Birding - North Macedonia Aug 25
- Martin Roper
- Sep 5
- 14 min read
Updated: Sep 7
North Macedonia has been on our radar for some time after birding Central Macedonia (Northern Greece) several years ago. We had an idea of what may be around and the type of habitat and topography of the land but nothing could prepare us for the natural beauty of the Country. Miles of Forests with the oldest natural Lakes in Europe and impressive Gorges carved into the landscape with some stunning Mountain backdrops. Concentrating in the South and based in Ohrid our plan was birding around Lake Ohrid and Prespa Lakes taking in Galicica and Mavrovo National Parks and crossing International borders of the Balkan Peninsular to include parts of Albania and Northern Greece. Black Woodpecker - Slatino Lake.
Part of former Yugoslavia and achieving independence in 1991 North Macedonia is land-locked by Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria and Northern Greece. Lake Ohrid has many beaches along its shores, ranging from bustling beaches with cafe's and bars to secluded peaceful sandy coves, while Ohrid City is a popular tourist destination which surprisingly had the feel of a modern coastal resort. Dalmatian Pelican - Golem Grad.
13th August
Arriving in the afternoon we picked up our rental car at St Paul airport and drove the short distance to our apartments. After welcome drinks we unpacked and sorted out our birding gear before heading out on foot. On Kaneo headland on the road up to Samuel's Fortress an Eleonor's falcon passed over, Spotted flycatcher and Jay were in the scrub and Swift, Swallow and House martin hawked the hillside. In the old town we had Bee-eater on a wire while Feral pigeon and House sparrow were abundant. Pygmy Cormorant - Lake Ohrid.
Through the old town we reached the Lake where we noted Mute swan, Pygmy cormorant, Mallard, Black-headed gull and a juvenile Med gull. At the new town we had Jackdaw, Hooded crow, Magpie and Collared dove. Light faded during dinner by the Lakeside before returning back to the apartments for an early night. A Hummingbird hawk moth was also observed with 18 birds noted. Med Gull - Lake Ohrid.
14th August
This morning at the apartments we added Syrian woodpecker (1st lifer), Little owl, Hoopoe and Great tit to our list before setting off for Studenchishte Marsh. We dropped a pin at nearby Biljana's Spring a restaurant with ample parking surrounded by mature trees adjacent to the marsh. This turned out to be our go-to place with 5 species of Woodpecker recorded including Great spotted, Middle spotted, Lesser spotted, Syrian and Green along with Wood warbler, Long-tailed tit, Collared flycatcher, Great reed warbler, Red-backed shrike, Greenfinch, Golden oriole, Blackbird, Dipper, Goldfinch, Blackcap. Golden Oriole - Biljana's Spring.
Along the Canal we walked towards Holland Park adding Nuthatch, White wagtail, Water rail (h), Linnet, Moorhen, Wren, Chaffinch, Kingfisher, Penduline tit (h), Willow warbler and Red-rumped swallow to the list before returning to Biljana's Spring. Could this morning get any better, the answer was Yes, because the the restaurant was now open and we had a terrific breakfast of Bacon and Eggs with two cups of drinkable Tea which wasn't made from berries, grass or mountain herbs. Lesser and Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
Using the restaurants wi-fi we picked our next location and headed up the hills towards the church of Saint Nicholas, this turned out to be more of a shrine than a church so we continued heading up the hill until we came across the village of Gorno Konjsko. The village was semi abandoned with several signposted walking trails forming part of the Galicica National Park. Alpine swift, Common sparrowhawk, Raven, Crag martin and Corn bunting were added to the list along with Cirl bunting. Cirl Bunting - Gorno Konjsko.
The view was stunning and some of the architecture of the old buildings was amazing like something from a Brothers Grim fairy tale. Returning to the Lakeside we began to head back to Ohrid stopping on scrub-land near Divona Camp stop where we added Levant Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Common buzzard and Turtle dove to our list. Butterflies were numerous, Long tailed, Lang's short tailed, Holly and Common blues, Cardinal, Eastern bath white, Small white, Speckled wood, Meadow brown, Painted lady and Clouded yellow were all observed during the day with 57 birds noted and a trip total of 59 Birds. Turtle Dove - Divona Camp.
