Greece: Mainland Spring Migration

Day 1: We’ll begin in Bulgaria - there are a few birds there we can’t find in Greece - with an evening meal in Sofia, where we’ll go through the logistics of the tour. Night in Sofia.

Day 2: We’ll leave after breakfast and drive to the Sakar Mountains area in the south-eastern corner of Bulgaria. It’s a beautiful region with a wide range of habitats from deciduous forests to rolling grasslands, and depending on our arrival time, we may be able to begin birding this afternoon. Night near the Sakar Mountains. 

Day 3: We’ll spend the day around the Sakar Mountains, coming to grips with many common birds, but focusing on highly prized species such as Black Stork, European Honey-buzzard, Short-toed Snake-Eagle, Lesser Spotted, Booted, and Imperial Eagles, Montagu’s Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Syrian Woodpecker, Calandra Lark, and Eastern Orphean Warbler. Night near Sakar Mountain.

Days 4-5: We’ll leave Sakar Mountain on day 4 and head south, crossing into Northern Greece and on to the world famous Evros Delta. En route we’ll stop at Dadia Forest, one of Europe’s raptor-watching hotspots and home to the only breeding colony of Cinereous Vulture in the Balkan region. We may as well get views of Black Kite and White-tailed, Eagle. We’ll spend the balance of the day in other parts of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli National Park where a range of woodland and forest species can be found.

We’ll spend a day in the Evros Delta, on the Greek border with Turkey, and one of Europe’s largest wetlands. We’ll have special permits which grant us access to zones normally off limits. Spectacular birding is possible with thousands of shorebirds, waterfowl, gulls, and terns on offer, as well as Europe’s only stable breeding population of Spur-winged Lapwing. Other species include Ruddy Shelduck, Red-footed Falcon, European Roller, Red-throated Pipit, Great Spotted Cuckoo, and Isabelline Wheatear. Nights near Evros Delta.

Day 6: We’ll begin our journey west along the Aegean coastline towards Porto Lagos and the Delta Nestos National Park. En route we’ll stop near the village of Maroneia where the habitat is perfect for species such as Barred Warbler, Ortolan Bunting, Alpine Swift, Tawny Pipit, Eurasian Wryneck, and Collared and Semicollared Flycatchers. We’ll also search for the impressive Eurasian Eagle-Owl. 

As we approach Porto Lagos we’ll stop at various birding locations, one of which will hopefully bring us face to face with one of our top targets, Spur-winged Lapwing. The coastal area near the Nestos River valley is home to a wide range of terns and gulls, including the elegant Slender-billed Gull. Night in Fanari.

Day 7: We’ll begin by exploring the south face of the Rhodopes Mountains along the Nestos River gorge. In this arresting location we’ll look for Sardinian Warbler, Woodlark, Northern Wheatear (of the localised Balkan subspecies), Crag Martin, and Griffon Vulture. We’ll also search for one of Europe’s most elusive and range-restricted birds, the Rock Partridge. 

We’ll keep the itinerary flexible as we explore the coastline around Porto Lagos, a wonderful wetland landscape with flocks of shorebirds, gulls, and terns. Out to sea we may observe passing seabirds such as Yelkouan Shearwater, while in the lakes and shallow lagoons nearby, we should encounter groups of Greater Flamingo. We also stand a good chance of seeing Collared Pratincole. Night in Fanari.

Days 8-10: We’ll spend the morning of day 8 targeting any missing species around the Nestos Delta before heading towards Lake Kerkini. We’ll investigate wet areas close to the Strymonos River where Dalmatian and Great White Pelicans, all the European egrets and herons, Ferruginous Duck, and Black Stork can usually be found. We should also see multiple species of raptors including Pallid Harrier along with stunning passerines such as Eurasian Golden Oriole, Lesser Grey and Red-backed Shrikes, and Sardinian Warbler.

We’ll take a boat trip on the lake where our experienced local guide will get us close to the pelican colony, giving us wonderful views and good photographic opportunities. We’ll also visit lakeshore riparian forests where colonial waterbird breeders include Squacco Heron, Pygmy Cormorant, Little Egret, and Eurasian Spoonbill.

For a change of scenery, we’ll drive to Belles Mountain where a different range of species awaits including Sombre Tit, Black-headed and Cirl Buntings, Woodchat Shrike, and Hawfinch. We’ll also explore an old quarry where Blue Rock Thrush, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, and Western Rock Nuthatch can usually be found. 

Finally, we’ll also explore the habitats around the town of Siderocastro whose picturesque hillsides support Masked Shrike and the striking Eastern Subalpine Warbler.

Participants who partake in optional pre breakfast walks should encounter Little Bittern, Penduline Tit, Great Reed Warbler, and, with luck, Little Crake, among others. Nights in Lake Kerkini.

Day 11: If we feel it’s necessary, we’ll spend the morning around Kerkini looking for any species we missed before making our way towards Thessaloniki. Should time allow we’ll visit the Axios Delta which will give us more chances at species such as Spur-winged Lapwing and Pygmy Cormorant, plus a final look at the many more common species we’ll have encountered on the tour. Night and final meal in Thessalonki.

