Lesser Kestrel

We recently got back from a trip to Turkey and Greece. While based in Athens we took a day excursion to ancient Corinth to see where the Apostle Paul had spent time. On the way there we stopped at the Corinth Canal which connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth at sea level and is four miles long and 80.7 feet wide. The idea for it originated in the 7th century BC by Periander of Corinth, who implemented a land trackway, and further interested the Roman Emperor Nero in 67 AD, who started construction, but it was ceased after his death. Final construction was started in 1881 and completed 12 years later in 1893. 

My photo from an automobile bridge looking toward the outlet to the Gulf of Corinth. Quite a few boats were going through. 

While I was on the bridge looking for birds I spotted a soaring raptor at some distance with rust and blue colors and on its back which turned out to be a lesser kestrel, a new lifer for me. 

Illustration of a male flying from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a flying female from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World.

As the range map illustrates, it is a summer visitor to Greece and mostly winters in Africa. It is rare north of its breeding range.