This was a two week trip to mainland Greece with the middle
week spent driving around the north-west visiting the Amvrakikos Gulf, the
Prespa lakes, Metsovo and several other locations. My wife isn’t a birder but
is tolerant of my hobby so I was hoping to find a few good birds along the way.
We arrived in Athens airport late afternoon on 31st
August 2013, collected the hire car and were soon on the excellent motorway
heading west towards the Peloponnese. We were spending the first few days in
Xylokastro on the northern coast of the Peloponnese where my wife has relatives
before heading north. I’ve been there several times before and know the birding
isn’t terribly good but it was a chance to pick up some of the commoner birds:
Red-rumped Swallow, Alpine and Pallid Swifts, Cetti’s and Sardinian Warblers.
By the following Tuesday I was keen to move on and we headed west along the coast to Patras where we crossed the truly stunning bridge over the Gulf of Corinth. On the mainland proper we ignored the temptations of the Mesalonghi wetlands and drove north up the coast road to the Amvrokikos Gulf. Here we drove anti-clockwise around the gulf finally arriving in a small holiday village called Mitikas just north of Preveza.
There were lots of Great White and Little Egrets, numerous waders including Kentish Plovers and Black-winged Stilts and further out, several Black-necked Grebes. Further along we saw our only White Stork of the trip and our first Squacco Heron both in a small, flooded field. We continued along the road to Vigla and on over the causeway to Koronisia. The road runs for several kilometres with water on both sides but there were very few birds. Only as we approached the village of Koronisia itself did we see a large bird far out on the gulf – the second of my target birds, Dalmatian Pelican. We briefly went to explore the village and on our return the Pelican had moved much closer and I was able to take a few record shots.
The following day it was our intention to complete the long drive to the Prespa lakes but we didn’t take into account the black hole that is Ioannina. We stopped off for lunch in the town with me keen to see the lake and hopefully the colony of Lesser Kestrels – the lake had an algal bloom and stank and there was no sign of the kestrels. We stayed for only about an hour but spent another hour and a half trying to leave – all roads led to the new ring road (not marked on our map) but then none seemed to lead north from there. On our third time of asking we were told to follow signs for the airport and finally made our escape. If we hadn’t had a Greek speaker on board I fear we might still be there! A few miles north we turned off the main road following signs for Mikro Papigo in the Vikos-Aoos National Park. It was a winding and jaw-droppingly beautiful drive up into the mountains and the lovely village of Mikro Papigo. We stopped here and took a brief walk along one of the many mountain paths but saw few birds, just a few Ravens flying over. The highlight was the red underwing type moth Catocala conjuncta disturbed from the eaves of one of the buildings.
It was mid-afternoon by the time we got back to the main
road and were once more heading towards the Prespa lakes. Unfortunately I had
underestimated how long the drive would take and by early evening we were still
a long way from our destination. We came to the town of Kastoria and saw from
the map that it was on the shores of a lake and the decision was made. We found
a nice lakeside hotel and booked in for the night.
The following morning I inspected the lake from our balcony.
Distantly a large bird on the surface of the lake proved to be a pelican but it
was too far away to be sure which species. More of a surprise as we drove
through town to get back on the Prespa road was a small group of Mute Swans. A
Greek tick for me although I’m not convinced they were wild. The Prespa lakes
proved to be less than an hour’s drive and we arrived in Agios Germanos about
10 in the morning – we booked into a hotel, had breakfast and had a talk in the
visitor’s centre all before midday. Our first destination, after a slow drive,
stopping frequently along the causeway between the two lakes was the island of
Agios Achillios on Mikri Prespa. It’s a lovely place reached by a floating
bridge from the shore with Cormorants (Pygmy and Greater) and Grebes (Little,
Great Crested and Black-necked) on the surface of the lake, Pelicans (mostly
Dalmatian but a handful of White) and Bee-eaters flying over and Warblers
(Great Reed, Icterine & Cetti’s) in the reeds and bushes. A truly stunning
place – I’d love to have come back here in the early morning before the first
tourists arrived but I didn’t get the chance.
We decided to explore a bit further and drove to the small
village of Psarades on the banks of Megali Prespa. Here it’s possible to enjoy
lunch whilst overlooking a small patch of wetland with Squacco Herons, Little
Bitterns and Pygmy Cormorants showing just a few yards away. From here you can
also take a boat trip out onto the lake for close up views of pelicans and some
truly amazing Byzantine cliff paintings and cave dwellings – well worth the 30
euros if you get the chance.
Back in Agios Germanos in the late afternoon we decided to
take a walk out of the village into the surrounding hills. A pair of Lesser
Kestrel, a single flyover Levant Sparrowhawk and several Grey Wagtails were all
trip ticks but a female-type Collared Flycatcher was the real prize – a new
bird for me.