15th August
Today we went full circle around Lake Ohrid heading West to Struga and stopping along the way at various areas to check out the lake adding Red-crested pochard, Coot, Little, Great crested and Black-necked grebes to our list along with Great cormorant, Grey heron, Blue tit and some great views of a juvenile Penduline tit. Syrian woodpecker, Wood warbler, Pygmy cormorant, Common swift, Hooded crow, Black-headed gull and Red-rumped swallow was also noted along with a Hummingbird hawk moth. Squacco Heron - Struga.
We reached Struga and stopped at a boardwalk café for a drink by the lake. Here Black Drin River runs into Lake Ohrid and the reedbeds are alive with activity. Little bittern, Little egret and Squacco heron was added to our growing list. Walking by the lake we reached the area known as Struga Marsh noting 15 White storks, Common buzzard, Honey buzzard, Marsh harrier, Great white egret, Cetti's warbler (c) and Common reed warbler along with 2 Kingfishers, Penduline tits and a pair of European Pond turtles. Little Bittern - Struga.
Continuing around the Lake we headed for Albania and the Qafë Thanë border crossing where we stopped at Liqeni Qafa e Thanës reservoir and added Teal, Wood sandpiper, Crested lark, Snake eagle, Sand martin, Sardinian warbler and Northern wheatear to our list. Kestrel, Mallard, Little grebe, Red-rumped Swallow, Barn swallow, Common swift, Red-backed shrike and White stork was also seen along with Tree grayling, Lang's short tailed blue, Wall brown, Woodland grayling and Hermit butterflies. Crested lark, RB Shrike.
Continuing around the lake we stopped at various places with nothing new to add before heading through the City of Pogradec and dropping in at the nearby Drilon Nature Park, where the only addition to our list was Tree sparrow. Several Pygmy cormorant and a small flock of Bee-eaters were also present. From here we crossed into North Macedonia at the Saint Naum border crossing before heading North back up to Ohrid. A long day today with 63 birds noted and a trip total of 84 birds. Tree Sparrow - Drilon Nature Park.
16th August
Today we headed through Trpejca to the Galicica National Park after filling out our online permit. The toll booth wasn't manned at the entrance due to our early start so we continued regardless. Our first stop was at Korita spring a picnic area with a natural spring which forms a fresh water stream attracting a lot of wildlife. Here we added Coal tit, Sombre tit, Marsh tit, Wood pigeon Lesser whitethroat, Wood pigeon, Song thrush, Mistle thrush and robin to our list. Hoopoe, Sparrowhawk, Greenfinch, Cirl bunting, Red-backed shrike, Nuthatch, Collared flycatcher and Green woodpecker was also noted. Marsh Tit - Korita Spring.
An adult Rock bunting was added to the list before moving on, I considered this to be my 2nd lifer of the trip after only seeing plain juveniles in the past. Our next stop was the viewpoint at Koritski Rid where we had stunning views of Lake Ohrid. A Honey buzzard passed through at eye level while Common buzzard Raven and Spotted flycatcher was also added to the sightings. Rock Bunting - Korita Spring.
We left the Galicica NP and headed West along the shore of Greater Prespa Lake reaching Stenje where we charted a boat for the following day to take us to Golem Grad Island. After lunch we continued past Stenje along the Prespa shore as far as the car could get adding to our list Yellow-legged gull, Thrush nightingale (c) and Common whitethroat along with Syrian Woodpecker, Turtle dove, Bee-eater, Little egret, Grey heron, Pygmy cormorant, Hooded crow, Kestrel, Crag martin, Red rumped swallow and Several Wall lizard. Great banded grayling and Silver washed fritillary Butterflies were also recorded. Another busy day with 58 birds noted and a trip total of 96 birds. Syrian Woodpecker - Stenje.
17th August
Today was our boat trip to Golem Grad but before that we headed back to Korita spring in the Galicica NP adding to our list Icterine warbler and Ortolan bunting. Other birds included Hoopoe, Red backed shrike, Marsh tit, Sombre tit, Great tit, Blue tit, Mistle thrush, Greenfinch, Spotted flycatcher, Collared flycatcher, Nuthatch, Rock bunting, Lesser Whitethroat and Song thrush, further along a male Montagu's harrier was perched but took off when we stopped. Icterine Warbler, Ortolan Bunting - Korita Spring.
