Smiles and relief were caused by yesterday’s news that a few days ago, an operation to rescue, treat and care for two rare species chicks was successfully completed. gray-haired in her forest Dadias Evros. This feature has been described as critically endangered species, since only five pairs live in Greece.

White people Dadia were removed from the nests as a precaution on July 26 due to a long and multi-day the fire that broke out on 21 July and resulted in the destruction (partial in some places, complete in others) of 40,000 acres in Dadia Forest National Park – Lefkimis – Soufliu.

For several days, the chicks were housed at the facilities of the Management Unit – Evros Delta – Dadia National Parks. From there, they were transferred to a wildlife care center on July 29 and returned to their nest on August 3.

“Them White people we took them when the fire was still burning, and everything was dangerous for them, since the flame was approaching very close to their nest,” tells us Silvia Zakkakbiologist of the Department of National Park Management of Dadia, and continues: White people they nest in rocks rather than trees. Their nest was on a hill, but we had a good view of the fire and could easily leave with them. However, other nests in the forest may require up to 3 hours of walking, so for other birds nesting in the depths of the forest, such an operation would be very dangerous.”

Severe damage to nests

But what happens to the rest, many of them rare, birds that live in the green gem of Thrace after a devastating fire last July? The area is world renowned for its diversity of birds of prey, with 36 out of 39 species of European diurnal birds of prey observed here. In fact, 3 out of 4 species of European vultures occur at the same time in Dadia: o black vulture, grey-haired and vulture. In addition to predators, about 166 species of birds have been recorded in the area.of which 2 were characterized as endangered, black stork and hazel grouse, while another 10 were classified as “endangered” and 5 as “vulnerable”.

“We avoided them the worst, the fire did not penetrate his colony black vulturecoat of arms of the Dadian Forest” answers us RS Zakkak and continues: “In addition, we discovered immediately after the fire that his nests screeching eagle and the golden eagles, by which we knew their positions, were not burned. The fact that the fire was creeping in many places helped keep trees with nests.

“But the truth is that we have definitely lost a very large part of the area nesting the birds can already see it in the fire. In the depths of the forest there are areas where the nests were burned to the ground. We do not know their exact location, but we can say with certainty that the breeding grounds of birds of prey have been affected.. Assume that the area that has been completely burned is 22,000 acres.
Another 20,000 acres where the fire has crawled have living islands and a softer picture. But large birds of prey also need large trees to build their nests, and far too many have been burned. It will take many years to replace them.”

HOUR RS Zakkak notes at this point thatin September, dadia specialists will have a clearer and more quantitative picture of the bird species whose nests have been destroyed and how many are left. As she says: “To complete the report, we will compare our data with records from previous years to see which and how many species nested in the burnt area.”

Looking for spring

Per RS Zakkak the big question now is how the birds will react to the losses they will face when they return to Dadia. As she explains, most of the birds in the park are migratory, so that’s when their journey to Africa begins. “We will be able to see the impact on their population when they return next March and start checking areas where they knew they were nesting,” she says, and continues:

“Therefore, in the spring we will start systematic monitoring and recording of what is happening with Dadia birds. The truth is, we don’t know how they’ll react to the burned area.”

And what are the possible scenarios for those who find their nest burned? “It will also depend heavily on forest management after Fire- how many and which trees will be cut down, how many will fall etc.

Birds can nest on burnt trees if they stand still. If not, they may look for nests elsewhere in Dadia, but there is also a risk that they will leave the forest altogether if the surrounding areas where they look for a home “fall” into … crowding. It is impossible that where there used to be 5 birds, suddenly there are 15.”

Uncertain future

An important role in how bird populations will behave depending on RS Zakkakwill also affect what happens to the balance between regions feeding birds andthem regions nesting.

“As the forest gradually returns and the land is cleared, plots feeding for birds will increase, but the areas will not follow as quickly nesting. It is good that there are unburnt islands in the forest, and they will help, because to a certain extent they will serve as a shelter, and also provide seeds for the forest to begin to grow again.

In any case, even if relationships and balance burned by birds the forest turned out to be quite successful, the result is as follows RS Zakkak: “Whether or not the Dadia birds end up in the park will take years of observation. Surely something will be lost from Dadia’s precious bird treasure.. To say that we will lose entire species may be an exaggeration, but pairs will go to nest elsewhere, and in other cases it may take years for the birds to return.”

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