By petros, on May 4th, 2015
A month has already passed since my visit to the area of Nafplio and Nea Kios. I’m late enough to upload pictures and impressions because in the meanwhile I also made a trip to Spain (Extremadura) for which there will be a next post.
Spring migration to Nea Kios was in its full swing. I spotted several migratory bird species such as the beautiful Little Gull which was feeding at close range, a Ruppel’s Warbler, a nice male Collared Flycatcher, some Black-tailed Godwits and many more.
Beside these species I also saw a good number of “winter” and resident species like Teals, Wigeons, Blue Rock Thrushes (this must be the best place in Greece to photograph this species), the Jackdaw colony and several passerines like the nice female Blackcap pictured below.
You can always click on the images to see the Image Exif Data and to view a larger/sharper version.
By petros, on March 21st, 2015
This year I decided to close the winter season with a nice photographic excursion to the Evros river estuaries. That visit proved quite eventful since we had to postpone it for two weeks because of major floods that hit the area just the period we had planned to be there.
Eventually I found myself at Evros river delta with George and Michael the last weekend of winter and just for two days instead of three originally planned. We also had some other minor unexpected problems that forced us to abandon our plans to visit the whole river estuaries and to restrict ourselves only to the western part. Nevertheless the trip was a great success as it was the first time that we managed to see the one and only European flock of Lesser White-fronted Geese! Although we had all visited several times the Evros river delta during Winter, this was the first time that we were so lucky. Actually In the above photo you can see about one third of the European population for this species.
There were also many other beautiful moments during our visit, one of them being when two (out of a total of three) White-tailed Eagles spotted during our visit, flew just above our heads in close range giving us a good opportunity for nice photos.
We also saw and photographed several Common Gulls feeding on Grooved Razor Shells. After finding the shells they drop them from a sufficient height in order to be able to open them up more easily and eat their soft interior.
Finally, I have to mention the excellent hide for passerines that was built by the management body of the National Park of Dadia forest. Our time was very limited so we only stayed there for an hour, but during that time we have seen and photographed several species such as Great, Blue and Coal Tits, Blackbirds and even a Brambling which is quite difficult to spot in Greece. The next time you find yourself in the area don’t go only to see the famous vulture feeder. I think that this excellent hide deserves some of your time also.
You can always click on the images to see the Image Exif Data and to view a larger/sharper version.
By petros, on November 30th, 2014
Several days have passed from the appearance of a Baillon’s Crake at the estuary of the stream of Rafina city near Athens. Since this is a quite difficult bird species to observe in Greece, there were many bird watchers that went to see it.
Baillon’s Crakes are usually passing migrants for Greece and you can only spot them during the migration period. In addition they usually remain hidden into dense reeds, which makes spotting them even more difficult.
This time however everybody had the chance to easily see and even take pictures of that species in November!
By petros, on November 9th, 2014
One Saturday just a few weeks ago was one of the rare cases that I had the whole day free. I decided to visit mount Parnassos in search for some good photo opportunities with forest and alpine species of birds. I have been to Parnassos in many other cases and I have to say that I was not at all impressed by that mount’s wildlife. Parnassos is located quite close to Athens and attracts many visitors especially during winter. The increased human disturbance means that many wild birds and animals prefer other places to live. However this time I was glad to find out that during October, when there are not many people visiting the mountain, you can still find some nice photo opportunities.
I went there with George, a fellow nature photographer and we had some fun making pictures of many forest bird species like Nuthatches, Short-toed Treecreepers, Coal Tits, Sombre Tits, Linnets, Greenfinches, Firecrests etc. In addition we came across a nice flock of Ring Ouzels which are quite rare for Greece. It seems that they made a stop at mount Parnassos in their way to Africa. The news spread quickly and brought many fellow photographers and bird watchers to the mount during the next days 🙂
We also came across two Rock Partridges. Although I have been to Parnassos many times and I knew that there are some Rock Partridges living there, I have never seen any of them before. The weather was also in our side and as a result the day seemed to have passed so fast! We packed our equipment late in the afternoon, well after sunset. I am definitively going to add a visit to mount Parnassos during October to my annual schedule for the next year.
As always do not forget to click on the images to view them in larger/sharper versions.
By petros, on October 19th, 2014
This Autumn the greatest and most popular wetlands near Athens were either almost dry (like Schinias), or the water level was too high (like Loutsa). As a result it was not easy to find and photograph waders near Athens. Fortunately it was a very good year for watching the passerines migration and I managed to get some good pictures of many migrating bird species.
I often visited my favorite spots at Spata (located near the Athens International Airport) but unfortunately I managed to make only one visit to mount Hymettus during this Autumn. Warblers, Redtarts and Flycatchers were in abundance in all the visited places!
