Kerkini Lake is an artificial reservoir in Central Macedonia, Greece that was created in 1932, and then redeveloped in 1980, on the site of what was previously an extremely extensive marshland.
Lake Kerkini is now one of the premier bird watching sites in Greece, as it is situated along the migratory flyway for birds en route to the Aegean Sea, the Balkan region, the Black Sea, the Hungarian steppes and beyond.
This habitat has been recognized and is protected by the International Convention of Ramsar and it presents numerous admirable elements. Thousands of birds, both rare and protected, riverside forests, water-lilies in a large area, fish variety and fantastic panoramic view from the surrounding mountains give it a characteristic tone.
Actually the lake hosts 227 kinds of birds, especially non-migrants, of which 76 are recorded in the National Red Catalogue, while at least 31 of them are protected by EEC’s Directive concerning wild life. What makes an exceptional presence is the buffalo’s herd in the area, plus the one of the jackelo in the area of Lake Kerkini.
The human intervention usually retracts or takes negative action against the natural processes. Lake Kerkini is a rare example, where the gentle human handling has had the exact opposite result.
