Malia marsh and headland - a great place for migrants

Selinari gorge - for raptors and vultures

Lasithi plateau - hillsides for raptors and pools and fields for migrants

Elounta saltpans - one of the few saltpans on the island

Almyros marsh - a tiny wetland but surprises are possible

Ha Gorge - has breeding Choughs as well as raptors

Kato Zakros - shearwaters on the sea, wheatears, warblers and buntings just inland and patches of coast where migrants can gather

Xerocampos - a beach lagoon and a nearby marsh can both attract rare waders

Bramiana reservoir - used to support hundreds of waterfowl but can still attract migrants

Gavdos island - difficult to reach but surely one of the best migrant traps in the Mediterranean

Plakiotisa reservoir - one of the best wetlands, well worth checking

Asterousia mountains - probably the best bet for Bearded Vulture and great for mountain passerines too

Hills around Spili - probably the best area for Ruppell’s Warblers but Bonelli’s Eagle, Ortolan and even Cretzschmar’s Buntings have been recorded too

Agia Galini - look for migrants around this coastal idyll

Phaestos, Agia Triada and Gourtyna - most famous for their archeology but good birds have been seen here too

Katalyki salt lake (Kokkinos pool) - a tiny wetland but a hotspot for crakes,waders, ducks and herons

Kalamaki pools (Afridias marsh) - lovely pools for herons and waders, set in an area with lots of habitat for other migrants

Kourtaliotiko and Kotsiphou gorges - both great for cliff-loving birds including Bonelli’s Eagle and Ruppell’s Warbler

Preveli - a magical stretch of coastline with breeding Ruppell’s Warbler, Ortolan Bunting, Black-eared Wheatear and Tawny Pipit and a magnet for migrant warblers and flycatchers

Frangocastello - another migrant hotspot

Imbros gorge - another gorge for vultures, choughs and eagles

Samaria gorge - the biggest gorge on the island. Look here for choughs, eagles and vultures

Omalos plateau - scan around for raptors and look for birds such as Tawny Pipit and Wryneck.

Agia Lake - probably the best place on the island for crakes

Kamisiana fields - sometimes a patch of wet fields is all you need to find exciting migrants

Tavronitis, Keridis and Kladissos river mouths - these wetlands west of Chania can produce good birds

Akrotiri peninsula - this area east of Chania can be great for migrants; Lesser Kestrel and Red-footed Falcon are specialities here

Souda bay - more habitat where waders, herons, crakes and warblers may linger

Falasarna - a bay at the western end of the island where migrants can be numerous and exciting

Rethymno - look for gulls and waders around the shore and migrants in the pines and inside the fortezza walls

Georgioupolis lake - a beautiful little freshwater lake attractive to waterbirds

Lake Kournas - another beautiful lake but not so good for birds

Petres gorge and Platanes river mouth - two spots near Rethymno where rivers meet the coast and migrants are possible

Amari valley and Arkadi - perhaps the best area on the island for eagles - at least 7 species have been recorded and Golden and Imperial Eagles are regular. Red Kites join the Black Kites in winter

Mount Psiloritis - probably the best place on the island for mountain birds including Alpine Chough and Alpine Accentor

Skinikas observatory - another easily accesible high mountain site

Heraklion power station pools - good birds have been found here in the past

Aposelimis river and lagoon - a terrific area for migrants: herons, raptors, pipits, larks, warblers, shrikes and, especially, waders.

The following sites are all included in my book Finding Birds in Crete.

Click here for a sample of one of my books

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