Greece, Day 2 - Delphi's Brilliant birds and history! 6th April 2018

(I'm a bit behind with blogging again as I've been busy revising and playing cricket - on top of some computer problems.)

After waking up pretty early and having a quick breakfast, the 46 of us were on the coach departing Athens at 8:30am. We were going to be visiting Delphi, famous for many reasons and we were told all these reasons by our fantastic tour guide Pantellis. Despite the day forecast for rain, spirits were mostly high despite everyone being exhausted - I didn't sleep a wink the whole way. 

Though I was tired, I'd never been to Greece before and was pretty excited to see what the birding and Classics would be like. Most of the journey was spent birding, and some of the best birds seen included a Spotted Eagle sp., 5 Northern Wheatear, 40 Corn Bunting (surprising number) and a large wader sp.. This all while listening to the fascinating history our guide was explaining to us. 

When we arrived, it started drizzling. Just as we thought we'd left England for some good weather, the rains began. After a while, it stopped and we proceeded to the ancient site of Delphi. 

As the sun recovered, the next hour was thoroughly enjoyable. Greenfinch were singing, as did a distant Serin. While walking alongside the ancient buildings, with the foundations still holding strong after hundreds of years, it was amazing to learn about their history and how the modern world is so different. 

In amongst the ruins, the wildlife was also thriving. Butterflies were on the wing in huge numbers, and the birds were active too. In the old theatre, a Yellow Wagtail was flying around constantly, as was another Wheatear. Frustratingly they flew across way too fast for me to photograph. A Spotted Flycatcher was flycatchering(?) a long way away, and one of my favourite birds of the trip was busy collecting nesting material on the old pillars - a Rock Nuthatch pair. When I first saw these I couldn't for the life of me figure out what they were. Black Redstart? No. Blue Rock Thrush? Stupid idea. 

When I eventually remembered that these had been living amongst the ruins for years I got some hasty pictures, but as I wasn't there for birding they're pretty poor. 

The views were also stunning - looking across the valley and towards the sea was especially so, so more pictures that I took were of these. 

Rock Nuthatch

the Theatre

the Theatre from above

 After visiting the museum where we discussed some of the history in more depth, like looking at some of the things that had been uncovered on the site, we went into the town for lunch. Once we'd eaten most of us piled onto the balcony to take pictures of the views and scenery (above.) For those who read my post about Newlands Corner a while back, you may remember me mentioning a sharp-eyed friend who managed to spot birds from miles away. He was back again, and helped me add to my WP list when he found an odd Swallow - a pair of Red-rumped Swallows. He also spotted a Lesser Kestrel, not unexpected but a great bird nonetheless.

Red-rumped Swallow - record shot

Soon after we reached our hotel, and although the plan was to go for a walk around Delphi Zeus and Hera had had enough of English tourists and the heavens opened. Nobody complained too much though - a pretty good start to the trip!