The Peleponnese - November 2024 - Trip Report

In January 2023 I found a cheap flight to Athens and drove all of the way around the Gulf of Corinth, as described here and here. In mid-November 2024 I found another good one that also left on Friday after work, and this time decided to go a little bit further south to explore the Peleponnese. No targets, no particular aims other than exploration. I did have my new Sony camera lens by this point so this was an opportunity to try and find out how it worked.

As before I arrived in Athens at some crazy time, I think I picked up my rental car at 2am or thereabouts. I'd booked a hotel of sorts about half an hour away and so didn't get to bed until really late. For those that know me well this will strike you as most unlikely as I normally go to sleep before my children. Nonetheless I made it and so a few hours later I awoke to a pure blue sky and weak sunshine. Why anyone lives in the UK is beyond me.

I birded around the hotel whilst I got used to the light and being awake so soon after going to sleep. I was on the northern side of Athens near Acharnes, not far from Pan's cave and the Monastery of St Cyprian. My destination lay much further away though, and after a quick scout around - mostly Chaffinches - I set off west. I drove past Corinth and then down into the Peleponnese, with my first stop the Nestani Plateau at about half eleven. Nothing special here, just an opportunity to add a few birds to Arcadia - things like Hooded Crow, Stonechat and Linnet. I made a detour south of about 20 minutes to ensure I could colour in Lakonia, another area of Greece on the eBird map. Off the main road I climbed up into the hills for a few miles and stopped somewhere that felt promising. Again, nothing special, just Tits, Warblers and Finches, but that was all my silly plan required.

My real destination was the coast at Kalamata which I reached at about 2.30pm, much later than I had anticipated. This is entirely normal and always happens on every birding trip, you cannot avoid spending that little bit too long at each place you stop. It might only be a matter of minutes in each place, but then add in a few unplanned stops and it adds up to hours.... 

I headed west of Kalamata to the Koultouki river estuary and Bouka beach. I'd identified this spot earlier on as being promising and so it turned out. As well as birds it was notable for van nomads, almost the whole of the beach road being a camping spot for a series of enormous camper vans, converted buses, and full on overland expedition lorries. Many were from Germany and France, and some contained entire families with schooling presumably performed by the parents en-route. I am partially nomadic myself at times and I can see the attraction of swapping a dreary grey northern-european suburb for the warmth and clarity of the Aegean. The trucks with their huge ground clearance and enormous tyres were no doubt going further, perhaps contemplating as far as the Cape, the only things really standing in their way being paperwork and corruption rather than any physical obstacle. Some had dirt bikes on the back and satellite dishes on the roof, and you needed a ladder to even get into them. I briefly contemplated leaving Wanstead and following them but I have too many plants to fit into a lorry.

The birding was decent, better than I had experienced all day, with some classic european species like Zitting Cisticola and Moustached Warbler. I played with camera a bit, this was the first real opportunity to test it out in nice light. Naturally I flunked but I'd like to think that I learned a few things. Looking back on it now I recognise this as the beginning - that night in the hotel I read up about the things I'd struggled with and made some changes that now, several months later, are beginning to feel a bit closer to second nature. There is still some way to go. As ever the main issue was that the birds refused to pose at point blank range in front of me - extremely selfish of them.

After walking the edge of the reedbed and the tidal creek I walked out onto the beach. Here there were a few Kentish Plover, Sandwich Terns fishing in the bay, and a small flock of Linnet. Nothing earth-shattering but it was just very pleasant in the late afternoon sunshine. Some young Austrian vanistas were engaged in yoga, and a retired couple were setting out a table for dinner by the side of their camper with a view to die for. What a life! Looking inland vast numbers of Starlings were starting to gather pre-roost over the Messini Fields, Skylarks swirled over the short grass, and a burst of Cetti's Warbler carried over from the marsh. I retuned to Kalamata quite content and had an early dinner on the promenade.