We arrived at Stenje where our boat was waiting and after wading out and boarding we commenced the 90 minute journey to Golem Grad (Snake Island). The island has a breeding colony of Pygmy cormorant and Hermann's tortoises roam wild. Dalmatian pelicans are regularly seen and today was no exception giving us another tick along with Goosander. Other sightings included Black-necked grebe, Yellow-legged gull, Little egret and Alpine swifts feeding young on the cliffs, a Scarce swallowtail was also noted. Alpine Swift.
Returning back to Stenje in the afternoon we followed the shores of Greater Prespa Lake along the East side stopping at varios places including Sirhan, Pokrvenik and Asamati adding Lapwing, Pintail, Pochard, Black winged stilt, Avocet, Greenshank, Caspian Gull, Common Sandpiper, Stonechat and Serin to our list. 82 birds noted and a trip total of 111 birds. Black-winged Stilt, Greenshank - Greater Prespa Lake.
18th August
This morning we set off early and took the main road to Bitola briefly stopping to record a juvenile Syrian woodpecker, Hooded crow, Red rumped swallow, Red backed shrike, Bee-eater and a Common buzzard. From here we crossed the Niki border entering into Northern Greece and headed up through the village of Pisoderi where we added Black redstart to our list along with sightings of Linnet, Blackcap, Common swift, Nuthatch and Collared Flycatcher. From here we headed towards Mikri Prespa. Black Redstart - Pisoderi.
The land between Greater Prespa and Mikri Prespa Lakes can be very productive and list additions included Woodchat shrike, Whinchat, Isabelline wheatear, Greylag geese, White pelican and Snipe. Continuing West we reached the Island of Agios Achillios which can be accessed by foot from a pontoon bridge spanning 650 metres over to the Island. Parking up we headed over. Penduline tit, Bearded Reedling - Mikri Prespa.
Along the way we noted Purple heron, Bearded reedling, Little crake, Chiffchaff and Green sandpiper along with Dalmatian pelican, Pygmy cormorant, Marsh harrier, Squacco heron, Little bittern, Water rail, Turtle dove, Short-toed snake eagle, Little owl, Black necked grebe, Crested lark, Penduline tit and Reed warbler. We stopped at the Son of Achilles restaurant at lunchtime walking back over the pontoon bridge during the late afternoon. 74 birds noted and a trip total of 124 birds. Purple Heron - Mikri Prespa.
19th August
Anchoring for a decent breakfast we headed over to Biljana's Springs first thing where sightings included Green woodpecker, Great spotted woodpecker, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Dipper, Pygmy cormorant, Golden oriole, Wood warbler, Red-backed shrike, Hooded crow, Jackdaw, Jay, Raven, Collared flycatcher and Spotted flycatcher. Breakfast was first class and so was the Tea. Dipper, Green Woodpecker - Biljana's.
From here we followed a lead for a Black woodpecker sighting nearby, the information was a few weeks old but worth checking out. We headed up the hills towards Elshani part of Galicica N P without much success managing to note Common buzzard, Bee eater and a Short-toed snake eagle. Deciding to cut our losses we headed North along the motorway towards the Belchista Wetlands. Short-toed Snake Eagle - Elshani.
Maintenance work on the motorway meant that we couldn't exit our stop, so we took the next junction off at Izdeglavje. Almost immediately we could see this was a great area for birds with a mixture of small villages, natural springs and arable land. Here we added 2 more birds to our list, Grey wagtail and Lesser grey shrike. Other sightings included Cirl bunting, Corn bunting, Honey buzzard, Marsh harrier, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Jay, Tree sparrow, Turtle dove and Red-backed shrike. Short tailed blue, and Sooty copper butterflies were also identified. Checking out the map we saw a body of water nearby. Bee-eater and Hoopoe - Izdeglavje.
Continuing on we passed the Monastery of John the Baptist and discovered the body of water, Slatino Lake. A dam wall had been built on the Mramorečka Rivern to create a reservoir near Slatino village and some EU funding for reconstruction of the Dam was granted in 2017 but the site was abandoned and overgrown with just a small area of wetland. Here we had Green sandpiper, Wood sandpiper, Kingfisher, Common redstart, Great spotted woodpecker and Green woodpecker. Deciding to leave we heard an unfamiliar call which we checked out, it was only a Black woodpecker (3rd lifer). The Woodpecker was calling and was answered by another some distance away. 63 birds noted and a trip total of 127 birds. Black Woodpecker - Slatino Lake.
