MY FIRST GUIDED WILDLIFE WALKS IN KEFALONIA

Pete Lambden
Jul 5
7 min read

Over the past few years, as my website has become more popular, I have been asked, increasingly if I did guided wildlife walks in Kefalonia. I have always said no, as I didn’t think I was knowledgeable enough. This year, Lynn contacted me via my website, requesting guided walks. I initially said no again, but Lynn was persistent. I decided to look her up and found out that she is a professional nature photographer with a Facebook page called “Spirit of Photography” by Lynn Sampson. Her photography is excellent, and I thought I might learn from her and gain some experience. And so began my first guided wildlife walking tour.

DAY ONE - INTRODUCTIONS & AVITHOS LAKE

Lynn, her friend Gabi and Lynn’s mum, arrived in late May. We all met up for coffee and decided to go to Avithos Lake the next day to look for dragonflies. I picked them up from their hotel in Poros and drove them to the lake. The drive there on the Sami road is stunning with cypress trees carpeting the valleys and hills as you make your way up to Agios Nikolaos, a small mountain village. Apart from the lake, Agios Nikolaos is famous for Eleni’s pies at the Olive Garden Cafe. The lane to the lake is opposite the cafe and we parked at the bottom. As soon as we had gotten out of the car, we were surrounded by numerous butterflies and a few beautiful demoiselles posing for pictures.

We walked through the gate and into an olive grove which was full of wildflowers. There were countless butterflies and other insects vying for the nectar from the flowers. As we got closer to the lake the number of dragonflies and damselflies increased, making it difficult to decide what to photograph. The lake itself is small, with a reeded island and surrounded by a fence. There is a small building, which I assume is a pump house, with a very solid concrete roof. There is a path up to the roof and from there you have an excellent view of the lake. The lake is bordered by reeds above which fly lots of dragonflies and damselflies. Marsh frogs live among the reeds with little grebes, herons and bitterns. If you are quiet and sneak up to the lake, you can hear them all singing, but any noise or a sudden appearance on the roof and they vanish.

A female red-veined darter in the olive grove.

While I was below with Gabi photographing insects, Lynn and her mum were on the roof. Lynn spotted a grass snake gliding over the water looking for tadpoles and small frogs. A few hooded crows flew over, some barn swallows skimmed through the lake for a drink, and a lone buzzard called, but because of the heat, there were few birds around. Luckily, the insects seemed to thrive in the sun and there were lots to photograph. After a couple of hours, we left and had some wonderful lemon and orange pies at Eleni’s.

DAY TWO - ARGOSTOLI & TURTLES

With a very successful first walk in the bag, the ladies wanted to see loggerhead turtles, so the next trip was a drive to the island's capitol, Argostoli. From Poros to Argostoli is an hour's drive, but I made sure we left before the ferry came in, to miss the traffic. Leaving early also insured that we would be there when the fishermen cleaned their catch and threw the scraps into the lagoon. It was a little windy when we left, but I didn’t think anything of it (rookie error).

When we arrived, the wind was blowing harder, and the normally flat and calm lagoon was very choppy. We did see a few turtle's surface for air, but nothing to photograph. I was not worried, as I knew where the fishing boats would be, and it is a bit more sheltered there. When we arrived at the moorings for the boats, my heart sank, no fishing boats. It had been too windy for them to go out, so no fishermen, no scraps thrown into the lagoon and therefore, no turtles. We did see a few more turtles surfacing, but not many. I suggested a walk around the lagoon to spot a few birds but there was very little birdlife. There are over 70 bird species to be seen, but not that day. We gave up and I drove us all home. I will be scrutinizing the weather forecast before any more trips to watch the turtles.

Lynn had provided me with a wish list, and seeing and photographing martens was near the top. They were staying at the Oceanis Hotel in Poros, and I had it on good authority (thanks Kirsty), that martens were often seen in the area at dusk. I suggested a few places to Lynn, who went there and had a lovely encounter with a beech marten, which she managed to film.

