Welcome to BirdWING
BirdWING (Birdwatching in Northern Greece) has been set up to raise awareness of birds in Greece and to raise money for the conservation and restoration of bird habitat in the region. Birdwing has supporters from all over the world.
Newsletter 36 - Summer 2025
We have lots to bring you in this issue of the Birdwing newsletter. Read more below.
Sundays with Nature
Following the awful fires in the Dadia/Evros region in previous years, we’re delighted to announce that the ‘Sundays with Nature’ project took place successfully over 
five Sundays during the spring. The project, funded by Jorgos and Anna Megos and us at Birdwing, was run by the SPBT (Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace. The initiative highlighted the need for reconnection with the natural environment through hands-on experiences in the fire-affected areas of Evros prefecture.
Report by the SPBT
The project welcomed 158 participants through the five Sunday excursions organized by the SPBT during the spring of 2025. Titled “Sundays with Nature”, this initiative highlighted the need for reconnection with the natural environment through hands-on experiences in the fire-affected areas of Evros prefecture.
The five excursions, which took place from March to June, aimed to cultivate ecological awareness, highlight the natural regeneration of the fire-affected areas and strengthen the human-nature relationship. Participants had the opportunity to get to know beautiful natural sites of Dadia, Avantas, Lyra, Soufli and Lefkimmi, not necessarily famous and known to everyone, by exploring paths, wetlands, fields, observing birds of prey and smaller representatives of the avifauna and interacting with nature through their senses.
Highlights from the actions:
The Burnt Land Regenerates - Dadia (23 Mar)
Participants had the opportunity to observe the natural regeneration of the forest after the catastrophic fires and learn about the ecosystem recovery processes. We also investigated ways of measuring the age of trees.
Our forest, our future - Avantas (6 Apr)
Visitors explored the rich ecosystem of the forest and had the opportunity to learn about the vital importance of caring for nature in human life.
Raptor Safari - Lyra (13 Apr)
The observation of birds of prey was one of the most impressive moments of the activity. Participants had the opportunity to see the wonderful birds of prey of the region up close and learn about the importance of their conservation.
The Gifts of Rural Nature to People - Soufli (4 May)
This excursion focused on the agricultural and natural heritage of the region, highlighting the role of rural nature in our everyday life. We had the opportunity to listen to people who come into direct contact with rural nature such as a vine grower, beekeeper and winemaker and enjoyed a tour of a local winery!
Discovering the Forest with my Senses - Lefkimmi (1 Jun)
The last excursion was a unique experience of interacting with the natural environment, using our senses to discover the secrets of the forest. We visited the fossil information centre where we got important information for our subsequent tour.
The response of the people exceeded expectations: 106 participants completed questionnaires and said that the activities offered them peace, relaxation and an inner connection with the environment. When asked if they would organize an excursion to their own place, they mentioned their desire to introduce the world to the Evros Delta, Bara Pentalofos, Agioi Theodoroi, Leptokarya, the Tsingla forest, Hot Water in Fylakto, Ardas and Platanotopos Alexandroupolis. Their words were moving through messages they wrote about the nature of Evros:
“Nature is being reborn but the nature of Evros is not as famous as it should be”
“The nature of Evros needs our protection”
“We are going strong to be reborn”
“All together to keep nature alive”
Most of them promised themselves that they would make more excursions in Evros to learn about its nature and the current history of their place. Three participants were awarded for their participation in 4 out of 5 Sundays with Nature with an impressive feather!
It was a unique experience of regeneration for us as well, receiving this feedback from the participants proving that the goal of promoting ecological awareness and fostering a sense of responsibility towards the environment of Thrace was a success!
The implementation of the project was made possible thanks to the donation of Jorgos & Anna Megos and Birdwing to whom SPBT expresses its sincere thanks.
For a video of the events, see here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1438559160617459
For more go to www.spbt.gr
New interactive Map
Our updated annual nest-box records at the Evros Delta can now been seen on a new interactive map with photos and locations!
We’re pleased to announce the new map showing the Evros Delta nest-box locations with data on breeding successes over the years since 2015 when our first boxes were put up. This map includes photos and will be continually updated from now on.
The data includes information on several Kestrel boxes that have been used every single year since 2016 to date!
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1CK76dDS-YxJJBqKyjyQu6MilUOpk5fk&usp=sharing
NABU|naturgucker tour Northern Greece
In May, Birdwing supporter Alexander Wirth again guided a nature tour to Northern Greece on behalf of NABU-naturgucker Reisen. From the profits of the tour NABU kindly made a generous donation to Birdwing for which we are very grateful. Alex writes more here:
Our spring tour to Northern Greece focuses on the incredible biodiversity of Northern Greece.
