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Just a look at the map of Greece gives a rough idea of the diversity of its fauna and flora. The geographical location and the variety of habitat types determine its rich bird life. The mainland is characterised by high mountains and very rugged relief alternating with small valleys and farmland. Freshwater lakes and coastal lagoons form an important network of wetlands. And of course, the island archipelagos; more than 2,000 islands, some big, like Crete, some small rocky islets, are the home of nesting seabirds and Eleonora's Falcons. Greece has 196 Important Bird Areas (IBA). Highly threatened species breed here such as Dalmatian Pelican, Ferruginous Duck, Lesser Kestrel, Audouin's Gull, Pygmy Cormorant, Black Vulture, Lammergeyer and Cinereous Bunting. During the winter species like White-headed Duck, Red-breasted Goose and Spotted Eagle frequent the IBA wetlands. Foreign birders, mainly originating from western and northern Europe, mainly seek species of southern and/or eastern European distribution and find it easy to locate birds like Ruddy Shelduck, Long-legged Buzzard, Levant Sparrowhawk, Rock Partridge, Chukar, Roller, Short-toed and Calandra Larks, Red-rumped Swallow, Black-eared Wheatear, Orphean, Sardinian, Rüppell's, Olivaceous and Olive-tree Warblers, Rock and Krüper's Nuthatches, Lesser Grey and Masked Shrikes, Spanish Sparrow, Cretzschmar's and Black-headed Buntings, etc. Spring is definitely the best season to visit Greece. The birds know it and so do the birders. Wherever you go you will enjoy it. West European birders prefer places like the lakes of Mikri Prespa and Kerkini, the Dadia forest, the coastal lagoons of northeast Greece and islands like Lesvos and Crete. There is no tradition of ornithology in Greece. The Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS); the local partner of Bird Life International, was founded in 1982 but it saw a big period of growth during the 90s; its work is expanding all over the country. Although tourism is a very important source of foreign income, the State has never promoted birdwatching tourism. Organised sites with basic infrastructure for birding, are very scarce and it is rather difficult to obtain information. As a result foreign birders mainly visit the few well-promoted birding sites or classic mass-tourism resorts like Rhodes and Corfu. Thus they miss many important under-developed places like the lake Himaditis, the mountains of the northern borders and beautiful islands like Lemnos. Greece is a fine place for birding and is largely unexplored. Trip reports are very useful to the HOS and are most welcome. Information on where to send them can be found at the HOS website. See the individual pages for Crete, Lesvos and Rhodes. |
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Yannis Tsougrakis
Number of bird species: 411
A Birdwatching Guide to Crete
- Stephanie Coghlan 1996 (Arlequin Press)See Fatbirder Review
ISBN: 1900159104
Buy this book from NHBS.com
A Descriptive Lexicon of the Birds of Greece
D Apalodenmus 415 pages, 8 col plates, 415 line drawings. Goulandris Natural History Museum 1994ISBN: 9608519314
Buy this book from NHBS.com
Bibliography of Greek Ornithology
G I Handrinos, T Akriotis & A Legakis - Hellenic ZS 2001ISBN: 127944
Buy this book from NHBS.com
Birds of Greece
Sfikas Paperback 1976 Efstathiadis GroupISBN: 9602261994
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Birds of Pelion
Barbara Martin - 2006ISBN: 9609156118
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Birdwatching in Northern Greece - a site guide
by Steve Mills - Birdwing 2011 (2nd Edition) - 174 PagesISBN: 9780956777003
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DVD - Essence of Evros
DVD - The Essence of Evros ? Dadia Forest/Evros Delta produced and presented by Malcolm Rymer and filmed by him with help from Peter Swayne - 95 minutes available from http://www.wildlifevideos.netSee Fatbirder Review
Finding Birds in Greece
(Gostours Guides) by Dave Gosney Paperback 35 pages (February 1993)ISBN: 0951792075
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List of the Birds of Greece
S Gantlett - Gantlett & Fisher 2000ISBN: 703
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The Birds of Greece
G Handrinos & T Akriotis 1997 (Helm)ISBN: 0713639296
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Where to watch birds in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus
H Welch, L Rose, B Oddie, D Moore & H Sigg 1996 (Hamlyn)ISBN: 0600582329
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BirdLife
Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS) is the BirdLife Partner.
