Date Cost Availability Deposit Single Supp	31 Aug - 07 Sep 2026 £3685.00 11 Spaces £735.00 £250.00 Book Now

Leaders	Sally Nowell and Attila Steiner
Flights	British Airways, scheduled Outbound: Morning, Heathrow-Thessaloniki Inbound: Afternoon Thessaloniki-Heathrow

Day 1	Flight from London to Thessaloniki. Transfer to our base for the week - 7 nights Limneo Guesthouse.
Days 2-7	From our base we explore Lake Kerkini, Axios Delta and the surrounding foothills and mountain areas, including a boat trip on the lake.
Day 8	Return flight from Thessaloniki to London.

Weather	Temperatures should be pleasant during the day, but cooler at night. Rain or strong winds can occur, 10-25ºC.
Walking	Will be easy to moderate, with some hillside walking on stony trails.
Meals	All included from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 8.
Insects	Biting insects should not be a problem but you may wish to bring repellent.
Accom	Twin and single rooms all ensuite.
Group	12

A single base and relaxed holiday around Lake Kerkini, home to Dalmatian and White Pelicans and a wide variety of waterbirds, raptors, songbirds and butterflies.

	*   Thousands of birds!!!!!
	*   Explore Lake Kerkini, a designated Ramsar site, one of the finest wetlands in Europe
	*   Single-centre relaxed late summer holiday in an excellent family-run guesthouse
	*   Spend time in unspoilt and varied habitat
	*   Peak migration time for raptors, songbirds and wildlfowl
	*   Boat trip on Lake Kerkini
	*   Take time to enjoy butterflies, dragonflies and plants

Day 1	After landing at Thessaloniki Airport, we meet our other guide, Attila Steiner and transfer to Lake Kerkini, located some 60 miles north. Our base throughout the week is the comfortable Limneo Guesthouse, located just a short drive from Lake Kerkini. Around the guesthouse we hear Little Owls throughout the night and pelican fly-overs are part of the thrill of being so close to the lake and in the midst of some great birding areas in the nearby Belles Mountains. The welcoming guesthouse offers delicious breakfasts and comfortable accommodation and dinner is taken in some fabulous local restaurants.
Days 2-7	We shall make trips out from our base, either to the lake or to the nearby mountains and the Axios river delta on the coast. Lake Kerkini is renowned as one of the finest wetland sites in Europe. It attracts tens of thousands of wetland birds throughout the year. In late September, along with a great variety of resident species, migration is in full swing, with many ducks, shorebirds, raptors and passerines present. Up to a 1,000 Dalmatian Pelicans winter here and White Pelicans should still be around in good numbers. There is much to see and do in this delightful and relatively undiscovered corner of Greece and we shall divide our time between the various habitats around and also to what’s about locally at the time. The lakeshore is a good spot for herons and egrets, Water Rail and Little Crake. It’s also a great place to look for butterflies and dragonflies, including beautiful Swallowtail and Clouded Yellow. We’ll enjoy a boat trip, getting us close to the birds. Eurasian Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Avocets and Great and Little Egrets feed in the shallow water and hundreds of Great Crested Grebes frequent the fish-rich waters. Migrating terns pause to feed in good numbers and we are likely to see Whiskered, White-winged Black and Caspian Tern. Huge flocks of Pygmy Cormorants float on the water and when they take to the skies they are a truly spectacular sight. The reeds around the lake can hold Little Bittern and Penduline Tit. The riverine forest is heaven for woodpeckers! Old poplars, willows and ash trees provide great habitat for seven woodpecker species. We shall be looking especially for Middle Spotted and Grey-headed Woodpecker, but White-backed, Black and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are found in the forests here as well. Through the grazed grassland, migrating Red-footed Falcons like to stop on their way south and we may catch up with colourful Rollers and Bee-eaters before they complete their migration. On another day we shall explore the Kroutsia Mountains. Hawfinch is common here and others to watch out for include Woodchat Shrike and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. These mountains hold good numbers of raptors. Black Kite and White-tailed, Lesser Spotted and Booted Eagles all occur here. In the foothills of the Belles Mountains Long-tailed Tits and the scarce Sombre Tit forage in the bushes. Hoopoes can be around and migrating warblers and flycatchers share more secluded spots with butterflies, including the subtly beautiful Hermit. We shall explore the grazed slopes and disused quarry area northeast of the lake. This bird-rich habitat of scattered bushes and small trees can hold Eastern Subalpine and Sardinian Warblers. Driving higher into the Belles Mountains, we reach an area that has Black Woodpecker, Spotted Nutcracker and Crested Tit in the pinewoods, with Rock Bunting on the more open alpine slopes. The shy and ever-elusive Rock Partridge is also possible, if we are lucky! We’ll look for Blue Rock Thrush and Western Rock Nuthatch that breed on the limestone cliffs. The rock is also used by raptors from the lowlands seeking thermals upon which to soar into the hills. Short-toed Snake Eagle and Long-legged Buzzard are regular visitors. We shall take a day trip to the coast, approximately a 90 minute journey from Kerkini. On the shores of the Aegean Sea, the Axios River Delta is home to a range of coastal wetland species. We may find a good range of migrating waders, gulls and terns here, including Stone Curlew, Wood Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stint, Spotted Redshank, Mediterranean and Slender-billed Gulls and Gull-billed and Little Terns. Greater Flamingos often linger throughout the autumn here. After our days out birding, we shall always return to our guesthouse before being taken to a local restaurant for a delicious meal, each one of these a real holiday highlight!
Day 8	After breakfast we travel back to Thessaloniki for our flight back to the UK.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Rock Partridge	Stone Curlew	Eastern Subalpine Warbler
Dalmation Pelican	Wood Sandpiper	Sombre Tit
Bittern	Caspian Tern	Penduline Tit
Purple Heron	White-winged Tern	Western Rock Nuthatch
Glossy Ibis	Eagle Owl	Red-backed Shrike
Black Stork	Little Owl	Woodchat Shrike
Greater Flamingo	Black Woodpecker	Spotted Nutcracker
Lesser Spotted Snake Eagle	Middle Spotted Woodpecker	Hawfinch
Short-toed Eagle	Black-eared Wheatear	Cirl Bunting
Red-footed Falcon	Blue Rock Thrush	Rock Bunting