Aegean birdlife

Birds, having mastered the art of flying 150 million years before Ikarus, gained direct and fast access to almost every point of three-dimensional space. This miraculous ability to fly allowed them to inhabit and exploit a larger range of habitats than any other living creature, including man. Birds can forage almost anywhere; they can build their nests out of reach of other life forms and they can take advantage of temporary food sources by migrating to more favourable places when the time comes. Even the open sea, an insurmountable obstacle for other terrestrial organisms, is for most birds a largely accessible region and for some it is their home range. Birds are simply everywhere and are, probably, the most successful inhabitants of Earth.

Similarly, in the Aegean, birds are the only living beings that have managed to gain access to sea, sky and land, so they can best depict the unique character of the archipelago. Cory's Shearwater, Eleonora's Falcon and Audouin's Gull respectively, portray the sea, the coast and the islets more vividly than tourist guides can.

More than 300 bird species have been recorded in the Aegean, distinguished in two main categories; those resident here permanently, or for long periods, and the passage migrants.

A. Bonetti An impressive passage migrant through the Aegean, the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is the only raptor that feeds exclusively on fish.

A. Bonetti The Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) is a small migrant which, uncharacteristic of raptors, is gregarious.

F. Katsigiannis Having already crossed the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean, the Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) stops to feed on the islands and the rocky islets.

Migration is an adaptation that enables birds to utilise the favourable but, nevertheless, temporary conditions of the Temperate Zone, in order to ensure successful breeding. Winter conditions worsen as we move further north in Europe and a greater proportion of birds that nest there, migrates in autumn. Many move just up to Southern Europe, but the majority, several hundreds of millions; travel to Africa, returning to their breeding grounds the next spring.

The wonder that migration as a phenomenon raises in the human mind makes us forget the risks and perils of such an enterprise. The trip is long and the Mediterranean Sea, together with the Sahara Desert, are two unavoidable parts of the route that provide neither food nor rest. Losses are vast in each migrating period, accounted to natural causes, e.g. exhaustion or unforeseen events, such as bad weather conditions or disorientation. However, these losses are still less than those they would suffer spending the winter in Europe, and they can be counterbalanced by a successful breeding period.

Y. Roussopoulos In April, fields like this in Leros, explode with wild flowers. Insects are equally abundant and provide much needed food for migrating songbirds.

N. Marakis The Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) is a small shorebird that stops during migration on the coasts and wetlands of the Aegean.

A. Bonetti This Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) stretches wings and legs, thus keeping its muscles fit for the migration journey.

By contrast, the large-scale habitat modifications of recent years, have had a disastrous effect on bird populations since the birds have not developed adaptive mechanisms against them. For example, the destruction of the savannahs south of the Sahara, has caused expansion of the desert further south. Birds face great difficulties and suffer immense extra losses, as the migration trip is getting longer year after year.

The Aegean islands serve as a transit station for millions of migrating birds. After landing here, they are in dire need of a safe place to rest and, if possible, feed. This massive passage has always been known to the islanders who easily trapped the exhausted migrants for the table. Similar practices are still in use on some islands, as on Chios. However, today, as the migratory birds face growing problems, this massive persecution is nothing but an additional and unjustified burden.

The 11th century archives of the Mount Athos Monasteries refer to the huge swarms of locusts that devastated cultivation in the Northern Aegean island of Agios Eustratios. According to the same source, the total catastrophe was prevented by the sudden appearance of vast flocks of a bird that devoured the menace, a miracle attributed to St. Athanasios. The bird was called "Selefkis". 900 years after its first recorded "ecological invasion", Selefkis still visits the Aegean. It is now aptly named by Greeks Agiopouli (holy bird). This is the Rose-coloured Starling (Sturnus roseus) whose irregular outbursts make a real impression. Having spent the winter in the Indian sub-continent, it migrates westwards as far as the steppes around the Black Sea. Occasionally, it moves in large flocks further west, breeding wherever conditions are suitable. Locust swarms are often the cause of such unexpected appearances. M. Gaethlich

With minor exceptions reluctant to cross the sea, such as the Magpie, most birds can easily overfly the narrow sea crossings that separate the Aegean islands from each other and from the surrounding mainland. It is therefore a matter of debate as to why several mainland species don't occur on the islands. The reason for this absence is that the islands don't provide enough space and suitable habitats for all bird species. Én this sense, a look at the spectrum of the available habitats largely explains the composition of the island avifauna.

Y. Roussopoulos Rocky coast on Faradonisia islets, Leros.

S. Kazantzidis The Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) is a regular migrant feeding over coastal waters and harbours of the Aegean.

The open sea is the haunt of the seabirds, like the Levantine Shearwater, which move over great distances following the shoals of fish. Coastal waters are shallow so fishing is easier here. A larger number of fish-eaters feed here, including migrants like terns and grebes and breeding species like the Shag.

Several thousand kilometres of rocky coasts offer important feeding areas and safe breeding and resting sites. Many migrant waterbirds like herons rest here and important raptor species breed.

D. Bousbouras Phrygana in Spring.

D. Bousbouras Bushy areas with scattered junipers in Farmakonisi, Northern Dodecanese.

Areas covered by phrygana and scattered rocks are a familiar feature of the Aegean islands. Én spring, the blooming fragrant plants attract swarms of insects, which in turn attract insectivorous resident and migratory bird species. Some characteristic bird species live here such as Cretzschmar's Bunting and Linnet. Phrygana in West Lesvos support the rare Cinereous Bunting.