Day 12: The tour concludes this morning in Thessaloniki.

2025 Narrative

Everyone gathered in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, where we met up with Minko Madjarov and began our drive south. While still in Bulgaria, we stopped at the 13th century monastery at Rila. Some of our first birds here included Crag Martins nest building in amongst the ancient structure, Song Thrushes, Coal Tits, Firecrest and Goldcrest in the surrounding woodland, and Red-rumped Swallows near our lunch spot. Other stops gave us mighty Griffon Vultures sailing overhead and brief views of Hawfinch.   

Crossing the seamless border into Greece, we reached Lake Kerkini and its environs, our focus over the next few days. An early morning boat trip out onto the lake was an unforgettable experience as we found ourselves surrounded by hordes of Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans, and Great and Pygmy Cormorants, all busy either feeding or nesting. There were masses of Great Crested Grebes out on the open water and good numbers of Squacco, Grey and Purple Herons, and Little Egrets lining the shore.  Coots and Moorhens crept through the reeds and a real highlight were the Little Crakes with a maximum of 5 different birds seen one day.  The reed-fringed canals were the perfect place to see noisy Great Reed Warblers belting out their scratchy song, although Cettis Warbler and ubiquitous Nightingales competed for the loudest noise.  

The shallow edges of the lake were perfect for shorebirds and we counted lots of Wood Sandpipers, together with Greenshank, Black winged Stilts, Pied Avocets, Common Sandpipers, a few Ruff, and best of all, dapper Spur-winged Plovers, a real rarity in this part of Greece. Raptors were plentiful with good numbers of both Marsh Harrier and Common Buzzard and by the time we had left we had added Golden and Booted Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Red-footed Falcon, and a massive adult White tailed Eagle to the raptor list. Add to all that some wonderful Greek taverna meals and Lake Kerkini really was the perfect start to our tour.  

Leaving there to drive south, the day began with great views of Great Spotted Cuckoo by the hotel and ended on the beach near Farari watching Mediterranean and Slender -billed Gulls, Sandwich and Little Terns and a selection of waders including Eurasian Whimbrel and Eurasian Oystercatchers, while nearby woodland held Pied Flycatchers and a smart Wood Warbler. From our base we had access to a variety of habitats. The various coastal lagoons held flocks of Greater Flamingos and Shelduck, lots of Greenshanks and some Little Stints, with striking Yellow Wagtails of the Black-headed form around the margins. We had a single Parasitic Jaeger on the open sea, and the roadside wires, as well as being alive with Corn Buntings and numerous Common Kestrels, also provided perches for our first Woodchat Shrikes.  

The beautiful, wooded slopes, wooded valleys and rocky outcrops of Nestos Gorge were buzzing with Eastern Subalpine Warblers along with lots of Cirl Buntings, Linnets, Eastern Orphean, Eastern Olivaceous and Sardinian Warblers, Woodlarks, and dapper Eastern Black-eared Wheatears. However, the honour of star bird must go to the pair of Rock Partridges we encountered. This is an elusive bird with a very restricted range and it took two visits to a high pass overlooking the gorge before we finally managed to get good views of a pair.  

Heading East, we made a few visits to the open plains and wetlands where we watched Calandra Larks performing their song flight, and Little Gulls and a few Black Terns hawking for insects. As well as the ubiquitous Wood Sandpipers and Greenshanks, there was also a group of Spotted Redshanks and a fly-by Temminck’s Stint.  The journey east continued and we spent time exploring the National Park at Dadia where Eastern Bonelli’s showed well.  

The vast expanse of the Evros Delta provided lots of distractions. This mosaic of scattered lagoons, pools, canals, saltmarsh and reed beds produced a total of 21 shorebirds species. Highlights were the Spur-winged Plovers, the star shorebirds of the delta, and many thousands of Spotted Redshanks, many in smart coal-black breeding plumage. There were groups of Greenshank everywhere, hordes of Wood Sandpipers and Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, several Little Stints and a single Temminck’s Stint, a couple of Red Knot and many flocks of Collared Pratincoles hawking insects overhead. It was great to see an almost constant procession of migrating groups of Little Gulls heading inland, most in full breeding plumage. Away from the water Greater Short-toed Larks joined the Skylarks and more Calandra Larks as we drove in, Yellow Wagtail became common and we found several aptly named Tawny Pipits, as well as catching up with Penduline Tit, sight of which had evaded us so far. As we approached the end of the tour our final stop was in the town of Komotini. Here we explored quiet valleys and grassy hillsides where migration was obvious as we found the smart male Red-backed Shrikes, up to 25 blue Eurasian Rollers in one day, some hard-to-see Golden Orioles, a pair of fluffy Eurasian Eagle Owl chicks in a nest, and a cracking male Masked Shrike.  

The long drive back to Sofia was broken with some birding in Bulgaria once we sailed through the border and the new birds kept coming. We found Lesser Grey Shrike, one of the last migrants to arrive, a pair of Rollers at a nest site, a fine Barred Warbler that sat up for us, and a cute Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which showed really well. We ended the tour back where we had started in Sofia with a fine meal at one of the oldest restaurants in the city. 

-          Steve Rooke