Agia Reservoir (Crete)

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Greece

Overview

From a birding point of view the Agia (or Ayia) Reservoir is undoubtedly the best wetland on Crete. The large areas of open water, extensive reedbeds and surrounding scrubland attract many species of interest during the breeding season and on passage.

Birds

Notable Species

Various waders and herons including Squacco Heron and Little Bittern occur on passage and this site has regular crakes of three species, all three marsh terns and Moustached Warbler.

Rarities

More rarely a Bluethroat, Great White Pelican and Black Stork in autumn 2008. Viewing the distant White Mountains [Lefki Ori] from the pump station, you may get distant views of Golden Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle and Griffon Vulture.

Checklist

Birds you can see here include:

Great Crested Grebe Little Grebe, Pygmy Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Little Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Mute Swan, Mallard, Garganey, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Northern Shoveler, Ferruginous Duck, Teal, Pochard, Pintail, Wigeon, Honey Buzzard, Osprey, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eleonora's Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk, Water Rail, Spotted Crake, Little Crake, Baillon's Crake, Common Snipe, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Pratincole, Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Northern Lapwing, Yellow-legged Gull, Whiskered Tern, Black Tern, White-winged Black Tern, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Swift, Alpine Swift, Crested Lark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Northern House Martin, Common Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Common Nightingale, European Stonechat, European Robin, Black Redstart, Eurasian Wryneck, Cetti's Warbler, Moustached Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Hooded Crow, Eurasian Jackdaw, Eurasian Blackbird, Italian Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Serin, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Common Starling, Water Pipit, European Stonechat, Great Tit, Blue Tit, European Serin

Other Wildlife

Stripe-necked Terrapin Mauremys caspica and Green Treefrog Hyla arborea are common around the Agia Reservoir. Balkan Green Lizard, Dice Snake. There are also a large numbers of bullfrog present

Site Information

History and Use

To do

Areas of Interest

Check out the tall trees and shrubs and the fresh water springs to the south over the footbridge.Further along there are one or two openings in the bamboo to observe the lake.

Access and Facilities

Agia Reservoir is situated less than 10km south of Chania (Hania or Xania) on the road to Samaria. Chania has a wide range of accommodation from simple rooms to luxury hotels. Stop at the small village of Agia and park near the church, and explore the eucalyptus woods and reservoir from here.

'Directions from Chania. Take the road from Chania to Omalos/Samaria go for about 10 kms. Pass the prison on the right (painted white) a couple of Km further on you will come to a large church on the right set in some large Tamarisk and Euciliptus trees, there is a large sign in (100mtrs) with a white swan pointing right to the taverna at the lake, turn here, this is the village of Agia (you will pass I think, one or more of these signs before you get to the church but ignore them) After turning right go for a few hundred metres until a left bend, Agia lake is 50 metres along the gravel track on the right. ColD'

Contact Details

To do

External Links

• Hellenic Ornithological Society
• Crete Wildlife
• Crete Birding
• Visit Greece, Chania

Content and images originally posted by Steve

Reviews

chriswyeth's review

I have just returned from an October visit to Agia lake and found it to be under development. An esplonade and taverna have been built and a 'noddy' train deposits several dozen visitors regularly. The area where the crakes have been reliably seen in spring has been landscaped. It will be interesting to see how these developments will affect the birding at this top location next spring.

Birding still excellent, although the "Noddy train" or "Wally trolly" as the holiday reps call them ! still deposits numbers of visitors at between 10-12 daily in the height of the summer, the areas below the dam wall are overgrown and as the water levels drop waders, Little Bittern etc allow close views, sit quiet near the sluice gates some will come within two metres. Walk from the wall to the south end towards and over the footbridge into the wood area, follow the path through an open gate keeping the lake on your left to view the south side of the lake from one or two areas of cleared bamboo and grasses. ColD

Pros

• Easy access

Either from the church on the Omalos/Chania road or from the taverna near the sluice gates and dam wall the newer taverna on the north side has only limited access to the grass slope in front of it (May 2010)ColD

Cons

• No recent development in the last two years (May 2010) ColD