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Page 2 Site 1 William Oliver had Rock Nuthatch, Crag Martin and Goosander from near the restaurant. Kevin Anderson reports that there was a good, apparently recent, observation tower along the isthmus and a new hide near the restaurant. This overlooks the stream between the two lakes and provided great views of 'good numbers' of Dalmatian Pelicans. However, Bill Shepherd reported only an old observation tower which was low enough to be almost obscured by trees. Site 2 William Oliver also had Great White Heron and Bittern from here and Kevin Anderson had over 100 White-winged Black Tern. Site 3 William Oliver couldn't find the observation tower but did see Barred Warbler – this is one of the few parts of Greece where they reliably occur in the breeding season (see also Page 34, site 4). Page 4 Bill Shepherd spent over 3 hours in the forests here without seeing or hearing any woodpeckers – further evidence that the White-backed can be difficult to locate, even in spring. Page 6 Site 1 From here William Oliver had thousands of waders including the spectacle of 1000 Avocet. Page 8 Site 2 Birds just offshore included 4 Dalmatian Pelicans (W Oliver). Site 3 Completely dry in August 1996! (W Oliver). Page 10 Site 2 Birds in August 1996 included Marsh Sandpipers, 16 Night Herons and 15 Temminck's Stints (W Oliver). Site 3 Again this proved a good site for pratincoles, with over 50 hawking over the fields (W Oliver). Site 5 Extra birds here were White-winged Black Tern and Pygmy Cormorant (W Oliver). Page 12 Site 1 Apart from the usual gulls there were also 2 Red-necked Phalaropes and a Marsh Sandpiper (W Oliver). Ken Musgrove had lots of waders including Marsh Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper and 12 Stone Curlew plus 34 Dalmatian Pelicans and, offshore, over 40 Black-necked Grebe. Site 4 Good views here of a Broad-billed Sandpiper. Epanomi Lagoon was totally dry in August 1996 (W Oliver). Page 14 Site 1 The Mobil garage no longer exists but W Oliver still managed to find the track. Over 30 Dalmatian Pelicans were on the lake. Ken Musgrove reported lots of waders in late August plus the spectacle of thousands of Greater Flamingo. New site: Sani Beach wetland, Halkidiki Ken Musgrove reported an impressive selection of birds around a wetland area behind the Sani Beach Hotel. The many waders, terns, herons, shrikes, warblers and raptors included Caspian Tern, Purple Heron and Levant Sparrowhawk. Page 18 Site 1 The pools seem to have been turned into a rubbish tip so the area was a waste of time apart from a Levant Sparrowhawk on a telegraph pole. However, W Oliver found some more lagoons by following the road south from the church in Agiasma village (c. 10 km NW of Keramoti on the airport road). He was rewarded by 7 Spur-winged Plovers and 16 Dalmatian Pelicans. New site: riverine forests Roads east from the village of Hrissoupoli lead to a café and picnic area and tracks south from here follow the river for a short distance through riverine forest. This is great for birds such as Golden Oriole and, in May 2004, there was also a pair of Masked Shrike. Other birds in the area include 3–4 pairs of Lesser Spotted Eagle and at least one breeding pair of White-tailed Eagle, though these are likely to be difficult to see. Another place to access the riverine scrub is by finding a track that goes east from Keramoti towards the delta of the river – the highlight here was a female Levant Sparrowhawk collecting twigs, presumably for a nest (Dave Gosney). Page 20 In August 1996, Sites 4 and 6 were 'awesome' with literally hundreds of Night Herons, Spoonbills, Squacco Herons, Little Egrets, Little Stints and Black-tailed Godwits plus 94 Dalmatian Pelicans, 70 White Pelicans, 14 Great White Egrets, 2 Glossy Ibis, 2 Caspian Terns, 10 Ferruginous Duck, 2 Red-throated Pipits and a Levant Sparrowhawk. There were also hundreds of Pygmy Cormorants and thousands of Great Cormorants at Sites 2 and 7 (W Oliver). Site 1 is only good for birds when the water levels are low, which is often not the case. The hills at Site 2 can be reached via tracks to the south. A walk along these tracks should produce Sombre Tit. Site 5 now has a colony of Dalmatian Pelicans which nest on the floating pontoons that have been provided for them. The trees around here also have a substantial colony of herons and cormorants; you may be able to visit this site by boat from Mandraki. Site 6 was perhaps the best area in May 2004 when there were groups of White and Dalmatian Pelican along the river and herons, including one Great White, on the flooded areas nearby. This area is reached by following a track immediately south of the bridge over the river (before the track by the little blue shrine). Site 9 has been reported as completely