As it turned out, good birding pals Dan Watson and Kieran Nixon were plotting a winter birding trip to northern Greece at the beginning of February, over 4 full days. They kindly welcomed me to join and with the promise of some excellent birding and several new birds it was a no brainer! All arrangements were soon in place and Dan finalised a rough itinery to cover all target species.
Day 1
Both got over to my place for Saturday (03/02) evening. After a nice bit of dinner and a cheeky Whiskey or two to aid the sleep, we grabbed a short nap. It was then an eye-watering 2am set off to Gatwick! The journey to the aiport and c3 hour flight went to plan and by late morning Greek time, we were basking in the sunshine outside Thessaloniki Aiport - bliss! The trip list was soon underway with Hooded Crow and of all things, a pair of Ring-Necked Parakeets! Car hire pick up was a smooth experience; something that couldn't be said for Dan's gear changes - manual cars not his usual go to! But in no time Dan was up to speed, as Marsh Harrier and a surprise fly-past from a Black Stork were added.
First destination was the not so picturesque setting of the Dendropotamos River estuary. Surrounded by industry, where it lacked in looks, it thankfully more than made up for it in the bird life on offer. On what was a very wide and quiet flyover, we parked up, with the advantage of height providing a good vantage point over the pools and shoreline below us. Several Crested Larks were seen along the road, plodding around not too bothered by us.
A sizable flock of gulls were sat along the shoreline in front of us and closer scrutiny revealed a really nice selection of birds. Several Slender-billed Gulls were a welcome lifer for me. There were also a handful of Sandwich Terns, several Med Gulls and Yellow-Legged Gulls amongst the larger numbers of Black-Headed Gulls. Shelduck was added, while 3 Little Gulls were slightly unexpected but very welcome!
Waders included Grey Plover and Oystercatcher, however the standout was the hoped for Spur-winged Plovers, of which there were 3 in total. Truly beautiful birds! A Marsh Harrier kept everything present on their toes, a Black Redstart could be heard somewhere behind us, while two Spoonbill, Pygmy Cormorant and a Green Sandpiper joined the list too.
Before moving on, we decided to take a look down by the shore closeby, adjacent to the container terminal. A fairly non-descript bit of habitat, however we managed to add multiple Water Pipit, a group of c30 Tree Sparrow, more Crested Larks, a pair of Stonechat, Great Crested Grebe, another Black Redstart, a Grey Heron and closer views of the Flamingos.
It was now full-on T-shirt weather. We grabbed a late-ish lunch from a local garage and then drove on just north of the suburbs of Thessaloniki, to Oraiokastro Quarry, accessed up a perfectly driveable, stony track.
The site offered a number of possibilities, but Wallcreeper and Western Rock Nuthatch were our main targets here. The Nuthatch was more likely than the former, however it had had a good track record of Wallcreeper in recent winters so well worth a go!
We were soon greeted by a few Rock Buntings and some brief partridges, later revealing themselves to be Greys.
Slightly frustratingly, a group of lads turned up to have a beer and generally make a bit of noise and throw rocks around - but anyways we carried on and soon encountered our first Western Rock Nuthatches, with 2-3 seen. They were facinating to watch, sneaking in and out of the crevices, inbetween the rocks and cliffs of the quarry. Really cool birds, with that distinctively white face and neck, contrasting with the peachy belly and undertail.
There was more Black Redstart action with 3 female / 1st-winter type birds, as well as a female Blue Rock Thrush flicking about. A Firecrest showed well in bushes close to the car and we all managed to get onto our first Cirl Bunting of the trip too.
Last birding of the day was spent down at Kalochori Lagoon, as part of the Axios Delta Park and a very short drive from our accommodation for the night, on the W side of Thessaloniki.
It proved to be an truly excellent site to explore, in the golden evening light. There was interest either side of the road, with large expanses of open water, pools and reedbeds holding a great variety of species, many of which showing fantastically well.
