NATURE & WILDLIFE
WATCHING FOR WILDLIFE
wetlands at the mouth of the Evros River, close to the border with
Turkey, are home to two easily identifi able wading birds – the avocet,
which has a long curving beak, and the black-winged stilt, which has
extremely long pink legs.
Upstream on the Evros River in Thrace, the dense forests and rocky
outcrops of the 72-sq-km Dadia Forest Reserve play host to the larg-
est range of birds of prey in Europe. Thirty-six of the 38 European
species can be seen here, and it is a breeding ground for 23 of them.
Permanent residents include the giant black vulture, whose wingspan
reaches 3m, the griff on vulture and the golden eagle. Europe’s last 15
pairs of royaleagle nest on the river delta.
About 350 pairs of the rare Eleonora’s falcon (60% of the world’s
population) nest on the island of Piperi in the Sporades and on Ti-
los, which is also home to the very rare Bonelli’s eagle and the shy,
cormorant-like Mediterranean shag.Under the Sea
As Europe’s most endangered marine mammal, the monk seal(Mona-
chus monachus) ekes out an extremely precarious existence in Greece.
Approximately 200 to 250 monk seals, about 90% of Europe’s minus-
cule population, are found in both the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Small
colonies also live on the island of Alonnisos and there have been re-
ported sightings on Tilos. Pervasive habitat encroachment is the main
culprit for their diminished numbers.
The waters around Zakynthos, are home to the last large sea turtle
colony in Europe, that of the endangered loggerhead turtle(Caret-
ta caretta). The loggerhead also nests in smaller numbers in the
Peloponnese and in Crete. Greece’s turtles have many hazards to
dodge – fi shing nets, boatpropellers, rubbish, sun-loungers and beach
umbrellas. It doesn’t help that the turtles’ nesting time coincides with
the European summer holiday season.
There is still the chance that you will spot dolphins from the ferry
deck, however a number of the species are now considered vulnerable.
The number of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) has dropped
from 150 to 15 in the past decade. The main threats to dolphins are a
diminished food supply and entanglement in fi shing nets.Loggerhead turtle
hatchlings use
the journey from
the nest to the
sea to build up
their strength.
Helping the baby
turtles to the sea
can actually lower
their chances of
survival.