The following morning I returned to the same spot. Morning yoga was underway - these are the kind of young people who I suspect may find the prospect of doing a day's work at some future point rather stressful but for now they need not worry about that and good luck to them. The retirees were not yet awake. It was a lot more birdy that in the late afternoon, and I dumped the car at the beach and wandered inland. Three Kentish Plover had been joined by two more but at the expense of a Sandwich Tern, groups of Little Egret and Cattle Egret flew overhead, and Marsh Harriers were quartering over the reeds whilst Buzzards did the same over the fields. Zitting Cisticola were more numerous, or certainly more vocal, and the Skylark flock had been augmented by two Crested Lark and a ton of Meadow Pipit. There were Stonechat everywhere, Sardinian Warbler was new, and Grey Wagtails were feeding on the edge of the water whist Serins jangled overhead. In the Messini fields - low level agriculture, hardly any machines involved - the Starlings had dispersed and were everywhere you looked, Black Redstarts sat up on small buildings, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails scratched in the furrows and Blackcaps had decided that southern Greece was far enough and, like the Austrians, were enjoying life in this relaxed spot.

It was time to leave this haven, this escape from real life. Northern Europe was calling me back, specifically a flight leaving from Athens in about seven hours time that I unfortunately needed to be on much as bumming about in Messinia undoubtedly appealed. By early afternoon I was in Arkadia, perhaps a third of the way back, and stopped off at Lake Taka to try and boost the trip list a bit. This is a vast reservoir with steep sides and a driveable track all the way round. Here I found lots of Little, Great Crested and Black-necked Grebe and Coot, and in the flatlands surrounding the raised reservoir a couple of wintering Water Pipit gave themselves up around some shallow pools.

I just had time to swing in at Nea Kios saltflats at the top of the Gulf of Argolis, a bit of a detour but worth it for two more Water Pipit as well as nice views of Curlew, Grey Plover, Redshank, Greenshank and Greater Flamingo, and then it was a two hour drive in the fading light back up to Corinth and around to Athens. I'd perhaps not seen as many species as I had expected, and unlike my last visit I hadn't been able to take in any of the great sites of antiquity, though I did drive right past Mycenae and bought some biscuits.

The Gulf of Corinth - Part 2

I headed east early doors, studying the map the previous evening I had noticed that Delphi was between me and Athens. A further dose of ancient culture would surely do me no harm would it? Site of the famous Oracle, occupied since about 3000 BC if not significantly before. The Oracle was a person, a priestess (or rather lots of priestesses over the centuries) rather than an object, who medidated over some kind of chasm in the rock that spewed halucinogenic if not outright toxic gases. Thus originated various prophecies, and whilst I had no pressing questions I thought I ought to have a look seeing as I was almost passing.

I took the coast road as far as Panormos and then cut inland into the hills, a road that rose and rose via a series of switch-backs. The view was magnificent, the Gulf of Corinth spread beneath me. The birding where I chose to stop and admire the landscape was pretty damn good too. Rock Nuthatches played up the slope, chasing each other around, and a call I could not place turned out to be a pair of Sombre Tits. Both of these species had been specific targets on birding trips not that long ago, to get them both at a random roadside stop in Greece was brilliant. Forget planning, just go birding. 

I was not alone at Delphi..... The word has spread, and many people were seeking enlightenment. With the numbers present I decided not to go in the site itself, but a little further down the road is the Tholos of Athena Pronaia which seemed as if could be highly photogenic. Indeed it was, and although it took a short while for a group of tourists to move out of the way, a familiar process could be enacted. It was also quite birdy, the clear highlight being a massive flock of about 250 Alpine Chough high above the site on Mount Parnassus.

Is Snuffi the one?

Arachova

My next destination was the vast Kopaida Plain, a flat land of agriculture stuffed with birds of prey. I had two Hen Harrier, a Marsh Harrier, probably around 40 Buzzards, and lots of Kestrel. Corn Buntings were everywhere. You could easily spend a full day here criss-crossing the site in splendid isolation, but I had to get t0 Athens and had to get going. In the spring it would be likely be immense.

I managed to spend about half an hour at the Yliki Floodplain where I added a White Stork and Pintail to my weekend list. Before heading to the airport I visited the Vravona Wetland which seriously underwhelmed - per eBird it is one of the most productive sites in the area but possibly 5pm isn't the time to go and in any event I was up against the clock. I came to close to 100 species in my two days, and more importantly had a great time exploring.  