Birdwing
WebsiteBirdWING (BirdWatching In Northern Greece) has been set up to raise awareness of birds in Greece and to raise money for the conservation and restoration of bird habitat in the region. Birdwing has over 600 members from all over the world...
Hellenic Ornithological Society
WebsiteHellenic Ornithological Society is a conservation non-governmental organization for the protection of wild birds and their habitats in Greece. It was founded in 1982 and its mission is to ensure a sustainable natural environment for birds and people...
Natural History Museum - Thessaloniki
http://www.museumsofmacedonia.gr/Anthropological_and_Nat_History/Fysikhs_Istorias_Thessalon.htmlThe Natural History Museum is in the grounds of the Zoo on Kedrinos Hill in the Hilia Dendra district. It opened in 1994, its purpose being to show the public the various species of fauna in Greece. All the animals and birds are displayed in natural attitudes and are in themed groups...
Evros Delta
InformationSatellite View
The delta has a rich diversity of habitats including freshwater lakes, brackish and seawater lagoons, rivers, reedy ditches, tamarisk forest, sandy islets, swamps, reedbeds and a small area of riverine forest. More than 300 species have been recorded...
Kerkini Lake
WebsiteSatellite View
Thousands of birds, both rare and protege, riverside forests, water-lilies in a large area, fish variety and fantastic panoramic view from the mountains of Beles and Krousia give it a characteristic tone...
Nestos Lakes
WebsiteSatellite View
High in the Rhodopian Mountains of Bulgaria, the Nestos River begins its plunge down towering canyons toward the Aegean Sea. At the Greek village of Paranestion, the river slows as it enters the Nestos Valley and the coastal plain of Chrysoupolis. Within this river delta system are seven freshwater lakes and eleven freshwater ponds covering roughly nine square miles. The seven lakes are known locally as Aladjaglola...
Prespa Lake
InformationSatellite View
Declaration on the Creation of the Prespa Park and the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Prespa Lakes and their Surroundings...
Rodia Wetlands Center
WebsiteSatellite View
Rodia Wetland Center promotes eco-tourism and activities to promote the protection of the environment, within the wetlands of the Amvrakikos gulf. here are 293 kinds of birds beside the colony of the Dalmation pelecans at the Rodia lagoon. Contact Minerva Kontopoulou 00306977569203...
Wetlands
WebsiteGreece presently has 10 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of 163,501 hectares...
Zagorohoria National Park
WebsiteSatellite View
Zagorohoria National Park is a paradise for exploring nature, long distance walking and hiking. The Dragon Lake, or Drakolimni, according to tradition houses the dragons of the past...
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2000 [May] - Chris Cameron - The Cyclades
ReportThese notes were compiled from observations taken during my family holiday, based in the Cyclades islands of Greece, with a side trip to the ancient site of Delphi and a day in Athens, between 20th May and 5th June. We visited the islands of Naxos, Santorini, Folegandros and Milos. Some birdwatching was done on most days...
2000 [May] - Honeyguide - Eastern Greece
ReportPDF Format for this report of a Honeyguide Tour.
2001 [June] - Tommy Pedersen
ReportWe arrived in the new Athens International Airport at 11:00 in the morning, and picked up our AVIS rented car. We found AVIS to be the least expensive agency. The car had air-condition...
2001 [May] - John and Monica Kirby - Samos
ReportThis is the first week that British tour operators visit Samos. It is too late for peak migration and several species had already bred and fledged young were present. The severe fires of 2000 may have affected the numbers of birds that were seen...
