Tilos Park Journal

The Tilos Park Association

The Tilos Park Association has a new home on the Internet. Please, visit us at: http://www.tilos-park.org The Tilos Park Journal is published every three months in Greek and English and distributed electronically to 5.437 subscribers around the world. We would like to invite you to subscribe to our Journal. Subscription to the Journal is free of charge.

If you wish to subscribe, please, send an e-mail to: tilopark@otenet.gr writing the words “subscribe me” in the text and do not forget to mention if you prefer to receive the Greek or the English version.

Best wishes,

Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos

Director

Tilos Park Journal 1

To Our Readers:

The former monthly Tilos Park News will now be distributed quarterly in an expanded format under the new name of Tilos Park Journal to accommodate a growing list of subscribers interested in sharing our island news relating to pan-European issues. We welcome your comments.

Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos

Director

Tilos Park Association

Inside the Tilos Park Journal:

Tourism Minister Avromopoulos Supports Tilos Natural Park

Tilos Ecotourism by Dr. Mario Broggi

Wetlands for Wildlife

Alternative Energy Research on Tilos

EU Tilos Life Nature Program News

Avian Flu Question on a Greek Island

Neighborhood Watch: Island Style

International Biology Students to Study on Tilos

Tourism Minister Avromopoulos Supports Tilos Natural Park

The Tilos Park Association [TPA] would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Hellenic Tourism Minister Dimitris Avromopoulos for his personal two day visit to Tilos last September and for his letter of support to the TPA Director concerning the establishment of the proposed Tilos Natural Park. In his letter, he said "I believe that this is a worthwhile initiative which will contribute on its own merit to the general promotion of our country."

The TPA believes in resolving important socio-economic issues through dialogue and mutual cooperation between the private and public sector at all levels. During his September visit, Minister Avromopoulos demonstrated this shared philosophy as he met with island residents at the TPA office, answered questions and discussed subjects of island concern at length before touring the island to better comprehend the local issues.

It is well known that during the last ten years Tilos, an EU registered Special Protection Area, has undertaken private and municipal efforts to develop ecotourism around the anticipated Natural Park. In furtherance of this aim, the TPA was founded in 2003 to manage the proposed Park and thereby relieve the Hellenic government of any obligation to maintain it. The TPA looks forward in the future to working with Minister Avromopoulos, whose recognition of the merit of the anticipated Park and whose efforts to assist the islanders in their ecotourism based economy will serve to benefit the region and support the national economy.

Tilos’ Chances in the Marketing Segment of Ecotourism

By Dr. Mario F. BroggiTranslated by Wilfried Kaufmann

Mario F.Broggi (60) is a graduated Forestry Engineer and Ecologist. He is a university lecturer at the University of Basle and at the University of Vienna. He is the former General Manager of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forests, Snow and Landscape Research. Today he is working for the Council of the Swiss Federal Technical University (ETH Council, specialising in issues of regional development and sustainability. He is also a Counsellor in various private Foundations involved in environmental protection.

According to Tourist Guides written in German, Tilos ought to be one of the last calm and contemplative Islands in the Aegean. This issue alone is enticing enough for a fan of Greece and a nature freak anyway to visit this Island. Since 1973 a group of naturalists having their roots in the Alpine Rhine Valley targets their uprising Spring feelings to Greek Islands, exploring the local flora and fauna. In the Dodecanese, Karpathos, Symi, Kalymnos, Leros and Astypalea rank among their targets hitherto visited.

An internet interrogation on Tilos brought forward our innate curiosity when the focus came on the "Tilos Park" Project. Let’s go to that Island!

First Impressions of the Island

My first reconnaissance trip in October 2004 as well as the subsequent excursion the six of us in April 2005 brought about the following facts:

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Astonishingly enough we hear from a general hunting ban on the Island, valid as from 1987.

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Various finds of the Chukar partridge confirm the positive outcome of this feat.

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We learn about a feasibility study for a Tilos Park explicitly extending the existing natural resources according to EU criteria.

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We are able to watch the otherwise rare Eleonora’s falcons regularly during our stay on the Island.

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In the hotels we find information on the Island’s natural resources.

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The Tilos Park Association, still a "nestling", has installed an information centre in Livadia.

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We felt the Island authority’s creative impulse to install a modern garbage scheme.

