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Newsletter 10
Our Important “Millennium” Our Petition to preserve the thirteen year old hunting ban on Tilos for the protection of our 26 resident and migratory bird species officially recognized as endangered by Bird Life International and the European Union (E.U.) has already received more than 1,050 signatures. Thank you for this special “millennium” gift! Your support of our conservation efforts means the world to us. The European Union is home to 150 mammal species, 520 bird species, 180 reptile/amphibian species, 150 fish species, 10,000 plant species and 100,000 invertebrate species. Today, one half of the mammal species and one third of the bird, reptile and fish species are endangered. In spite of this and E.U. environmental protection laws for certain areas that are rich in bird life, lifting the twelve year old hunting ban on Tilos continues to be on the priority agenda of the General Secretary of the Southern Aegean Region (Periphery). Tilos is a Greek Environment Ministry and E.U. registered Natura 2000 site and a Special Protection Area for the Birds (SPA). The Ornis Scientific Committee of the European Union has documented the rapidly declining European bird populations resulting from inadvertently harmful but reversible human activities such as industrial pollution, over-hunting and fishing, reduced forest and agricultural areas, chemical poisoning by fertilizers, etc. The General Secretary’s political problem of satisfying recreational hunters, (most of whom do not reside on Tilos but desire to come to the island, kill certain wildlife, and then leave the broken flora and injured animals on the island) is an issue of significant scientific, legal, and most importantly ethical and moral implications. By taking immediate and decisive action, our organization was able to keep the hunting ban in place for the hunting season that is now coming to an end. The contradictory and misleading statements and press releases that have been issued by the General Secretary’s office of the Southern Aegean Region together with information that we receive that the hunting clubs are preparing a new pressure campaign for lifting the ban for the upcoming hunting season which starts on September 15, 2005, show us clearly that our fight to save our endangered birds on Tilos is far from over. We need all the support we can get as we take on the powerful hunting lobby and the regional government in this fight. Our fight has Europe-wide implications as reflected in the E.U.’s Birds Directive: “Whereas, the species of wild birds naturally occurring in the European Territory of the Member States are mainly migratory species; such species constitute a common heritage and effective bird protection is typically a trans-frontier environment problem entailing common responsibilities”. If you have not yet done so, please, consider signing our Petition to the General Secretary of the Southern Aegean Region (Periphery) at: http://www.petitiononline.com/proact02/petition.html Take a Walk on the Wild Side!
Holiday packages including hotel accommodations, breakfast and dinner, island tours and festivities for one week as well as modern round-trip transportation on the 70 minute high-speed catamaran “Sea Star” from Rhodes to Tilos (and back) start at only €350 depending upon individual or group travel. So please come spend a week, or just a few days, with us here on Tilos as we celebrate the island’s launch of a new era of ecotourism together with the beginning of our Life-Nature program designed to protect our endangered bird species. Visit us this spring and we’ll be glad to show you how much there is to enjoy in our little corner of the world. What a difference a day makes!
If you are itching to walk barefoot along the sand after a cold winter season of heavy shoes, if you long to let your skin breathe after being buried under layers of sweaters in front of a dry, artificial heating system, come spend a few days with us on the island and feel the warm sun melt away your cares. Allow us to serve you with what we are privileged to live with every day of the year. Fresh food from our farms, island honey, a view of the blue Aegean with beautiful migratory birds visiting us from Africa on their journey north. We are already embarking upon the preparation of culinary feasts, special guided walking and bus tours, bird watching, visits to our museum and ancient monastery, olive oil tasting and culinary seminars, beach activities, celebratory music and much more. The island beauty speaks for itself at this time of year with zesty orange and lemon tree blossoms, canopies of pink flowers draping the almond trees, wild red poppies and yellow marguerites dotting the countryside, freshly planted agricultural fields against a backdrop of rugged mountains and blue sky, azure blue seas, sunny days and star-filled nights.
That same afternoon, a Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) landed next to our first aid cages for injured wildlife and quite methodically searched to find a way to get inside. This magnificent bird of prey was attracted to one cage in particular due to the presence of a Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) which is still recovering from an accident with a car a month ago. The Eagle quickly learned that our first aid station is a prohibited area as it was chased by our on site volunteers and continued its search for prey in the skies above Eristos valley. To add to the excitement of the day, a European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) was also sighted diving and fishing along the entire stretch of Eristos beach. But what really topped the cake was the discovery of a small puppy curled up inside the protection of a wooden crate during our daily surveillance tours. This lost soul was given food and water by our staff and, after rewarding us all with wet kisses and renewed energy, he was reunited with his happy owner who claimed him after an announcement about our precious find was circulated around the island. Spring seems to have arrived early on Tilos this year with the almond trees in full bloom since February and the fields filling up with the vibrant colours of wildflowers and flowering herbs. 
