Birdwatching trip to Albania, Greece and North Macedonia

Just completed a superb birdwatching trip to Albania, Greece and North Macedonia. I traveled around all these countries to see the diversity of birds, reptiles and amphibians, insects, and landscapes.

The itinerary

We started our trip from Tirana airport, where I met a group of 14 naturalists. Immediately upon arrival, we headed to the Albanian side of Ohrid Lake, where we spent the next two days. Our hotel was situated on the bank of the lake in the middle of a beautiful park. It was well-positioned to offer good opportunities for pre-breakfast walks.

Ohrid lake

On the second day of our trip, we crossed the border with North Macedonia and drove up to Galicice National Park. We drove up to 1500 to spend the day in the alpine area of the National Park. Just as we were driving up, we had Black Woodpecker, and the view from up there was getting better and better. After a picnic lunch, we visited the old town of Ohrid and St.Naum Monastery. Everybody in the group felt blessed to be able to witness the beauty of Nature here.

Prespa lake

On the third day of the trip, we headed to Prespa Lake. We spent most of the day on its Albanian side and crossed the border to Greece in the late afternoon. The landscape on the Albanian side was rather dry with short bushes but much more lush on the Greek side.

Both Ohrid and Prespa lakes have superb biodiversity. Lake Ohrid is known as the deepest European lake with over 250 m of depth, and gets a significant percentage of its water from Prespa Lake, which is at a higher elevation.

During our stay in the area of Prespa Lake, we visited the biggest colony of Dalmatian Pelicans. It was truly mind blowing to see the richness of the habitat here. There were hundreds of Pelicans and many of the pairs had chicks, which were rather big already. Other than birds, we also saw many dragonflies and reptiles.

Ioannina lake in Greece

After Prespa Lake, we headed to Ioaninna Lake, where we spent only one night on our way to Albania. We visited the Ali Pasha castle and spent a few hours around the lake. The highlight here was a walk along the lake where we found a nest of Penduline Tit, several Ferruginous Ducks and the wonderful dragonfly Violet Dropwing.

Albania

It was time to go back to Albania and spend the next 4 days in the Southern part of the country. Our first destination was the archeological park Butrint, then we headed to the UNESCO site Gjirocaster, followed by the salpans at Vlore and the magnificent Divjaka-Karavasta lagoon. All sites were truly fantastic and we had superb views of landscapes, castles, birds, dragonflies and reptiles.

The Birds

In total, we managed to see 140 different birds. Some of the best birds were Dalmatian Pelicans, Egyptian Vulture, Common Rosefinch, Pygmy Cormorant, Tawny Pipit, Black Woodpecker, Collared Pratincole, Gull-billed Tern, Sombre Tit, Common Rock Thrush, Golden Eagle, dozens of Turtle doves, Red-backed Shrikes and a lot more. As always, it is not only about the number of species, but also about the quality of observations and the time we spend in nature.

Dragonflies and damselflies

We managed to see some stunning dragonflies and damselflies some of which were new to me. One of the best ones should be the Violet Dropwing and the Large Redeye. We also saw Small Redeye, Blueeye, Green-eyed Hawker, Variable Bluet. One of the mornings, we had an influx of female Common Darters. They were in their hundreds. It was amazing just to walk and see them flying around you.

Reptiles and amphibians

This list was not as extensive as we wanted it to be. We missed a few targets but still managed to see some good ones: Balkan Terapin, Mediterranean House Gecko, Legless Lizard, Horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes), Four-lined Snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata), Eastern Montpelier snake (Malpolon insignitus).

Conclusion

All in all, it was a superb trip with great sightings and amazing landscapes. Everybody had a great time and is ready to travel again.

We visited a great diversity of habitats spanning from the seaside to the high mountains. Some of these were several freshwater lakes, lagoons, saltpans, grassland, quarries, farmland, deciduous and pine forest and alpine meadows. This great diversity was a precondition for great flora and fauna.

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in visiting Albania for a birdwatching trip by using the form here.