Do you love bird-watching? Do you enjoy beautiful landscapes? Do you like being in a calm, quiet environment, close to Mother Nature?
If the answers to those questions are "yes", then you would definitely want to spend some quality time near lake Kerkini, Northern Greece.
I've been like five, maybe six time there already and it is always different in a way and I always find new things that impress me and want me to take more photos.
It is worth it to have a full round trip around the lake and if you stop to take photos or simply enjoy every time you see something beautiful, this trip would take you a day. There are also few very nice places to have a lunch or coffee. However, prepare your translation app as at some places people there speak only Greek. I find this quite charming as this means there aren't many tourists, right?
At this particular trip, we've went straight to the place where we rented a boat with a local guide. That's close to the village of Butkovon. Interestingly, some of the guides also are either vets or ornithologists who work on several wild-life preserving projects funded by the European Union. So sailing in these boats isn't only bird and wildlife watching, it is also very informative.
We've got ourselves into a nice old wooden boat with a new powerful engine :)
Lake Kerkini is full of life. On the photo below you will see a white layer, those are Dalmatian Pelicans, then two black layers, those are cormorants, closer to the shore and water buffaloes by the land. There are several observation towers along the lake, some of them are permanently open, some require you to contact the locals so they open them for you. If you have long lens those give a good perspective and you could see bird species that are generally afraid of people and hide away usually.
The guides in the boats will usually take you pretty close to the birds if there is enough water, sometimes the water level drops and the mud doesn't allow you to get close. You may want to check that before actually traveling to the lake is you want to see/photograph the pelicans from a short distance ;)
There are probably tens if not hundreds of bird species. Herons, pelicans, seagulls, cormorants and many I don't know, to be honest.
This gray heron was calm enough to let me get closer :)
There is some magic in those black creatures flying together, right?
Pelicans are I think the biggest birds here, I know they fly for thousand kilometers to spend the winter there.
When there isn't that much water the wetlands reveal amazing colors. Don't be tempted to step onto this as the mud is very deep :)
Ah, I almost forgot to mention, there is place called Elodia where we always stop to taste local buffalo products. It is a restaurant with outdoor tables as well for when the weather is nice. I really hope the place haven't gone into bankruptcy during the Covid pandemic as I would love to taste something new and delicious once we're able to travel freely again!
Copyright: Damian Hadjiyvanov, Light Captured
My photo site: https://hadjiyvanov.com/
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Thank you for all the support!
Have a great photo! :P
Going in via the lake should give a terrific viewing of the birds, there really are a lot on that island.
Pelicans are always wonderful to see, depending on how the clean waterways are they will arrive.
Hope the house of eating on your next visit is still there, so many businesses have taken a bad spell with lockdowns implemented everywhere.
!BEER
Thank you :) Indeed, the views are stunning. I forgot to mention the lake is an official national natural reserve so nothing pollutes it, apart from us humans :)
Humans that pollute should be made to go clean as a community duty for a month to teach them the error of their ways @lightcaptured, water is more precious than gold.
Absolutely true! However, on my photo trips to different parts of the world, mostly Europe, I find out that sometimes even in one country the separate counties have different policies with regards to treating and triaging garbage. At some places people don't want to have a single piece of paper or plastic on the ground, at other places people just don't care and garbage is, unfortunately, everywhere. Sometimes I think Covid was just Mother Nature's own way to slow us down a bit and clean itself up.
Have a lovely week!
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Wow! What a beautiful place! I think pineapple is going to make finding tourist destinations much easier the next time we travel. Thanks for the post!
Thank you :) I have to admit, I decided to write about Kerkini today as I browsed @pinmapple map and didn't find any tags near the lake :) I was first :P So it is a good place for inspiration, definitely!
Beautiful look at a place in my family heritage!
I haven't been yet, but it's on my list. As well as islands of the Med, too, where 3 of 4 grandparents are from. And of course, Athens, where my 4th grandparent called home.
Oh, great to hear that, you are a blessed one then!
I have to say, this place is quite different from the other places in Greece I've been to, and I've traveled in your beautiful country maybe a hundred times. I love the area in the week days, Mon-Fri when there are virtually no tourists and it is silent and peaceful and you could have all the time for yourself :)
Thanks for stopping by! :)
Amazing photos and such a great narrative!
Thank you for introducing me to this place. Maybe I'll visit it someday!
Thank you! :) Fingers crossed we are soon free to travel to all the places we want to!
Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1129.
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Thanks a lot, @ybanezkim26, always pleasure to be included in the Pinmapple initiative and to be featured! Happy new week! :)
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Thank you :) Have a good week!
You're welcome @lightcaptured, happy buzzy week to you too! 😊😊😊
Thank you for your appreciation and support, @innerblocks and @thekittygirl! I wish you a great new week!
!BEER
for you
Thank you :)