On the afternoon of February 24, in the midst of clear skies and a warm sun, the first swallows were sighted flying over Tilos. These wonderful seasonal residents of our island arrived earlier than ever this year to reward us with their presence and graceful flight.
Please, consider becoming a Member of the Tilos Park Association. Your membership will add strength to our voice in the preservation of the natural heritage of Tilos. To receive a membership application package, please send an
Newsletter 9
“Hats” Off to Audubon!
In the late 1800’s, a group of Boston society women gathered over afternoon tea to save birds from being slaughtered for the contemporary fashion of using feathers in the hat trade. Unbeknownst to this group of women, the ideas generated in their forthcoming meetings were the genesis of the avian conservation movement and the Audubon Society for the protection and study of wild birds. These women threw down the gauntlet to the then-powerful plume industry and drove it out of business within a decade thereby saving thousands of wild birds from slaughter in the process. As these Audubon pioneers kick-started the modern conservation movement, they developed their stratagem to effectively communicate the scientific basis for their concerns and objectives to the general public which have become indispensable to the twenty first century global environmental movement. They wrote articles, conducted town hall meetings, participated in informal gatherings, and, most importantly, designed and promoted fashionable alternatives to exotic feathered hats which would equally satisfy the consumers. The promotion of eco-tourism follows the identical process which is to offer and promote truly enjoyable holiday activities as a wonderful alternative to less environmentally sensitive vacations and thereby satisfy the needs of the consumer in a way that protects our natural heritage at the same time. This year, the Audubon Society celebrates its 100th Anniversary with a membership that extends to many hundreds of thousands in the North American Continent and beyond. Happy Birthday Audubon …. and may you have many, many more! Ornithology is 2000 years young!
Knowledge about birds and bird migration was first put into print some 2000 years ago by Aristotle who, without the benefit of modern technology, identified as many as 140 bird species and established the foundation of the science of ornithology. In the 1700s, Linnaeus identified about 500 different bird species out of the approximately 8700 which we know that exist today, and in his treatise on the migration of birds, “Migrationes Avium” (1757), he propagated the delusion that swallows hibernate at the bottom of lakes. The outlines of modern biology began to appear in the nineteenth century. The most important advance was Charles Darwin’s theories on the origin of species and on the evolution and adaptations of plants and animals through natural selection. Direct field studies of migratory birds began in earnest at the end of the 1700s and in the 1800s. These studies consisted largely of registers that noted the time of the birds’ yearly arrival and departure. During the 1800s, the observations from different countries were co-ordinated so that the birds’ migration paths could be mapped. In order to administer the exchange of information, several ornithological unions and journals were founded. The first international ornithological congress assembled in Vienna in 1884, with the expressed purpose of being a co-ordinating forum for the mapping of the migration of birds. The ringing method of tracking birds by attaching a special ring to their leg was introduced at the turn of the last century by the Danish schoolmaster Hans Mortensen. A couple of decades later, the system of observation and counting of passing birds at particular sites was extensively introduced. Investigations into the orientation capabilities of birds, with emphasis on the roles of the sun and the stars, gathered momentum in the 1950s. The use of radar to follow bird migration across vast areas and at the highest altitudes, as well as the exploration of the birds’ sensory world and their built-in magnetic compass, are only about 35 and 25 years old, respectively. The use of satellite and radio tracking technologies were developed only recently. Microchip technology and nanotechnology, facilitating the increased use of existing technology by making equipment smaller, are perhaps part of the future of bird life studies. Since the Renaissance, we have embarked upon an earnest revival of a new age of seeking knowledge on an international level ... Knowledge, not only for practical use but also for its own sake, in order to satisfy man’s interest and imagination. Man cannot keep pace with the birds whose natural speed and grace are reliant upon their wings for flight, but his thoughts and dreams can easily fly along with them. Perhaps that is the reason why birds and the science of ornithology attract the interest, admiration and wonder of mankind to such a great degree. We study migratory birds because they awaken our imagination and our natural interest in their lives and, especially, their journeys across oceans and continents with remarkable adaptations in the pursuit of finding a place on earth. In our quest for this knowledge, we must, however, remind ourselves of the adage that, in essence, says information, knowledge and wisdom are easily distinguishable and not synonymous. We must make an effort to achieve all three and then use each one with care. Let Us Celebrate!
Birds are living descendants of the dinosaurs. In 1861 a series of fossils were found in limestone beds in Germany that provided direct evidence of the relationship between dinosaurs and birds. The fossilized creature, named Archaeopteryx, lived 150 million years ago and it was very bird-like in appearance, with well developed feathers that were just like those of a modern bird, and yet still had many reptilian features such as teeth in its jaws and a long, flexible, bony tail.
