John has 3 out of 10 of his sites in Greece. I would agree with somewhere in Greece, almost anywhere in Greece ... but I can't decide which are the best!
If you think Lesvos/Lesbos is good then you should also consider Chios (half a day's boat ride away) which is much more craggy, wooded and has some eccentric things like the petrified forest.
Islands are all a bit limited, in some ways if you don't get them at the right time you're stuck! - most seem to have a place where butterflies aggregate for one week a year (a famous valley on Rhodes/Rhodos, for instance); but my favourite is Thasos/Thassos to the north which is not spectacular (for mountains &c) but is nicely walkable and has some interesting insects (including at least one endemic beetle).
Still can't decide - all sorts of big animals towards the mountains in the north. The southern mainland tends to be pretty barren in the summer but in the spring the Mani is a great for flowers. Almost anywhere on the Pelopennese is good for insects - beetles, bugs, mantids, butterflies ... The archaeological sites are often havens for wildlife - at Delphi you can see big raptors flying down the canyon and smaller birds nesting in the ruins.
So, can't make my mind up on *one* place so I'll go for Greece as a whole! I've even found interesting insects in the depth of Athens ....
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Originally Posted by John
1. Lesvos. Truly a magical place to visit. The birdlife is incredible where east meets west bringing with it a few birds you would struggle to see in the usual European locations.
5. The NW corner of the Greek Mainland, bordering Albania. You fly into Parga to get there. A hugely underwatched area of Greece with some amazing wetlands with anything from Flamingoes, White and Dalmation Pelicans, Slender billed Gulls and much much more.
7. Kefalonia. Not as good as Lesvos as it only has one wetland area but it is a stunning island with many mountains, valleys and plains. Some excellent birds here that can be quite easily found if you look hard enough.
John
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