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Albania in Winter is a tour aiming to offer most of the avifauna found in the winter in Albania. Albania is a wintering country for many waterfowl species that breed in the northern Palearctic. In addition, many other species from different orders, such as birds of prey, passerines, etc come to winter in Albania.
Within this tour are included some of the most important and interesting wetland areas of Albania, including here the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Prespa-Ohrid, the National Park Divjake-Karavasta, the Protected Landscape of Vjose-Narte and some very interesting mountainous areas where birding is still possible in winter.
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Itineraries
Day 1
Arrival (Depending on the time of arrival, short trip to Lalzi Bay Wetland)
Visit the Lalzi Bay Important Bird Area. Lalzi bay is recognized at international level as an
Important Bird Area. The area represents a complex of shallow lagoon surrounded by
agricultural lands, scrubland and pine forest habitats.
The lagoon is particularly attractive for shore birds and here it is possible to see the Broad-billed Sandpiper, the Red Knot, Kentish Plover, Common Snipe, Slender-billed Gull etc.
Day 2
Divjake-Karvasta
The most important bird area in Albania and one of the most important in the whole Mediterranean
Basin. This area is distinguished for the presence of the unique colony of the Dalmatian Pelican in
Albania that is nesting in the same site since at least one century ago. In addition, DivjakeKaravasta holds the largest colony of herons in Albania with around 4000 breeding pairs of 6
different species of herons. The area is well-known as a breeding site for many water birds and is
the main wintering site for waterfowl in Albania. The herpetofauna is also rich and similar to
almost the all coastal parts of Albania. The presence of mammals too is typical for the coastal part.
Divjake-Karavasta is the most important wintering site for birds in Albania where over 40
thousand individuals from 41-46 species of water birds are regularly observed along the midwinter counts.
The first part of the day will be spent visiting the unique colony of the Dalmatian Pelican that breeds in an island in the lagoon of Karavasta. After lunch will be visited the shallow lagoons of the area to explore the presence of different waders and find rare ones in the big groups of wintering waders.
Here it regularly winters also the Greater-spotted Eagle and the opportunities to see this bird
are quite high. In addition, other raptors are also commonly seen, such as the Marsh Harrier,
Hen Harrier, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon and Common Buzzard.
Day 3
Vjose-Narte
Vjosë-Nartë is one of the most important wetland complexes, not only nationally but also
internationally. Over 200 species of wild birds have been recorded in this area. Together with
Divjaka-Karavasta, they form a continuous ecosystem, making for one of the most important
wetlands complexes in the whole Adriatic Flyway, where hundreds of thousands of birds regularly
stop each year during their migration from nesting sites to wintering areas in autumn and vice
versa in the spring.
Vjose-Narte is situated some 30 km air distance in the south of Divjake-Karavasta National
Park and represents probably the best birding site in Albania. Here it is included the Salinas of
Vlora that create a suitable wintering habitat for many water birds. In addition, the agricultural
fields around the lagoon and Salinas, host a good number of alpine birds in winter.
Here it is regularly found everyday around 1% of the biogeographical population
(Mediterranean and Black Sea) of Greater Flamingo.
Apart from more than 30 species of water birds that regularly occur in winter in this site, we
will focus on passerines such as Crested Lark, Skylark, Water Pipit, Yellowhammer, Black
Redstart and many other species.
Day 4
Bulçar
Drive for around 2.5 hours to reach Bulçar, an exceptional highland area offering a spectacular view of the entire south-eastern part of the country. The area offers excellent opportunities to see forest birds such as the Black-Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreper, Crossbill, Goldcrest,
Firecrest etc. The area offers excellent traditional foods and pastoral landscapes, typical for the south-eastern part of Albania.
Day 5
Bulcar - Pogradec
Do the Lake Dushku trail in the morning and in the afternoon depart to the town of Pogradec, situated in the shores of Ohrid Lake.
Day 6
Ohrid Lake
Birding in Ohrid Lake along the whole day. See diving water birds such as the Red-crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Pigmy Cormorant, Red and Black-throated Divers, Smew etc.
Day 7
Prespa National Park
Prespa National Park is worldwide recognized for the presence of endemic fishes with a number of 6 species such as the Prespa barbell (Barbus prespensis), the Prespa nose (Chondrostoma nasus prespensis) and others.
In Prepsa are found the common mountain carnivores and herbivores that occur in Albania such as the brown bear (Ursus arctos), grey wolf (Canis lupus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), roe dear (Capreolus capreolus) etc. Here is also commonly found the European otter (Lutra lutra).
Avifauna of the area is rich and Prespa is recognized internationally as an Important Bird Area. Here is the only site in Albania where both species of Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus and Pelecanus onocrotalus) are commonly seen together. In addition, due to the high diversity of habitats: land, forest and alpine pasture species many other speices of birds occur in the area. We may highlight here the Blue-rock Thrush (Monticola solitaries), the Rock Nuthatch (Monticola saxatilis), Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca), the Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) and many other species.
Day 8
Departures
Deepening on the time of departure, few hours of birding might be organized in the lake park of Tirana, where there are very good opportunities to see almost all species of spotted woodpeckers that occur in Albania and other species of forest birds.
In the given price are included:
- All meals
- Water and snacks in the field
- Accommodation
- Transport
- Guiding
- Entrance fees and tickets
In the given price are not included:
- Drinks
We may organize the tour in different dates, based on the client date requirement.
To see the wintering birds, this tour should be taken from beginning of December to the end of February.
Yes, definitively. The itinerary is nice to be taken at any time of the year but the species would be different.
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