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An own shuttle hydrofoil called "Tilos Sea Star" to Rhodos and vice versa is operated.

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The Island’s busses are new, much in contrast to rusty vehicles we met so many times in other parts of the Aegean.

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At the pier the municipality informs about the tourist infrastructure.

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The port facilities are in full revitalisation.

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Old chapels are renovated.

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And not very long ago, in the course of our human history, dwarf elephants the size of St. Bernard dogs lived on the island. In a cave called Charkadia bones were found as proofs.

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There are old paved paths leading to former agricultural summer residences which now serve the hikers.

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And, after all, an aspect of great importance: The Island has not yet been afflicted by building and construction ordeals.

What does Ecotourism mean?

Environmental protection and tourism were initially two hostile notions in contrast to each other for a long time and very frequently. Ecotourism tries to harmonize the controversies. Ecotourism means caretaking travelling in natural habitats, and conversely environmental control includes welfare of the local population. With this, ecotourism proves to be an important factor in sustainable regional development in rural areas.

Up-to-date Park concepts try to combine utilization and protection, highlighting "sustainability". This is the trial to balance tourist use and sustainable landscape revenue in large protected habitats. Sustainable development implies that it does not hamper the interests of other people, regions and generations. Sustainable development takes care of preservation of natural living structures, focussing on fairness between individuals and society.

The motive to "experience nature" when travelling abroad has been growing in importance in the last years. Roughly 30-40 % of the tourists coming from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are impressionable for ecotouristic offers. Moreover, they are willing to pay extra for a tourism they consider supporting nature and social promotion. Apart from insight into nature, ecotourists are highly interested in ecological interrelations and activities aiming at environmental control.

The Phantom Picture of an Ecological Tourist

Polls of guests in Mid Europe entail the following phantom picture of ecological tourists:

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Their age is between 30-70 years.

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They have an advanced standard of education and a regular income.

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They live in agglomerations or a big city.

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On vacation they are rather in quest of recovery instead of action.

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Their general philosophical needs go for relaxed pace and spiritual meaning.

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They want to explore new landscapes and they are in favour of including nature and culture. In other words, they respect the needs of the local population.

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They want to pass comfortable holidays, they like good food and prefer regional products.

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They are out for small locations rather than internationally known and crowded regions.

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A vast majority of these people would be ready to pay visitors paybacks for ample information and environmental protection measures.

Which Prerequisites Would Tilos Be Able To Offer?

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An attractive mountain region easy to survey, with high-ranking natural and cultural values.

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Numerous testimonies of history as well as from former larger settlements than today.

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Fertile plains with stock of trees and agricultural growing.

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Beautiful round footpaths.

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A good gastronomy with individual small lodgings.

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Finally, Tilos spreads a certain creativity of relaxed pace bereft from everyday stress, a feat which normally requires a relatively longer journey from home for the tourist.

What Are Further Conditions Providing Ecotourism With Durable Success?

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A persisting credibility and authenticity of future actions securing their own identity in order to distinguish the destination Tilos from others.

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This in turn requires coordination and tuning of all decisions for the unique goal of an utmost and intact preservation of the rich natural and cultural heritage.

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Tilos is in need of a regional planning scheme identifying protected and utilization zones on the Island, a scheme which also secures a controlled development in areas reserved for building and construction.

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An ecologically beneficial organisation and garbage control with the liquidation and clearing of the old waste sites.

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An economical scheme for drinking water and clearing of sewage.

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A consequent further development of ecotourism setting forth the appropriate infrastructure (e.g. a multilingual Nature and Culture Guide), warranting the maintenance of marked roads and footpaths as well as the renovation of museums.

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Introduction of as many as possible home agricultural products in excellent bio quality and their marketing for tourism, aiming at the creation of local added-value chains. This in turn originates new jobs.

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Substantial reduction of small livestock down to an ecologically beneficial extent in order to avoid erosion and to secure biodiversity. This requires a sophisticated pasturing management with capacity limits.

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Cooperation and exchange of experience with destinations of a similar constellation (e.g. reciprocal visits of Armutalan in Marmaris).

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Cooperation with touristic chains willing to support ecotourism (e.g. Laskarina Holidays)

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Cooperation with experts in environmental control.