The Gulf of Corinth - Part 1

In late January I went to Greece for the weekend on one of my stupid trips. Objectives: none really, just get away, January is a torrid time. Having consulted the oracle that is eBird I realised that I could circumnavigate the Gulf Of Corinth and take in four Greek regions - Attica, Peloponnese, Western and Central Greece. Excellent, I just love filling in eBird maps.

I flew to Athens after work on a Friday, arriving at some ungodly hour. The car rental place is open all night so I picked up some kind of Citroen and headed out into the night. I had stupidly decided that it was pointless to get a hotel for such a short amount of time as I would want to be birding from first light (I don't what I am playing at, I am nearly 50 and way past this, but there you have it). Anyway, I drove to the pleasingly named town of Megara and attempted a few hours sleep in the car. I had underestimated how cold it would be, but on the plus side it did mean I woke up early and could start birding immediately at Vourkari Bay.

I managed a smattering of species here in just under an hour before coffee began to call. Highlights including Slender-billed Gulls, Crested Larks, Sardinian Warblers and Great White Egrets, clearly I was no longer in Canary Wharf. I picked up some breakdast in Megara and then drove the short distance to the Corinth Canal, something I had been keen to see. This was completed in 1893 (though allegedly the Emperor Nero had attempted it in the first Century AD) and it created a sea route from the Gulf of Corinth into the Ionian Sea. As most modern ships are now bigger than it is, today the 700 mile saving is barely used other than for tourist traffic. In fact it might even be closed, I am not sure, certainly there was nothing in it when I visited but it is nonetheless an amazing sight. 

Corinth isn't just about the canal, it is one of sites of antiquity and was once one of the biggest city-states in Greece - ie thousands of years old. There is not much left of it, the Romans pillaged it and earthquakes flattened the rest, but I did take a slight detour to have a quick look. My eBird list says that there were 8 Magpie, lots of House Sparrow, 3 Goldfinch and 1 Temple.

Ancient Corinth

My actual destination was Missolonghi in Western Greece, so I transited the top of the Peloponnese quite quickly, crossed the crazily long suspension bridge near Patras, and headed west. The lagoons here had finished off Byron in 1824 - he contracted a fever and died whilst romantically fighting against the Ottomans - but these days they are known for their bird life and this is why I was here rather than anything more poetic. There are various roadways between some of these vast lagoons, and once I had negotiated a tricky section at the start (backed the car up and launched myself through a swamp at speed, trusting on momentum to see me through) I was in prime birding territory with almost nobody else there. There were birds everywhere - Flamingos, Dalmatian Pelicans, almost every wader you could think of, Egrets, Marsh Harriers, a male Hen Harrier, thousands of Coot, Caspian Terns, gazillions of Ducks....I had brought my scope rather than my camera so I have no photos of any of them but trust me when I say it was quality birding. You can see the full list of birds and sites here.

I spent the rest of the day around here, moving between various different bits of the lagoons both north and south of the town, interspersed with a restorative lunch by the shore. It was exhilarating to be birding under blue skies far away from home, and something similar will be sorted out for next January as well, it was the perfect tonic. It was after sunset when I finally made my way east and back to the Gulf of Corinth, stopping in a small town called Nafpaktos on the northern shore just a short way from the bridge. Suffice it to say I slept very well.

Part 2 tomorrow - with more bonus culture!

A spring weekend at Lake Kerkini

So this write-up has taken a little while to get around to, describing as it does a trip I made in late April. I have no defence really, I have just pushed this from one to-do list to the next for months. Finally I revisited my field notes/diary thing and have been able to remember exactly what I did and what order I did it in. Thank god for actual pen and paper, a dying art. However as you don't have access my physical scrawlings you have to make to with digital ones. Surprisingly these trip reports seem to be the least popular of anything I bash out; people tend to prefer schadenfreude and stupidity. In a sense who can blame them as this is probably the closest I come to "I went here and saw this". 

Anyway, I went to Lake Kerkini in Greece and saw....

