The lake itself, by boat, is the reason photographers come. Dalmatian pelicans — one of the world's rarest pelicans, and in full breeding plumage a spectacular orange-pouched bird — approach the flat-bottomed boats closely, particularly in winter when local fishermen have long fed them. The winter light and snow-covered mountains behind make this the classic Kerkini image.

The flooded willow forest at the northern end holds one of the largest heron and cormorant breeding colonies in the Balkans — grey, purple and night herons, little and great egrets, glossy ibis and spoonbills nesting together.

The mudflats and shallow margins as the water drops attract waders in numbers on migration, along with black storks and, in the surrounding fields, the region's raptors.

The surrounding mountains — Belles and Krousia — are worth a morning for woodland birds, and the buffalo herds grazing the wet meadows around the lake are a distinctive local sight.

Winter, from December to February, is the pelican season and the photographers' window. Spring brings the breeding colonies and migration; the lake is rewarding year-round.

Practicalities

Kerkini is about an hour and a half from Thessaloniki by road, making it an easy addition to a northern Greece trip. Boat trips are arranged in the villages around the lake — Kerkini, Chrysochorafa and Lithotopos — usually the evening before.

The area is a National Park and a Ramsar site; stick to tracks around the breeding colonies and keep a respectful distance from nesting birds, which is easier said than done when pelicans are landing beside the boat.