Birding in Kerkini
Lake Kerkini is a wetland with global importance! Although Lake Kerkini is an artificial lake has great biological value. The great value of Lake Kerkini is due to the position of the lake in relation with the immigrating routes that birds follow, the relatively small depth, and also due to the high productivity due to the periodically flooding with water in the enhancement of nutrient elements – the area of the lake varies from 50.000 acres to 80.000acres depending on season.
Protected by the Ramsar Convention and from Greek and European Laws, Kerkini Lake is part of the network “Narura 2000”, and is a birding paradise! Birdwatchers can find in Lake Kerkini more than 300 bird species, where in total more than 10.000 birds leave in Lake Kerkini! Due to the great biological value of the Lake, in the area can be found more than 620 species of plants, 10 species of amphibians, more than 30 species of fishes and more than 120 species of butterflies!
In Lake Kerkini nest Squacco Herons, Purple and Little Egrets, Common Coots and Grebes! Birdwatchers can reach with a canoe or a boat from a distance the nests of Great Cormorants, Pygmy Cormorants, Black –crowned Night Herons and Squacco Herons in the old watercourse. Also Great-crested and Little Grebes and Little Bittens can be found around the Lake Kerkini.
Ducks like the White-headed Ducks, Red-crested Ducks and Ferruginous Duck can be found in small number in Lake Kerkini as well as a great number of Gadwall and huge flocks of Pochard.
Little Ringed Plovers, Black-winged Stilts and Northern Lapwing nest in the sandy islets nest while on the river banks nest on the ground European bee-eaters, Bank swallows and Common Kingfishers.
Kerkini Lake holds a variety of Warblers as well such as the Olive-tree, the Barred Subalpine, and the Olivaceous that is possible to be found in the lower scrublands. Great Reeds, Marsh and the Cetti’s Warblers it also possible to be found in Lake Kerkini! Of course passerines like Golden Orioles and Hoopoes is most likely to be observed in the Lake and also 4 different species of Shrikes, including the Masked Shrike as they reproduce in the Lake.
Lake Kerkini is surrounded by Mountain Belles and Mavrovouni. Due to their dense vegetation birdwatchers can search for birds of Prey, as in the mountains nest quite few of them like the Lesser Spotted and the Bonelli’s Eagle, the Great Spotted Eagle, the Peregrine Falcon, the Eurasian Hobby, the Levant Sparrowhawk and the Northern Goshawk.
For more information on birding tours in Lake Kerkini please visit www.birding-tours.gr or www.odysseytours.gr