20th August
This morning we had another attempt at finding Belchista Wetland and once again we ended up at the next turn off at Izdeglavje. A raptor perched in trees some distance away and our scope revealed it to be a Honey buzzard which took flight and headed towards us passing by close enough for some images. Other birds of note were Marsh harrier, Common buzzard, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Serin, Cirl bunting, Corn bunting, Linnet, Tree sparrow, Red-backed shrike, Lesser grey shrike and Yellow wagtail. Honey Buzzard, Serin - Izdeglavje.
After speaking to a local we rejoined the motorway and headed for Belchista Wetland for the third time and on this occasion we were successful. Approaching we noted 2 White stork on a nest and a Great reed warbler singing. We reached the Wetlands which had not been maintained restricting access to the viewing platforms and hides, so spent the next hour or so looking at invertebrates noting a variety of species including Sickle-bearing bush-cricket, Small heath, Glanville fritillary, Knapweed fritillary and Spotted fritillary to mention a few Brown squirrel was also recorded. White Stork - Belchista Wetland.
We headed through Belchista village and called in at the Wetland Environmental Centre which we found to be very informative. From here we zig-zagged the back roads of the villages heading back to Izdeglavje arable fields and Slatino Lake noting Kestrel, Great spotted woodpecker, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Kingfisher, Wood sandpiper, Green sandpiper, Green woodpecker and Syrian woodpecker. At the apartment a female Goshawk passed over. 53 birds noted with a trip total of 129 birds. Kingfisher - Slatino Lake.
21st August
This morning we headed to Galicica NP and Korita spring where we had distant views of a Golden eagle along with Kestrel, Jay, Wood pigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Long-tailed tit, Marsh tit, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Wood warbler, Hoopoe, Song thrush, Mistle thrush, Nuthatch, Common redstart, greenfinch, Collared flycatcher and Jackdaw. We filled our bottles with the spring water and continued on. Common Redstart.
Koritski Rid was quiet, we continued to Saint George ridge which was also quiet due to Paragliding activity, sightings were Rock bunting, Blue tit, Great tit, Raven and Magpie. Continuing on to the small car park for Lake View Trail and Magaro peak, we walked the trail as far as the Spiridon Mountain Rescue hut. The hut was being manned by two brothers who were excited to hear about our trip and invited us in to look at their trail-cam footage. Brown bears, White fronted Martens, Wolves, Wildcats, Wild boars and Chamois the wild goats all taken around the Magaro peak. Spotted flycatcher was also noted here. Spotted Flycatcher.
After some suggestions from the brothers on potential birding sites we carried on and took an old mountain access road which led to the abandoned Ski centre - Oteshevo. The Ski-lift was long gone with just a few out buildings and winches, here we noted Jackdaw, Raven, Northern wheatear and a stunning male Montagu's harrier, probably the one from a few days ago. Retuning back we pulled up near a small holding and noted Common buzzard, Hooded crow, Willow warbler, Cirl bunting, Corn bunting, Tawny pipit, Greater short-toed lark, Woodlark, Linnet, Whinchat and Stonechat. Tawny Pipit, Northern Wheatear - Galicica NP.
Our last stop of the day was Saint Naum and on arrival we walked the grounds of the Monastery and river adding Grey heron, Collared flycatcher, House martin, Pygmy cormorant, Bee-eater and Black-headed gull to our tally. The beach here is lovely but is very popular with visitors, we called early evening and the place was still busy. 58 bird noted, trip total 135 birds. Collared Flycatcher - Saint Naum.
22nd August
Heavy rain hampered proceedings today with brief spells of birding in-between. We set off early before the weather front arrived and headed towards Debar checking out Globochica Lake where we noted a juvenile Black tern, 2 Black-crowned night heron, Common sandpiper and Goosander. Other sightings included White wagtail and several Dipper, Further along the river we noted Little egret, Great white egret, Grey heron, Yellow wagtail, Grey wagtail, Great cormorant and Pygmy cormorant. Goosander - Globochica Lake.
We reached Baric gorge in Mavrovo National Park and headed up into the mountains towards the village of Vrben stopping at Kichinicki Stone Viewpoint which has a very large cross on a promontory. Here we noted Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Common buzzard, Honey buzzard, Snake eagle, Golden eagle, and Raven, at Vrben village the architecture was stunning. After a brief spell around Mavrovo Lake we headed for Duf waterfalls recording Jersey tiger moth. 51 birds noted with a trip total of 137 birds. Common Buzzard.
