Kerkini & Greek Rhodopi

Tours that take the strain out of enjoying Europe’s flora and fauna! Based in just two good quality hotels, these tours have direct flights, and these at kind times of day! And most importantly field trips will be kept to a maximum of six or so hours giving you plenty of time to relax before and after.

Greek Macedonia is a rich hunting ground for the naturalist. Tremendously scenic mountains rise towards the Bulgarian border, flanked by great forests and topped by rock and alpine meadow. Between lies the Strymon River named for Strymon, a Thracian king and personified river-god. Downriver Heracles had some arguments with the Strymon’s waters during his tenth labour!

Our tour visits two very different parts of this beautiful region, Kerkini Lake and its meadows and wetlands, and barely two hours to the east, the high country of the Greek Rhodope. Kerkini’s birdlife has become justifiably famous in recent years, in particular for its large flocks of Pelicans. Both Dalmatian Pelican and White Pelican occur in impressive flocks and we’ll take boat trips out on the lake to get amongst them – the boatmen are tremendously good at getting us close the birds whilst not disturbing their fishing or loafing. Endangered Pygmy Cormorants are another special sight. Numbers of herons and egrets are particularly impressive with abundant Purple Herons and even quite a few Little Bitterns likely during our visit. Overheard hunt Osprey, Harriers and even the occasional White-tailed Eagle. Greek Marsh Frog and Great Reed Warblers provide the soundtrack in wetlands along the edge of lake. These are home to Golden Jackals and abundant dragonflies: Broad Scarlet, Scarce Chaser and Keeled Skimmer are all common as well as many damselflies. In drier turf behind are drifts of Anacamptis morio, and surrounding meadows are full of Larkspurs and Poppies. The honeyed calls of Golden Orioles mark the cooler parts of the day and we’ll see these beauties alongside Hoopoes and Eurasian Bee-eaters. Grey-headed and Middle-spotted Woodpeckers inhabit woodlands where Oak diversity is impressive with six species locally. Other highlights will be Eastern Green Lizard, Eastern Festoons, Large Tortoiseshells, the local Balkan Goldenring, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Masked Shrike, Cirl Bunting and Levant Sparrowhawk.

Drama’s scenery is as one might imagine rather good! Even… The Nestos and Aggitis Rivers drain deep valleys between the high southern outliers of the Rhodope; Phalakron and Orvilos. The snow-streaked upper slopes of these mountains top 2000m though are easily reached by roads that snake their way almost to the top. Here we can find a colourful pastiche of Crocus chrysanthus mixing with blue Scilla biflora and both white and deep pink forms of Corydalis solida subspecies incisilobata. Wands of deep red Saxifraga sempervivum emerge from glaucous rosettes on roadside rocks. Flocks of Yellow-billed Chough carouse across Phalakoron’s slopes and singing from prominences are Rock Thrushes. Rock Partridge is likely and we’ll hope for Horned Lark and Ring Ouzel.

Totally amazing groups of huge-flowered Pulsatilla halleri bloom across alpine turf also littered with tight clumps of Viola perinensis whose lilac and blue heads completely obscure the leaves. At the highest points of the road on Phalakron striking mats of Saxifraga ferdinandi-coburgi mix with the little brown and orange bells of Fritillaria drenowskii and a paradise of the Dogs-tooth Violet Erythronium dens-canis. Over on Orvilos we’ll seek the European Wild Cat. This beautiful feline is reasonably common here and with some careful looking and little luck we have a reasonable chance of a sighting. Amazing Mount Pangeio hosts so many fabulous flowers, the variety is impressive, but it is the mind-boggling show of endemic Paeonia saueri that takes the biscuit!

The Rhodope is famous for its forests, some of the most unspoilt in Europe. We’ll walk among Birch, Beech, Spruce and Oak where we’ll find Nutcrackers and Black Woodpeckers, Crossbills and Crested Tits. There’s wonderful spring ephemerals from Pulmonarias to Orchids and from Primulas to green-belled Fritillaria pontica. Here we’ll find another paeony, true-red Paeonia peregrina, and the strange endemic Lathraea rhodopaea. The beautiful snowbell Soldanella rhodopaea grows here too. Black Storks nest along the river valleys and this area is rich in raptors. Golden Orioles and Middle-spotted Woodpeckers are a frequent sight.