Due to their small size and isolation, rocky islets form a rather hostile environment for humans. The domestic carnivores, cats and dogs, that accompany him are absent as well as the large wild animals. In most cases, the only mammals present here are the harmless rabbit and livestock. For the birds this means that rocky islets, free of human disturbance and terrestrial predators, are ideal and irreplaceable nesting sites. Seabirds, like the rare Audouin's Gull, and raptors, like Eleonora's Falcon, nest almost exclusively on rocky islets. Therefore, these islets are precious natural refuges of the Aegean and human presence here must remain minimal. P. Latsoudis

Dense shrubby vegetation is dominant on many islands. Although in many cases overgrazed, this habitat offers shelter and nesting sites to many species and is a safe resting place for passage migrants. It is also a habitat full of insects and moreover the fruit of certain shrubs, like the lentisk and the strawberry tree, provide a seasonally abundant food source for several birds.

Water is a basic essential for the survival of the wildlife in most Aegean islands. All living creatures have developed defensive strategies against water shortage. Birds can obtain water directly from their food, insects and even plant seeds. In addition, they minimise water loss by being active during the coolest hours of the day. Nevertheless, water remains a highly prized resource and all island birds, like this Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) readily take advantage of every extra water supply. Thus, they commonly visit man-made constructions like cisterns, water tanks and livestock watering points. G. Trihas

The traditional rural landscapes consist of an exceptional mosaic structure and birds make extensive use of the available variety of feeding and nesting sites. Especially in minor islands, where natural habitats are rather more uniform, the greatest diversity of bird species is always found around rural and inhabited areas.

M. Panayotopoulou A bird typical of the rural landscape, the Corn Bunting(Miliaria calandra) is abundant on islands with traditional cultivation.

F. Katsigiannis Landscape in Samothraki, Northeastern Aegean. In mountainous islands, the lowlands are too limited and too precious to be given to stock-raising. On the contrary, these are cultivated and even reforested areas.

F. Katsigiannis Rocky gorge in Saria, north of Karpathos; an important habitat for raptors.

G. Trihas The Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a small falcon, resident in the Aegean. It forages over open dry areas for lizards and large insects.

The long history of olive trees in the Mediterranean Basin has made them one of the most characteristic ecosystems in the Aegean landscape, and birds, together with other organisms, fully recognise the mature olive groves as a "forest" habitat of exceptionally high value. Olives, a particularly nutritious food, and the insects that abound in the trees, attract large numbers of birds. During fruit bearing, olive groves are by far the richest island ecosystem for birdlife.

Mountainous areas, with rocky cliffs and steep slopes, exist on some Aegean islands, providing suitable habitat for some uncommon bird species. The highlands of Naxos are one of the last refuges of the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) in the Aegean. One of the largest raptors of Europe, it feeds exclusively on carrion, available nowadays only in places where livestock raising is widely practised. Apart from shotguns, the major threat to the species is the poisoned bait that livestock keepers place for species, like crows, which they regard as pests. Á single carcass treated with poison is enough to drive towards extinction the remaining handful of Griffon Vulture pairs the island supports. L. Logothetis

Deciduous oak woods are also one of the most valuable habitats in the Mediterranean as they support a great variety of life forms. Oak woods in the Aegean, wherever they exist, host the greatest diversity of bird species, throughout the year, providing abundant food and various nesting sites on the branches and in tree hollows. There are many pine forests in the Aegean, several of which are planted around human settlements. Pines are, in general, a system of low productivity and few bird species are adapted to them. However, large pine trees attract migrants, serving as resting places. Some extensive pine forests, like those on Samos and Lesvos, support a number of typical forest species like the Coal Tit and the Short-toed Treecreeper. Pine forests in Lesvos are the only sites in Europe where Kruper's Nuthatch nests.

M. Gaethlich Scattered pines in Ikaria. The Calabrian Pine (Pinus brutia) is widespread on Eastern and Northern Aegean islands.

M. Gaethlich Olive groves, especially those with old trees, are one of the most important habitats on the islands.

S. Ifantis

Riparian forest with Plane Trees in Samothraki. Ecosystems like this are rare and particularly valuable in the Aegean.

Major islands include interior sites where rocky cliffs and gorges prevail. Grazing is intensive in those places largely contributing to a rather stony and bare habitat, suitable for birds like those frequenting phrygana, such as the Chukar. Due to the absence of human presence these are favourable habitats for some of the rarest birds of the Aegean, the large birds of prey.

Shrikes are songbirds frequenting open woodland and other open areas with bushes and scattered trees. The Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) is a widespread summer visitor in Central and Southern Europe and on all Aegean islands with a suitable habitat. The Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus) has a much more restricted Eastern Mediterranean distribution extending west to the Southeastern Balkans and some Aegean islands. The two species are closely related and are best distinguished by the pattern of the head. Birdwatchers in Europe are familiar with Woodchat Shrikes, but they have to travel to Northern Greece or Lesvos, in order to see a Masked Shrike. Greece offers unique opportunities to see several bird species that do not occur further west. Thus, islands like Lesvos and Kos are becoming increasingly popular with visitors interested in the rich avifauna. L. Logothetis N. Petrou

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is one of the most spectacular birds of the larger Aegean wetlands. Flocks of several hundred pass or overwinter on Kos, Samos, Lesvos, Lemnos and, more rarely, Naxos.

Alyki lagoon (right and below) and the nearby Chortarolimni Lake, at Lemnos, Í. Aegean, are the largest wetland complex in the Aegean. The largest concentration of Greater Flamingoes in Greece (more than 4,000 birds) has been recorded here, making the site one of the most important for the species, on a Mediterranean scale.

C. Kazolis

M. Gaethlich

C. Kazolis

Unlike on Lemnos, most of the Aegean wetlands, such as this one on Kavouras islet north of Antiparos in the Cyclades, are too small to justify, in their own right, the term "important". But, taken altogether, they form an inseparable network of invaluable "stepping-stones" for the migratory shorebirds, and their protection is absolutely essential.