2001 [October] - Gary Bletsch - Birding Field Notes, Athens, Greece and Environs
ReportAcroplis: This site needs no introduction. Although interesting birds have been found here over the years, it did not seem like a very good site in October, at least ornithologically. I understand that Little Owls occur on the Acropolis; I saw some birds flying around the cliffs at night but could not identify them. The Acropolis has olive groves, cliffs, and of course it has ancient stone buildings...
2001 [September] - Maurice Berry - Northern Greece
ReportMy wife and I stayed at the Nicolaou apartments in Valtos, we were accompanied by my brother and sister in law, as I am the only birdwatcher in the party Valtos was chosen purely from a holiday point of view and not for its birdwatching potential. The area surrounding the apartment was mainly Olive groves with a few stands of deciduous woods, fruit trees etc, the beach and paths around the cliffs about 15 minutes walk away...
2002 - Doug & Lynda Haynes - Samos
ReportWe have just returned from a two week holiday on Samos, we are not experts just keen birdwatchers when we have the time. This is a list of what we saw on our travels around Samos which I hope will be of some interest to you. We stayed at the Dionysos studios which was close to the Zeus appartments in Ireon...Doug and Lynda Haynes report...
2002 [September] - Parga area of North western Greece - John Jennings
Report...let me start with the biggest disappointment I have had from a holiday. This disappointment only came to light two weeks after we got home when our photos were returned to us. I took over 250 photo’s including shots of the Slender billed gull, Squacco Heron, Marsh harriers and Long legged buzzards as well as quite a few butterflies that I couldn`t ID. Also there were shots of many of the sites we had visited. Apparently my SLR camera had developed a fault...
2003 [August] David Griffiths - Naxos
ReportNaxos is one of the larger of the Cyclades reached by a 4-hour quick ferry or a 7-hour slow ferry from Piraeus. From a birding point of view the latter is best, you can get excellent views of both Cory's and Yelkouan Shearwater from the traditional open-deck ferry...
2003 [May] - Ray Thorneycroft - North East Greece
ReportThis trip was organised at very short notice, because our trip to Beidaihe, China was cancelled due to the SARS outbreak. Five birders made the trip, Chris Johnson, Des Parkin, Alan Marshall, Jim Hickson, and Ray Thorneycroft. Chris and Des had birded this area some ten years earlier to the same week. Then the weather had been damp and cool but this time it was dawn till dusk sunshine every day...
2003 [May] David Pearce - Northern Greece
ReportWe travelled with Avian Adventures, leaving Heathrow at 12:30 pm, flying via Athens to Thessaloniki where we arrived at 9:45 pm. Our leader was Carl Powell who works as a Reserve Warden with Suffolk Wildlife Trust and was a very pleasant chap. We were met by Alex Contos, our local guide (not a birder) and driven in a comfortable Mercedes bus, 100 km to our first hotel alongside Lake Kerkini...
2003 [May] Kevin & Susan Boyd - Corfu
ReportTo sum up Corfu is a beautiful island with fields full of wild flowers, which attracts plenty of butterflies and dragonflies. We may not have had a huge species list, possibly because of the heat, but there are a huge numbers of common birds...
2004 [June] - Derek Gruar & Irini Koutseri - Prespa National Park, Northern Greece
ReportThis was my first trip to Greece and I was lucky to have a local guide in my good friend Irini Koutseri, who works for the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP)...
2004 [June] - Richard Bonser - Zakynthos
ReportI visited the island of Zakynthos (Zante) in late June 2004 and stayed in the resort of Tsilivi – the purpose of the trip was more one of relaxation rather than birding, but by hiring a car for the majority of our stay I was able to explore the island`s avifauna...
2004 [May] - Ian Kinley - North East Greece
ReportAs our last few birding trips had all been to Spain, we felt it was time for a change and after discussing several options we plumped for North East Greece. It proved a good choice with highlights including spectacular views of an adult White-tailed Eagle at point blank range, displaying Eastern Imperial Eagles, stunning close views of Spur-winged Plovers, a flock of 20 Broad-billed Sandpipers and a Red-necked Phalarope. However, much of the enjoyment came from seeing lots of really good birds at close range to the almost constant accompaniment of singing Nightingales, Olivaceous Warblers and Black-headed Buntings, with background vocals provided at many sites by Mediterranean Gulls passing overhead...
