Talk over with to our subsequent nationwide park in Greece began with a very good fish dinner within the Porto Lagos harbour, overlooking the pine woodland with a heronry, and we had Black-crowned Night time-Herons, Little Egrets and Gray Herons coming and going, a lone White Stork, a Not unusual Tern, and a large number of Yellow-legged Gulls within the harbour, at the side of part a dozen cats round our desk.
Mainly, Porto Lagos is a hamlet constructed, you were given it, round a harbour, on an isthmus isolating Lake Vistonida (extra about it later) from the Aegean Sea. On its jap aspect lies a small archipelago of tamarisk-overgrown islands and reedbeds (recognized a number of the overseas birders because the Church Marshes) and with a sequence of part a dozen massive coastal lagoons farther east. To the west, there are a couple of extra lagoons and the saltworks.
Throughout Porto Lagos (220 km / 140 mi east of Thessaloniki) lies the most important nationwide park of Greece, Nestos Delta and the Vistonida-Ismarida lakes and lagoons advanced, based in 2008. Its beach has a complete duration of 100 km and is mainly sandy with easy, low-relief coasts. Farther on, in depth spaces of sand dunes, salt marshes, coastal lagoons, aquatic lake-vegetation, rainy meadows, reedbeds and riparian forests seem. The world is likely one of the maximum necessary in Greece for birds, comprising greater than 270 species. In spite of everything, of the no less than 20 species of mammals provide right here, the otter, the jackal, and the wildcat surely deserve a point out.
The most efficient birding season this is the wintry weather when waterbirds come to overwinter in the ones lagoons, adopted via migratory seasons and, to a lesser extent, breeding season. And we have been right here within the very remaining days of June, simply after that “to a lesser extent” excellent season. Alright, there also are seashores, swimming, sun-bathing? As everyone knows via now, sun-bathing is a life-threatening task, and for swimming, one must find a seaside the place the ocean could be greater than knee-deep. Thankfully, overdue June is the best season for the in the community brewed snake-cold Vergina lager within the private coloration via some gull-filled seaside.
We have been primarily based on the finish of Porto Lagos, overlooking the ocean and continuously having a salty sea breeze. I don’t be mindful such salt-scented air any place else in Greece. Dalmatian Pelicans and Eurasian Spoonbills have been flying above the seaside, from time to time above the lodge lawn, whilst Golden Oriole and Scops Owl may well be heard.
West of Porto Lagos lies Mandra Seaside, a number of kilometers lengthy, consisting of 1 seaside bar, one camp, one tavern, a line of summer season cottages, and several other transient wetlands within the hinterland, in most cases flooded in wintry weather and spring. In overdue June, best smaller lakes and a couple of ponds remained. There have been a number of Collared Pratincoles (quite common and popular within the space) and one Levant Sparrowhawk even earlier than the seaside turn-off. Quickly after it, making a song Black-headed Bunting awaited me on a cord on the proper, with two Woodchat Shrikes within the bush on the left-hand aspect of the street. I hadn’t reached the ocean but when one Eurasian Oystercatcher flew via the threshold of a most commonly dry marsh.
Within the marshland at the back of the summer season cottages there have been Black-winged Stilt and Black-tailed Godwit, 3 dozen Collared Pratincoles, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Hoopoe, a couple of Ecu Bee-eaters, Not unusual Kestrel, Eurasian Penduline Tit, a large number of Crested Larks, Not unusual Reed Warbler, Nice Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler (it’s heard in any wetland, however seeing them is a completely other factor – one used to be lower than a metre from me, however on the different aspect of an overly dense oleander bush), in addition to two Calandra Larks (this time I had my binoculars in a position in time).
Lunch on the tavern introduced a Ecu Serin, and the force again added a Little Owl on an indication submit via the street, and a couple of hovering birds: White Stork, Nice White Pelican and a Brief-toed Eagle. Slightly in a while, saltworks contained greater than 100 Higher Flamingos, plus one in all a number of roadside Ecu Rollers.
Straight away north of Porto Lagos lies massive Lake Vistonida – the lake on the center of a scandal that introduced down the Greek govt 15 years in the past! Constructed within the tenth century, Vatopaidi is one in all 20 monasteries at Greece’s self-governing monastic neighborhood of Mount Athos. Amongst their Byzantine manuscripts, the Vatopaidi priests discovered a identify, bestowed within the 14th century via Emperor John V Palaiologos, to the Lake Vistonida (now a countrywide park) and someway satisfied govt officers that the land across the lake used to be price way over the 55 million euros an impartial appraiser later assessed its worth. Then, they used that upper valuation to invite for 1000000000 euros’ price of presidency assets. In spite of everything, the priests exchanged their lake, which generated no rents, for top, state-owned actual property that did. Within the alternate they won 73 other govt homes, estimated between 1 billion and a pair of billion euros. The brand new Minister of Finance filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Vatopaidi Monastery, and the case went on for years, till all the ones concerned, each priests and ministers, have been acquitted. How the priests did this remained unclear.
East of Porto Lagos lies the Porto Lagos Lagoon, a.okay.a. Daliani Lagoon, a.okay.a. Church Marshes. The turn-off isn’t marked via any signal, giving the guests the influence that it should be a mistaken flip. The street, most commonly tarmac, but additionally a tight macadam, leads during the archipelago of tamarisk-overgrown islands. The jap aspect of this space could also be visual from the street to the Fanari Village. There have been a number of Not unusual Shelducks and 100 extra Higher Flamingos (underneath), Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Nice White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Spoonbills, Ecu Honey-buzzard, Brief-toed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Bee-eaters, Lesser Gray and Woodchat Shrikes, Penduline Tit, Crested Lark, Crimson-rumped Swallow, and so on.
Massive lagoons farther east are at their best possible in wintry weather, however I must point out yet another chook. I used to be heading to Lake Ismarida, as it’s recognized amongst birders below its new identify, however I were given misplaced and requested some farmers for Ismarida – they obviously have by no means heard of it (ask for the previous identify, Limni Mitrikou). No matter, they pointed me to the closest lagoon and that’s how I discovered myself on the isthmus between the ocean and Ptelea Lagoon (duvet photograph). There’s a abandoned seaside at the isthmus, with best 7 sun-umbrellas and no other folks! Deep throughout the lagoon, there have been a large number of pinkish-white blobs shimmering within the warmth: some 500 Higher Flamingos. But, a lot nearer to me, on a naked salty flooring, just a little brown chook took flight making a song her center out. I recorded the music, which Merlin app recognized as a Skylark’s, however I had sufficient enjoy to understand higher: it grew to become out to be a Higher Brief-toed Lark.
Now, I’m executed. Again to Fanari for some well-merited snake-cold Vergina Lager.