The next day, Saturday 7th, we drove past the
village of Pili and made a rather pointless visit to Zachandi Cave – basically
a hole in the ground with steps leading down into it. A single bat flying in
the mouth of the cave being its only interesting feature. We drove on a bit
further and walked for a mile or so along a small track leading back to Psarades.
Common Redstart, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear and Sombre Tit all showed well but
we were rather distracted by the attentions of a local, non-Greek shepherd and
his fearsome dog who followed us for much of the time. We were both extremely
relieved to get back to the car!
The following day we headed back south towards Metsovo in
the Pindos mountains, making a small diversion to the stunning village of
Meteora. I had hoped for Egyptian Vulture here but it seems we were too late in
the year and they had all gone. Black Stork and Short-toed Eagle were
reasonable substitutes although the Rock Nuthatch calling loudly but refusing
to show was disappointing.
We arrived in Metsovo in mid-afternoon and found a lovely
hotel away from the main centre of the busy town overlooking the valley and sat
on the balcony with a drink to recover from what had been a fairly hair-raising
drive from Meteora. Dozens of Alpine and Pallid Swifts flew low over the hotel
and the second Short-toed Eagle of the day passed across the valley. A
Greater-spotted Woodpecker and Olivaceous Warbler in trees in front of the
hotel were both trip ticks.
The final full day of our trip was spent driving through the
beautiful Pindos mountains. We did a loop heading first to Krania, then across
the mountains to Mikrolivado, Perivoli and then back to Metsovo. It was a long
but rewarding day with several additions to the list including both Black and
Grey-headed Woodpeckers – both distant and brief views so no chance of any
photos, unfortunately. Apart from a single Honey Buzzard we saw no large
raptors either which was disappointing. The trip back to Xylokastro the
following day did produce a fly-over Booted Eagle however, which made the long
drive worthwhile.
Our final few days in Greece were spent mostly visiting
friends and family but we did manage a trip into the mountains to the ski
resort near Mount Zyria where amongst the deserted ski lifts we found Wood
Larks, Coal Tits and a Hoopoe, the last additions to the trip list. A journey
on the beautiful railway up to Kalavrita took up our final day. I saw a Blue
Rock Thrush from the train a few years ago but no such luck on this occasion
but worth the trip for the Kalavrita Holocaust Museum which really puts
everything into perspective.
Bird List
Black-necked Grebe – Amvrakikos
Little Grebe – Amvrakikos
Great Crested Grebe – Amvrakikos
White Pelican – Prespa
Dalmatian Pelican – Prespa, Amvrakikos
Cormorant – Prespa
Pygmy Cormorant – Prespa
Little Egret
Great White Egret – Prespa
Squacco Heron – Prespa, Amvrakikos
Grey Heron
White Stork – Amvrakikos
Black Stork – Meteora
Mute Swan – Kastoria
Mallard
Short-toed Eagle – Meteora, Metsovo
Booted Eagle – Peloponnese
Marsh Harrier – Prespa
Common Buzzard
Honey Buzzard – Pindos
Sparrowhawk
Levant Sparrowhawk – Prespa
Kestrel
Lesser Kestrel - Prespa
Water Rail (hrd)
Moorhen
Coot
Southern White Admiral |
Black-winged Stilt - Amvrakikos
Little Ringed Plover – Amvrakikos
Kentish Plover – Amvrakikos
Wood Sandpiper – Amvrakikos
Common Sandpiper – Amvrakikos
Redshank
Greenshank
Black-headed Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Common Tern
Feral Pigeon
Stock Dove
Turtle Dove
Collared Dove
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
Alpine Swift
Hoopoe – Mt Zyria
Kingfisher
Bee-Eater – Prespa
Black Woodpecker – Pindos
Grey-headed Woodpecker – Pindos
Great Spotted Woodpecker – Metsovo
Crested Lark
Woodlark – Mt Zyria
Sand Martin
Crag Martin – Meteora
House Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Stream Frog |
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail - Prespa
Black Redstart – Prespa
Common Redstart – Prespa
Northern Wheatear – Prespa
Black-eared Wheatear - Amvrakikos
Whinchat – Prespa
Robin
Mistle Thrush
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cetti’s Warbler
Great Reed Warbler – Prespa
Icterine Warbler – Prespa
Olivaceous Warbler
Willow Warbler
Spotted Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher – Prespa
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Marsh Tit
Sombre Tit – Prespa
Rock Nuthatch (hrd) – Meteora
Red-backed Shrike – Pindos
Woodchat Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike - Prespa
Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Cirl Bunting
Corn Bunting