Tilos - An Exciting Experiment

In Tilos, the skeleton conditions for a successful ecotourism are favourable. The constitution of the envisaged Natural Park would conspicuously underline the intentions. The Island possesses the necessary potential, and the European demand exists. This is proved by the increasing number of visitors coming to the Island. The Island Administration under the chairmanship of Anastasios Aliferis offers the necessary facilities. May the Tilos Park Association under the enthusiastic management of Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos be successful in effectively accompanying this project!

Finally, the Island needs appropriate entrepreneurship willing to develop these fundamental quests together with the people of Tilos. Europe requires good-practice examples.

Wetlands for Wildlife

Since Spring 2005, the Tilos Park Association has been very fortunate to receive experienced counsel from Dr. Mario F. Broggi concerning a proposed multi-purpose expansion and development of the existing island water reservoir into a wetlands. Dr. Broggi is well known to the European Union Parliament and Commission representatives for his extensive Mediterranean and Aegean territorial science research and pan European action plans during the last thirty years. This proposed development would create naturally-sourced wetlands with a biological ecosystem, including plants, that would help to reduce the intense water evaporation that the island experiences.

Currently, rainwater is the only island water reservoir source. Rainwater is seasonal, subject to annual variation and subject to intense evaporation. The natural supplement to create the wetlands and ensure its continuing sufficiency would be the fresh water underground springs on Tilos. Tapping into the underground springs would supplement the island rainwater and thereby serve the water needs of island residents as well as our resident and migratory wildlife.

Dr. Broggi explained to the TPA Director that unused water cisterns and the loss of two previously existing wetlands in Livadia and Eristos have resulted in the near island extinction of certain amphibious species on Tilos which are a valuable link in the island wildlife ecosystem. The wetlands loss has also contributed to a diversion and loss of wild bird species from Tilos that have historically rested and refueled in this Special Protection Area during pan African-European migration. Without the former wetlands, resident wildlife experience increased dehydration and stress resulting in reduced breeding and reproduction and premature mortality as water becomes more difficult to access.

Dr. Broggi’s advocacy of naturally sourced wetlands without reliance upon any artificial devices, such as an electrical pump, demonstrates his analysis of securing a natural, non-polluting, long term solution to ensure the integrity of the project for the enhanced health and biodiversity protection of the island’s natural environment.

Alternative Energy Sources Research on Tilos

The TPA has been approached by a European doctoral candidate with impressive professional experience concerning the feasibility of conducting alternative energy research on Tilos for the candidate’s doctoral thesis. This is a subject of increasing international importance and urgency to implement renewable energy programs in European communities like ours gifted with penetrating natural elements.

If approved at all levels, this proposed research would focus on the integration of alternative energy sources available on a Mediterranean/Aegean island with a tourism based economy. The aims include reducing energy costs as well as solid, liquid and gas pollution while increasing clean energy efficiency in the functions of the public and private sector.

Other coastal European communities have long been exploring the feasibility of wind, geothermal, solar, tidal stream and wave based technologies in their efforts to become less dependent upon foreign energy sources. Georgia, Ukraine and many EU countries have been adversely affected this winter by the recent disruptions and unpredicted price increases in energy deliveries to the detriment of their economies and public health.

California, the sixth largest economy in the world [The Economist "World in 2005"], will be required by state law to provide 20% of its total energy from clean, renewable sources in 6 years. Denmark has become a leader in the wind turbine industry. Britain, with well publicized renewable energy programs, is currently being urged by the Carbon Trust [a low emission technologies enterprise] to expand its renewable energy research by supporting wave based devices and tidal stream installations which are calculated to generate 20% of UK electricity from the sea, according to Martin Wright, Managing Director of the Devon pilot project. Wave based devices generate electricity from the movements of the sea surface. Tidal stream installations are positioned on the sea floor to utilize the regular ebb and flow of the tides. Carbon Trust pilot projects are also being conducted in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The TPA is making every effort to make the exciting prospect of island research and natural energy development a reality for the benefit of Tilos, as a registered Special Protection Area, as well as an Aegean model for the future.

EU Life Nature Program on Tilos

The EU Life Nature Program on Tilos began one year ago in January 2005. The purpose of the 3 year program is to facilitate the restoration of three endangered wild bird species to a favorable conservation status: Bonelli’s eagle [Hieraaetus fasciatus], Eleonora falcon [Falco eleonorae] and the Mediterranean shag [Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii]. These species indigenous to Tilos are required under the provisions of EU Birds and Habitats Directives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC, respectively, to be protected by EU Member States because their species survival is at risk according to the European Union Ornis Committee of ornithological experts.

