Easter at Kalamas river Delta

I spend my Easter holidays at Thesprotia so I had the opportunity to visit Kalamas river delta twice. Therein lies one of the less famous wetlands of western Greece shaded by Amvrakikos gulf, Messolonghi or Gialova lagoon. This does not mean it lacks in beauty, variety and number of species that can be observed there. Especially since hunting in the area was banned last year.
To start with, it is the only place in Greece where one can observe Cattle Egrets throughout the year. They are breeding in the area and many remain there during winter, since they can feed with the many herds of sheep and cows raised in the fields beside the river. I have photographed Cattle Egrets there many times, some photos can be found in my gallery here among other photos of heron species. This time I decided to concentrate on the other bird species of the delta.

The combination of fresh and salt water, meadows and hills with many different kinds of vegetation, create all kinds of habitats and as a result many different species can be observed there. While the number of waders was not very high as it would be for example in Messolonghi, you could see a huge variety of species from waders to woodland species.

Τhere were several species of terns, with many of the less common species present such as Gull-billed, Whiskered or White-winged terns, almost all kinds of herons, several Golden Orioles, many passerine species from Chaffinches and Whitethroats to Penduline Tits and Sedge Warblers.

There were also many birds of prey in the area with the most notable observations being a Montagu’s Harrier and an Osprey that I saw fishing near Sagiada. Now that I am doing a small review, I saw a total of about 90 different bird species in two 3-hour visits, although I was alone and I used much of my time for photography.

From the Kalamas river delta area comes also this alternative proposal for mice extermination 😉 You don’t like cats? Want something different to impress your neighbor? We recommend the Purple Heron of the above photograph. It does the job quickly and quietly, and leaves no trace of mice since it swallows them in one piece 🙂 :).