Logistics

• A long weekend in the last week in April, leaving Saturday morning and returning on Monday lunchtime.

British Airways operate a seasonal Gatwick route to Thessaloniki, and from there it is about an hour or so by car. In the winter (for Pelican photography) you would need to go on Easyjet which does not go every day, or take Aegean Air via Athens, which does.Birded around and on the lake (a couple of cheap boat trips) for the whole time.Two nights at the lakeside Morfi Hotel for under £100. Yes, an actual hotel with an actual bed! Sometimes I can be normal.

• Car hire at Thessaloniki for about £50 for a Nissan Micra or something. Very cheap and cheerful.

Day 1I had to get up at a crazy time in the morning to make the 7am departure from Gatwick. In the end I breezed it but this was the first time I had used the night tube and I was a bit worried. In the event that part was fine but it was a little odd walking from Bank to Blackfriars laden with camera gear in what was effectively the middle of the night! We arrived on time at around midday, and after collecting the car I headed north, skirting the city of Thessaloniki on route 25, eventually joining routes 2 and then 12 before striking off on small country roads up towards the lake. When I reached Lithotopos I unpacked all the gear and started birding my way around the lake anticlockwise. The first thing I noticed is that singing Nightingales were absolutely everywhere, it was quite incredible. I stopped the car near one particularly loud one and immediately found a Woodchat Shrike - this was going to be a good trip I felt! 

Woodchat Shrike

Heading west from Chrisochorafa I found my way up onto the raised track that borders the lake at this point and surveyed the scene. Wow! The entire north-east corner of the lake was a flooded forest. Cattle were grazing on the drier parts, but the numbers of water birds was astonishing, particularly Great Crested Grebe. It was quite hazy but there were seemingly vast clouds of birds further out. I continued along this track to the village of Megalochori - quite bumpy but quite manageable in a normal car. This was notable for quite a few White Stork nests, and from here I drove the very short distance to the Struma bridge on the way to Vironia. There is a small Bee-eater colony here, although a word of warning - there are some pretty unpleasant dogs here as a lot of grazing takes place. West of the bridge are some excellent woodlands, and I happily birded around this area for a couple of hours before continuing around the lake to the old harbour at Mandraki. This too was an excellent spot for birding with numerous Squacco Herons, Egrets, fly-by Pelicans and all manner of other water birds.  In the distance however I could see boats with people on, and they seemed to be coming from a certain direction. This was what I had come for - I felt sure that if I drove around the lake I would find wherever it was they were coming from.

It's not just birds. You can see more at www,justbirdphotos.com

So it was that I eventually I found my way around to the village of Kerkini itself, and there to the pier directly to the SE of the town. It being a Saturday boat trips were in full swing and I booked myself onto one leaving in about an hour and went off to check into my hotel and find some food and some cash. In the end I had to go to Rodopoli for the latter, there are no cash machines at all in Kerkini. In fact the whole area is extremely underdeveloped - a great thing for birds and birding, but a little bit of a bind if you are after things that make the world go round. Like money. Supermarkets are non-existent, and the various corner shops are very depressing indeed. You can see that austerity and the precarious nature of Greece's economy has hit this area very hard. All the more reason to spend some tourist euros here in my opinion, and so I bought various horrible bits of food from these shops to do my bit. Grim is the word - I suspect most people subsist on what they grow and farm so there just isn't a market for convenience.

At about 6.30pm and once the sun's harshness had gone, my boat set off across a mirror-like lake. The departure point is on the west side whereas the sunken forest is on the east side, so the first part of the trip is always pretty uneventful. Eventually you get to this area, and that's when you start getting Pelicans and Pygmy Cormorants flying past the boat at eye level. In short it was superb, but it wasn't really a photography tour, more of a taster for what might be possible on a more dedicated trip. Terns, Herons, Egrets, Spoonbills, and of course more Dalmatian Pelicans than I had ever seen - there are some man-made islands, essentially vast nesting platforms. These birds were the main reason that I had booked this trip, not realising then that winter was the season for the best photography - I guess I was somewhat trigger-happy, saw a cheap flight to Thessaloniki and booked immediately. Subsequent research revealed that everyone came in the winter months to get the Pelicans in breeding plumage. Ooops. Still, no worries, I knew that there would nonetheless be a fabulous selection of south-eastern European breeding birds and that I would doubtless enjoy myself immensely.