In addition let’s not forget that apart from the passing migrants there are also the local migrants. Thrushes are becoming more and more common lately both at lower and higher altitudes all around Athens. The first Blackcaps, Robins, Serins, Chaffinches, Black Redstarts etc. appeared and the fields around Athens that were almost empty during the summer, are now full of life.
The pictures shown here are only a small sample of the pictures I made during this Autumn. Don’t forget to click on the pictures to view them in larger (and sharper) versions with their Exif Data.
By petros, on September 15th, 2014
The summer months are the most challenging for wildlife photography in Greece. The extreme heat and the harsh light, make things quite difficult. I have come to the conclusion that the best habitats for nature photography during this period are forests and especially the forests located high on the mountains. In this environment the temperature is not too high and the shadows under the trees help to avoid the harsh summer light despite the high ISO that has to be used.
This summer I have managed to go for 2-3 short excursions in the forests of Giona. I managed to get pictures of several forest species like Woodpeckers, Tits, Nuthatches, Treecreepers and more. This photo of a Black Woodpecker is just an example.
Don’t forget that you can always see the pictures in larger/sharper versions together with the Exif Data just by clicking on them.
By petros, on July 19th, 2014
It is now more than one month since my visit to lake Karla in central Greece near the city of Volos. The lake is in fact a water reserve which was created in recent years to irrigate the area. At the same place in the past there was one of the biggest wetlands in Greece. That was before it was drained to free more land for agriculture use.
The new lake has changed radically all the surrounding area and now the presence of wildlife is evident everywhere! The birds quickly rushed to take advantage of the new habitat created in a place that there were only dry fields before. Migration was over when we arrived. You could see birds feeding their young everywhere in and around the lake area. In addition we saw many young birds that had just left their nest e.g. many Rock Nuthatches, Northern Wheatears etc.
For the last migrants it was the time they were building their nests. This time we met many of these birds carrying nesting material. The White Stork in the first picture is a good example. The highlight of our visit was a pair of Olive-Tree Warblers we found building their nest. This bird species although breeds in Greece it is quite difficult to be found and even more difficult to take decent pictures of it, so I am quite pleased with the picture shown here despite the shadows and the not so clean background.
Don’t forget that you can always see the pictures in larger/sharper versions together with the Exif Data just by clicking on them.
By petros, on May 29th, 2014
I have to admit that I haven’t posted anything new for a while now but that doesn’t mean my photo excursions have stopped. This year the spring migration appeared to be somewhat sluggish and the birds fewer compared to last year. Perhaps this year’s weather with the constant South winds wasn’t very helpful on that.
Nevertheless although I didn’t manage to visit Lesvos this year, my established photo excursions to other places such as Mesolonghi, Kalamas river estuaries, Spata and others, offered a great number of nice photographs. It’s just that many other obligations during all this time prevented me from sharing my experiences and photos with you. I hope that this will change now.
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From now on all photos will be uploaded in higher resolution. If you want to see them in full resolution (together with Exif data and other info as always) you have to click on them with your mouse.
By petros, on March 25th, 2014
It is now several days since my winter visit to lake Kerkini with the usual company of George and Michael.
This year the water level was lower than usual and as a result, the wintering wildfowl was not that close to the shore. Nevertheless, with some more effort and some luck I managed to get a few decent pictures. For example this Red-crested Pochard that was feeding close to the shore without caring about our presence.
The Dalmatian Pelicans were of course all over the place and they were already in their impressive breeding colours. We also visited our favourite Woodpecker spot even though everyone told us that “this year there are no Woodpeckers there”. Well after five Greater-spotted Woodpeckers, three Green Woodpeckers and the female Grey-headed Woodpecker shown in the photo below, we knew that they were wrong. It just takes some careful search and patience in order to find these species.
The Management Authority has published a great Guide for the lake. The new guide includes the history of the lake, together with info about the fauna and the flora of the area, conservation efforts and problems and even accommodation info. There is of course an English version of the guide and you can get it for free from the Information Centre located at the Kerkini village. I am really impressed with this guide and I think that it is well worth the visit.
By petros, on January 25th, 2014
During Christmas holidays I managed to visit Kalamas river estuaries for one more time. Beside all common duck species, waders and a relatively large number of Cattle Egrets which can be spotted there easily during Winter, other notable observations include at least three Greater Spotted Eagles, an Osprey that was quite far away, many Dalmatian Pelicans and a large group of Sandwich Terns.
In addition I discovered a couple of great photo locations. In these newly discovered spots I managed to take nice photos of some interesting bird species that I had never managed to photograph in the area before. A good example is the photo of a Golden Plover shown here.
In this post when you click on the photos, you will not only see the Exif data as always, but you will also see them in a larger and sharper version. Enjoy.
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