2004 [September] - Alan Saunders - Thassos
Report...This was intended as a 2-week break with plenty of site seeing and birding. We also had a 2-day trip to the mainland on the 13th and 14th to check out the Nestos Delta and Porto Lagos areas...
2005 [May] - Elaine Gathercole - Samos
Report...This short stroll of 5km wound up through the old village of Ano Ayios Konstantinos to a chapel on a hillside above the village and back. On the way up we were getting our ears tuned in to the warblers, but not identifying many at this stage, and noting some common birds such as Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinches, Jays and Hooded Crows which we then saw nearly every day. As we climbed up, several raptors were wheeling around the hills above...
2006 [November] - Birdwatching Bulgaria - Lake Kerkini, Northern Greece
ReportLack of trip reports and vague rumours for the avian richness of Lake Kerkini, situated in Northern Greece very close to the Bulgarian border (some 20 km), brought us to the shores of this lake on November 11th, 2006...
2007 [May] - Christian Dortu - Northeast Greece
Report...The level of water in the rivers, pools and lagoons was very low. And, therefore, the amount of birds was in consequence...
2007 [May] - Honeyguides
Report2007 [September] - John & Jo Tallon - Yialova, Western Peloponnese
ReportAfter arriving at Yialova in time for lunch we walked as far as the first hide to see what was about. On the way we saw a couple of Common Buzzards circling overhead. The hide windows overlook a mixture of ponds, islands and bushes which are a haven for waterbirds. We saw Little and Great White Egrets, Grey Herons, Little Ringed Plovers and a Curlew Sandpiper...
2008 [May] - Honeyguide - Eastern Greece
Report2009 [May] - Honeyguide - Eastern Greece
Report2009 [October] Tony Jones - Kefalonia
Report"In taking a late summer holiday to Kefalonia we were well aware that, beautiful island though it is, it is not one of the Mediterranean birding hot spots; but our aged bones needed warm sunshine & we'd got a good bargain, so, optics packed off we went."
2010 [April] - Honeyguide - Eastern Greece
Report...The next spectacle to bring us to a halt was a group of six white storks circling in a thermal, shortly to be joined by seven white pelicans and a juvenile Dalmatian pelican – a marvellous opportunity for comparison. In the other direction we picked out a distant flock of about twenty glossy ibises and while we watched them, two flocks, each of about fifty white pelicans, approached each other and joined the same thermal but instead of merging into a single flock they criss-crossed each other's paths in an aerobatic display directly overhead...
2011 [May] - John & Jo Tallon
Report...In addition to the flowers there were good numbers of butterflies to be seen, and on five days we watched common dolphins swimming and fishing offshore, usually as we were sitting at a taverna for lunch. This happened at both Kastri and Mikro. Our main interest however was birds and in late May we seemed to have a mixture of residents already feeding young (Blue Tit, Sardinian Warbler), newly arrived summer visitors (Eleonora’s Falcon, Spotted Flycatcher) and passage migrants (Black Stork, Whinchat)...
2012 [April-May] – Chris Durdin – Peloponnese
PDF Report" ... the celebrated archaeological site of Mycenae ... was much less tidied than we feared ... any bank, wall or rock crevice that was at all shady was full of interesting plants, many in flower: campanulas and clovers, poppies, mulleins and tiny ferns. But the star, seen by many in the group, was rock nuthatch, calling away on ruins ..."
2012 [February] - Hans Schick - Eastern Macedonia & Thrace
ReportFrom February 17 ̶ 26, 2012 I spent 10 days in Greece, especially in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. I was accompanied by Stefan Wedler. During this time we visited the well known birdwatching places of the Évros Delta, the Néstos Delta and the Thracian Lagoons along the northern coast of the Aegean Sea....