Greater Flamingos were again in evidence, as well as Spoonbill and Pygmy Cormorant. Ducks were well represented with Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail and Pochard all present in varying numbers.
Kingfisher was added, as well as a range of waders including a couple of vocal Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Redshank, Curlew, Grey Plover and Common Sandpiper. But stars of the show, were a little group of incredibly confiding Little Stint right next to the road, not bothered at all with our presence, just a few feet away.
As dusk loomed, Yellow-Legged Gulls began to gather and a single Black-Necked Grebe was loosely associating with a few Little Grebe. In the meantime, Dan was getting stuck in to counting the many Marsh Harriers coming into roost in the reedbeds - potentially as many as 100! A flock of some 40 Corn bunting sat on some nearby wires and to end on a real high, TWO male Hen Harriers appeared at height together, before they too moved off to roost. A classy end to a brilliant afternoon's birding!
Day 2
There was only one place to start the day and that was back at Kalochori Lagoon for hopefully more of the same!
Having added Siskin and Serin from the accommodation balcony, we began crawling up the track to the site, greeted by a stunning sunrise.
A short way along, a ringtail harrier loomed into view from our right and passing across the track right in front of us. With it's distinct neck 'boa', elegant appearance and 4 distinct primaries - it was a 2cy Pallid Harrier! It went on to show for some time to the left of the track, interacting with a couple of Hooded Crows, before eventually drifting off across the saltmarsh. A male Hen Harrier also flew purposfully past heading in the same direction. What a start to the day that was!
We slowly made our way down the track still further, encountering our first Woodlark and Skylark overhead and a male Sarndinian Warbler around the scrubby edges of the track.
As we continued to scan, a very large blob could be seen, sat up in a tree on the far side of the reedbeds, accompanied by a Magpie. We all suspected what it was and getting the scopes out confirmed it as our first Great Spotted Eagle of the trip! It really did dwarf the Magpie and a nearby perched Buzzard too!
Several waders showed beautifully, with the car proving a very useful hide! The Little Stints were again on show, as well as a particularly confiding Greenshank.
Towards the end of the track, 2 Black-Necked Grebes were on show close to the track. Using some rocks as cover, I was able to enjoy some incredible close-ups views in perfect light, down to just a few feet!
Water Pipits were generally about, feeding along the rocky shoreline. There were more Spoonbills than the previous day and together with many of the Greater Flamingos, were feeding very close to the track, providing the best views you could wish for! Four White Stork were an added bonus, seen distantly in flight, before dropping out of view.
We then travelled further into the Axios National Park, to a site that has consistantly held Pine Bunting, both this and previous winters. An area of riverside scrub, tall trees and open farmland, it proved to be an excellent area for raptors, with a total of 1 White-Tailed and at least 3 Great Spotted Eagles, a Merlin, 2-3 Hen Harrier, several Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel. The Merlin in particular, showed remarkably well, having a dart at some passerines over the nearby fields, before landing in one of the trees next to us, right above our heads!
We had our first Dalmatian Pelicans here - a group of 4 birds thermaling some distance away. A flock of c60 Cranes came past, coming down some way off. Other things noted, included a Brambling, a good number of Spanish Sparrows, Chiffchaff, loads of Chaffinches and several Yellowhammers and Corn Bunting. Sadly no Pine Buntings, although both Kieran and I independantly got onto potential female birds, but without any definitive views. A fairly hefty fire was breaking out a couple of fields away, with some guy stopping to warn us in his broken English. That seemed a good point in proceedings to head off to somewhere different!
It was in fact time to head north, in the general direction of Lake Kerkini, where we would be staying for the next few nights. Before reaching Kerkini, we planned to give Faviochori Lake a go on route. The main lure here, was the large flock of Smew present, with as many as 60 seen in recent days. This would certainly be the most any of us would have seen at any one time, by quite some distance!
We reached a long-ish track down towards the lake, through arable farmland. The fields here held a large flock of larks, mostly consisting of Skylarks and Crested Larks, but also a fair number of Calandra Larks, clearly showing off their distinctive dark underwings. Pleasingly another new bird for me!
