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. However, during a storm the chains that kept it anchored broke off and the raft is now stranded on the shore, accessible to stray dogs and not used for breeding.

Greece 239

Greece Pelicans Birds Stray Dog 239

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

Perhaps the most curious thing about the Great Spotted Cuckoo is its distribution, for it is both a non-breeding Palearctic migrant to Africa, and a trans-Africa migrant. According to The Birds of Africa Volume III , “In much of the tropics present throughout the year, with breeding and non-breeding birds usually indistinguishable”.

Cyprus 230

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 230

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”.

Morocco 236

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 236

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2024

(Bee-eaters are ground nesters, laying their eggs in tunnels that they excavate, making them vulnerable to ground predators like Weasels). The RSPB had opened its watch point for a second year, but it was closed early as though the birds remained in the area for some time, they rarely returned to the quarry.

Greece 130

Greece 2014 Investigation Breeding 130