DAY 3 - MOUNT AINOS & BEECH MARTENS

Although it is not on the list of guided walks I offer, the ladies wished to go up Mt Ainos to the National Park, for birding and sunset photos. The main reason it is not on my list is that I am not great with heights. I drove up there when we first got to the island and did not enjoy the experience. Not wanting to let them down, I put my big boy pants on and drove them up late one afternoon. The drive takes 45 minutes from Poros, driving very carefully. Apparently, there are some nice views as you wind your way up to the highest point on Kefalonia. Once up there, you can see all around the island, but it helps to hold onto a tree.

The birding was sparse, although we did see some 3-toed treecreepers. They were just inside the forest, which is dark, which makes it difficult to photograph there. On our way back down, Gabi spotted a pine marten trotting along the verge of the road. It was an old scruffy looking individual, who didn't seem bothered by the car. I stopped as it ambled past, Gabi and Lynn snapping away with their cameras. As it moved past, I followed it slowly and the ladies got lots of shots before it decided to go into the scrubland, magical.

scenic view of Kefalonia — Kefalonia looking beautiful

DAY 3 - LIVADI MARSH & FLAMINGOS

Another item on the wish list, was photographing flamingos with a pink sky behind them. I know that flamingos use Livadi Marsh as a stop off on their Spring and Autumn migrations, and I was hoping that a few stragglers would still be there. The pink sky meant that we would need to be there early in the morning, so I suggested that we stay overnight, to be onsite for an early start. I booked us all into the 3 Umbrellas, a wonderful family run restaurant with accommodation behind, which is on the edge of the marsh. We arrived on the morning of 31st May and spent the day birding. There are over 100 bird species, reptiles and amphibians at the marsh, but no flamingoes that day. There had been a lot, earlier in the month but they had moved on.

There were lots of egrets and herons, including a superb purple heron, black-winged stilts, moorhens and coots in the marsh, as well as a water rail which was constantly calling but stayed hidden. The resident marsh harriers were around but didn’t get close enough for good photos. We also saw shrikes, olivaceous and Cetti’s warblers, zitting cisticolas and corn buntings. At the end of the day, we had a great meal at the 3 Umbrellas and retired to bed.

We were up at 5.30 the next morning and although we had a pink sky, there were still no flamingos.

We had the same birds as the previous day as well as hearing reed and great reed warblers calling. A scops owl was heard in the woods and a few spotted flycatchers were seen. The harriers were flying but still not close enough to photograph well. Unfortunately, an appointment in Athens that I had been waiting for, had come up and this was going to be my last day with the ladies. Lynn asked if we could leave Livadi early and visit 2 more sites that are on my walk list. I drove back and we stopped first at Katelios.

DAY 4 - KATELIOS & MOUNDA BEACH

Katelios was originally a small fishing village. It is now a popular tourist destination with lots of restaurants and shops along a narrow beach. To the left of this beach, over a small wooden bridge is another beach which is quieter and has scrubland, hills and cliffs behind it. This beach is also used by the loggerheads for nesting, so please keep your umbrellas away from the back of the beach.

We only had a short time to visit, so I took them straight to the wooden bridge which spans a small creek. The wildlife was very accommodating. There were various dragonflies and damsels flitting about and Balkan terrapins sunning themselves on logs. There were juvenile barn swallows perching on a bamboo stalk a few feet from us and a Cetti’s warbler (usually very shy), showing off in the creek. I go to Katelios often to watch the nature. If it is not too busy, you can see dunlin, sanderling, plovers, herons and hooded crows feeding where the creek runs into the sea.

After Katelios, we went a little further down the coast to Mounda Beach. This beach is also used by the loggerheads, but I go there to watch the bee-eaters. There is a place in the cliffs where they return each year from Africa to nest. If you wished to watch the turtle's lay eggs or watch the hatchlings making their way to the sea, I would recommend this stretch of beach to come to, in the late evening. Please keep your distance and do not disturb them.

After showing the ladies the nest positions of the bee-eaters, I took them back to their hotel for the last time. I thoroughly enjoyed their company, we had a lot of great laughs and saw some wonderful wildlife. I look forward to taking more people around this fabulous island to show them our wildlife.