Holiday to Halkidiki, Greece

At last!

9 days in a super hotel on the Kassandra Peninsular near Thessaloniki.

Just the wife and I so I could do a bit of birding everyday but not for long spells!!

The Sani Beach Hotel is top notch and due to my job got a fantastic deal there, I knew Jen would like it but my ulterior motive was that it is adjacent to a protected area called the Sani Wetlands located to the back of the hotel and seperated from the beach by mature pine forest. The wetalnds themselves comprise of the first lake which is freshwater and a further 3km on, a saltwater lake.

I had managed a two day work trip there last May and was really impressed by the volume of water birds so hoped an autumn trip might be equally fruitful.

Sadly, they had a really dry summer which was continuing when we arrived. Instead of the 20 degrees and showers we were expecting it was 30 degrees and clear blue skies for the whole week - great for sunbathing but the wetlands were much reduced in size and much further away from the hotel meaning at least 40 minutes walk to get to the first area.

Subsequently, I actually saw fewer birds and distances were so great that photography was out of the question.

Still, there were some highlights so here goes!

Common birds which were seen frequently were House Sparrows which incorporated the odd Spanish Sparrow, Hooded Crows, Yellow Legged Gulls, Collared Doves, Blackbirds, Starlings, Great Tits, Robins (though more wary than ours) and Chaffinch. These could all be seen around the hotel grounds.

My first foray though the pine woods gave me Spotted Flycatcher which was actually very common! I also saw my first ever Wood Warbler and Tree Pipit but sadly I was too slow getting my camera sorted for photos.

The volume of birds that we consider quite scarce but were relatively common there continued and soon I had Red Backed Shrikes, Woodchat Shrikes and Winchat to add to my list.

As I approached the edge of the wood, there is a work yard where they pile up sea weed collected from the beach. This area become a popular spot and over the week gave up Wheatear, Crested Lark and some stunning Cirl Buntings.

On various days I also added the odd single bird such as Stonechat and Corn Bunting though the former was too fast for my camera!

The wetlands themselves proved mainly disappointing with far fewer waders than I had expected and most were too far away for photos though I did get Black Winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper and Turnstone. There were one or two others but in honesty they were too distant to give a positive ID.

On my last full day there had beed a strong North Westerly wind and so I made my way down to the first lake. Though no different or nearer waders I did get a mitful of ducks including Mallard, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pochard and best of all Ferruginous Duck - again though too far for photos. Better still was a large influx of Grey Heron with the odd Purple Heron, a few Little Egrets and a handful of Great White Egrets. There were shed loads of Marsh Harrier quartering and a fly by Sparrowhawk too. A flash of colour exited the nearby reeds and a Kingfisher flew past.

I was just about to leave the lake when I saw a bit of movement in some nearer reeds. A quick scan gave a lovely Squacco Heron hunting.

The long trudge to the salt water lake did allow fleeting views of a female Blackcap, a few Willow Warblers and a single Whitethroat.  On a nearby field a pair of Kestrels were hovering and some distant Yellow Wagtails feeding.

I eventually got to the lake and was stunned to find there was not a single bird on the lake!

To say I was a bit miffed was an understatement but I did continue to scan the dried out mudflats nearby.

A White Wagtail was some distance away but at least I had added another species to the list.

After a while I had seen a few more and as I made my way back to the path for my long walk back to the hotel I noticed another Wagtail which was different and had a completely different jiz to the White Wagtails. It was feeding on its own. It was distant but I did get close enough to get a few crappy photos and excitedly decided I had seen my first Citrine Wagtail. I later found out this is the only place in Greece they had been regularly recorded and only ever in October!

The final morning of our holiday allowed a for a quick walk and sea watch adding the not infrequent Audouins Gull.

Overall a not hugely impressive 50 species but, nevertheless a few highlights.

I did not see and mammals but there were a handful of butterlies including Greek Clouded Yellow and Wall Brown. Dragonflies were everywhere and I did manage one photo but am not sure of the species.

I need to get some UK birding in soon so off to North Norfolk next month for a few days!