Sample image · Central Macedonia

Birding in Central Macedonia

Home to Lake Kerkini and the Axios Delta National Park, two of the best wetlands in the Balkans.

Best season: All year; spring for breeding birds, winter for pelicans and eagles

Lake Kerkini is famous for its Dalmatian Pelicans, which gather on the water and on the fishermen’s posts, and for its herons, cormorants and raptors. The beech forests of Mount Kerkini behind it hold woodpeckers and forest birds.

The Axios Delta, just west of Thessaloniki, is a vast mosaic of rice fields, salt marsh and coast with waders, terns, herons and raptors in every season.

Key species here

Species	Best time	Where	Chance on tour
Dalmatian PelicanPelecanus crispus	All year; best January to March	Central Macedonia, Western Greece	Very likely
Greater Spotted EagleClanga clanga	November to March	Central Macedonia, Thrace	Likely
Lesser White-fronted GooseAnser erythropus	December to February	Central Macedonia, Thrace	Likely
Rosy StarlingPastor roseus	Late May to June	Central Macedonia	Possible
WallcreeperTichodroma muraria	November to March	Central Greece, Central Macedonia	Possible
White-backed WoodpeckerDendrocopos leucotos	March to June	Central Macedonia	Likely