Amvrakikos and the West Coast

Amvrakikos

This huge wetland area can be one of the best birdwatching sites in the country with a wide range of wet habitats, including saltmarsh, areas of silt and sand, swamps and lagoons. Dry habitats include arable fields, pastures, olive groves and orange groves. It holds one of only three breeding colonies of Dalmatian Pelicans in Greece.

The Gulf is an important wintering site for waders and wildfowl but most of the wintering birds have gone by mid April. After that migration is the focus and this continues until round about the end of the first week in May, after which it falls off quite sharply. From this point, until return migration begins in August, attention turns to breeding birds. These include, with approximate numbers of pairs, Little Bittern (50), Night Heron (70), Squacco Heron (100), Little Egret (250), Purple Heron (15), White Stork (100), Glossy Ibis (15), Spoonbill (30), Ferruginous Duck (80), Black-winged Stilt (300), Stone Curlew (20), Collared Pratincole (100), Common Tern (60), Little Tern (120), Sandwich Tern (30), Gull-billed Tern (10), Nightjar (50), Short-toed Lark (80) and Red-backed Shrike (50).

Kalamas Delta

This is a large delta despite much having been lost to agriculture. Areas of good habitat still exist and change along with water levels throughout the year. Many of the coastal tracks and lagoons are worth exploring.

The coast and lagoons can hold a variety of waders and are a favourite of passage terns and this area is the best in Greece for Cattle Egret.