In mid-February 2018 my father and I spent four days birding the Lake Kerkini area and a day around Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. Our trip ran from Sunday 11th to Thursday 15th February, and was a version of the ‘Long Weekend at Lake Kerkini’ tour offered by Neophron Tours (www.neophron.com), customised to run for an extra day and from Sunday to Thursday rather than vice versa.
The dates we could travel were determined by other factors, and I had fancied a winter trip to Lake Kerkini for a while. It would be possible to do this trip without a guide, using info from previous trip reports and guide-books to the area. However, we wanted a relaxing trip where we could concentrate on enjoying the birds, and having somebody else look after the accommodation, food, driving and getting us to the best spots certainly helped achieve this. Three days is probably sufficient to bird the area in winter, though bad weather could have a bigger impact during a shorter trip. However, as said, we wanted a relaxing trip and some lee-way for bad weather.
We chose Neophron Tours because we had travelled with them previously and they offered a package broadly along the lines of what we were looking for. We were very happy with the tour we took, and the guide for our trip, Simeon Gigov.
We flew with Ryanair from Stansted to Thessaloniki, the only UK direct flight option available in February, with the flights landing and departing late in the evening. As a consequence no birding took place on the day of our arrival (Sunday), but we had a full day on our last day. We stayed at the ‘To Fragma’ guesthouse in Lithotopos, which was well located and comfortable, and we were certainly well fed.
Birds we specifically hoped to see included Dalmatian Pelicans, Lesser White-fronted Geese, Greater Spotted Eagles, Sombre Tit, Western Rock Nuthatch and the woodpeckers of the area – including White-backed Woodpecker if possible. Winter 2017/18 had been relatively mild in South-eastern Europe prior to our trip, and as a result some species were not present in the area this winter.
With the exception of White-backed Woodpecker (which is probably an unreasonable target for this area), we saw all of our main targets, and a fine supporting cast that included Cranes, Black Storks, Glossy Ibis, Flamingos, Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Pallas’s Gull, Golden Eagle, Eagle Owl, Rock and Cirl Buntings, Hawfinches and Great Grey Shrike. We had great views of seven species of woodpecker; Lesser, Middle and Greater Spotted, Syrian, Green, Grey-headed and Black.
For a daily log of what we saw where please see the attached. Our guide also write a trip report which is available on cloudbirders at https://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport/show/20815/31085
Any questions just let me know, kind regards, Paul
The dates we could travel were determined by other factors, and I had fancied a winter trip to Lake Kerkini for a while. It would be possible to do this trip without a guide, using info from previous trip reports and guide-books to the area. However, we wanted a relaxing trip where we could concentrate on enjoying the birds, and having somebody else look after the accommodation, food, driving and getting us to the best spots certainly helped achieve this. Three days is probably sufficient to bird the area in winter, though bad weather could have a bigger impact during a shorter trip. However, as said, we wanted a relaxing trip and some lee-way for bad weather.
We chose Neophron Tours because we had travelled with them previously and they offered a package broadly along the lines of what we were looking for. We were very happy with the tour we took, and the guide for our trip, Simeon Gigov.
We flew with Ryanair from Stansted to Thessaloniki, the only UK direct flight option available in February, with the flights landing and departing late in the evening. As a consequence no birding took place on the day of our arrival (Sunday), but we had a full day on our last day. We stayed at the ‘To Fragma’ guesthouse in Lithotopos, which was well located and comfortable, and we were certainly well fed.
Birds we specifically hoped to see included Dalmatian Pelicans, Lesser White-fronted Geese, Greater Spotted Eagles, Sombre Tit, Western Rock Nuthatch and the woodpeckers of the area – including White-backed Woodpecker if possible. Winter 2017/18 had been relatively mild in South-eastern Europe prior to our trip, and as a result some species were not present in the area this winter.
With the exception of White-backed Woodpecker (which is probably an unreasonable target for this area), we saw all of our main targets, and a fine supporting cast that included Cranes, Black Storks, Glossy Ibis, Flamingos, Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Pallas’s Gull, Golden Eagle, Eagle Owl, Rock and Cirl Buntings, Hawfinches and Great Grey Shrike. We had great views of seven species of woodpecker; Lesser, Middle and Greater Spotted, Syrian, Green, Grey-headed and Black.
For a daily log of what we saw where please see the attached. Our guide also write a trip report which is available on cloudbirders at https://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport/show/20815/31085
Any questions just let me know, kind regards, Paul