We were also treated to a stunning male Hen Harrier quartering the fields, amazingly swiftly followed by another male and a ringtail too!
Corn Buntings were everywhere and could be heard constantly jangling away. As we got closer the lake, they were also joined by quite a few Spanish Sparrows.
The lake was beautifully calm and still, as we began to scan from the bank. The Smew were soon picked out, with at least 40, including several drakes. However they were pretty distant which was a shame. Plenty of other interest here, with the pick being a couple of Dalmatian Pelican in flight, 27 Bewicks Swans, 1 Whiskered Tern, a Little Ringed Plover, male Black Redstart, several Spoonbill (one of which bearing rings from a Lake Kerkini-based ringing scheme), Green Sandpiper and several Snipe. Lots of duck were present, particularly Pochard. Dan also had good views of a male Sardinian Warbler.
Having enjoyed what Faviochori Lake had to offer, we hit the road to the NE, with next stop Kerkini! We would be staying in a large village called Vyroneia, just NE of the lake. Still with time to spare, we decided to give the quarry above the village a go, at the foot of the mountains between us and Bulgaria. Hoping for Sombre Tit and maybe an outside chance of Eagle Owl, we crawled up the track, to find it full of cows! But persistance paid off and eventually Dan got them mooooving!
The trees and scrub here were alive with finches, particualrly Hawfinches - the air filled with their ticking and rasping calls. We got out of the car for a look and soon came across a smart Middle-Spotted Woodpecker, contently feeding away in a tree above us. A Serin was noted amongst the many Chaffinches and Siskins.
We settled in for a dusk vigil at the quarry, in the hope of Eagle Owl. We drew a blank, however did add Marsh Tit, an immature Peregrine, 1 Little Owl and Woodcock. A stunning pinky-orange sunset was immpressive, but even more so was the unexpected and slightly un-nerving and eerie sounds of a pack of Golden Jackal all around us, announcing themselves as quickly as they departed, off down the hill. An incredible experience!
After a quick night drive about for Wild Cat, it was then time to find dinner and get over to the accommodation.
Day 3
There was plenty of anticipation amongst us, as we set off early to begin the first of two full days exploring Lake Kerkini.
The plan was to head along the track(s) along the eastern bank, often one of the more productive areas to explore. It was a lovely crisp, clear morning as we set off down the track, soon encountering two Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and our first Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare and Redwing. A Syrian Woodpecker also put in a brief appearance.
On the adjacent river, quite a few noisy Greylags caught our attention, as did a few Corvids getting agitated by something sat in the river. Amazingly, it was a big female Goshawk, that had come down for a drink and a wash. What a beauty! We edged a little closer and managed to enjoy some brilliant scope views before, having quenched her thirst, she shot off away from us.
On we went, noting good numbers of Tree Sparrows, Corn Buntings, several Yellowhammers and some excellent views of Hawfinches. We realised we'd passed the track fork we needed to take, but stopped anyways for a quick scan - this brought us a small group of Whooper Swans, our first and only ones of the trip. There were a decent numbers of Wigeon here, as well as 5 Little Ringed Plovers on a patch of mud mid-river, with a few Green Sands.
We found the track fork we were looking for and soon paused to look for Moustached Warbler at a potential location Dan had sussed out. As it was, he got it spot on and in no time at all, we picked up a calling bird tacking away from the trackside reeds ahead of us. It was a bugger to see, but in the end we all enjoyed some nice views, taking in the clean white supercilium and throat - a smart bird! I also somehow managed to get a photo!
We reached the 'eastern shore' to be greeted with a vast expanse of nothingness! As we knew it would be, the lake is very low at this time of year and from this point, there was no water in view. However, there was still potential for some good birds.