The boat trip lasted roughly an hour and cost €8, not at all bad for such good views of loads of birds. I organised there and then that I'd do a repeat trip, and met Vasilis Arabatzis at the Oikoperiigitis Hotel later that evening to organise it. Vasilis is the main man, or at least one of the main men, for Lake Kerkini bird photography. Most of the amazing Pelican photos you see have probably involved his boat in some way shape or form. He has it all sewn up actually as it's his hotel too, and whereas the whole area is a bit sad, clearly his business is thriving on the basis of bird photography. As well as discussing plans for a winter return visit, 7am on Monday morning was agreed for a second boat trip. Dinner was €7, another reason I really like Greece.Day 2I got up early and for some woodland birding on the north side of the lake. The plan was to see if I could pick up some new species for the trip, particularly Grey-headed Woodpecker which is present year-round. The best area per various trip reports are the tracks north of the river and south of the main road, so I parked the car up next to what looked to be an abandoned swimming pool complex just east of Vironia, and headed south into the area almost immediately crossing some railway tracks. These are in use, albeit infrequently, so look and listen before you cross!! The area was very productive with lots of birds of the type you would expect, particularly rich in Nightingale and Cuckoo in all wooded areas, and in Corn Buntings in more open areas like fields. Once again non-intensive agriculture is clearly responsible for a far better selection of birds that we get in the UK. Despite tracking down some promising drumming and calls, I never managed to see the Grey-headed Woodpecker, but I did get excellent views of Lesser Spotted and Great Spotted along with lots of other birds. You can eventually get quite close to the river, and in the flooded margins here were the usual Squacco Herons and Egrets.I walked a mostly circular route which took me first east towards the bridge, and then west alongside the north side of the river on various tracks until I reached a farm and could go no further, at which point I headed more or less directly back up to the road and walked alongside the railway tracks until I refound my car.

Pleasingly large numbers of Corn Bunting

By now it was early afternoon. I had read about some productive ditches on the east side of the lake, and headed off there, stopping off at the Bee-eater colony to enjoy those for a little bit longer. The ditches are reached by driving into the village of Chrisochorafa and taking the south-eastern route out and towards the lake. As you approach the lake you hit some farm buildings, and if you take an obviously white unpaved track that heads NNE and to the right of the larger buildings you will soon see the irrigation channel.  Simply drive alongside these ditches for some really good birding – I turned right and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying numerous close encounters with Great Reed Warblers, Whinchats and Yellow Wagtails. The best photography opportunities are from the car, so make sure you hire something appropriate – either a 4x4, or if you are a cheapskate like me, the lightest possible micro-sized car as these can generally be coaxed over some quite rough terrain where a heavy saloon would struggle. What I had not ever realised is that Whinchats really like reedbeds for some reason, and they were very closely tied to the stands of reeds that lined the irrigation channels. Throughout my time here I was also constantly treated to fly-over Herons and Egrets.

Whinchat. Better than Wheatear? Jury is out....

Ooof!

Great Reed Warbler

I spent the final part of the day at Mandraki trying to get better photos of Squacco Herons. This was only partially successful because the pier at the end is quite a popular spot for early evening strolls and there was a fair bit of disturbance which caused the birds to remain distant, or fly off when they had returned closer. Very frustrating when you have been squatting patiently for half an hour and bird is very nearly now coming into range only for a passing pedestrian out to admire the view to flush it back fifty metres! Loads of birds though, including more Wood Sandpipers than I think I have ever seen. They were literally everywhere and even with just binoculars I got really excellent views.