We started our trip again in the Forest Inn Eco Lodge in Dadia Forest, where it took us roughly half an hour to get beautiful sights of all vulture species occurring in Greece. We went ahead through the forest, which was still in early spring colours. The oaks were already coming back to life, after the horrible fire of August 2023. Most Orchids were low in numbers as the winter was rather dry and spring- so far – not too warm, but the evenings around the lodge resulted in several sights of the impressive Giant Peacock Moth.
This year, we visited Megalo Doukato, which hold plenty of foraging Lesser Kestrel and went ahead to visit a small reservoir near Adriani. There we could observe glossy ibis, collared pratincoles, a little gull, a pair of ferruginous ducks as well some dragonflies and tree frogs. A very productive area. We went ahead to the Nestos area, where we visited the freshwater lakes, pseudo-maquis 
around Zarkadia, Keramoti, the lagoons and of course the amazing Nestos gorge. We made beautiful observations of flamingos, several sandpipers, avocets, several butterfly species, dragonflies, and lot of wonderful plants such as wild tulips and fritillaries.
Instead of trying to reach the top of Falakro, which had been challenging in recent years, we tried Mount Paggeo. As the low levels hold incredibly diverse flora with Ophrys reinholdii, fritillaries, and wonderful meadows full of paeonies, the top was challenging, too. After a glimpse of a rock thrush, a thunderstorm surprised us – entering the mountain valley from the peak, which is badly visible – and we were happy when we all were again sitting together in the van, even though many of us got really wet. We took the chance to dry ourselves with a hot mountain tea in the reopened forest village at Mount Paggeo. We were warmly welcomed at the café, where we enjoyed the view, the hot drink and all the night butterflies spending the day at the woody house.
With all these impressions we went to our final destination: Lake Kerkini. Here we stayed three days in Chrysochorafa to get as many impressions as possible around the lake. Starting with a memorable boat trip where we got incredible views of pelicans, black-necked grebes, pygmy cormorants and several egrets. We explored Chimarros and the Vironia tracks where we found hundreds of orchids in full blossom, eastern festoons going to sleep and ants being perfectly organized. Ten days full of beautiful landscapes and lovely wildlife creating a glimpse of biodiversity.
Since Alex is a strong promoter of ecotourism in the Nestos area, he again arranged a small trip report in the Greek news to drive locals’ attention towards the necessity of saving their environment and nature. To support the habitat management and birds, NABU donated 1000€ to Birdwing. Thank you again. See the report here:
Gyrtoni - A White Stork paradise in Central Greece
By Eleni Makrygianni
It is one of the many surprises of nature to see a small village in the middle of Thessalian plain “packed” with as many as 34 White Stork nests. Gyrtoni has only 48 inhabitants and is a village, mostly of farmers, of the Municipality of Tempi, in the Prefecture of Larissa.
It holds a notable history on the evolution of farming with innovative techniques being applied in the vast agricultural land that surrounds it. This land (Τsifliki) was transferred from the Ottoman owners to Greek ones at the end of the 19th century. The new owners (mostly of the Papageorgiou family) created an effective farming system with modern buildings hosting the family and workers, modern machinery and establishments that brought wealth to the area and supported the local economy.
The farming system has changed since the middle of the previous century with remnants of the “Tsifliki” buildings standing in the village. The most prominent, “Konaki” hosts ten White Stork nests. Twenty-four more nests can be found in the village, built on warehouses, stone walls or being naturally (with no basket) placed on electric poles.
Why is there such a high density of nests in Gyrtoni? The proximity to the Pinios river and its meanders is one reason. Storks and other waterbirds forage in the river, on wet meadows and on the nearby farmland. The abundance of available nesting points on the old buildings is also very important. Finally, the people of the village love and protect the storks. A strong bond has been created between them.
Every July, around 150 - 160 birds fly over the village. It’s a fantastic sight! The access to Gyrtoni is very easy, being in the centre of Greece, very close to Larissa and only 4km from the highway. The village is picturesque with a beautiful small square (with a cafe and a taverna), an old school and church very well maintained by the local cultural association and quite a few old buildings of the Tsifliki that have declared the village as a “Listed Protected Settlement”.
The Association “Gyrton” together with the Municipality of Tempi and people that love the village are committed to the protection of storks and promotion of the village, where nature and history are perfectly combined.
If you are ever near the village during spring it is certainly worth a visit!
