A weekend at Lake Kerkini (Day 2)

Sunday morning I was moving on the western bank of the lake well before the sunrise. I believed that the dense clouds would hide the sun and that I could make nice images of some less common species that may be approaching the shore such as Goldeneyes, Goosanders, Smews or anything else occurred. Besides, at the same point of the lake last year, I made some nice images under even worse weather conditions. Unfortunately the clouds weren’t as dense as I thought and instead of bird pictures I ended making sunrise images. The colors were unique and images cannot convey the atmosphere of the moment. Nevertheless birds did not seem to appreciate the atmosphere as much as I was, so nothing interesting showed up. The most notable sightings were a White-tailed Eagle far away flying towards Mandraki village and two Magpies mobbing a Sparrowhawk until they managed to make it retreat. Too bad…

I made an effort to reach a point where it was possible to see the White-fronted Goose or even the rare Lesser White-fronted Goose but the path was very muddy due to the melting snow, so I decided to spend the rest of the day to the East coast of the lake. At the first part of the coast near the Lithotopos village there are many trees and one can easily spot Chiffchaffs, Tits, Blackbirds and even Woodpeckers at this time of year. After that, the view is clear to the lake on your left and to the fields on your right. I saw many Black-headed gulls and the famous Dalmatian Pelicans resting or flying just above the water level.

There were many small groups of Great and Pygmy Cormorants, Great Egrets and Grey Herons and I made quite a few nice pictures.

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived to the end of the coast at the point where the Strymonas River meets the lake. There were all the duck species I saw yesterday with the addition of a couple of Ferruginous ducks.

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