Winter at lake Kerkini (Part 2)

My second visit to Lake Kerkini was at the end of January. I went there with two fellow nature photographers and although the weather was far from great, our visit was quite successful. If you have been at Kerkini many times, you know where you should look for certain species. However since the time is always limited and there are so many options, you must have a plan and specific targets. We decided to “ignore” the wildfowl species and concentrate our efforts to other species that can be found in the area.
The first day we came through a nice mixed flock of Mistle Thrushes, Fieldfares and Redwings among others.

The second day we failed on approaching the group of Cranes that spend their winter at Kerkini, but a Greater Spotted Eagle made a fly-by just above our heads while we were waiting for the Cranes.

The highlight of our visit however was Woodpeckers. We saw six Woodpecker species and we managed to get nice photos of Grey-headed, Great Spotted and Lesser Spotted woodpeckers.

The last day of our visit we even found a Eurasian Otter in a water channel beside the lake. There was not enough light and it was not as close as I wanted but this was my first encounter with that species also.

Other findings include all the usual wildfowl species, Great and Pygmy Cormorants, Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings, Flamingos, a Goshawk, all common Egret species, and many others.
I have so many nice pictures from this visit that I am still working on them even now, one month after returning from Kerkini. I hope that I will be able to make another visit there in spring so stay tuned.