A Great Spotted Eagle was sat up in one of the trees by the track, however soon departed as it saw us. We stopped and began scanning, picking up two flocks of outrageously distant 'whitefronts'. One we knew would be the much soughtafter wintering flock of Lesser White Fronted Geese, the other Greater Whitefronts. The problem was they were just too far away to say which was which! One of the rangers rocked up in his pick-up truck and we had a chat. Contrary to anything we had read, he informed us we weren't really supposed to be along the track, which was news to us, however he was happy for us to carry on round. It did though rather put a pin, in any plans to potentially come back to this area.
We had really good views of a couple of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by the track here, as well as a single Black Redstart. A number of Woodpigeons in the fields behind us were almost notable - we hardly saw any across the 4 days, in stark contrast to back home! A large flock of Cranes were out on the flats; their bugling ringing out across the landscape. One of my favourite bird calls, it's just so evocative. Also out distantly on the flats were 4 Golden Jackals going about their business, disturbing some of the geese in the process.
Further down towards the southern end of the lake, we did indeed meet water and were greeted by a great number of wildfowl, with Pochards the standout. I'm not the greatest at estimating large numbers of birds, however, I would say with confidence that numbers were in the 1000s - way beyond the sort of numbers you'd be seeing back in the UK at any one time. A few Tufted Ducks were amonsgt them (c20) but despite quite a bit of effort, failed to dig out any Ferruginous or White-Headed Ducks. Also seen from here, were a few Spoonbills, Greater Flamingos and good numbers of Teal in particular. Dan also picked out a couple of distant thermalling Great Spotted Eagles behind us.
We made it to the dam and the small settlement there, Lithotopos. Here we were hoping for good views of the Dalmatian Pelicans and hopefully pick out Great White Pelican too!
We could see from distance, that numbers of Pelicans were a little further down the southern shore. A short drive to here got us to the right spot, where we were able to view some 40 Dalmatian and pleasingly, 4 Great White Pelicans of varying ages. Good views were had, but not the real close-ups I was hoping for. But with still a fair bit of time left on the trip, there would surely be other opportunities. Good numbers of Pygmy Cormorants and Cormorants were also out on the water and a Great White Egret was fishing the shoreline.
A small group of Whiskered Terns appeared out of nowhere over our heads and away along the south shore. A number of large gulls were about too, consisting of several Yellow-Legged Gulls and c5 Caspian Gulls of various ages.
Having enjoyed a lovely coffee and a bit of lunch at a nearby cafe, we carried on along the southern and then west sides of the lake, stopping at three different locations for a scan. Best were a very distant Black-wiged Stilt, as well as Ruff, Avocet, Greenshank, plenty of Snipe and stacks of Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, a brief male Hen Harrier and Hawfinch.
We made our way back to the quarry above Vyroneia to look for Sombre Tit. A lovely male Blue Rock Thrush, great views of male Black Redstart and my first 2 Large Tortoiseshells made a it a worthy visit, despite no sight or sound of any Sombres. Plenty of Hawfinches and a couple of Raven were also seen.
Instead of hanging out there again for the evening, we made the decision to finish the day at another quarry south of the lake, where we know friends previously encountered Eagle Owls in 2023. After winding down a track for about a kilometre we reached the right spot and began scanning, not 100% sure where would be best to scour. Things were relatively low key as the light began to fade, until suddenly it all kicked off!
A muted but perfectly clear, booming hoot suddenly eminated from the stepped, quarry rock faces behind us - we looked at each other in amazement. We heard it again and then there they were - two massive Eagle Owls, in the middle of a mid-air scuffle! One melted away, however the other sat on the cliff edge, showing fantastically in light good enough to enjoy clear, detailed scope views. It then moved to the top of a short, rather bare tree where it sat until darkness. These were views we just didn't expect, instead assuming a large silouhette at best. What an end for the day and a new bird for us all! A couple of Woodcock also wizzed past before we departed.
The time had then come to grab some takeaway pizza, beer and a big tray of baklava!
Day 4
The day began with us looking for woodpeckers, along the tracks either side of the road, between Vyroneia and the river, an area of patchy wet woodland and farmland.