Fifteen years ago, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, His Holiness Bartholomew, selected the 1st of September of every year to be the date of prayer for the protection of the environment. This decision inspired us to create an annual festival on Tilos to celebrate nature and all of its creatures, great and small. We are planning to inaugurate our festival in 2006 with a special religious service for the blessing of the animals. The festival will include art exhibits and other cultural activities, culinary feasts, agricultural produce competitions, bird watching competitions, and much more. Plan your visit to Tilos in September 2006 and bring your feathered or furry member of the family with you for a unique religious and cultural experience. We are planning to invite His Holiness Bartholomew to inaugurate our Festival and we will issue a formal petition to the European Parliament requesting the selection of September 1st of every year to be a day of celebration of nature and the environment.
The Board of Directors of the Tilos Park Association in its February 1, 2005, meeting approved a proposal that was put forward by the Director of our Association to create a Committee that will organize an annual festival on Tilos for the celebration of nature and the environment.
Nature is Calling
Please, consider becoming a Member of the Tilos Park Association. Your membership will add strength to our voice in the preservation of the natural heritage of Tilos.
Newsletter 8
The Islander’s Ecotourism Gift to All of Our Supporters
The Tilos Municipality, the owners of the Sea Star high speed hovercraft-catamaran, the Tilos Hotel Owners Association and the Tilos restaurateurs were overwhelmed by the support that so many of you gave to the island when it was needed last fall to preserve the island’s resident and migratory endangered bird species against hunting that the Secretary General of the Aegean Periphery is still working to legalize. In order to convey their sincere appreciation, the islanders are planning celebratory festivities in April with enticing holiday packages designed especially for all of you who will hopefully be tempted to take a few beautiful spring days in April and spend them here on Tilos. Many members of local hunting organizations, to the islanders’ great disappointment, continue to express the wish that our newly developed island ecotourism fail in its efforts to shift the island economy to conservation uses of the island’s natural resources. Some islanders, whose need to make a living is understandably of paramount concern to them, are a bit anxious about the success of this conversion to ecotourism. The Municipality and the hoteliers, on the other hand, already know that the island’s natural gifts are a continuing delight to their guests who enjoy our rare bird species, Byzantine churches, clear running springs, fragrant island honey, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, colourful wild herbs and flowers that scent and adorn our walking paths. The island’s beaches always attract sunbathers, swimmers, scuba divers, fishing enthusiasts, barbeque lovers, volleyball players as well as artists, stargazers and poets.
So, if you would like to slip your feet into those comfortable summer sandals, let your skin breathe in loose-fitting cotton and feel the warm sun melt away your cares, spend a few days with us on Tilos and allow us to serve you for a change. We are planning culinary feasts, special guided walking and bus tours, bird watching, visits to our museum and ancient monastery, olive oil tastings and culinary seminars, beach activities, celebratory music and much more. The island beauty speaks for itself at this time of year with colourful almond and scented citrus tree blossoms, wild red poppies and yellow marguerites, freshly planted agricultural fields against a backdrop of rugged mountains and blue sky, azure blue seas, sunny days and star-filled nights. Holiday packages including hotel accommodations, breakfast and dinner, island tours and festivities as well as modern round-trip transportation on the 90 minute high-speed catamaran “Sea Star” from Rhodes to Tilos (and back) start at only 350 euros depending upon your length of stay and individual vs. group travel. So please come spend a week, or just a few days, with us here on Tilos as we celebrate the island’s launch of a new era of ecotourism together with the beginning of our Life-Nature program designed to protect our endangered bird species. Visit our Life-Nature Visitor Centre opening this spring and we’ll be glad to show you how much there is to enjoy in our little corner of the world.
Birds of a Feather? Not Always
As reported to the Hellenic Ornithological Society, which has made great contributions to the avian scientific data compilation efforts of Greece, two rare White-tailed Eagles (Haliaetus albicilla) were viewed resting on an electrical utility pole and an oak tree in Eristos, Tilos, last autumn while two extremely inquisitive blackbirds hovered around and finally sat next to the eagles. To a distant observer, they looked like two unacquainted couples waiting at a bus stop. Completely ignoring the blackbirds as ancient nobility disregarded peasants in the countryside, the eagles serenely observed every detail of their surroundings from the same location for 45 minutes before flying away towards the coastline.
