Need bird advice for cyclades and vicinity! (1 Viewer)

Hello,

I'm planning a trip to Paros in mid-late May for wedding and hoping to do a bit of birding over the two weeks before and after.

I'm from the US and have very little European birding experience, so lots of species would be new for me, but I'm wondering if there are particularly good spots to catch spring migrants or any of the following target species:

Lammergeier
Griffon Vulture
Golden Eagle
Roller
Bee-eater

Plans aren't set, but my travels should take me through Croatia, the Peloponese, Paros, and Turkey.

Any tips or advice (including links) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Scott

Wow: many options here. All of the species you mention are possible in the region - though I'm not sure how long Roller hangs around for on passage, and you'll probably have to go to Crete for the possibility of seeing Lammergeier, which may be more difficult.

For a good chance of seeing the larger raptors inc. vultures, Northern Greece (esp. north and east of Thessaloniki) would seem like a good bet - check out http://www.birdwing.eu/ for all the info.

For the rest - and before others join in! - I think Lesvos must be a good bet for you, the birding mecca in the Aegean in May for brits and many other European birders. Threads here will give you the idea; Steve Dudley's website www.lesvosbirding.com has a ton of further info and reports.

Although you'd probably have a lot of fun searching for the same species elsewhere in the general region, the info for the locations specified above is excellent and may save you a lot of time. If you're very lucky perhaps you'll have time for both a week on Lesvos and a week in Northern Greece (Dadia/Evros for the large raptors?) if you can manage the logistics.

For flight info see e.g. www.aegeanair.com and www.olympicair.com.
For ferries, including online booking, see www.hellenicseaways.gr.

Getting hold of either or both of the latest editions of the Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet Guide to Greece will provide further practicalities (though NB there is virtually nothing in either about natural history, which is a great shame). With the exception of Lesvos, where accommodation in the birding season may well be difficult to come by unless you book well in advance, you shouldn't have any problem whatsoever finding good places to stay virtually anywhere in Greece using either of the guidebooks above - with little or no need to book ahead.

If you're into doing the touristy thing while you're in Greece and are visiting the mainland from Athens, a good tip is that ancient archaeological sites are often also excellent for birds - they're usually well planted with trees, and well irrigated. Good places include central archaeological sites in Athens - Alpine Swift and Hoopoe really easy there, and Delphi (3hrs by bus from central Athens) for more montane species.

Thanks so much for the reply!

I was in Athens five years ago when I was less serious about birding and got Hoopoe at the Parthenon.


I have another specific follow-up:

In traveling from Croatia to Greece would you recommend taking the ferry for sea birding (Dubrovnik to Bari; Bari to Greece) or an overland bus route with potential bird stops along the way? Or do neither and try to fly straight to athens?

Hi again,
No problem: just jealous it's not me doing this trip!
Re. your options, they'd all be different.
Certainly the most adventurous, but probably logistically most troublesome (Albania??), would be travelling from Croatia overland.
Flying would be easiest but least fun.
The third option, going by boat, would be cool: from Bari you can I believe get the ferry either to Patras or Igoumenitsa, looking out for Shearwaters, Gulls, and Dolphins on the sea. Going to Patras would be fine, but you'd spend a lot more time on a boat. If you go to Igoumenitsa (the mainland port opposite Corfu), you then get the chance to drive down the west coast of the mainland, which has great opportunities, with the biggest expanses of reedbeds I've seen in my life, around the Amvrakikos gulf (see http://www.rodiawetlands.gr/roadmap.jpg). Even from a bus without the chance to stop I've seen Lesser Grey Shrike, Long-legged Buzzard, and Harrier species along the road when I did this journey in August 2008.

Hi again!

This is great info! I'm getting really excited about my trip. As I get closer plans are becoming more clear. I have two possible itineraries and I'm hoping you'll be able to compare them from a birding perspective.

I have to be in Paros by May 19th.

1) Land in Rhodes on the 11th or 13th and island hop northwest across the Aegean for week ending up in Paros after 6 or 8 days.

2) Land in Thessaloniki on the 11th or 13th and carve a path to Paros (I have no idea what route would make sense) over the same time frame.

Route 1 seems a lot simpler and I like the idea of island-hopping. But from what I gather the birding is better farther north (is this true?), so maybe the Thessaloniki option would be more interesting bird-wise.

Thanks again!

Hi again Scott,
Of these options, it looks like the Rhodes idea would be more practical, though getting from there to Paros will still involve quite a bit of ferrying, and trying to figure out the schedules - which can at times be quite frustrating, though things have improved somewhat since the 1990s when I first visited. Paros is right in the centre of the Cyclades in the centre of the Aegean, and Rhodes is in the Dodecanese off the south-west coast of Turkey, so both are really a long way away from Thessaloniki.
Alternatively, if you could work out a way of getting from Thessaloniki to Paros (you might, for instance, be able to fly domestic from Thessaloniki to Mykonos and then get a ferry/seacat to Paros?), this would leave you some time to explore the excellent-sounding birding regions around Thessaloniki, including (perhaps) a day or two at Lake Kerkini - a place I've never been but I'm sure it won't be too long now. And Thessaloniki itself is quite a nice city if you're into that sort of thing.
Re. birding, the point is that there's basically just sea between Rhodes and Paros so you wouldn't be seeing a lot on your travels; I'm not sure Rhodes has a great variety of habitats, and Paros itself is very dry. Also, it would seem better to me to focus on some well-known and easily accessible (and excellent) birding areas given your relatively small timeframe.