dry, though it still had 2 Glossy Ibis in August 1996 (W Oliver). Page 23 In August 1999, W Oliver found the following here: Site 1 had only a few waders but 2 Broad-billed Sandpipers were amongst them. Site 3 was predictably dry by August. Site 7 was excellent with birds such as 12 Great White Egret, 101 Spoonbill, 14 Marsh Sandpipers and a White-winged Black Tern. Site 8 was again superb for pelicans, with over 300 Dalmatians and 4 Whites. New site: Lafri and Lafrouda lagoons Further west along the coast from the saltpans are two more lagoons, the smallest of which (Lafrouda) had breeding Gull-billed Tern and a hawking Hobby when we visited in May 2004. New site: Karatza, and Aliki lagoons Further east along the coast from 'Pelican pool' (more correctly called Xirolimni lagoon) are two more coastal lagoons, Karatza and Aliki which are worth checking. We had dozens of Curlew Sandpipers at Aliki lagoons in May 2004. Page 27 Once one of Europe's most exciting wetlands, this was almost completely dry in August 1996. The best birds were 2 Isabelline Wheatears and a few raptors such as Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle and Booted Eagle (W Oliver). There is now a new road along the route of the E5, so the Hotel Plotini is now to the north of the main road (Bill Shepherd). (And this site is 15 km east of Alexandropolis, not, of course, Thessaloniki – oops, sorry.) Site 1 still had Masked Shrike in May 2007 but Bill Shepherd warns about parking near the little chapel at the top of the hill; it is sometimes visited by coachloads of visitors so make sure you leave room for the coach to turn. In 2004, the lagoon at Site 3 was about to be re-flooded as part of a management program that includes viewing facilities such as hides. Hopefully this will help to restore at least part of the delta to its former glory. The only Spur-winged Plovers we saw in May 2004 were from the embankment at Site 11. New site: 'western pools' There are more pools to the west of the river that flows past Hotel Plotini. To get there from Loutros, head back towards Alexandropolis for about a kilometre and look out for a road to the left. Follow this as far south as you can and you'll see various pools and lagoons. How good they are will depend on the water levels, but they are worth checking for gulls and terns. Slender-billed Curlew has been reported from what is shown on the map as 'the estuarine area'. Page 30 The gap in the reeds at Site 2 produced great views of a male Little Crake. The 'wet area in spring' marked on the map was still excellent for waders in August with 18 Broad-billed Sandpipers, 80 Marsh Sandpipers, 20 Spotted Redshanks, 2 Glossy Ibis, etc. (W Oliver). M A Reynolds reported several good birds here, especially by the pools shown on the east side of the lake. These included Little Crake in spring and Rose-coloured Starlings in late summer. Birds on the main pool in September included Dalmatian Pelicans and Broad-billed Sandpiper. Page 32 The Eagle Owls were heard but not seen but an Eleonora's Falcon was some compensation (W Oliver). Site 1 In May 2004, Olive-tree Warblers were practically unmissable in the bushes just over the railway line (DG). Site 2 In May 2004, DG had breeding Eastern Orphean Warblers and Subalpine Warblers by the road just before the quarry. Page 34 Site 1 A pair of Masked Shrikes bred in the fields just east of Dadia village (W Oliver). In May 2004, I had a singing Barred Warbler in roadside bushes found by taking the road north from Dadia village but turning right, not left at the T-junction and walking a few hundred yards up the hill. Site 2 The reception area is now fully developed with a bar and good accommodation. Site 3 Unless you want to wait until 10am and take a minibus full of tourists, the only way to reach the hide is to walk for about an hour from the reception area. The period before 9am is usually best for vultures anyway. In August 1996 there were 25 Egyptian, 20 Black and 12 Griffon Vultures at the carcasses (W Oliver). Bill Shepherd warns that it's worth checking that the vultures ARE being fed, before you undertake the walk; he had no Black Vultures on his visit, perhaps because the site hadn't been stocked recently. The area around the hide is good for Eastern Bonelli's Warbler (DG). Site 4 Some of the old olive groves along this road have Olive-tree Warbler and Eastern Orphean Warbler. Look especially beside the highest stretches of the road (DG). Site 5 W Oliver again had superb views of Lanner Falcon here, which must make it one of the most reliable sites for this species in Europe. Other birds included 6 Black Vultures and a Levant Sparrowhawk. Apparently it's OK for birders to ignore the 'no entry' signs and go all the way to the tower (W Oliver). |
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