This is a rare international species estimated in 2000 to consist of fewer than 100 breeding pairs. They are a primarily resident adult species (except in the far north); however, the juveniles are more migratory. The eagles breed along sea coasts and by large lakes and rivers. They feed on fish, aquatic birds, carrion and offal. They usually nest in the crown of an old tree in inaccessible areas such as the edge of a cliff. If undisturbed, they will re-use the nest. Their wing span is between 190 and 240 cm and has a beautifully scalloped design. Their bright yellow bill, strong talons, powerful yellow legs, and wedge-shaped white tail stand out brilliantly in the sky as they soar at great heights for a very long time. And may they ever continue to soar …
Windmills in the Sky Can Be Deadly
Did you know that one of the premier U.S. wind turbine power projects located in the Diablo Mountains outside of San Francisco, California, with 4,000 windmills in a 50 square mile area kills an average of 4,500 migratory and resident birds each year? The death toll is estimated to be “tens of thousands” in the last twenty years and includes golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, burrowing owls and other raptors. Two very important reasons for this high death rate are that the low mountains in this region are home to the world’s largest density of nesting golden eagles, and this project area spans an international migratory bird route that is protected by federal law. Unfortunately, this alarming accident rate is not unique to California. Similar accident reports are surfacing in other geographical locations around the world that permit future international projects to benefit from the obstacles encountered and steps already taken by government, private enterprise, university research centers and non-governmental organizations in California and other parts of the world. Each of these locations share common concerns about the financial feasibility of correcting the problem without over-burdening private enterprise and at the same time protecting resident and migratory bird species of special importance.
By 2010, 20% of California’s energy will be required by law to originate from renewable sources. In anticipation of this, California began renewable energy construction projects decades ago. Construction projects and business operations require county permits, and these renewable energy project permits are now beginning to expire throughout the state. In exchange for renewing these permits, California’s municipalities, supported by environmental organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept. and university research centres, are requiring the energy companies to comply with existing federal laws regulating the protection of migratory and endangered bird species by replacing or modifying the existing construction of the wind turbines that are causing the deaths. The federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept. has the authority to prosecute any person or entity that is responsible for killing protected birds. And in northern California, they are beginning to file lawsuits. The municipal pressure concerning the conditional renewal or denial of business permits in concert with federal prosecutions initiated in California have provided the necessary incentive for private companies to make the necessary changes.
The state’s feasibility study recommended the following options: 1) replace the old equipment with fewer, larger capacity turbines; 2) build the existing turbines higher than the birds’ flight paths; or 3) relocate the offending turbines. Negotiations are in progress concerning (a) limiting the duration of a permit to a few years with renewal subject to continuing compliance with federal laws, (b) equipment replacement as opposed to relocation and (c) establishing future project criteria requiring bird protection. The US government has passed legislation giving tax relief and other financial incentives to companies to comply with current laws in order to mitigate the private enterprises’ concerns that the requested changes are too costly and to make the necessary changes financially feasible (i.e. profitable) for the energy companies.
This is a case demonstrating that government can work in concert with private enterprise, jobs are being created, taxes are still being levied on equipment manufacturing/sales and (clean) energy distribution, and globally important bird species will benefit. It is also worth noting by those governmental agencies contemplating wind energy projects to avoid the same pitfalls and profit from the valuable ideas.
Nothing Stays the Same … That’s Good!
Many of you have relied upon the very reputable publication entitled “The Complete Guide to the Birds of Europe” by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterstrom and Peter Grant that includes colour-coded maps identifying known resident and migratory bird habitats. One can, therefore, easily see where a species may be found in different seasons of the year. A founding member of the Association invited my attention to the introduction of the book that recites the unfortunate fact that “when the maps for this book were prepared, modern mapping of the bird fauna had not been published for such important areas as Spain, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco” and for most former Soviet Union states. (This book was published in the UK by Harper Collins in 2000.) Spain and Greece as part of the European Union had been requested by the EU for many years to provide such data and to identify its areas of special importance with EU funds available for such data compilation. Delays in providing this information have resulted in international publications such as this.
We are now, however, pleased to report that Greece is more actively compiling such scientific information as a result of actions that include, but are not limited to, the Life Nature programs funded by the EU, the Hellenic Ministry of Agriculture and corresponding local municipalities in important aviary habitats such as the Evros Delta and the island of Tilos in Greece. Tilos is a living example of how Greece is rapidly responding to the global demand for environmental conservation and ecotourism. The Tilos Life Nature program with the support of the Tilos Municipality is beginning to carefully document its wild avifauna and habitats and develop special facilities for responsible viewing and comfortable enjoyment of this wildlife. The Tilos Hotel Association has embraced this development by tailoring its hostelry services and accommodations for ecotourists as well as professional organizations that also require the use of its modern conference centre scheduled to open this year in 2005.
We welcome news of any activities that contribute to our global knowledge, enjoyment and protection of our world’s natural heritage and we will be pleased to share this news with all of our readers.
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