of course, the Kestrel ... always a firm favourite of mine!!
Have you id'd the bug yet?
Great report Stuart. The Sardinian Warbler is a striking bird and I especially liked the Swallow with its different colouring.
Ta very much Wendy and Paul. I think the bug is a Red Palm Weevil - it was quite large :-)
And a great pest according to Wiki, interesting reading though, one can hear them munching a palm tree by placing one's ear against the trunk & the larva are eaten in SE Asia ... don't accept anything cooked in sago flour!!! Lol
Great to read Stuart, lovely to see Athens again, my old stomping ground in the 60's, we went through the National Gardens almost daily and fed the sparrows down at the watering ponds, the King and Queen were at their Palace at the time. Lovely photos of the birds and views, I like the swallow and the hoopoe, but especially the blue sky.
It's a wonderful city - especially when the sky is blue :-) Funnily enough I've met Constantine II a couple of times, but in this country of course. I've always thought that being an exiled monarch must be a very strange life.
Yes indeed, fancy meeting him too, we were just one of the many lining the streets just after he married I believe when I saw him, very sad the way things went after that.
Another great post Stuart. The Hoopoes are beautiful birds.