VERONIA TRACKS AND MARSH - CHIMORRAS QUARRIES - WESTERN BANK OF LAKE KERKINI
WEATHER: a beautiful sunny morning, thunderstorms in the afternoon, then sunny again! Top temp 28C
If you red yesterday’s blog before I added he pictures please go back and look again because there are now several excellent pictures taken by Dancho that you would like.
Today our early morning excursion was to the swamp/marsh area just east of the village of Veronia. In past visits we have seen several species of woodpeckers and a few migrant species in the woodland that surrounds the marsh.
Unfortunately it was pretty quiet there this morning, we never heard or saw a single woodpecker and migrant birds were no-existent. We did see a couple of Hawfinches, a Little Bittern and a pair of levant Sparrowhawks. Dancho heard a far off Kingfisher and we stood by some scrub hoping a Marsh Warbler, that was singing quietly, would pop out but it didn’t.
Another disused quarry area was out destination today, we drove to the far side of the lake to a village called Chimarros, we saw several Rollers along the way also Turtle Doves, Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, Marsh Harrier and lots more.
We spent 2 hours walking the track to the quarry and another hour in the quarry and beyond, it was 12:30 when we left. The whole area was a bird fest, we saw over 70 species, it was amazing, The raptor list was as long as it exciting, this where Dancho is at his best! Lesser Spotted Eagles, we saw two pairs within minutes, then Short-toed Eagles and a pale Honey Buzzard. That was a great start.
the beautiful Spoon-winged Lacewing
Birds in the scrub included Red-backed and Woodchat Shrikes, Olivaceous Warbler, Black-headed and Cirl Buntings, Spanish Sparrows and Hawfinches were flying over regularly. Bee-eaters were always around us and Nightingales ( 1 seen) sang all the time. A Syrian Woodpecker flew over the track and called from a fig tree behind us.
Pyrammidal Orchid
We were side tracked with sightings of butterflies, dragonflies, orchids and interesting insects and the wild flowers, especially poppies, made a beautiful background.
into the quarry area
Once we were in the quarry we found our second target bird, the EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL, a full adult sat in the shade on a steep rock face high above us. At this point raptors began appearing on a regular basis, several sightings were made of Hobby, also Red-footed Falcon and to our great delight an Eleanora’s Falcon which we confirmed from photographs taken at the time.
record shot of the distant EAGLE OWL
We searched he quarry for Ortolan Bunting which had been a regular sighting in previous visits, but we saw none. We walked further along the track where an obliging OLIVE TREE WARBLER, one of our main target birds, showed very well for short intervals, a little further provided good views of Masked Shrike.
Olive Tree Warbler taken by Dancho
A second Olive Tree Warbler gave us even better views and Hawfinches seemed to be constantly flying over, another Olivaceous Warbler showed well too. More sightings of Hobby, Common Buzzard and Short-toed Eagles continued the impressive raptor passage.
Masked Shrike
Eleanora's Falcon taken by Dancho
We drove into Lithotopos for lunch where we had booked a local restaurant for 1pm. From our balcong table we had great views over the dam area of the lake it was crowed with birds. Raptors kept on coming too, we added Black Kite and Booted Eagle to our list and more falcons flew over.
Within an hour it had all changed, dark clouds loomed above us and a thunder storm erupted, flashes of lightening struck the ground and rain tumbled down. We stayed in the restaurant for an extra half-an-hour enjoying the spectacle, then, as soon as it arrived, the storm disappeared and blue sky reappeared.
three Sparrows not Tree Sparrows, two Spanish and a House Sparrow over the top
We then travelled the entire length of the western shoreline of the lake, stopping a few times to watch birds siting in inlets and open grassy areas. Our best stop produced well over 20 species, it was incredible. At last 50 Turtle Doves were in and around one farm, Bee-eaters were everywhere, Lesser Grey (3) and Red-backed Shrikes dashed about, we saw Golden Orioles, flocks of Spanish Sparrows, Black-headed and Corn Buntings, Yellow Wagtails and many more. We saw two Golden Jackels too!
Black Stork
The shoreline was littered with Cormorants and Pelicans two Black Storks were a treat to see and the number of Great Crested Grebes must have exceeded 100 in this one area.
three Herons two Night and one Grey
Other stops produced new birds for the day list, we saw Night Herons, Squacco Herons, Purple and Grey Herons, a Common Cuckoo and several Great Reed Warblers. By the time we reached the hotel we were exhausted and had amassed a huge day list, it had been another wonderful day at Lake Kerkini.
a Marbled Skipper