Day 3Another really early start as today was not only my final day, but also the day of the second boat trip. We met at the Oikoperiigitis Hotel, and after a coffee for the assembled boat passengers we went down to the lake and got on the boat. It was immediately apparent that conditions were not as good as the first evening, with quite a breeze causing what had been a lovely still surface to be quite choppy, but we set off east anyway. In contrast to the evening trip, even from a distance we could see a lot of bird activity, including what looked like a massive Pelican feeding frenzy.  We were soon at the other side of the lake quite near to Mandraki, and Vasilis positioned the boat to drift alongside the activity, to the extent that he was not limited by the very shallow water levels. In short it was fantastic, with excellent views of feeding birds, and of birds flying to and from roosting areas to feeding areas. By excellent views I mean through binoculars, as photography-wise it didn’t really tick the box due to light and priority being given to a boat full of passengers who were happy with bird snaps rather than anything else. This was fine with me; as previously mentioned I now know that the key period for the kind of images seen on the web is in winter, and I am in the process of crafting a plan for that. So I was simply happy to be there and be soaking up what was quite a spectacle. Dalmatian Pelicans of course, but also White Pelicans, Spoonbills, Pgymy and Regular Cormorants, Common Terns, Black-crowned Night Herons, and lots and lots of hirundines.

Overall we were out about an hour and a half, so when we got back to the dock I needed to get my skates on as it wasn’t that long until my return flight. Returning to my hotel I turned things around in exactly eleven minutes, which once back to Thessaloniki gave me a little time to stop at various places and see what was about, particularly the south-west corner of the lake which I hadn’t really explored. Again lots of water birds and Pelicans, but nothing new at this late stage. It should be about an hour to the airport, but it was quite hard to find somewhere to refuel and I had to go out of my way. This meant I arrived at the car hire place about 55 minutes before my flight left which is somewhat under the recommended time frame! Luckily the airport is a doddle, and I was waiting by the gate about 10 minutes later and boarded shortly afterwards. Yes I would like a Gin and Tonic please! 

In summary: Northern Greece in spring? A big thumbs up from me!

Ditch of Dreams

The Whinchats were fantastic, but look what else was in this ditch! 

Yes, Great Reed Warblers, and lots of them. At one part of the ditch there were about five or six birds in a very small area – a patch of reeds no more than 2m wide and about 5m long, and they were winding themselves up something chronic. One would kick off “Kerrr kerrr kerrr cha cha cha” etc, and this would spur its neighbor to scurry up a stem and start as well. The first bird would then fly at the second and there would be aerial flurries, during which a third bird would creep up and get in a short burst. Two more then flew in with a few experimental croaks, their interest clearly piqued, and the whole circus would start again. I confess I watched from the comfort of the car for easily over an hour during which I had ample time to change lenses, add or take away converters, play with exposures and so on. At one point I even gave the sensor a bit of clean when I noticed a big gob of dust on some of the photos.

In short it was magnificent, and from my perspective even outshone the trips out on the lake that I went on. I spent a full afternoon here bouncing up and down some rough tracks in my lovely (but abused) Nissan Micra trying to get some pleasing shots. Now whilst Great Reed Warblers are properly charismatic, the show was stolen by the Black-headed Wagtails. What a stunning bird! These too were in the reed beds, and a number of them perched rather obligingly when I wasn’t ogling Whinchats. I had a very productive time, but what struck me most was the sheer numbers of birds at every turn. Nightingales were everywhere, and whilst they were at their most deafening after dawn, they continued all day and there was no point at which the soundtrack didn’t contain their piping songs. There were Shrikes, Bee-eaters, Hoopoes, Cuckoos calling, masses of hirundines and obscene numbers of Herons and Egrets flying over. Compare this to the British countryside where you could take a walk and see only a handful of birds. We might grow more crops but look what we have done. Much of eastern Europe is the same, the last bastions of a more low level form of agriculture and it abundantly evident. Bulgaria and Poland were the same, Bulgaria especially so, and which shares a border with the area of Greece I was in. Abundant birdlife. It takes a visit to one of these places to realise how impoverished we are here – any birders who do not travel are missing out.

So, apologies for yet another image-heavy post. Think of me as a travelling salesman, or rather a travel salesman. If you go to these places you can see really good birds, and lots of them. People wet themselves here and fall over in heaps when confronted with a Feldegg half a mile across a stubble field. In eastern Europe you can be 20 feet away from half a dozen birds and have them completely to yourself.