20th April 2026 - Day 4 Northern Greece for Bird's Wildlife & Nature

The day dawned with howling Golden Jackals, the Scops Owls and just three moths to my light before our very early start to head for the Vrontous mountains to the west above Serres. 

Brindled Beauty

Dicranura ulmi

Pale Shoulder

After wiggling through the narrow streets we the habitat began to open out and the quest for Rock Partridge truly began.

We parked up and found ourselves in the midst of a beautiful dawn chorus.  Eastern Black-eared Wheatears and slim, pale libanotica Northern Wheatears sung from the boulder fields, along with Wood and Crested Larks, Cuckoos, Cirl Buntings and both Eastern Orphean and Subalpine Warblers. 

Eastern Subalpine Warbler

Up slope a Sombre Tit was properly singing which was not something I had heard before and there were Stonechats and Woodchats too.  Of our quarry there was no sign or sound but with Golden Oriole and Black Woodpeckers calling in the valley below and Hoopoes and a spectacular Rock Thrush both using the telegraph poles as song perches, it was a great place to spend breakfast.

Rock Thrush and a Kestrel

Hoopoe

Rock Thrush

Hoopoe

And I never knew that the call of a Hoopoe sounds a bit like a distant cawing Rook

The Rock Thrush was spectacular and my best views since the famous Holme golf course male of over 30 years ago.  Such vibrant colours and a fluttering display flight that allowed him to puff out his white rump and lower back.  I still reckon that this one of the whole trip highlights for me.

Rock Thrush

We had a few bits and bobs fly over while we waited and watched for Partridges with Crossbills and Short-toed Larks, Ravens and a male Montagu’s Harrier that purposefully headed north.

Montagu’s Harrier

Dancho opted to carry on up the mountain road and we chose a spot that took us on a forest track through the pines to a more open vista with a view up to the Vrontous itself.  The woods held our first Song Thrushes along with Blackbirds, Coal, Blue, Great, Long-tailed, Marsh and Crested Tits along with Goldcrest and a couple of showy Firecrests.  Cuckoos were singing all around and there was plenty of food with all the Pine Processionary Moth nests dotted around.

Crested Tit

Wood Ant nest

There was an outside chance of Wallcreeper but a microscopic Black Redstart, Crag Martins and Red-rumped Swallows were al we could see way up there but a Tree Pipit was parachuting below us and a pair of Rock Buntings were nesting close to the path so we backed off and had a good view of the male singing from a dead pine.  A Dunnock briefly sung as we started to walk back.  

Florally it was completely different and the micro Violas were my favourite. Queen of Spain Fritillaries zipped back and forth and there were a few Bumbles to be seen.

Euphorbia cyparissias

Cowslip - Primula veris - although these feel different o ours back home

Grape Hyacinth - Muscari botryoides

Viola parvula

Viola parvula

Viola tricolor

Wood Spurge - Euphorbia amygdaloides

Red-tailed Bumblebee

White-tailed Bumblebee

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Not far from the van a Black Woodpecker started to yaffle and we were able to track it down and had close views as it played peekaboo.  We looped around and could hear more than one and soon had at least three birds playing chase through the trees and giving quite good views if you moved back and forth to look through the trunks.  This was my no means a guaranteed species on this tour so there were smiles all round.  Nuthatches and Common Treecreepers were added and a Bullfinch, Semi-collared Flycatcher and several Chiffchaffs were heard.

We continued all the way to the end of the road at the seasonally closed ski ‘resort’ and had a wander around the still winter Beech woods.  Mistle Thrushes on the Crocus and Squill covered grassy ski-slope were the only signs of life and unsurprisingly Nutcrackers were unresponsive.

Condemned but no fencing.  We marvelled at the variety of H&S risks available

Alpine Squill - Scilla bifolia

Meadow Gagea - Gagea pratensis

Spring Crocus - Crocus vernus

With time pressing on we descended the mountain and had a last look at the Partridge spot which was now very quiet before dropping back into Serres and continuing on our way east.  Lunch was taken at a fabulous patisserie (Estonian Tarvo would have been very impressed with Dancho’s cake finding skills) where an after lunch ice-cream was taken while watching and listening to the jingle jangle of Serins.  I think I may have slept for a while but remember a Middle Spotted Woodpecker bouncing across the road at some point before we reached the Nestos Gorge for what was too short a walk but the views along the fast flowing crystal clear river and up into the towering cliffs above was superb and although Wallcreepers did not flutter by we still found several Short-toed Eagles and hawking Crag Martins and in the Willows on the other side of the river we could hear the chipping of Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler and a calling Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.  Eastern Greenish Black Tip was the pick of the butterflies – quite superb but like Orange Tips – never stopped but it was the botany that wowed above all else.

Garden Heliotrope - Valeriana officinalis

Haberlea rhodopensis - endemic to the range

Hypericum aucheri 

Iris reichenbachii - normally yellow but in the Rhondos they are lilac

King's Spear - Asphodeline lutea - almost over

Maidenhair Spleenwort - Asplenium trichomanes

Med Spurge - Euphorbia characias

Mountain Pennycress - Noccaea montana

Muscari matritense

Muscari matritense

Onosma viridis

Rustyback Fern - Asplenium ceterach

Southern Dame's violet - Hesperis laciniata

Southern Polypody - Polypodium cambricum

Tulipa agenensis - too far up to look inside!

Bladderpod - Alyssoides utriculata

Crosswort - Cruciata laevipes

Downy Buttercup - Ranunculus lanuginosus

Smiffy in the river

Onwards to our new hotel in the small coastal village of Fanari.  It was a delightful place and overlooked the harbour where Yellow-legged Gulls loafed.  Redshanks, Stilts and Spur-winged Lapwings were seen on the drive in through the saltmarshes and offshore I could see Yelkouan Shearwaters from my apartment window while a Scops Owl began singing as we walked back from our dinner in town.

Fanari harbour view

Fanari Dinner Tom

While above your head...