Two months have already passed since my last visit to the Axios river Delta and Odysseus did it again! This time he discovered a young female Eider. It appears that the duck decided to make a very long journey south. This species is very rare in Greece and I decided not to miss the chance to see it. Soon a small group gathered and the 500km journey started last Saturday early in the morning. It was me, Nikos, Gerasimos and Chris.
The company was good and time passed quickly, so we got to the Axios river beach just before 11 o’clock. Soon a young Long-legged Buzzard with two Common Buzzards, a Peregrine falcon and a Marsh Harrier were hovering above us, spreading enthusiasm to our team and giving us some nice and easy photos.
On our way to the point where the Eider was, we stopped several times to check the Curlews we found in the region. You never know where you will find a Slender-billed Curlew 🙂 Anyway that Saturday we didn’t find any. When we arrived at the point where the Eider was, Odysseus and Savvas were already there and soon the company grew even further. The duck was calm and he was feeding on oysters he caught in some rocks near the shore.Our presence did not seem to bother him, and we made some decent images quickly. We had to leave fast because of the vast number of mosquitoes!
We decided to have another ride in order to search for other bird species and more photo opportunities. The sun had already begun to lower and the light was getting better and better for photography.
Pygmy Cormorants, Dalmatian Pelicans, Grey Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Eurasian Spoonbills, a Black-throated Loon and several other species helped us create some nice images.
It was late in the afternoon when we had to leave for Athens. Our visit to “GALA” was very interesting as always and time is never enough. Who knows how long it will take Odysseus to find the next rare species so that we will have an excuse to return there. Betting has already started!
PS. By clicking on the photos you can see them with the Exif data
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