These EU Directives obligate all Member States to select areas for the protection and preservation of endangered species and refrain from introducing activities that would significantly disturb their breeding and reproduction. The European Court of Justice has characterized the importance of preserving endangered European wildlife as a "trans-frontier" problem requiring pan European coordination of solutions.

To comply with these EU Directives, Tilos, along with its 14 uninhabited islets, was selected by the Hellenic government and approved by the European Union to be designated and registered as a Special Protection Area and Natura 2000 Network site. Subsequently, Tilos was awarded a Life Nature Program investment of €824.212 to be administered by the EU with contributions and partnership actions from the European Union, Hellenic Government, Tilos Municipality, Oikos E.P.E. [environmental development enterprise] and Tilos Park Association.

The EU Life Nature program focuses on (1) restoring, developing and preserving the natural island habitat by planting indigenous trees and cereal crops to accommodate the selected bird species’ needs within a biological ecosystem to permit adequate feeding, resting, breeding and reproduction; (2) documenting the current population of the targeted bird species and subsequent annual changes in the population; (3) restoring existing walking paths and developing new ones with directional signage to permit visitors and bird watchers to enjoy the island countryside without disturbing sensitive nesting areas; (4) ensuring the security of the program site; (5) enlightening political representatives with national, regional and local jurisdiction over the SPA about their collective responsibilities in governing an EU registered SPA; and (6) informing the public including school children as to the nature, aims and benefits of the EU sponsored program.

Promising Ornithological News

Dr. Haralambos Alivizatos, the chief Tilos Life Nature ornithologist, officially reported in October 2005 that Tilos is the seasonal home to more than 10% of the entire world population of Eleonora falcon. Dr. Alivizatos was an important contributing ornithologist to the research and preparation of the 1999 International Species Action Plan for Falco Eleonora recognized by the European Union. According to Dr. Alivizatos, Tilos has more than 625 breeding pairs of this endangered falcon species that return each year from wintering in Madagascar to colonies spread throughout the island and its islets. Tilos officially ranks as the third most important site for this falcon in all of Europe.

Dr. Alivizatos and his team also observed what appears to be our fourth breeding pair of Bonelli’s eagles which is expected to be officially confirmed this spring. In 1997, the entire European population of the species was conservatively reported to be only 862 breeding pairs in total. Continuing food shortages, habitat loss and human disturbances have resulted in its dangerously declining population. Ornithologists are cautiously optimistic that the environmental conditions on Tilos will continue to provide a safe environment for this species to successfully breed and reproduce.

Neighborhood Watch: Island Style

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in January, Mrs. Anna Panga, owner of La Seta fine clothing store in Livadia, called the Tilos Park Association after sighting a distressed sea turtle in the northern Tilos harbor of San Antonio. The TPA received immediate and generous assistance from Pericles Dafnopatides, Chief of the Hellenic Coast Guard Port Authority on Tilos, and his colleague Kostas Ioanides, Christos Koumnakis, Christos Panga, and Tellis Hadzifoudas in pulling the sea turtle to shore to determine what aid could be given. The TPA Director brought the Athens telephone number of Dr. Amilia Drougas, a Founding Member of the TPA, to the scene in the event that advice from a professional marine biologist would be required. Dr. Drougas is a university lecturer, international consultant and specialist in Mediterranean and Aegean marine mammals.

As the sea turtle was brought to shore, it became readily apparent that the sea turtle had unfortunately died after becoming severely entangled in fishing line which caused the loss of two extremities in the process. This was the second such fatality in the last two years. The death of this latest sea turtle does not, however, diminish the value of the efforts of all of the volunteers who were on the scene within thirty minutes of the telephone report.

This prompt volunteer reaction demonstrates the genuine spirit with which many of the islanders respond to the challenges encountered in preserving and managing our wildlife in this Special Protection Area of Tilos.

The TPA would like to recognize the generous spirit with which all of these people donated their weekend time to offer assistance to what was originally perceived to be a distressed sea turtle. The Tilos neighborhood watch is indeed alive and well in 2006.