Lifelines
Many of you may remember Julian Hoffman, an award-winning writer based in Prespa in Northern Greece. Julian, a long-time supporterof Birdwing, has recently published his third book Lifelines, chosen by The Financial Times as one of their best summer reads!
Julian’s book is about finding home amidst the ancient mountains and lakes of Prespa. It is a story of people, pelicans, borders and bears.
Prespa is a region located at the southwestern Balkan border triangle of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is named after the two lakes: Great Prespa Lake and Little Prespa Lake. As those of you who have visited the area will know, it has one of the largest Dalmatian Pelican colonies in the world and is featured in the Birdwing site guide ‘Birdwatching in Northern Greece’.
Julian has written an article in this week’s Guardian article here:
and another article features his book in the Observer here:
https://observer.co.uk/culture/books/article/a-new-start-in-a-strange-land
If you would like to read more about Julian and his other work, including Irreplaceable and The Small Heart of Things, visit his social media pages and links here:
To purchase his book, please support your local bookshop or find out more information here:
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/lifelines-julian-hoffman/7727229
https://www.waterstones.com/book/lifelines/julian-hoffman/9781783968640
For those in Greece check out:
Our congratulations go to Julian for his great achievement and wish him every success with the book!
Other news
Nestbox news
The 2025 surveys of Birdwing nestboxes at the Evros Delta have produced good results this year. Surveys in May and June show extensive usage of the boxes by the target species of Kestrels, Little Owls and Rollers.
Sightings of more than 44 juvenile Kestrels from 14 boxes were recorded in June, with one box seen with 7 juveniles! In addition to this count, a further 7 boxes were used by Kestrels although the number of juveniles that fledged is unknown.
The number of Little Owls using our boxes for breeding is increasing year on year, with 7 juveniles observed and at least 5 boxes taken by them. These are the same boxes used by Rollers so competition between them has been observed - with the owls usually winning! Fortunately, we have sufficient boxes for them all! The nature of the boxes, however, with a hole rather than an open front, makes it harder to monitor both use and number of offspring. Surveys observed only 6 juvenile Rollers but more than 17 boxes appeared to have breeding pairs. A young owl was seen in one of our Barn Owl boxes also.
In all, almost 60 juvenile birds were seen, and only 7 of the boxes confirmed as being unused or used by bees! Given the high take-up, we will continue to expand the project to ensure birds will have sufficient opportunities next year.
Our thanks go to the staff of the Evros Delta Management Unit for undertaking a survey in June,
At Lake Kerkini, where there are many more natural nesting opportunities for tree- and hole-nesting birds, we have put up a smaller number of boxes and, following last-year’s successful use of a box by Rollers we erected a further box nearby which was subsequently taken.
Book of the year
The third edition of the Birdwing site guide 'Birdwatching in Northern Greece' was chosen as one of the best birding books of the year by D
ragan Simic from www.10000birds.com.
The 288-page, full colour, third edition of the site guide ‘Birdwatching in Northern Greece’ has been selling well since its publication at the end of last year. This edition includes new sites, updated information and lots more than the second edition and has been well reviewed.
To buy your copy go to www.birdwing.eu. Without these book sales we would not be able to support projects to help birds and nature, such as the Sundays with Nature project above.
For a review by Dragan Simic from www.10000birds.com go to:
https://www.10000birds.com/birdwatching-in-northern-greece-by-steve-mills-third-edition.htm
Gallery
Here are some bird images captured this spring, by Steve Mills, in different locations including Lake Kerkini, Lake Karla and the Evros Delta. If you would like any of your images taken in Greece to be featured in our next newsletter, please contact us at info@birdwing.eu
Thanks
Our thanks go to those of you who kindly donated to Birdwing, including to the ever-supportive Alex Wirth and NABU. Thanks too to all contributors to this issue, including Theodora Skatsi, Eleni Makrygianni and Alex Wirth.
If you would like to donate please use the links at the top or go to birdwing.eu/howtodonate
To contact us email info@birdwing.eu
Global VIsitors to BirdWING.eu
Support Us
Make a donation towards conservation and restoration of bird habitat and wildlife education in Northern Greece.
New edition of Birdwatching in Northern Greece - out now!
More than 12 years after the second edition was published we've updated 'Birdwatching in Northern Greece' by Steve Mills.
It is 288-page full colour and its UK RRP is £24.99 and EU RRP is €29.00.
__________________________
It is 288-page full colour and its RRP is £24.99.
For UK customers (£24.99 plus £1.60 postage) click here:
For EU customers (€29.00 plus €6.00 postage) click here: