Best place for Lulworth Skipper, great raft spiders, smooth snakes and others
The section of coast between Poole Harbour and Exeter is popularly known as the Jurassic Coast, for its abundance and variety of fossils laid down in the Jurassic period – 200-145 million years ago. However, the geological time period of the rocks also covers the Triassic (250 – 200 million years) and the Cretaceous (145 – 60 million years ago). The Jurassic Coast website gives plenty of information for visitors interested in the prehistory of the area.
There is, however, much more to this section of coast than just the geological spectacle. The South-West Coast path provides a walking route from end to end – and beyond. It offers the hiker stunning views of many coastal features, from the sheer cliffs and limestone formations such as Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door (top photo) to a great range of birds, flowers and butterflies including the rare Lulworth Skipper Thymelicus acteon (well, rare in Britain as it is only found in this area, although widespread and even common in parts of central and southern Europe).
The Lulworth Skipper is like a large skipper (with the orange patches on the wings) but is much smaller.
The Essex skipper is like a small skipper but has black-tipped antennae
Poole Harbour
Just inland from the sea is a series of nature reserves. Many of these are associated with Poole Harbour, providing refuge for a variety of birds during winter. The harbour itself is a huge shallow bowl with a relatively small outlet to the sea. It has double tides, which means lots of shallow water over mudflats, and lots of food for waders and wildfowl. On the west side, there are several heathland nature reserves which include the shoreline eg Studland Heath and Arne.
Dark -bellied Brent Geese at Poole Park in January
On the east side is the town of Poole – an extensively built-up area with considerable boating and recreational activity on the water. Nevertheless, Poole Park, an area of municipal parkland between the harbour wall and the town is excellent for birdwatching – with a large flock of dark-bellied Brent geese Branta bernicla among the other wintering wildfowl and gulls.
Brownsea Island, within the harbour is important for its red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris population. The island is owned by the National Trust, with managed forestry and heathland areas, as well as parkland.
Avocets in the lagoon at Brownsea Island in January
The northern part, however, is leased to the Dorset Naturalists Trust. Here there is a large lagoon surrounded on the outside by a high sea wall, areas of alder carr and other wet woodland, and generally much more natural habitats. The lagoon is frequented by waterbirds, especially herons, egrets and spoonbills Platalea leucorodia, and holds Britain’s largest single wintering flocks of avocets Recurvirostra avosetta and black-tailed godwits Limosa limosa – over 1000 birds of each species at times. Within the harbour are a number of small gravel islands, used by terns and gulls for nesting.
The RSPB reserve at Arne has been in existence since 1965. Like the nearby Studland Heath National Nature Reserve, it is important as one of the main sites to see all six species of British reptiles – adder Viperus berus, grass snake Natrix natrix, smooth snake Coronella austriaca, slow-worm Anguilis fragilis, common lizard Zootoca vivipara, and sand lizard Lacerta agilis.
Rare plants on the site include Dorset Heath Erica ciliaris (left), while the freshwater pond is one of only three sites for the great raft spider Dolometes plantarius in Britain. The wasp spider Argiope bruennichi is also found here (below – photographed in July).
The heathland provides a breeding stronghold for the secretive Dartford warbler Sylvia undata, as well as European nightjar Caprimulgus europeaus, woodlark Lullula arborea, and stonechat Saxicola rubicola. Waterbirds commute between the shore here, and Brownsea Island lagoon.
Weymouth area
Some 35km (22 miles) to the west of Poole Harbour is the town of Weymouth, and another set of nature reserves. Within the town itself is the RSPB reserve of Radipole Lake – a long finger of open water and reedbeds. The southern end, with a small RSPB information centre, is next to the railway station, is very popular with families wanting to feed the ducks and swans, so the birds here tend to be quite tame and tolerant. Following the footpath to the north hide takes you to more secluded areas, often quiet in winter except for the explosive calls of Cetti’s warblers Cettia cetti. It is also a good place for bearded reedlings Panurus biarmicus again a species more often heard – pinging calls as they move through the reedbed – than seen.
It is also a good place for a variety of plants, dragonflies and butterflies in the appropriate seasons.
On the eastern side of Weymouth, is the RSPB reserve of Lodmor. This is an area of open water, saltmarsh, wet grassland and scrub, separated from the sea by a shingle embankment and road, and with the ever-increasing housing development of Preston on the north side (view from south side below).
Birds move between here and Radipole, so the species seen are similar. However, it does have one of the largest common tern Sterna hirundo colonies in south-west Britain, and autumn migration can be spectacular. On a rather blustery late August day, we saw more than 50 species easily from the footpath (wheel-chair and push-chair friendly). The last few common tern chicks were being fed by their parents, while large numbers of swifts Apus apus gathered with the swallows and martins preparing for migration south.
Sunburst over Portland Bill
Portland Bird Observatory
A programme of bird ringing (bird banding) has been carried out since the earliest days of ornithological exploration at Portland in the 1950s. Bird Observatory staff and suitably qualified helpers use ringing as a tool to assist research into the migration patterns, population changes, biometrics and longevity of birds. The majority of ringing is carried out within the grounds of the Bird Observatory, where over 225,000 birds of 200 species have been trapped and ringed to date. There have been subsequent recoveries of birds marked at Portland from as far north as Finland, as far south as Ghana and as far east as the Republic of Georgia in the former USSR. (from the PBO website)
Portland Bill is a narrow promontory at the southern tip of the Isle of Portland which is connected to the mainland by a shingle spit, the eastern end of Chesil Beach. Jutting out some 8km (5 miles) into the sea, it makes a convenient departure and arrival point for birds on migration, and also catches birds moving along the coast.
The Portland Bird Observatory occupies the Old Lower Lighthouse just before the Bill (tip) itself. The observatory is open all year round.
Back in around 1982, I visited Portland Bill in migration season, just because it was said to be good for birds. The first afternoon was pleasant enough, and somebody mentioned that a hoopoe had been seen. OK, so we kept a look out for it, but weren’t too bothered if we saw it or not – our philosophy was to enjoy the place, and the birds would be the icing on the cake. In the evening we pitched our small tent in a seemingly out-of-the-way place. The next morning we opened the tent only to find a dozen birdwatchers about 50m away, all looking through binoculars and telescopes at the hoopoe feeding right in front of the tent!
Chesil Beach
There are other places to watch birds, or just to enjoy the coastal scenery and plants, on Portland Island. Then just to the west is Chesil Beach – 30km (19 miles) of pebble beach, separated from the mainland by the Fleet Lagoon for most of its length. At the western end is the Abbotsbury Swannery which is the only managed colony of nesting mute swans Cygnus colour (above) in the world.
Bookshop
Click on the book covers for more information
This is the updated version of the book we used. Each of the sites mentioned in this article is given several pages of text and maps, It gives the history of sites, the location and access provision, what you will see in each season, and much more. We found it very useful and will be using it to find more sites on our next visit to the area.
Obviously, it is about bird-watching sites, but most sites will have other nature interest as well.
Buying books through these links earns a small commission that helps with the costs of this website.
According to Wikipedia: Environmental volunteers conduct a range of activities including environmental monitoring (e.g. wildlife); ecological restoration such as revegetation and weed removal, and educating others about the natural environment. They also participate in community-based projects, such as improving footpaths, open spaces, and local amenities for the benefit of the local community and visitors. The uptake of environmental volunteering stems in part from the benefits for the volunteers themselves, such as improving social networks and developing a sense of place.
Participation in such projects can be at a local level (even your backyard), or you can travel to the ends of the earth. You can put in a lot of time and energy, or just a little time or energy, and you can do it for just a few hours, a few weeks, or for a few hours a week or month for several years.
Volunteering may mean getting close and personal with wildlife – perhaps a bit of radio-tracking work, behavioural observations, etc – but more often is about the interface between people and wildlife. The bears in the photos are two of about 70 in a sanctuary in Romania where volunteers support local staff, allowing them time to do educational work and to rescue more bears.
Other projects may involve the restoration of habitat, or building facilities so that visitors may enjoy and learn about wildlife.
But it is also possible to volunteer on your own, collecting data in your own time and at your own pace. Data that organisations can use chart changes in numbers over time, which can then be used to influence environmental policies.
Here are some examples of volunteering that I have been involved in, and some guidance from responsibletravel.com who advertise selected eco-volunteer holidays on their website.
This information is inevitably UK based – other countries will also have volunteer organisations and schemes.
Local volunteering – citizen science
Volunteering on long-term surveys such as a butterfly transect provides data for monitoring the distribution and population both common and rare species – the small tortoiseshell has declined in the past ten years.
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is the largest organiser of bird surveys in Europe. Through the efforts of volunteers participating in BTO surveys, the bird populations of the British Isles have been monitored more effectively and for longer than those of most other parts of the world. This has produced a uniquely rich and detailed body of scientific work. This will help us to understand the complex challenges facing wild birds at a time of great change in the environment.
The Wetland Bird Survey requires a day a month of counting birds on estuaries, lakes and reservoirs, while the Garden Bird Survey only needs you to look out of your window a few times a week. Monitoring bird nests requires a little more skill (easily learned) and effort, while bird ringing requires a lot more time and dedication to learn the necessary skills before you are allowed to go and practice on your own. See the website for the full list of surveys to get involved with.
An example of a short-period citizen science is the Bioblitz. Organised at sites all around the country, these may be days when “expert enthusiasts” get together to find as many species as possible on that site, or they may primarily function as events to introduce the general public to nature.
Sign up now!
Bioblitz (events have been suspended during the pandemic)
Citizen scientists help uncover mysteries behind House Sparrow population declines
Although House Sparrows are conspicuous birds and can still be found cheeping away in many areas, their numbers have fallen sharply in recent years, leading to their inclusion on the Birds of Conservation Concern Red List. Declines are greater in urban than in rural areas, and in eastern and south-eastern Britain than in other parts of the country (where the population is stable or increasing). A new study by the BTO has used data collected by volunteers participating in Garden Birdwatch (GBW), the Nest Record Scheme (NRS) and the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to investigate possible reasons underpinning these trends.
The research focussed on measures of breeding performance. In keeping with population trends, GBW data showed that annual productivity was highest in Wales and lowest in the east of England, but that there was no difference between rural and urban areas. The regional difference in GBW productivity was mirrored by NRS data, which revealed that House Sparrow clutch and brood sizes were significantly lower in the east of Britain than in the west. The number of breeding attempts per year and post-fledging survival did not differ between regions, so are not thought to contribute to the differences in population trends.
The results suggest that the processes driving regional differences in House Sparrow productivity are likely to be complex and operating over a large-scale (e.g. climatic processes), but interacting with local factors (e.g. habitat changes). The absence of productivity differences between rural and urban areas suggests other factors contribute to the varying population trends in these habitats, for instance, differences in food availability affecting adult survival. This work demonstrates the importance of large-scale datasets collected by citizen science projects in understanding drivers of population change, which is vital for implementing effective conservation measures.
More information about this and other science results on the BTO website
Germany, 1973
In order to maintain the heathland and its unique flora and fauna, trees have to be removed.
There were eleven of us – two Irish, one Norwegian-American, three German, three French, one English, one Turkish. We did not have a common language though everyone spoke at least one (and mostly two) of English, German or French. We were all students, aged between 16 and 23. None of us had any idea of what we were going to be doing – or any experience of eco-volunteering.
We were collected from Cologne railway station, and driven for a couple of hours to a forested area near Munster. A large corrugated tin hut was to be our home for the next three weeks, and that – the leader pointed to a ramshackle assortment of logs and tarpaulin – was the washroom. The toilets were two huts over pits in the ground. By mutual consent, we hastily rearranged the bunks and cupboards in the hut so that girls and boys were in separate sections. And then found a spare blanket to hang in front of the showers give some privacy from the rest of the “washroom”.
Looking back, our mission was clear. We were clearing trees that were threatening to take over an area of heathland. At the time, however, we were just following instructions. I learned the names of trees in German before I knew them in English – Eiche, Birke, Kiefe (Oak, Birch, Pine). I learned to use a machete and an axe – but was more than happy to leave the chainsaw to the boys.
This camp was one of many organised by the IJGD which was set up after WW2, and is still running camps today. The ethos of the organisation is based around getting young people to live and work together, organising their daily lives as a group (we had to organise our own shopping trips, do most of our own cooking etc) and undertaking ecological or social work under the guidance of a local leader. We had one leader (who spoke only in German) for the forestry work, and another (who also spoke English and French) who was probably more of a liaison person with the local town council.
The town council arranged various excursions for our spare time – we “worked” only an average five hours a day. One day we had afternoon tea in the town hall, and a tour of the premises; another day there was an evening of music in a local tavern; a helicopter ride from the local army base; a ride in a small plane; a pony and trap ride; an afternoon of cycling to explore the countryside; a visit to a brewery to see how the local beer was made; etc.
But that was 1973 – I don’t suppose today’s economy would allow so many luxuries!
Skokholm – the Wheelhouse in 2010 above, and 2014 below. Just some of the renovations carried out by volunteers for the love of being on this ‘Dream Island’.
Skokholm Island lies a short distance off the coast of Pembrokeshire. Until recently there was no running water, no electricity, no telephone, no television. I visited twice in the 1980s as a paying guest, and maybe twenty times since then as a volunteer. Volunteering can be as simple as a day helping the wardens get themselves and their food and equipment to and from the island at the ends of the season, or it can be staying on the island to work.
Work usually includes scrubbing and painting the buildings at the start of the season in preparation for paying visitors, and then cleaning and storing stuff at the end of the season to keep it safe from the damp and the house-mice. But it has also included upgrading the accommodation.
For any place to accept paying guests, there are certain hygiene, and health and safety, requirements. One year (early 1990s) we were told that food could not be cooked in the same room as it was served, so suddenly we had to convert the larder into a kitchen, and a small storeroom into a new larder. The work was done by volunteers – one of whom was so keen to get started he was pulling walls down and creating dust before we’d finished washing the breakfast crockery – and by a group on a government youth opportunities program. I was cooking that week, and had an assistant who insisted on putting either garlic and/or lemon in everything.
More recently, a considerable amount of work has been done to conserve (in some cases rebuild) and upgrade the accommodation. Most of the work has been done by volunteers, although professionals have been brought in where necessary – where health and safety issues were concerned (eg roofing, and rebuilding the landing stage), or specific skills required.
The island now has electricity, thanks to the advent of solar PV panels. The buildings now have running water – previously it was pumped by hand from the well into plastic containers, and taken to the buildings by wheelbarrow. The kitchen has a hot water supply thanks to solar panels, and the hot water supply has now been extended to the bedrooms, which also have a piped waste system (previously it was a bucket under the sink), and there are composting toilets which are much more pleasant to use (and to empty) than the old chemical toilets.
Puffins are one of the charismatic seabirds of Skokholm Island, along with razorbills, guillemots, Manx shearwaters and storm petrels.
All this work has been enthusiastically undertaken because people consider the island is a wonderful place to be. In summer it is teeming with seabirds, in spring and autumn migrant birds of all sorts can turn up. Despite the living improvements, it still retains its air of isolation and remoteness. The weather is unpredictable, the boat can’t always come and go on a regular schedule – often visitors have to wait a day or two to get on, and maybe have to leave a day early (or even stay an extra week) because the weather is bad.
We spent three weeks there in April 2012 – it was wet, windy and horrible a lot of the time. On several days I found myself preparing vegetable soup for lunch wearing several layers of clothes, topped with waterproofs, wellies and a woolly hat.
Conversely, we had a week there in September 2018 – a glorious week of wonderful weather, bird migration was slow, but there was a wryneck on the island. One team of people were cleaning and painting the lighthouse, another team built a new hide overlooking North Pond. Bob and I were part of another team on a long-term project to transfer all the island biological data from hand-written logs onto spreadsheets.
It’s an amazing place with amazing people. There is nobody actually in charge, but a group of people who are here because they love the island. They all have different skills, appropriate to the jobs this week. There is a list of jobs that need to be done, and when anyone has finished what they are doing, they tick it off on the board, and pick another job to get on with. And the amount of work that is being done is just amazing. (Skokholm volunteer, 2012)
Skokholm Island is owned by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. There is accommodation and facilities for researchers, ringers, and for people who just want a quiet holiday on a lovely island. There are more opportunities for volunteers on the nearby Skomer Island.
The island has now regained its status as a bird observatory, and has full-time wardens – See the island blog.
Skokholm accommodation and library block, with new roof and solar PV panels for lighting (no more gas or oil lamps). Comfort for volunteers, as well as for the paying guests that come to enjoy the puffins and other wildlife on this island. (2010 top and 2014 below)
Conservation and wildlife volunteering
Article from Sarah Bareham of responsibletravel.com
With an ever-expanding array of volunteer opportunities available it can be increasingly difficult to understand which projects are of genuine value to conservation efforts, which are having little impact and worse, those which work against community and conservation aims. However, with the right preparation and research well-intentioned prospective volunteers can ensure their time and effort will not go to waste, or cause harm.
Responsibletravel.com’s main advice to any traveller looking for volunteer opportunities is to ask questions, and plenty of them. To be truly sustainable a project should be driven by the needs and expectations of the host community and for a conservation or wildlife project to be successful in the long term local people need to see the value in supporting it, they should be the ones which own and lead it, with volunteers providing support to help them meet their aims. For example, through its close work with local people this brown bear conservation project in Romania has started to change attitudes towards bear welfare among the general public, with more and more realising that capturing wild bears for entertainment purposes is not only a betrayal of animal welfare, but of the country’s own natural heritage.
We encourage prospective volunteers to speak with their placement and find out what the long-term aims of the project are, and how their work will fit into this. Volunteers should have a clear and defined role, and should undergo a selection process that matches their skills to the opportunities available. It should be possible, upon questioning the potential placement, to find out more about the project’s history, how it is monitored, where your payment goes, what role the volunteers play and to be able to speak with previous volunteers to understand more about their personal experiences.
Conservation projects with long term sustainability at heart are also likely to offer education programmes for local communities and schools. Educating the younger generation as to the importance of the project, and engaging them at an early age increases the likelihood of long term success. Ask whether this is part of the work your prospective placement does. It may mean you will also be volunteering closely with local children – there are a number of issues to consider if this is the case.
With wildlife rescue projects volunteers should be aware that the more contact wild animals have with humans, the less their chance of successful reintegration back into the wild. If the project you are considering aims to rehabilitate and release animals be aware that hands-on contact with wildlife will be very unlikely, reserved only for those with specific knowledge and skills, such as veterinarians. If you are invited to play with, interact and pet the animals it is unlikely that successful reintroduction into the wild is their real aim. The Born Free Foundation’s guidance notes on issues in wildlife volunteering, sanctuaries and captive breeding programmes for conservation are a useful resource for prospective volunteers.
All holidays and volunteering opportunities on responsibletravel.com have been carefully screened for their commitment to responsible tourism. We have also worked closely in the past with the Born Free Foundation and Care for the Wild, whose Right Tourism campaign holds a wealth of information on what travellers can do to ensure their work is contributing to the protection rather than exploitation of wild animals. The Born Free Foundation also has a Travellers Animal Alert system where volunteers concerned about the in poorly run sanctuaries can report the establishment for further investigation.
For carefully screened wildlife and conservation volunteer placements in Europe go to responsibletravel.com
Bookshop
These are just a few of the books based on data collected by volunteers who simply enjoy being out birdwatching, mammal-watching, moth trapping, etc. Click on covers for more information about the books
As far as plants and animals of rocky scrubby places are concerned, it doesn’t really matter if the rocky places are natural or man-made. So long as they provide nutrients/food and shelter, they are worth colonising. And the longer it is since humans colonised and abandoned the site, the better.
Best time to go – May-June
Many natural history tour groups now include ancient sites in their itineraries. Such sites are often relatively easily accessible compared with nearby mountain paths, for example, and the animals are so used to humans being around that they are often more easily seen than when living “in the wild”.
Greece is particularly well endowed with ancient ruins, and is the ideal place to combine a human history and natural history trip. The city of Delphi is one of the more popular sites, being accessible on a day-trip from Athens.
About Delphi
According to legend, when the god Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world, their paths crossed in the sky above Delphi, thus establishing the site as the centre of the earth (NB other sites also make this claim).
According to the Ancient Greece website Delphi was inhabited since Mycenaean times (14th – 11th c. B.C.) by a series of small settlements dedicated Mother Earth God. Then the worship of Apollo, as the god of light, harmony and order, was established between the 11th and 9th centuries B.C. Slowly, over the next five centuries the sanctuary grew in size and importance.
The site lost its importance with the rise of Christianity, and was eventually abandoned in the 7th century AD. The temples and other buildings slowly fell into ruin, and the place was apparently forgotten until it was rediscovered in the 1880s. Since then, it has been designated a World Heritage Site, some conservation and restoration work has been done, and now it is a well-regulated tourist attraction.
Getting the best out of Delphi
The ruined settlement covers a large area, and apart from the visitor centre, it is all open to the elements – so in the spring and summer, take plenty of sun-cream and water. If you can, get there early. If you’re on a day trip from Athens (or any other organised trip), you may just have to make the best of it. All the services are at the bottom of the site, so once you are through the gate, you head slowly and steadily to the stadium at the top. Have your lunch (and a siesta) while you are there, then head slowly back down – taking a different route. If you are looking at the ancient history as well as the natural history, you may need a couple of days there.
Things to look out for
Ground Pine Ajuga chaemapitys
Like many members of the mint family, ground pine contains essential oils, and in this case, they smell faintly of pine resin. The leaves also look a bit like pine needles. It likes dry open habitats, on calcareous soils. Herbalists have used it for treating rheumatism and gout.
Grecian Golden-drops Onosma graecum
This intensely hairy plant grows on rocky calcareous areas from sea level to 850m. The hairs provide some defence against the arid conditions and prevent the plant from drying out.
Oriental Alkanet Alkanna orientalis
Found from southern Greece eastwards. Like other members of its family, it has medicinal uses, in particular as an anti-bacterial agent.
Rough Poppy Papaver hybridum
The Mediterranean area, in general, seems to have an abundance of poppies, and identifying them can be a problem. Often, the main characteristic is the seed-pod. Rough poppies have round seedpods, with pale bristles along the “seams”.
Spiked Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum narbonense
This plant is found in grassy and dry areas, on waste ground and in rocky terrain from the Mediterranean basin eastwards, and from sea-level to 3000m. It flowers in May and June, and is pollinated by insects.
Soft Viper’s-grass Scorzonera mollis
The common name refers to the grass-like stem leaves of this plant which is related to daisies and dandelions. It has many uses in traditional medicine – being considered anti-inflammatory, and a cure for infertility in women, amongst many others.
Birds
I didn’t see much in the way of bird life at Delphi on this trip – perhaps because it was primarily a botanical trip, and I was busy trying to keep up with the group and photograph the flowers and butterflies. One bird, however, is difficult to miss during the spring and summer.
Rock nuthatches nest all over the site – wherever they find a suitable crevice – or even an unsuitable one that they can adapt by plastering mud over the entrance. Once the entrance is the right size, it keeps the chicks in, and most predators out.
Other species that breed here include black-eared wheatear, woodchat shrike and eastern orphean Warbler.
Butterflies
Of course, where there are flowers, there are butterflies – and Delphi is no exception.
We were particularly entertained by a southern swallowtail Papilio alexanor, and a large wall brown amongst a dozen or so species. But it was only May, and a few weeks later we would have seen a lot more.
Southern Swallowtail Papilio alexanor
Looks like a common swallowtail, but without all the black veins, and like a scarce swallowtail but not so elongated. Found on hot, dry, steep slopes on limestone or similar calcareous substrates. In south-eastern Europe. Flies in search of mates and nectar, with red valerian Centranthus ruber being a preferred source.
Large Wall Brown Lasiommata maera
Widespread across Europe, but not found in Britain or the Netherlands. This species also likes dry, grassy, rocky or stony places with steep slopes. In the south it has two broods, flying from April onwards, while in northern Europe it has a single brood, flying from mid-June to late September.
Heath Fritillary Melitaea athalia
One of Britain’s rarest butterflies, yet the heath fritillary is found across most of Europe and Asia.
Fritillary means having a spotted or chequered pattern, so there are fritillary flowers as well as fritillary butterflies.
Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria euphrosyne
All the Fritillary butterflies have orange and black patterns, but you need to see both the upperside and underside of an individual to be sure of the identification.
The largest insect in Europe – up to 12 cm long
A careful look amongst the vegetation revealed more insects, many of them green and well camouflaged. While most of the grasshoppers and crickets leapt or flew quickly out of the way, the large, wingless bush-cricket above relied on its camouflage. It could have been any of the several species of Saga found in south-eastern Europe. but I’ve not yet been able to find information about how to distinguish them.
Known as the predatory bush cricket, or the spiked magician due to the way it waves its forelimbs to mesmerise its prey, these critters have the distinction of being hermaphrodite – the females reproduce asexually, and no males (of at least one species) have been reliably identified.
Each female lays up to 80 eggs (the largest insect eggs in Europe) in the soil, and these eggs may take up to five years to hatch, depending on the ambient temperature. Once hatched, the nymphs grow, mature, and lay eggs in a single season.
It occurs in meadows, pastures, shrubby hillsides, cereal fields and vineyards in southern and central Europe and eastwards to China. However, it is vulnerable to insecticides and habitat destruction, and the population is now spread thinly across its range.
Bookshop
Click on covers for more information
This is the standard flora for Greece.
First published in 1987, this guide lists many of the richest plant-hunting areas in southeast Europe at first hand, and each description is accompanied by several line drawings.
Names and describes almost 3,000 species of flowering plants in the region.
However, it is a key, and if you prefer to ID your flowers from pictures, then there are other books that might suit you better, but are not as comprehensive.
Note that buying books through these links earns a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that goes towards the cost of maintaining this website.
My first experience of being part of an organised trip was back in 2002, when I went as a driver on a natural history holiday to the Greek island of Crete.
Environmental volunteering is a great way of getting to know more about a place or a species. It can be done quietly on a local level, or by joining a working group or a vacation.
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
A high biodiversity due mainly to the large range in altitude
A relative lack of intensive farming means more space for wildlife
My week at this site, with a botanical group, resulted in lists of 418 plant species, 41 butterfly species, 46 birds species and a few other odds and ends.
However, had it not been for the emphasis on botany, I’m sure we would have found a lot more of the other things.
Best time to go? May – August
La Grave
La Grave – it sounds ominous. But the name of this small French village actually means severe. And it refers to the terrain, which is difficult to navigate. Despite the presence of a telepherique, there are no ski pistes, and it isn’t a ski resort. This is where the really adventurous skiers go – and a guide is recommended, if not a necessity, for most. Too many people have met their deaths here.
In summer, it is a different story. Like so much of the Alps, it is a paradise for botanists and butterfly watchers. There are plenty of footpaths, and the telepherique comes in handy for getting to those high levels where only the specialist plants can survive.
One reason for the diversity of plant and butterfly life here is the huge vertical distance – over 3,000m – from the valley bottoms to the mountain peaks. Another is the orientation of the slopes – most are facing either north or south. And thirdly, there is geology. A geological map of the area shows a patchwork of colour, representing and whole range of acid to alkaline rocks, which in turn affect the soil types, and therefore the plants that grow in particular localities.
Walking around the village, along the roads to villages higher up the slope, along the Romanche river at the bottom of the valley, through the Arboretum (where there is a small collection of trees labelled only in French) provides a good introduction to the local plants and butterflies. But while you are there, it’s worth visiting a few other nearby sites.
The Alpine Botanical Garden at Lautaret
To help get into the right frame of mind for Alpine plants, start at the Alpine Botanical Garden at the Col du Lauteret. It is well worth a visit, and all the plants are labelled!
The Col du Lautaret is located at the crossroads of the Northern Alps (high snow cover and cloud amount) and the Southern Alps (high levels of sunshine and Mediterranean influence) on the border of the external Alps (oceanic influence causing high levels of precipitation) and the dry inner alps (continental influence).
Add to that, the varied geology and altitude (Lautaret is at 2058m) of the immediate area, and it isn’t surprising that over 1500 species of higher plants have been recorded here. It is a site of considerable botanical research, being part of the University of Grenoble.
At the end of the 19th century, dozens of botanical gardens sprang up in Europe. The garden at Lautaret was opened in 1899, presenting a rich systematic collection of 500 species from the western Alps, all painstakingly classed and labelled.
Round-headed orchid Traunsteinera globosa
Vanilla orchid Nigritella rubra
Man orchid Orchis anthropophora
In 1915 the highways agency of the time decided to improve the road between Lautaret and Galibier – right through the garden. The garden had to move – not far – to its current position, where it is easily accessible to travellers through the Alps.
In the last twenty years, in particular, it has grown in both popularity and size. There are now collections of alpine (and arctic) plants from various regions of the world. The garden website includes a virtual tour.
There is limited parking on-site, but plenty nearby at the Col du Lautaret itself. Walking the few hundred metres along the road winding up to the garden is a delight in itself – enough to keep any botanist happy for an hour or two.
Once in the garden, you can wander around the various alpine areas of the world, though I settled for just the local stuff. It’s a great introduction to the local flora as all the specimens are labelled. Ideally, a place to visit at the start of a botanical trip to the area, and again at the end to answer the questions you found along the way. Certainly, in these days of digital photography, it’s useful to be able to compare photos with labelled specimens, or ask someone.
Titania’s fritillary Clossiana titania and small skipper Thymelicus sylvestris on field scabious Knautia arvensis.
There are areas of alpine meadows where such striking local plants as Campanula thyrsoides ssp thyrsoides could be seen. In the fields behind the café opposite the car park there was spotted gentian Gentiana punctata as well as the much more common spring and trumpet gentians Gentiana verna and G acualis. This, with a background of the green valleys and the rocky mountain peaks, some still snow-capped, forms a picture that is difficult to beat.
So, even if you can’t spend time wandering alpine paths and discovering the flora for yourself, you can still enjoy it in the Alpine Botanical Garden. And the learn more about the Parc National des Ecrins in the Maison du Parc, have a meal in the French restaurant, stay overnight in the Hotel des Glacier, and do more of the same the next day!
Part of the panoramic view from the telepherique top station.
La Meije
La Meije is the mountain massif overlooking La Grave from the south. The name is derived from a local word meaning midday, and refers to the fact that the sun passes over (or behind depending on the season) the peak at midday.
There are some footpaths – some of them quite a scramble in places. So the best way to explore the botany is to make us of the Telepherique de la Meije which starts in la Grave. There is a middle station, and a top station.
The top station overlooks the Girose glacier, and a wonderful panorama (above) of the other nearby glaciers and mountain peaks. It’s a pretty stark place, but a few plants can be found at the top – glacier crowfoot Ranunculus glacialis and Alpine toadflax Linaria alpina survive mainly in the lee of the structure that supports a cafe above the glacier. The cafe provides welcome hot drinks!
Alpine toadflax Linaria alpina
Glacier crowfoot Ranunculus glacialis
The Meije glacier from the middle station. Shepherd’s Fritillary Boloria pales – a high altitude butterfly photographed near the middle station.
The Col du Galibier
The Col du Galibier – looking to the north side, the Col du Télégraphe. On these higher levels, the plants are often small, only a few centimetres tall to avoid the stresses of harshness of life at high altitude. Lower down, where there is more shelter, the plants are often taller and more luxurious.
At 2,645m, the Col du Galibier is probably best known for being (often) the highest point of the Tour du France cycle race. The pass is closed during the winter. The road over the top is the ninth highest paved road in the Alps. It wasn’t actually paved until 1976 when the tunnel (at 2556m) was closed for restoration and an alternative route over the mountains was needed until the tunnel reopened in 2002.
According to local folklore, before the tunnel no one from the north side of the Galibier ever married anyone from the south. The people of each side were different and full of mistrust for each other. The isolation of the north side was compounded by its climate, which is still much harsher than the south.
Alpine Avens Geum rossii
Mount Baldo Anemone Anemone baldensis
Unbranched Lovage Ligusticum mutellinoides
Above the villages, there is a flattish ‘shoulder’ of land used for summer grazing – this is what is meant by an alp. This seems to be a particularly good area for plants and butterflies. Visiting these alps before breakfast – while it was still cool and the butterflies relatively inactive – proved to be the best time for photography.
Apollo Parnassius apollo
Chequered Skipper Carterocephalus palaemon
Darwin’s Heath Coenonympha darwiniana
La Grave – getting there
It is possible to get to La Grave by public transport – eg bus from Grenoble (Rome2Rio website) – and on to the Col du Lautaret. However, anywhere else beyond walking distance requires a car or a bike. The Hotel Edelweiss in La Grave offers mountain e-bike tours.
Hotel Edelweiss – There is other accommodation in the village, but this is where I stayed – very comfortable and friendly.
The Parc National des Ecrins is immediately south of the road and is my favourite French National Park – scenery, wildlife, walking etc.
Organised trips
The company I travelled with ceased to exist when the owners retired, however, there are a number of other companies which provide nature trips to the Alps, for example:
Click on the covers for more information. Buying books through these links brings me a small commission which helps with maintaining this website at no extra cost to you.
English language field guides to Alpine plants are hard to find. These French ones have pictures and icons that make them reasonably usable to anyone.
If you are trying to buy a wildflower book in advance, make sure it is about the Alpine flora in Europe, rather than Alpine regions of North or South America, or Australia or New Zealand, for example.
Queyras Natural Park in the French Pyrenees boasts 300 days of sunshine a year. We managed to be there on one of the other 65! But there was still lots to see.
The area around Grindelwald, in the shadow of the Eiger and the Jungfrau, is great for plants, birds, and butterflies as well as just great scenery for hiking through.
With a scenic landscape of wooded hills and endless flat plains, dotted with reed-fringed lakes and cut by the mighty Danube River, it is not surprising to find that Hungary is one of Europe’s best wildlife destinations.
It has abundant and varied birdlife, and also has much to offer in terms of butterflies and other wildlife.
And then there is rich folklore, culture, wines and food.
In early May the resident birds are joined by migrating waders, warblers and raptors on their way further north and the woods are alive with birdsong.
While there is plenty to explore, for those on a time-limited trip, probably the best places are the forested Zemplen Hills and the Bukk National Park in the north-east, and the lowland steppe, grassland and farmlands of the Kiskunság and Hortobágy National Parks.
Kiskunság National Park
Just an hour’s drive from Budapest, the Kiskunság National Park is a tranquil lowland region of steppe, sandy dunes, farmland and wooded copses. It is one of Hungary’s most important areas for the great bustard, which should be displaying in April and May. Collared pratincoles breed here, whilst the ponds and gravel pits attract three species of marsh terns, plus red-crested pochard, ferruginous duck, garganey and pygmy cormorant. The reedbeds are home to moustached, Savi’s and great reed warblers, whilst overhead you can see Montagu’s harrier, saker falcon and red-footed falcon. Keep an eye on utility wires for roller and lesser grey shrike. An evening walk could well produce scops owl, long-eared owl and nightjar.
Eagle Owl
Zemplen Hills
North-east of Kiskunság, the Zemplen protected landscape is characterised by dense broad-leaved forests, traditionally farmed fields, flowering meadows and vineyards. Nine species of woodpecker (including the rare white-backed woodpecker) can be found here. This is the best area for Ural and eagle owls. It is also rich in other birds of prey, with goshawk, eastern imperial, short-toed and lesser spotted eagles all breeding. While corncrakes are more likely to be heard than seen, there will be many more obvious birds to enjoy such as woodlark, red-backed shrike, black redstart, barred warbler and golden oriole to name but a few.
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Bükk National Park
The hills and forests of Hungary’s largest national park include important geological features, as well as some 90 species of breeding birds.
In the abandoned, uneven-aged forest, woodpeckers and flycatchers are common. Eight species of woodpecker are resident here including Syrian, lesser-spotted, middle-spotted, white-backed, grey-headed and the mighty black woodpecker, and wrynecks are now back from their wintering areas. Other species include hawfinch, turtle dove, yellowhammer, corn bunting, both short-toed and common treecreepers, Eurasian tree sparrow, marsh tit, the white-headed form of long-tailed tit, serin, barred warbler and black redstart. This area is remote and unspoiled enough to have black stork, saker falcon, and imperial, golden, lesser-spotted and short-toed eagles breeding. White storks are obvious on their huge nests in villages while black storks are a little harder to find. Evenings sounds are dominated by owls, especially the crooning of Eurasian eagle owls.
And of course, there are plenty of plants, butterflies and other wildlife too.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Hortobágy National Park
Probably the best-known of the Hungarian National Parks, the Hortobágy is the foremost wildlife region of the country and one of Europe’s most valuable ecological areas. It is a flat land of distant horizons, small woodlands and reed-fringed fish ponds, but dominated by the lowland semi-steppe and grassland known as the ‘puszta’.
The grasslands are home to an abundance of small mammals, including the souslik (a kind of ground squirrel) and insects, making this an excellent area for long-legged buzzards, imperial eagles, Montagu’s harriers and saker and red-footed falcons. Great bustards, stone curlews, collared pratincoles and white-winged terns can be found here. White storks nest on the roofs of cottages, flocks of gaggling white geese, shepherds with their scruffy ‘puli’ dogs, are all part of the atmosphere of the puszta, an area which is steeped in folklore and myth.
The huge complexes of fishponds that dot the Hortobágy are rich in breeding marshland birds and are a magnet for migrating waders and passerines. In May, the reedbeds are a cacophony of song, from the loud, harsh notes of great reed Warblers, to the sweeter, mellow songs of marsh and moustached warblers and the reeling of Savi’s warblers. Adjacent to the fishponds are sedge beds which are also home to the beautiful, but sadly declining, aquatic warbler. By early May the herons and egrets are nesting in their large raucous colonies. As well as spoonbill, great egret, purple heron and glossy ibis, the secretive bittern also occurs, and can often be heard booming from the surrounding reedbeds. Other interesting species include whiskered tern, black-necked grebe and pygmy cormorant.
Collared Pratincoles
Fertő-Hanság National Park
Fertő is the Hungarian name for the Neusiedler See. The two national parks are part of the same ecosystem – based around the lake and the surrounding landscapes. The reedbeds are extensive, and good for a variety of heron species. Shoveler and ferruginous ducks breed there, as do black-tailed godwits and Kentish plovers. Reedbed warblers are common, and it’s probably the best place in Hungary for moustached warblers which may stay right through until October. National Park website
Lake Fertő
Bookshop
Click on the covers for more information.
P.S. Buying books through these links brings me a small commission (at no extra cost to you) which helps with the costs of maintaining this website.
Farm Lator is an eco-friendly farmhouse accommodation & campsite located in north-eastern Hungary. It is run by an English-speaking wildlife guide offering various nature holidays for independent travellers and groups. They cater for birdwatching, butterflies and moths, general natural history, wildlife photography tours/workshops, mammal trips and family holidays. (NB your browser may tell you their website is not secure – because it is an older www. website).
Hungarianbirdwatching.com is an association of young, enthusiastic birders who organise birding tours and birdwatching holidays in Hungary and in Budapest. Their birding tours are highly customised to your needs.
Ecotours organise a variety of natural history tours in Eastern Europe. Their Kondor EcoLodge offers a unique place at the westernmost edge of the Eurasian Steppe to discover the special mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, other invertebrates, wildflowers and other natural values of the “Hungarian Puszta” or flat grassland.
Saker Tour specialise in bird and bird photography holidays in Eastern Europe – their blog gives an idea of what you are likely to see from their photography hides in the Hortobágy
I wouldn’t normally recommend visiting anywhere in August for birdwatching – things are usually quiet as young birds are keeping out of the way while they begin to discover independent life, and their parents are keeping out of sight while they moult and feed up to recover from the breeding season. Also, it can be hot, especially in a continental climate.
However, we were on our way to Greece in a campervan, and that meant travelling through the old Yugoslavia in the heat. We stopped at a few places en route. And some of them turned out to be real gems.
So, this piece is about my memories from then, followed by a description of the place now. And it seems that the Kopački Rit Nature Reserve is good at any time of year.
August 1989
As we descended into the valley of the Drava, the floodplain appeared to be covered with reedbeds. My heart sank as we got closer and I realised it was actually huge fields of maize. Did the Kopački Rit still exist? Had it been swallowed by intensive agriculture?
We stopped in Osijeck for groceries and information – not that there was much to be had back then. At least we now knew we were on the right road. We continued through another 10km or so of farmland, though it didn’t seem quite so intensive here. And then suddenly we were in the wetland.
This was the edge of the park with fishponds – open water fringed with reeds – on one side of the road, and vast areas of rushes with clumps of willow on the other. On the water were hundreds of coot with a few each of moorhen, little and great-crested grebe and a few ducks. Moustached, reed and great reed warblers hunted in the vegetation.
Within a few minutes, an osprey flew in and circled the fishpond. It dived twice without success and eventually disappeared into the distance, mobbed continuously by common and whiskered terns, and black-headed gulls. A cuckoo flew past mobbed by a dozen hirundines.
A rush of coot and other birds over the water surface announced the arrival of a boat. The people on board were shovelling maize meal into the water – fish food that the birds weren’t interested in.
Purple Heron
There was a continual coming and going of waterbirds – purple and grey herons, cormorants, buzzards and marsh harriers, and sometimes a white stork too.
The road followed the edge of the fishpond then went straight north through farmland again. The drainage ditches were choked with yellow and white water lilies, and fringed with purple loosestrife, goldenrod etc; a few moorhen and mallard were in residence.
Dry-looking arable fields extended way beyond the channels. A black stork circled low over one field, working its way slowly along one edge, then it drifted back before going to rest in a dead tree at the edge of a wood. In the sweltering midday heat, shade was hard to come by – the trees were too far from the road to be of much use. It was quiet except for the raucous calls of jays.
Back at the fishponds, we stopped on a track that leads into the park but has an “entry forbidden” on it. Sitting in the shade of the campervan’s tailgate, we watched birds coming and going for the rest of the day. To our right were the wooded rushes and willows, to the left was a fishpond with small fish – a tern paradise, and behind us the pond of bigger fish where we had stopped earlier.
Eight squacco herons were lined up along the edge of reeds; a little bittern flew in low, showing off its pale wing patches and landing clumsily on a reed; something disturbed a roost of night herons and scores of them emerged from some low trees; occasionally a little egret flew over.
White-tailed eagle – the emblem of the Kopački Rit Nature Park
We stayed put for the next four days. Early in the morning, we would walk along the path on the top of a dyke, then back to the van before it got too hot – or sometimes when it was too hot as we got distracted by birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. The shade of the tailgate provided some relief for the main part of the day, allowing us to watch the comings and goings of over 70 species of birds – including regular visits from white-tailed eagles as they picked up a free meal from the fishpond. Then, in the evening, we’d take another stroll along the dyke.
The track was out of bounds to all except authorised vehicles and we saw only two cars during the morning. The driver of the second vehicle wanted to know what we were doing there and said something about it being a forbidden place. However, he seemed satisfied when I said the general tourist office in Osijek said we could walk here, so long as we didn’t leave the path.
One morning we watched as a couple of red deer came out of the vegetation, ran along the edge and plunged out of sight again. There were only tree sparrows occupying the top of a dead tree, but a movement lower down caught my eye. It looked at first like a squirrel but as the whole animal came into view its heavy build immediately distinguished it as a marten, then it disappeared into the foliage of a small tree below. Time to stop and watch!
After about five minutes the marten reappeared in another tree, moving slowly and deliberately from branch to branch, using its tail for balance; sometimes it leapt across a gap but always seem to stop to balance before moving on again. Its dark red-brown body and tail, contrasting with a yellow-cream throat, identified it as a pine marten. It showed itself four times for a few minutes each during a half-hour period as it explored the clump of trees thoroughly. Then it either went to sleep or moved to trees further away for we saw no more of it.
People were generally few and far between. There was a Dutch couple who were pleased to see the sea eagle which was mobbed first by buzzards and later by marsh harriers as it soared over the marshes. Then an osprey arrived and caught a fish at the first attempt; it was mobbed by a black-headed gull which it easily outflew before flying in circles looking lost – perhaps it couldn’t see a suitable dining table. It was then chased by a marsh harrier which couldn’t keep up with it and was last seen being mobbed by buzzards as it disappeared into the distance.
Osprey
Our second visitor was a Frenchman called Dominic who had a long-term association with Kopacki Rit and permission to go into the reserve for bird photography. He is currently working on a book about the area. From him, we got some background information, for example the relative importance of the hunting reserve and its ability to bring in foreign currency while the bird reserve was left to its own devices apart from keeping people out. The fish ponds are managed in order to keep areas of open water but this does mean that many waterbird nests are destroyed when the reeds are cut.
Then there was Stefan, an over-enthusiastic photographer who admitted he was no ornithologist. He took pictures of the larger birds and game to sell to tourists. This was the third time we had seen him and he had brought some prints to show us. Dominic stopped by again and there was some bantering between the two photographers with the Frenchman repeatedly telling the Yugoslav that he has to approach things slowly, that he has to let the creatures know he loved them, and so on. Stefan gave the impression that he would just photograph purple herons one day, kingfishers the next, etc
You can read all of my notes from the five days here
European Pond Terrapin (Emys orbicularis)
Kopački Rit today
Looking at Google maps now, I can’t quite make out exactly where we stopped back in 1989. My notes say we were 10km from Osijek, which would put us at the north end of the reserve. However, it is possible that we were actually at the end of the road in the photo below. That road leads to the dyke – which now appears to be more accessible.
What is clear, though, is that this part of the reserve has received considerable development for visitor access and appreciation. The park website shows an extensive system of boardwalks and a visitor centre. There are exhibitions and educational/interpretive materials, guided tours, and a proper campsite nearby.
The Kopački Rit website provide a lot of useful background information, including the following facts:
The Nature Park encompasses a total of 231 km2, including a 71 km2 Special Zoological Reserve.
Nature Park Kopački Rit is one of the best-preserved large river floodplains in Europe.
Due to the abundance of fauna found in the southern part of the Park in particular, this area has been declared a Special Zoological Reserve.
In 1986 it was included in the Important Bird Areas in Europe list. Its international significance was further confirmed in 1993, when it was included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Kopački Rit is home to:
Some 300 bird species, of which 140 are breeding in the park
twelve species of amphibian
ten species of reptile
50 species of freshwater fish
48 species of dragonfly
64 species of butterfly
More than 500 species of plant
Kopački Rit is also an important part of the Croatian-Hungarian Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube established by UNESCO in 2012.
White Water Lily (Nymphaea alba)
Other seasons
The floods start at the end of February or the beginning of March and last to the end of July or the beginning of August. The dry season lasts from August to February the following year, when most of the birds stay in the fishponds or rivers. The largest number of birds can be seen during the Spring and Autumn migrations, later during Summer.
Although the number of birds in Winter is less than in other seasons, thousands of wild geese and ducks arriving from West Siberia can be observed in the wider area of the Park.
Birding in Eastern Europe suggests that it is worth a visit at any time of year, though May is absolutely the best month.
The author also makes a safety warning: The surrounding area may not have been entirely cleared of mines from the 1990s conflict with Serbia, so do not leave the main roads or marked trails, or ignore warning signs.
Getting there
While travelling by car (or campervan as I did) is relatively easy, it is also possible to get there by public transport. Aim for Osijek – which has a railway station, then you’ll probably need a taxi for the last few kilometres.
If you use the Rome2Rio website for travel planning, be aware that one of their Kopacki Rit options takes you to the far side of the Danube (an expensive taxi journey from Osijek) and the other options take you beyond the visitor centre.
Or, to give it its full title: The National Park of the Deltas of Axios – Loudias – Aliakmonas
Why visit the Axios Delta?
Being close to Thessaloniki, it is fairly accessible
299 species of birds, in other words 66% of the species observed in Greece today, of which 106 nest
350 species and subspecies of plants
40 species of mammals
18 species of reptiles
9 species of amphibians
7 species of invertebrates
25 habitats, of which two are priority habitats on a European level
About the delta area
Given its location on one of the main migratory routes in Europe, it’s not surprising that thousands of water birds stop in this wetland in order to feed and rest. Important numbers of waterbirds (at a European level) gather here during the winter. It’s not just the sheer number of individual birds that is impressive. A total of 299 species of birds have been documented in this area – that is, 66% of all bird species observed to be present in Greece. Of those 299 species, 106 nest here.
Parts of the area were designated a Ramsar Site in 1975 – when it was described as an extensive river delta including brackish lagoons, saltmarshes, and large areas of mudflats. Vegetation consists of scrub, riparian forest, wet meadows, reedbeds, and halophytic communities. 30 freshwater fish species occur in the river. An extremely important area for nesting and migrating waterbirds.
Thanks to its considerable ecological importance, this area is included in the Natura 2000 network of European ecological regions. The largest part of this protected area has been listed as a National Park since 2009 – it comprises 33.800 hectares, including the deltas and the estuaries of four rivers, the Lagoon of Kalochori and the Alykes Kitrous, the wetland of Nea Agathoupoli and the riverbed of Axios, reaching upstream to the Elli dam.
The importance of the delta area goes well beyond just the wildlife. It offers multiple benefits to man, for example a water for water supply and irrigation, it protects the inhabited and rural areas from flooding, regulates the climate, provides food, as well as allowing for research, education and recreation.
The red pointer is the location of the national park information centre. Alyki Kitrous is at the bottom (left of centre).
When to visit
Winter and spring are generally considered the best times to visit for birds. However, the autumn period is great for passage migrants – I visited in September, and it was pretty spectacular – 100 species in four days of just enjoying being there rather than trying to see as many species as possible. The greatest numbers of birds are seen in winter. The rice fields are flooded in late spring, providing food for the breeding birds, especially herons, egrets and cormorant. Avoid the summer it can be blisteringly hot, and generally unpleasant except at dawn and dusk.
There was certainly an abundance of dragonflies, mostly Sympetrum species, in September. However, the best time for plants, butterflies and insects in general is probably a bit earlier in the year.
At almost any time of year, the weather can change between hot and cold from one day to another. The Meltemi, a cold wind coming off the mountains to the north, is responsible for this. While the Meltemi can make the heat more bearable, at other times a warm and windproof coat is worth packing.
Note that most of the area is farmland criss-crossed with dykes and dirt roads used by farm vehicles. Most of the roads are drive-able in dry weather, but can be slippery (and treacherous) after rain, and there is a good chance of getting bogged down after prolonged wet weather. Even those that have tarmac are often damaged by heavy tractors and farm machinery.
Sousliks are a kind of ground squirrel. They fill a similar niche to rabbits in western Europe and marmots in the Alps, in terms of eating grass and digging burrows. They were once widespread across eastern Europe, but are becoming scarce. The Axios Delta is one of the best places to see them.
Best places to visit
Kalochori Lagoon
Kalochori village is easily accessible by bus from Thessaloniki, and footpaths lead from there to the lagoon. In winter there are flamingos, great flocks of them. And from autumn to spring there are plenty of waders (shorebirds) too – avocets, black-winged stilts, Kentish plovers, to name just a few. In recent years, water buffalo have been introduced to the area.
Gallikos river estuary
Avocets, black-winged stilts, common terns and little terns breed on the Gallikos estuary, which is accessible via footpaths from the Kalochori area, or further upstream. It also provides breeding areas for smaller birds – Cetti’s and other warblers – and herons. Ospreys and other raptors, and a whole variety of waders stop by on migration, and then there are wildfowl in winter.
White-tailed eagle
Axios River – Mavroni river mouth – Loudias Estuary – Aliakmonas Delta
As I was researching this area, making notes from my experiences and trying to update them from various websites, I discovered a page on the Axios Delta website that suggests several worthwhile routes through this main expanse of the delta, and what you might see on each.
Most of it is a rice-growing area. Rice fields attract lots of amphibians and fish, and these in turn attract lots of herons, as well as other waterbirds. The herons are particularly numerous – a census in 2015 estimated that this mixed colony of little egrets, night herons, squaccos, as well as cormorants, pygmy cormorants, spoonbills and glossy ibises (below), held over 2,500 nests!
Glossy ibis
Nea Agathoupoli
Nea Agathoupoli is at the western end of the main part of the national park. From the village, a track leads north to an observation tower from where you can overlook the Aliakmonas delta. The tower is open only for limited periods, but there is plenty to be seen from the track as you pass scrub, salt flats, drainage channels, orchards, and a variety of other crops. Beyond the tower, the track links with a network of other tracks (of varying quality) across the area, so plenty of opportunity for finding birds and other wildlife.
This area is host to thousands of mallard, teals, pochards, wigeon, mallard, pintail, gadwall and shoveler in winter. Herons, glossy ibis, shelduck, Kentish plover, Dalmatian pelican and white-tailed eagle are also seen here. And it’s also good for spur-thighed tortoises, water snakes, green lizards and dragonflies.
Common pratincoles are a regular attraction at the Alyki Kitrous
Alyki Kitrous
Alyki is Greek for saltpans, or salinas. The lagoon and saltworks at Kitrous are some 20km south of the main part of the national park. This site seems to be particularly good a migration periods. Access to the actual saltworks is limited, but you can walk around the lagoon and along the shore.
The park boasts eighteen species of reptile, including a large population of Hermann’s tortoise near the Alyki Kitrous.
So, there you have it
My guide to the Axios Delta National Park.
For my first visit in 1989, I had only sketch maps provided by other birdwatchers – in particular, Dave Gosney’s Finding Birds in Northern Greece. The book has been updated since then, but now, with the availability of Google maps and aerial photos, I get a much clearer image of where to go and what I missed previously.
There are a few books available that are specific to Greece. Birding in Greece is about bird-watching sites produced by the Greek Ornithogical Society. The finding birds book is the updated version of the book I used on my initial travels. (click on the cover for more information)
Most of the other books I have used are now out of print, but the general ones for Europe, shown below, are perfectly adequate.
This is the standard flora for Greece.
First published in 1987, this guide lists many of the richest plant-hunting areas in southeast Europe at first hand, and each description is accompanied by several line drawings.
Names and describes almost 3,000 species of flowering plants in the region.
However, it is a key, and if you prefer to ID your flowers from pictures, then there are other books that might suit better, but are not as comprehensive.
Note that buying books through these links earns a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that goes towards the cost of maintaining this website.
Delphi may be best-known for the ruins of an ancient Greek settlement, but it is also a wonderful place for plants and insects. Best to visit in spring, before the vegetation is strimmed and tidied-up for the summer visitors.
The abundance of wildlflowers – including a few found only in Greece, and one found only in the Gorge itself.
A variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and other insects.
The heritage railway and the Mega Spilio Monastery
There are two ways to see the Vouraikos Gorge – either you walk through it, or take the train. Or perhaps you take the train, and spend a couple of hours wandering around near each station until the next train comes. The latter is probably best done at weekends when there are five trains each way a day, rather than the three on weekdays.
Beginning near the village of Priolithos in the Aroania/Chelmos mountains, the Vouraikos river flows some 40km past the towns of Kalavryta and Diakopto to the Gulf of Corinth. The gorge itself is the last half of this journey, where the river has cut through limestone and conglomerates, and now passes through dense vegetation and tunnels with many caves, passes and crags.
Legend has it that the name derives from Boura, a mythological daughter of Ion and Helice. She was courted by Hercules who opened the gorge in order to get closer to her.
The river and gorge and part of the National Park of Chelmos-Vouraikos, which was established in 2009 to preserve the biodiversity, the natural resources, and the ecological value of the natural ecosystems in the area. The steep sides of the gorge provide a myriad of micro-climates, with plenty of opportunity for plants to evolve into endemic species, and for scarce animals to find refuge.
The endemic plants include Silene conglomeratica (endemic to the gorge), Aurinia moreana, and Campanula topaliana subsp. cordifolia (pictured left).
Otters Lutra lutra hunt along the river. Bats (Miniopterus sehreibasi, Myotis blythii, Myotis myotis, Rhinolophus blasii, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) also live in the caves and the rock crevices.
Several birds of prey nest on the rock ledges higher up.
The railway line dates from the 1890s. Charilaos Trikinos was the Greek prime minister at the time, and he wanted to create local railway networks to connect the interior regions with the main railway. These local railways were to be narrow gauge, because small trains were better suited to the mountainous country and were cheaper to construct. It also meant that, using a cog system, the trains could negotiate steeper inclines. This railway climbs 750m in its 20km journey. Since it was inaugurated on 10th March 1896, the trains have run every day, regardless of the weather (although parts of the line were closed for refurbishment when I visited).
The E4 European long distance footpath starts in Portugal and runs through the Alps before turning south through the Balkans and ending in Cyprus. It makes use of existing routes, including the railway line through the Vouraikos Gorge. That means that with some careful planning, and keeping an eye and ear out for trains, it is possible to take nature walks within the gorge.
The route
The first station north of Kalavrita is Zahlorov. From here we crossed the rail bridge over the river, noting pale speedwell Veronica cymbalaria and Narrow navelwort Umbilicus horizontalis (horizontalis refers to the flowers in this case, not the whole plant) growing from the crevices, and large plane trees Platanus orientalis shading the river valley below. Iridescent blue male beautiful demoiselle damselflies Calopteryx virgo were flitting from leaf to leaf, and showing off in the sun to the iridescent green females.
A road leads uphill from here to Mega Spilio Monastery, which is mostly located in a cave. The rocky slopes supported dry species from the garrigue – Rock bellflower Campanula rupestris, the pink cistuses Cistus incanus and C creticus, and kermes oak Quercus coccifera whose small holly-like leaves host the Kermes scale insect Kermes vermilio. These insects were harvested and dried, then used to produce a crimson dye until the mid-1500s when the cochineal insects were discovered on cactuses in America.
A stream frog Rana graeca was well camouflaged amongst the leaf litter until it moved. We examined it carefully because all the brown frogs look similar – the diagnostic feature here is that the distance between the nostrils is less than the distance between the eye and the nostril!
Closer to Diakopto the land flattens out somewhat to reveal extensive lemon and olive groves. Use of pesticides has meant that native wildflowers have largely been replaced by the invasive Bermuda buttercup Oxalis pes-caprae, but there are still some places with a mass of colour – bellflower Campanula ramoissima, blue houndstone Cynoglossum creticum, bug orchid Orchis coriophoroa, tongue orchid Serapia vomeracea, branching broomrape Orobanche ramosa, birthwort Aristolocia sempervirens, and grass poly Lythrum junceum, to name just a few, and then wonderful fields of scarlet poppies Papaver rhoeas.
Amongst the trees in one field, the dappled sunlight illuminated a patch of bright pink Cyclamen repandum ssp peloponnesiacum – a local speciality – pictured right.
In a nearby ditch we found shepherds needle Scandex pectin-veneris (the common name deriving from the striking seed pods), and also Calabrian soapwort Saponaria calabrica.
Diakopto itself is on the Corinthian Gulf, with maritime species along the shore by the railway line – yellow horned poppy Glaucium flavum, three-horned stock Malcomia tricuspidata, and sea beet Beta maritima.
On the way back to Kalavrita, we had views of a pair of short-toed eagles circling the top of the gorge. A delightful day out indeed.
Bookshop
This is the standard flora for Greece.
First published in 1987, this guide lists many of the richest plant-hunting areas in southeast Europe at first hand, and each description is accompanied by several line drawings.
Names and describes almost 3,000 species of flowering plants in the region.
However, it is a key, and if you prefer to ID your flowers from pictures, then there are other books that might suit better, but are not as comprehensive.
There are some books available that are specific to Greece – this one about bird-watching sites for example.
Most of the ones I have used are now out of print, but the general ones for Europe, shown below, are perfectly adequate.
Note that buying books through these links earns a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that goes towards the cost of maintaining this website.
Along some 27 kilometres of its course, the Duratón River cuts through the limestone rock, reaching a depth of over one hundred metres in some places. The cliffs hosts huge population of cliff-nesting birds. An area of over 5000 hectares was declared Natural Park in 1989 to protect these birds. It is a Special Protection Area under the European Birds Directive, and is included in the Natura 2000 network.
Hoces del Río Duratón Natural Park lies about an hour’s drive to the north of Segovia, or two hours north of Madrid.
The canyon of the Duraton has been dammed to provide water for Madrid.
How to enjoy nature at the Hoces del Duratón
Information centre in Sepúlveda
I’d usually start by visiting an information centre, but I was with an organised group and local guides, so did not need to visit. There are mixed reviews of the Casa del Parque de las Hoces del Río Duratón in the Iglesia de Santiago (separate to the Sepúlveda tourism information centre), and the website is in Spanish only. You have to go there to get a permit for hiking through the restricted areas in the vulture breeding season. They do provide maps, leaflets, and guides on-line as well as at the centre itself. Displays include information about the geology and nature of the park, and in particular of the griffon vulture, or the EL BUITRE LEONADO as it is called in Spanish.
From Sepúlveda it is a 20 minute hike to the Puente de Talcano – an old Roman Bridge – from where you can join the footpath alongside the river. The landscape here is pleasant, the walking easy, and there is plenty for the nature-watcher to linger over. The path goes 10km to the Puente de Villaseca where there is a cafe, and then you return via the same route.
The Puente de Villaseca.
Of course you can do the above walk in reverse, starting at the Puenta Vellaseca. Or you can take a shorter hike along the Senda de la Mollinilla further downstream from here. There is limited parking space, so our coach dropped us here, and went off somewhere else for most of the day.
It was amazing to get out of the coach and be face-to-face with a griffon vulture (above) – almost too close to photograph with a long lens. It was probably a young bird, inquisitive about the world around. When it flew off, it tried landing in a tree, and found itself stuck there amongst the branches for a while, but eventually managed to escape.
The area between the bridge and just beyond the cafe is more open, and is an excellent area for plants, butterflies and other insects.
View of the 12th century Romanesque chapel of San Frutos
The Hermitage of San Frutos
Watching the vultures at the Hoces del Duratón Natural Park is easy, even if you don’t want to hike along the river. Further downstream, and not far from the dam across the Rio Duraton, an ancient hermitage sits on a rock promontory. It overlooks a look in the part of the canyon and the views are fantastic. It is a popular place for general visitors, so a large car-parking area has been provided about 1km away.
Cardinal Butterfly Argynnis pandora
The track from the car park proved to be good for butterflies. This Cardinal was the biggest of them. Unfortunately at the end of October, most were looking quite worn and tatty. Nine species (including hermit, Bath white, mallow skipper and Spanish chalk-hill blue) during our short visit is surely an excuse to go back for more. There were few flowers to provide nectar at this time of year, but a visit earlier in the year will be productive.
But the real stars of the show were the griffon vultures. They flew above the cliffs, below the cliffs, and zoomed past at head height almost close enough to touch. Some cliffs still held nesting pairs – or at least the chicks that were now almost full grown. It was very hot, with hardly any wind, so the cliffs were baking. For the vultures, the best place to be was high up, circling in the thermals, reaching for the cooler air at higher altitudes.
A kettle of vultures, circling overhead
If you’ve never seen a griffon, or any other vulture, close-up, this is the place to come. You won’t see them fighting over carcasses because the food is out on the plains. They can travel vast distances in search of food, and will return to the nest with as much as they can carry in their crops (this is a chamber in the throat – so they don’t carry food in their talons/feet) to feed the chicks.
A dipper in the stream at the bottom of the canyon
In search of other birds
Three main habitats dominate the area – the riverine woodland, the cliffs, and the plains above the canyon. In the spring and summer, the woodland is full of a variety of birds. Even in October, we managed a respectable list here – including short-toed treecreeper and dipper.
The open plains have a more specialist range of birds, including Dupont’s, Calandra and Thekla larks, stone curlew, and several kinds of wheatear. There is little shade here, except in the patches of pine and juniper woodland. But these woodlands do provide for hoopoes, owls, Iberian (azure-winged) magpies, amongst many others.
Theckla lark keeping an eye out for danger
So there you have it
We were in Segovia for a conference, and this trip to watch vultures at the Hoces del Duratón Natural Park was organised as part of that. However, it is easy to visit by car, and day trips by coach are available from Segovia and from Madrid – check at the tourist information centres.
Obviously, visiting under you own steam means you can do more exploring. Our guide pointed out the general area for Dupont’s larks – best looked for in spring when they are singing. We just missed the Egyptian vultures, as they were on their way south for winter. For these and the other summer visitors, we need to visit earlier in the year.
However, note that the main vulture breeding areas are not freely accessible from January to June. Contact the visitor centre in advance if you are planning to visit at this time. Of course, you’ll still be able to see the vultures in the air at any time.
November to March can be decidedly chilly. May to September can be hot. Even early October was hot. As we headed back to the coach at 5pm, the heat was going out of the day. More and more people were streaming along the path to the Ermita de San Frutos to look at the vultures.
Useful resources:
Local tour guides – Vultour Naturaleza – I don’t know anything about them, but their website suggests they could be worth trying.
Wingspan Bird Tours do short break trips from the UK to the Madrid area. Again I don’t know anything about the company.
Two excellent books (I have them both) about birds and nature, including Duraton. Click on the covers for more information.
Buying books through these links brings a small commission, at no extra cost to you, that helps with the maintenance of this website.
The Laguna Gallocanta near Zaragoza in north-eastern Spain provides an incredible spectacle in late February as thousands of cranes stop by on the way to northern European breeding grounds.
If you’re staying somewhere between Malaga and Gibraltar, and you can’t get to the Doñana National Park on the other side of the river, then the Brazo del Este is the place to head for. A true oasis of wildlife surrounded by an agricultural desert – a desert in terms of wildlife.
The Odiel Marshes Natures Reserve is the second largest wetland in Huelva province after Doñana, and the most important tidal wetland in Spain. Here’s how to make the best of a visit.
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
The old city of Segovia is almost surrounded by a green belt of shallow ravines, with easy walking/running paths, through trees and along a river – a lovely sheltered way to enjoy the birds, butterflies and botany, not forgetting the frogs and lizards.
Segovia is home to a unique population of urban red-billed choughs. Over ninety pairs nest in buildings and natural sites, and several hundred come to roost in the city each night.
The Roman aqueduct is probably the best-known of the ancient monuments, but there is also the cathedral, the Alcazar and a host of other cultural (and culinary) delights in the city.
The Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral in Segovia. You can watch griffon and black vultures, and other birds of prey, while enjoying refreshments in the main square.
About Segovia
Segovia lies about 100km by road to the north-northwest of Madrid, along the Camino de Santiago de Madrid – the old pilgrim route from Madrid to Galicia. Segovia is 300m (1000ft) higher in altitude than Madrid, and thankfully therefore a few degrees cooler in summer.
It is an old city, dating back to pre-Roman times. It gives the impression of a hilltop town, yet only the cathedral shows above the surrounding landscape. That’s because the ‘hill’ is a promontory within a canyon. The city walls are integrated with the rock face. The Roman aqueduct towers across the lowest part of the old city. The cathedral is said to be the last Gothic Cathedral built in Spain (16th century). If the medieval Alcázar (fortress) of Segovia looks familiar, then you’ve probably seen the Walt Disney film ‘Cinderella’. The narrow streets give the place an ancient feeling – drive a car here at your peril! There is plenty to keep the history and culture buffs happy.
Inevitably there is a new part to the city, sprawling into the distance. And new industrial areas too. But tourism seems to be the main function.
Nature-watching in Segovia
Red-billed choughs coming to roost in the evening
Red-billed Choughs
We were in town for a three-day workshop about red-billed choughs. Hard to imagine that a city could hold more breeding pairs than the whole coast of Pembrokeshire (where we live). They breed and roost in many of the old buildings, including the cathedral and the aqueduct. During the day they are mostly out feeding in the surrounding countryside. Outside the breeding season (this was a warm October) they are most easily seen returning to roost in the evening. The main roosting site varies, but from the Plaza Mayor you can see if they are heading for the cathedral, further west to the Alcázar, or any of the other tall buildings.
And while you are looking up for choughs, there’s a good chance of seeing black and griffon vultures, booted eagles, peregrines, any other birds of prey in season. Of course, there are the ubiquitous house sparrows and town pigeons – the latter causing problems for the choughs as they also nest in cavities in buildings and people want to keep them out.
The Green Belt
The path through the green belt
According to an information board, the green belt of Segovia (formed by the Eresma and Clamores rivers) was declared an area of outstanding beauty in 1947. The Green Belt comprises a series of linked parks, gardens, cemeteries, rough ground, and the rivers Eresma and Clamores. A network of compacted gravel tracks run through the green belt, alongside the rivers, through the various parks, etc, so it is all very accessible. There are also a number of drinking water fountains en route.
We started at the Terrazas de San Valentin, on the south side of the city. Here, the Clamores river is not much more than a trickle, emerging from the rocks under Segovia. It continues through the Huertas de la Hontanilla, past St Andrews Gate, through scrub and shady trees.
Then through the Area natural del valle Clamores, from where you get a glimpse of the Alcázar high up on the city walls. Even higher up, there were griffon vultures drifting across. Then the Clamores becomes a larger river, shallow and slow, with Iberian water frogs at the edge.
Just beyond the Alcatraz, the Clamores joins the Eresma, the path goes along the south bank, over a bridge, and back along the north bank, through Pradera de San Marcos.
Further along is the old Royal Mint, with a weir across the river. In the background, the Alcazar dominates the skyline.A kingfisher posed nicely – not at all bothered by people – and a few mallard inhabited the shadier areas.
The Alameda de Parral is more formally laid out, but is still home to plenty of butterflies, birds, and lizards. Beyond that, the Senda de los Molinos continues on the south side of the Eresma, or you can follow tracks closer to the old city. The most easterly part of the green belt is the Parque del Santo Angel de la Guarda around the cemetery.
St Mary of Parral’s Monastery from the city walls at St Cebrian’s Gate
Even in October, we found some 30 species of birds along the route. Not many plants in flower at this time, except for ivy. The powerful scent of its flowers attracted a variety of butterflies, bees, and other insects.
Other nearby places of natural interest
Shady woodlands in the gardens of the Palacio Real de la Granja de San Ildefonso
Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso
This Royal Palace lies some 12km south-east of Segovia – and as a popular destination, it is accessible by bus. The palace is huge, and the gardens are amazing. Tucked into the base of the Sierra de Guadarrama, this was a summer residence. The gardens are wooded – there are specimen trees several hundred years old – and the water features are extensive. This makes it a relatively cool shady place.
The Palace itself is only open in the summer, but the gardens are open all year round and provide a pleasant general nature-watching experience. There are plenty of eating places in the village, and we had an excellent meal of local dishes at a small restaurant opposite the Calle des Jardines.
Ski resort at the Puerto de Navacerrada in the Sierra de Guadarrama, south of Segovia.
Sierra de Guadarrama
Designated a National Park in 2013, some parts of the park are accessible by bus from Segovia. It is the fifth-largest National Park in Spain, covering nearly 34,000 hectares. The Puerto de Navacerrada (37km south of Segovia) is a small ski resort with plenty of parking space, and a variety of footpaths through the woodland or over the open mountain areas. Also accessible by train from Madrid or Segovia. We found rock buntings and citril finches here, and a few late mountain flowers. Mushroom-collecting is a popular past-time. Cerule’s Rock lizard – a local species – was much in evidence – and there was an abundance of grasshoppers and crickets.
Hoces del Rio Duraton Natural Park
Hoces del Rio Duraton Natural Park
An hour’s drive to the north of Segovia takes you to the village of Sepúlveda and the incredible Gorge of the Duraton River. From the Talcano Bridge there is a gentle path alongside the tree-lined river. The walls of the gorge got higher as we went, and we had occasional glimpses of griffon vultures above, and dipper in the river.
From the big car and coach park closer to the Hermita de San Frutos (Patron Saint of Segovia), the view is quite different. A stark landscape with the river in the gorge below, and griffon vultures by the dozen, the score, no, by the hundred! And flying past within ten metres at times. If you want to photograph griffon vultures, this is the place to do it. Then there were the butterflies – unfortunately mostly at the end of their seasons and often looking quite tatty, but proof that this site would repay a much longer visit at some other time.
Griffon Vulture
So there you have it
I wouldn’t normally go nature-watching in a city, but did so here because of the chough event. It turned out to be much more than I had expected, and there is plenty more for a future visit. I would imagine that spring is a good time – before it gets too hot. There is plenty of scope for birds and butterflies, and probably for botanising too, along the paths of the Green Belt. We explored only a small part of this.
Segovia is also a good base for visiting sites further afield, though if you hire a car, the old city is not an easy place to drive in, with its narrow streets, semi-pedestrianised areas and one-way routes. Buses and taxis seem to be the best way to get around, and there are coach trips to more distant areas.
If you (or your travelling companions) are into history, culture and/or culinary delights, there is plenty to keep you occupied here.
Two excellent books (I have them both) about birds and nature, including the Segovia area. Click on the covers for more information.
Buying books through these links brings a small commission, at no extra cost to you, that helps with the maintenance of this website.
Griffon Vultures are usually seen circling high overhead. About 400 pairs breed at the Hoces del Duratón Natural Park, and they fly within metres of you.
Nature-watching in Europe 