It was certainly rich in woodpeckers with Green, Syrian, Middle-Spotted and Lesser-Spotted all encountered. However despite the habitat seemingly suitable, Grey-Headed eluded us! Our first Short-Toed Treecreeper of the trip appeared, giving it's diagnostic call, while Cetti's Warbler and Marsh Harrier were also present.
Next, we took a drive somewhere new, up into the hills to Sidirokastro Quarry. Again, Wallcreeper was a possibility, while the area was a nice change-up in terms of habitat, with sizable areas of pine forest. Best here, was a singing Western Rock Nuthatch on the other side of the gorge, allowing Kieran to gain better views than he'd had on the first day.
But generally, the site didn't produce a great deal at all. Coal Tit was new and a Firecrest was nice enough, whilst the quarry itself held just a lone Black Redstart. The quest for Wallcreeper now looked likely to be at a close, barring a miracle.
Anyways, we carried on into the hills, on a quest for new trip birds. A stop by a stream and waterfall brought us a couple of Dipper and further along the road, some trees along possibly the same stream produced our first Eurasian Nuthatch.
With the trip pressing on and with Sombre Tit thus far giving us the slip, it was time for another crack at these up at the quarry and scrubby areas overlooking Vyroneia.
As before, the trees and scrub along the track held plenty of finches, particularly Hawfinches and Chaffinches. A little group of Siskin also showed well close to the car.
We paused towards the top (below), as we were fairly certain we'd heard Sombre Tit off to our right. However, our attention then turned to the sound of Ravens ahead of us. They were very animated and as we all raised our bins in unison, it quickly became apparent as to why...a pair of Golden Eagles!
We scrambled out of the car in seconds, stuff flying everywhere! We enjoyed some fanastic views, with the eagles and the two Ravens going at each other for several minutes, c300m away up in front of the mountanous backdrop. Eventually, the eagles drifted west and the Ravens' blood pressure began to die down. What a brilliant, unexpected surprise encounter - absolutely magic!
After all that excitement, it was time to turn out attention back to tracking down a Sombre Tit. We wandered up to the right, to explore the scrubby area here, from where the potential Sombre Tit call came from. It was heaving with Hawfinch, which bunched up in a couple of trees nearby. A Bullfinch also appeared, flying past us calling - the only one across the whole trip!
Soonafter, this same area finally produced what we were looking for as a Sombre Tit flicked into view in nearby scrub. It went about it's business, coming to the ground to feed a couple of times, before melting away after a couple of minutes. A really smart bird with a smudged brown car, big black bib and quite an obvious pale wing panel. It was little bigger than expected, roughly Great Tit size.
All suitably chuffed with how the last 15 minutes had gone, it was time to head to the quarry itself and stop for lunch. We picked out our first Western Rock Nuthatch here, as well as several Black Redstarts and a couple of Large Tortoishells. Having refuelled and seemingly exhausted this spot, it was time to head back towards the dam area for another go for hopefully better views of Pelicans and gulls. To further aid our chances, we decided to pop into a shop in Vyroneia and pick up several tins of fish!
We arrived at the same spot as the previous day where we had enjoyed the Pelicans in the south east area of the lake. Having seen just before the trip, that someone had found an adult Armenian Gull in this area of the lake, we were on high alert for the possibility of bumping into it. Almost immediately, Kieran picked a bird a short way offshore that had potential. Getting some flight shots would be quite key and after waiting an age, I thankfully managed just that. In the end we were happy with the ID, with the following pro Armenian features :
- Distinctly dark-grey mantle
- Chunky bright yellowy-orange bill with dark bill band and paler tip
- Black present across 7 primaries - with 3 outer most primaries black down to primary coverts creating a rectangular-type shape
- Dark eye
The day was getting better and better and what's more, we did indeed manage to get some closer views of Dalmatian Pelican. This wasn't neccesarily due to the tins of fish - they only really drew in a load of Black Headed Gulls and a few very friendly stray dogs! In fact, the Pelicans were missing out - the fish was pretty tasty! The now 5 Great White Pelicans spent their time further out on the water and on stony island out in the middle of the lake.
Other things of note here, included a confiding Kingfisher and a male Sarndinian Warbler in the scrub behind us.
We stopped off at the nearby cafe for a coffee. Afterwards, Kieran and I wandered into the adjacent pines and enjoyed some lovely views of Cirl Bunting, as well as a Firecrest, Hawfinch, Coal Tit and several Goldcrest.
With it being not too far away, we decided on a quick scouting mission to the Eagle Owl quarry, to see if we could pick out a roosting owl on the rockfaces in proper daylight. No luck, however a female Blackcap was a trip tick, with a Firecrest and several Hawfinch also present. The sun was still shining so we decided to have bit of a scan from along the southern shore of the lake. We were though all in agreement that another Eagle Owl evening, from dusk was a must! At the lake, we enjoyed more excellent views of Cirl Bunting from the car. There were loads of Great Crested Grebes out on the water and a couple of distant Pelican experience boats, surrounded by more Pelicans!
As dusk fell, we were treated to a prolounged period of Eagle Owl 'song', booming out from the hillside nearby; a special experience! This bird appeared for a short while at the top of a tree, while Dan skillfully picked out the second bird on the rockfaces, presumably appearing from it's obscured roosting spot, instigated by the first's bird's activity. Some incredible views, way beyond any expectations! We decided it was best we left them to it, having enjoyed some fantatsic encounters with them across the two evenings. A real highlight of the trip!
Day 5
The last half half day would mostly be spent driving back down to Thessiloniki, however with the trip list on 147, motivation was there to dig out another 3 species!
Before we departed Vyroneia, we had one more crack for Grey-Headed Woodpecker, which had slightly surprisingly evaded us thus far. Again we tried the tree lined track just south of the village which previously held a few Woodpecker species. Great, Lesser and Middle Spotted, as well as Green were all encountered, plus Short-Toed Treecreeper and Nuthatch. However again, Grey-Headed eluded us!
Up the road, a White Stork was sat in a roadside field and then it was full steam ahead, with a lake nearer Thessilonki factored in, for one last birding effort.
The large reed-fringed lake, was accessed down a rough, dirt track and it was soon clear it was very much worthy of some scrutiny with big numbers of several duck species, Cormorants, Pygmy Cormorants and Great White Egrets.
Dan quickly picked out a group of White-Headed Ducks - I was super chuffed as we failed to pick out the one that was being reported at Kerkini (I should add, unsurprisingly given the numbers of birds and area to cover!). Anyways it soon became apparent that all three of us were picking out separate groups of WHDs! In fact, Dan had a crack at a count and got to somewhere around 178 - a very significant count! Given that we couldn't see the whole lake, this total could have been significantly higher. No pics as they were quite some way across the lake.
Other notables here included a few Dalmatian Pelicans, c5 Black-Necked Grebes, a group of Little Gulls and a couple of hunting Marsh Harrier.
The very last foray, was a look at the coast by the airport, that had held Slavonian Grebe in recent days. 3+ Black-Necked Grebes, c5 Great Crested Grebes, Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Green Sandpiper and 1+ Sandwich Tern all put in an appearance, however we failed to eke out any more trip ticks!
That drew the trip to a close, but what a trip full of class birding memories, with good mates! It felt like we'd been away far longer than x4 days, given the amount and quality of birds we'd seen. Whilst we failed with both Wallcreeper and Pine Bunting, what we did see more than made up for this. From a personal point of view, 12 new birds was a brilliant return - several more than I thought I'd get too: Dalmatian Pelican, Great White Pelican, Greater Flamingo, White-Headed Duck, Greater Spotted Eagle, Spur-winged Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Armeian Gull, Eagle Owl, Moustached Warbler, Sombre Tit & Western Rock Nuthatch.