23rd August
Our last full day in North Macedonia we decided to stay fairly local taking the back roads between Belchista and Slatino which had proved productive on several previous visits and today was no exception with Little owl, Common buzzard, Kestrel, Honey buzzard, Short-toed snake eagle and a young Goshawk. Whinchats were in good numbers joining Stonechats, while Red-backed shrike and Lesser grey shrike was also recorded along with Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Corn bunting and Cirl bunting. Goshawk, Little Owl - Belchista to Slatino.
At Slatino Lake we saw Green woodpecker, Great spotted woodpecker, Wood sandpiper, Green sandpiper, Grey heron, Kestrel and Kingfisher. Unfortunately there was no more sign of the Black woodpecker so we returned to the apartment in Ohrid to pack our things ready for our journey home. Green Sandpiper.
Late afternoon we walked over the Kaneo headland taking the path down to Church of Saint John before dropping in to town along a wooden boardwalk. Here we noted Lesser whitethroat, Common whitethroat, Great reed warbler, Wood warbler, Spotted flycatcher, Collared flycatcher, Great spotted woodpecker and Garden warbler. 67 birds noted with a trip total of 138 birds. Common and Lesser Whitethroat - Kaneo.
24th August
With a few hours to kill before heading to Saint Paul the Apostle Airport we dropped in at Biljana's spring where we noted Green woodpecker, Lesser spotted woodpecker and Great spotted woodpecker along with Red-backed shrike, Wood warbler, Spotted flycatcher, Collared flycatcher, Goldfinch, Song thrush, Dipper, Starling, Bee-eater and Golden oriole. 32 birds noted and a final trip total of 138 birds. Starling - BilJana's.
Full list of sightings can be found here:
Video:
Gallery:
Tips for travelling to North Macedonia
A few hurdles to get over when travelling here, the first being a closed currency, Macedonian denar (MKD) is only available in Macedonia, although we found that most places would take Euro's even though officially it's not legal (watch out for high exchange rates). Most places will accept bank cards except for some of the smaller places, I would recommend obtaining a multiple currency travel card such as Revolut or Monzo.
Another issue is mobile phone data. wi-fi is everywhere but using your existing provider can soon run up a hefty phone bill. In addition some car parking apps only work with a Macedonian sim card which may also be a problem. We opted to buy 1 pre-paid sim card from the local A1 store with 20gb of data and unlimited calls costing £5.00 while the rest of us downloaded Google maps (offline) and turned off data roaming.
Direct flights from Manchester to Saint Paul the Apostle Airport, less than 15 minutes from Ohrid Centre and booked at reasonable prices with TUI. Late packages deals were cheap but we went flight only as there were 3 of us travelling, avoiding overpriced single room supplements. Flights £370.00 return including 20kg baggage.
We stayed at Apartments & Winery Tupancheski in Ohrid within easy walking distance of the towns bars and eateries, great hosts who make award winning wine, booked through Booking.com we paid the owner directly in Euro's a few days after arrival, €470.00 for 11 nights. https://www.booking.com/Share-FkHYbs
Car hire was done from the UK and we found a local guy with good reviews, I contacted him and arranged for the car to be at the airport with the relevant Green card to allow us to visit neighbouring Countries, nothing was too much trouble for these guys, we paid in Euro's. € 440.00 for 12 days, 2 drivers, €0 excess, full insurance and Green card for a Citroen C3 - TUD Car hire. https://share.google/v6Pz2DRIu9ebOzsSg
Macedonian people are very friendly and hospitable, food and drink is excellent and cheap at around £10.00 to £15.00 per head for an evening meal including a couple of local beers. The water is safe to drink with lots of natural springs around, useful for re-filling water bottles when your out and about.
And finally, during the summer months (July and August) all National Parks (where the wildlife lives) have restricted access to prevent wildfires. We found this out after booking which was a major cause for concern. After some digging we discovered access was allowed via online permits, nobody seemed to know the correct procedure here but we filled the forms in online just incase it was required. A toll charge of around £5.00 to enter the Parks was also required if an official was on duty, this was hit and miss, we paid if we were stopped.
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