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Birding Pal
InformationLocal birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...
Greece Bird Tours
Tour OperatorIf you are in Athens for a few days, why do not take the opportunity and enjoy birdwatching just a few minutes from the city center. Take a look below of the most interesting bird species we might encounter...
Honeyguide
Tour OperatorHoneyguide Wildlife Holidays. If you are looking for a quality natural history holiday, this is a great place to start. The Honeyguide programme offers a mix of the very best of birds and other wildlife in fascinating parts of Europe, suitable both for beginners and more experienced naturalists. All holidays contribute to a local conservation project...
Odyssey Tours - Birding Tours in Greece
Tour OperatorWe offer a variety of solo and escorted birding tours in Northern Greece...
Villa Areti - Kefalonia
AccommodationKefalonia is the largest island in the Ionian archipelaego. It is situated on the western side of Greece approximately three hours flying time from the UK. Kefalonia has not embraced the mass tourism of its near neighbours Zante and Corfu. The stunning natural beauty and tranquility of the island brings back return visitors year after year...
Athens Birds
BlogBirds of Athens...
Hellenic Birds & Wildlife
BlogMostly in Greek but with some English pages – this is a joint effort by an number of Greek wildlife enthusiasts…
Human & Nature
BlogBirding and Wildilife experience in Hellenic Nature!
Koele & The Birds
BlogPhoto BLOG from a Greek birder [mostly in Greek]
Mount Olympus
BlogPhotos of birds and other wildlife taken on Mount Olympus…
Nature in Greece
BlogBirds and birding in Greece... in Greek
Birding, Ecotravelling and Photography in Greece
WebsiteBirdwatching, Wildlife watching & photography in Athens Greece. Browse bird trip reports, suggested locations and nature photos from birds seen in GREECE. The most complete & updated greek birwatching blog, since June 2005...
Birds at Rematia Halandriou - Athens
WebsiteThe pupils of Moraitis school and their teacher Panayiotis Latsoudis studied the behaviour of the birds which live at Rematia Halandriou...
Birds of Imathia
WebsiteA birding BLOG from this part of Greece – unfortuanately for most of us the site is in Greek [I’m sure it would be interesting to us all]
Birds of Kastoria & Agia Sotira
WebsiteAlthough most of the species seen are fairly common, this was an enjoyable birding trip, as I got to observe these birds for long periods of time...
Birds of Thassos
WebsitePhotographs with names in three languages...
Birds of the Aegean
WebsiteHere, many bird species have chosen to settle and, with the passage of time have become adapted to the diverse landscape and the singularities of the Aegean environment. Furthermore, it is here where the great migration corridors of the birds are found. This fine book, published in 1996 by the HOS and now out of print, but is available on-line at the site of the Ministry of Environment.
Birdwatching in Northern Greece
WebsiteBirdWING.eu is raising money and awareness for the conservation and restoration of bird habitat in Northern Greece. It also provides information about birds and birdwatching sites in the region...
Checklist - Birds of Greece
WebsiteDeep in birds
WebsiteThis is an effort to present some photos & videos etc. mainly about birds but also other taxa & nature topics. The majority will be from Greece...
Evros Delta
WebsiteWinter birding in this under watched area of greece... some very nice images...
Ionian Birds
WebsiteThe Ionian islands are a very important flight path and stronghold for various migratory and resident birds. Their rich vegetation and lush climate providing the ideal stop over for birds following their breeding routes from and to Africa. The dense macquis landscapes are especially favoured by the birds...
Skopelos Island
WebsiteIn the dense forests and the fertile meadows of Skopelos Island, 66 species of wild native or migratory birds have been registered, some of those rare and threatened by extinction.
Photographer - Panos Oikonomou
GalleryExcellent all round wildlife photography with many super bird photos...
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This site was last updated on Wednesday, 12th June 2013.