Birds of Greece

Ελληνικά/In Greek

I was born in Agia Sotira, a remote village of North Western Greece, a place which I try to visit as often as I can. It is nestled in a side of a mountain some 1,000 meters above sea level and has varied habitat (small stream nearby, forested areas with Oak, Chestnut & Walnut trees as well a few agricultural fields). All of my visits to date were made in August to coincide with summer family vacations. I am sure that there are a lot more birds to be had during the spring and fall migrations but that is a theory that I will not be able to test for some years to come. Sombre Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Crag Martin, Icterine Warbler and Eurasian Golden Oriole are some of the many birds that I have seen and photographed in Agia Sotira.

Kastoria Lake is nearby Agia Sotira (only some 30 minutes away by car) so I make sure I visit every time I go to Greece. It provides good opportunities to observe some nice species such as Dalmatian Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorants and White Wagtail.

In the summer of 2004 I spent a week at Skiathos which had a lot more tourists than birds. Although there were very few birds there, it does have one specialty: Eleonora’s Falcons. This bird gives the Peregrine a run for its money in my all time favorites category...