New

July/August 2010 - the new pelican platforms rewarded the efforts of the Management Body by playing host to a record 119 chicks, double the numbers achieved previously. Other breeding highlights here were 45 pairs of Black-necked Grebes and 110 pairs of Whiskered Terns. In addition a pair of Mute Swans bred for the first time, producing 6 cygnets. Other records include 131 Spoonbill, 80 Glossy Ibis, 27 Black Kites and a single Egyptian Vulture.


Recent sightings at Kerkini

May 2010 - The highlights of the month at Kerkini are a Great Spotted Cuckoo, 2 Bonelli's Eagles and a flock of 200 Rose-coloured Starlings

April 2010 - The first week of April brought 555 White and 260 Dalmatian Pelicans, 3 Lesser Spotted and 5 Short-toed Eagles, an Osprey, 5 Black Kites, 7 Marsh and 1 Montagu's Harrier and 13 Glossy Ibis.

March 2010 - House and Crag Martins arrived on the 12th and the few overwintering Garganey were joined by a major influx on the 13th. The first Night Heron was seen on the 15th with Squaccos and Little Egrets on the 21st. The first Yellow Wagtail was seen on the 19th. The first Short-toed Eagle drifted over on the 21st and a Purple Heron was visible on the 30th.
February 2010 - the first White Stork was early this year, with one above the lake on 26th. Moustached Warblers are singing, White-tailed and Spotted Eagles are in the air, over 150 Great Crested Grebe are displaying from the eastern embankment, Great Grey Shrikes are still around.

December 2009 - 15,000 Pochard with a few Tufted and Ferruginous mixed in, 74 Goldeneye and smallish numbers of the other regular ducks. And plenty of eagles - 11 Spotteds, 3 Golden and 4 White-tailed. Ten Black Storks and 5 Great Grey Shrikes complete the picture.

November 2009 - The Lesser-spotteds of summer have now been replaced by 6-7 Spotted Eagles, alongside 2 Golden, 2 Peregrines and a couple of Merlins. Wildfowl numbers are building, with 21 Bewick's Swans amongst the vanguard. Other birds of note include an impressive 2000 Flamingos and 3-4 Great Grey Shrikes.

September/October 2009 - 500 White Pelicans, 200+ Dalmatians, 4 Black Storks, 300 Spoonbills, 200+ Tree Pipits, Peregrine, Goshawk

May 2009 -Glossy Ibis, Ruff, Wood Sandpipers and Little Stints have arrived, together with Booted Eagles, Levant Sparrowhawks, Little Bitterns, Alpine Swifts and the first Black-headed Buntings. Great Spotted Cuckoo, Olive-tree Warbler and Rock Nuthatch on the 16th. Also, on May 18th, within 50 metres on site 2 track c (see book) Red-backed, Woodchat, Lesser Grey and Masked Shrikes, Little Bittern, Marsh and Olivaceous Warblers, Grey-headed and Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers, Bee-eaters and Turtle Doves.

Lake Kerkini

Lake Kerkini, just an hour by car from Thessaloniki, offers what must be the most accessible top-quality birdwatching in Europe. It is a huge man-make lake formed by the damming of the Strimonas river in 1932 and is contained by embankments which can all be easily explored by car, offering fantastic opportunities for photography.

The variety of birds is impressive but their sheer number can be fantastic. To see a flock of 1000 cormorants and pelicans converging on a school of fish not 20m away is unforgettable. The depth of the lake changes by several metres each year, and surface area increases throughout spring and early summer from 54km2 to a maximum of 72km2, which means the scene and available habitat is always changing.

January and February can be cold here, and, wildfowl numbers reach their peak with over 20 000 Pochard often with a handful of Red-cresteds. Spotted and White-tailed Eagles are frequently seen and Great White Egrets are everywhere.

Migration begins in early March, with the arrival of pioneering Garganey and Osprey. White Storks arrive towards the end of the month. Migration gathers steam through April into early May, when every bush seems to hold warblers. Glossy Ibis are regular and both species of pelican, of which there can be over a thousand of each, look their very best.

The early summer sees the drowned forest alive with herons and egrets. Golden Orioles sing in the poplars and Bee-eaters and Rollers sit on the wires. Great Spotted Cuckoo bred in 2007.

October typically sees the Lesser-spotted Eagles replaced by Spotteds. The remaining months bring the ducks back, together with Lesser White-fronted Geese, which spend time here before moving on south-east to the Evros delta.

In the winter of 2007 - 2008 the total number of birds on the lake was counted at just over
41 000.

There is also great birding to be had in the nearby hills, with Long-legged Buzzard, Rock Nuthatch, Calandra Lark, Subalpine and Olive-tree Warblers. Nearby woods hold Middle-spotted and Grey-headed Woodpeckers and the mountains to the east have Capercaillie, Nutcracker, Rock Thrush, Wryneck, Semi-collared Flycatcher and Barred Warbler.

For more information on this site together with detailed maps see the Birdwing book