10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Lake Kerkini National Park in the north of Greece is the very best birding area in the Balkan Peninsula and definitely among the top ten hotspots of Europe. Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. The lake lies at a mere 35 m / 115 ft a.s.l.

Greece 242

Greece Pelicans Birds Stray Dog 242

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills goes on to give greater detail of the former nesting sites in Europe: it could once be found “in southern Germany and Austria, in the valleys of the upper Rhine and Danube Rivers, and in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy and Germany, and perhaps in Hungary and Greece”. Here they were easy to overlook.

Morocco 240

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.

Greece 255

Greece Bulgaria Birds Serbia 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2017

In early August this year, I saw 77 species here (69 on the lake, plus 8 more in the surrounding areas) but barely more than a thousand individuals. In my homeland, some 800 km / 500 mi further north, these ducks are common on migration but very rare in the breeding season and I realized that these are my first young birds – ever.

Greece 203

Greece Killing Pelicans Eagles 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

In short, the accepted view used to be that a small breeding population of Egyptian Vultures inhabited Southern Africa, but has vanished facing the spread of towns, roads and farms. During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. All Egyptian Vulture populations in the world are decreasing.

Sudan 241

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 241

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

I was driving along the legendary eastern levee of the Kerkini Lake in northern Greece ( Google Map ) and, listening to the first Golden Oriole flute, was slowly getting closer to a wooded Mt. Five years ago, I observed Dalmatian Pelicans breeding on purpose-built platforms. But let’s start at the beginning. mi) above the lake.

Greece 202

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 202