Yiannis Banakakis

MEGA! 1st record for Greece! Chasing after the recent southeastern winds for potential vagrants really paid off! Cyprus Wheatear, Rhodes island, Greece Reduced white rump (ending at central tertials), short primary projection & recorded song confirm ID compared to Pied.

Southwestern Peloponnese birding weekend, ending on a perfect note with this immature Eurasian Dotterel at Messini. Full trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/494…

A MEGA for Greece! A male Spectacled Warbler was found yesterday at Methoni Castle, Southwestern Greece by L. Cornacchia, following the extensive western winds of the previous days. Today, a number of birders twitched the national rarity which was still present in the area.

Most exciting migrant sightings in Cape Tainaro this afternoon included one Short-eared Owl and two Richard’s Pipits. High numbers of Eastern Subalpine Warblers were seen. Rüppell’s Warblers, Wrynecks, Isabelline & Eastern Black-eared Wheatears were some of the other migrants.

In terms of mammals, the most exciting records during our Georgia trip were numerous Goitered Gazelles, a colony of Libyan Jirds, and a Caucasian Lynx that had just finished hunting some East Caucasian Turs.

It’s been two months since our trip to Georgia in October. Our number one target was the Caucasian Snowcock, and we were extremely lucky to get some exciting views during our hike toward the Gergeti Glacier. Full trip report with more photos here: ebird.org/tripreport/427…

On Nov 21, E. Scheuermann discovered an American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) on Lemnos island and reported it on Ebird — the 1st record for Greece! A great opportunity for a twitch and a chance to visit an island I’d never been to before. ebird.org/checklist/S286…

@eckersley_joe Hi Joe! Did you submit a form to the Hellenic Bird Rarities Committee yet? If not, you can easily find and fill the form here : ornithologiki.gr/en/birds-of-gr…. Please send it along with all the available photos at : birds@ornithologiki.gr ! Thank you !

1/2 Very confident this is a BROWN BOOBY which was flying south being mobbed by YL gulls between Skiathos and mainland Greece!! Completely brown on top, white belly, lacking white tail band as seen on 1st year Gannets, pale underwings and face area. Decent bins views before

For the second consecutive year, a birding trip to #Antikythera was organized by colleges, @AntikythiraBird volunteers & @ornithologikimembers. In a week’s time 72 sps were observed, including rarities for Greece and the island.

@capetenaronews Superb find, congrats!

Little Swift !! A new species for Cape Tenaro - watched feeding over fields to north of Kokinoghia before being lost from sight

An unfortunate sighting: a dead Short eared owl (Asio flammeus), inside a well yesterday, at Alyki Lagoon, Naxos. This is the 8th in total record of the species for the island.

The first Collared pranticole (Glareola pranticola) of the season arrived on Lake Karla last week, along with an adult Lesser Spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina)! An immature Lanner falcon was another exciting observation. Photo by G. Kouthouridis. ebird.org/checklist/S106…

Group photos from the finishing event of the 15th Attica Bird Race, hosted by HOS last weekend. 116 species, 19+ birding hours, many more miles, lots of friends and great moments. A unique experience. ebird.org/tripreport/471…

Almost 100 dead pelicans, due to H5N1 were collected from Lake Karla during the previous week. Over 25% of the lake's total P. crispus population was wiped out within a few weeks. We hope that as the days get warmer, the deaths will get fewer.

Birding around Lake Karla today. An adult Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata), mobbed by crows while heading NE and a male Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus) - a lifer for me, were certainly the two surprises. ebird.org/checklist/S106… #greekbirding

A pair of Great white pelicans trying to feed their chicks, not realising one of them is already dead. Lake Karla, Magnesia, today. Unfortunately over 60 pelicans of the lake (mainly crispus) are now dead due to H5N1. Photo taken by Stratis Bourdakis. #h5n1 #birdflu

Birding at Xirias urban wetland, in Volos today. A distant Isabelline wheatear, the first record of the species for the hotspot and an unexpected Great Spotted Cuckoo, were the highlights of the day. ebird.org/checklist/S105… #greekbirding #patchbirding