International Biology Students to Study on Tilos

Tilos will be the venue for an April 2006 expedition scheduled by the Campion School for international students in Athens to enable biology students to study the rich variety of indigenous flora and fauna residing in the sixteen different biotopes on the island.

Richard Scarr, Campion School Biology teacher, first visited Tilos in October to scout the island ecology to ensure its compatibility with the biology curriculum. The Tilos Park Association arranged for his tour of the island based upon a very generous offer by Ian and Barbara Dunsire to assist the TPA with Richard’s visit.

Ian and Barbara provided Richard, the TPA Director and a Life Nature Field Assistant with a complimentary luncheon and tour of all of the ecological points of interest within the 63 square kilometer island. Ian and Barbara reside on Tilos in the spring and summer during which time they explore and photograph the indigenous wildlife from nature paths and coastal beaches. From their research and exploration, they shared their knowledge of the island history, indigenous wildlife, Byzantine churches and monasteries, ancient castles, protected resident and migratory bird species, island art, music and culture. For further information regarding how to arrange an island tour with Ian Dunsire, please contact the TPA office.

Newsletter 13

Notes on the Tilos Flora

[This article was written and very generously submitted by Wilfried Kaufmann, a specialist in the botanical sciences, in concert with Dr. Mario Broggi, a specialist in fauna, from the Principality of Lichtenstein.]

From April 18 through April 27, 2005, I had the opportunity to visit Tilos together with five friends. It was our annual expedition mostly to the Aegean, this being the 32rd expedition which date back to 1972. While preparing this expedition, we were delighted to contact Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos, Director of the Tilos Park Association and Coordinator of the Tilos Life-Nature Project. He proved to be an important assistant to us during our field work on Tilos flora and fauna.

Our expedition consisted of Dr. Mario Broggi, Dr. Peter Goop (fauna group), Dr. Christian Burri, Mag. Günther Stadler, Edith Waldburger and me (botanical group). We noted nearly 350 plant species, a great deal of which are of remarkable importance. The Flora List is now in the hands of Konstantinos, and I understand he will publish it on his Tilos Park Websites. This list is yet to be checked and should be confirmed by future botanists working on Tilos.

The Flora List demonstrates that the projected Tilos Park is a great opportunity to initiate the protection of the Flora in the Aegean region. We have been visiting many Islands in this region before, with mostly the same result:

·Destruction of nature in ancient and classic times already.

·This was followed by hundreds of years of overgrazing by sheep and goats.

·This leads to an impoverishment of flora and fauna.

·On the Aegean Islands we regretfully met manmade agricultural deserts in a landscape that normally might delight generations of nature and cultural tourism.

·In modern times, the destruction of vegetation was capped by the European authorities’ subsidizing the number of goats and sheep within their support program. This, however, has now been abandoned. Now there are subsidies for the reduction of the herds, and the flora can slowly recover from a very low level.

In judging the Tilos flora after our visit, I strongly recommend to pay utmost attention to the reduction of goats and sheep. This, in my view, is the crucial point if the Flora of Tilos shall be regenerated. Wherever there is a reasonable number of goats and sheep or even where grazing has been abandoned, nature returns in an astonishing manner within a short time in the Aegean region due to the fact that climatic conditions are nearly ideal. In order to determine the carrying capacity of goats and sheep, I understand a study has been initiated which will secure the ecological balance on the Island. As a matter-of-fact, a certain number of sheep or goats are necessary in order to avoid a total reforestation.

Tilos provides a floral potential that lets it rank among the most beautiful Aegean Islands. The number of inhabitants is still low, perhaps too low to create a long lasting community, and the destruction of the landscape due to building has not yet begun - with the exception of a few projects.

The following species found on Tilos seem to me remarkable:

·Asteriscus maritimus is represented in a way I never met before in the Aegean.

·Cyperus capitatus at the beach of Eristos: Very strong plants.

·Eryngium maritimum at the beach of Eristos. The same goes for this species.

·Inula verbascifolia ssp heterolepis is a botanical rock jewel on Tilos. Maybe on further investigation there might also grow I. candida or even both interlinked.

·Knautia integrifolia ssp. mimica is widespread as never seen before in the Aegean.

·Ophrys: We had difficulties in determining species belonging to the Ophrys blitopertha group. We had to contact European experts in order to examine this genus. We shall deliver the results in due course. All in all we found 8 species of Ophrys which is far more than hitherto known and published in the literature.

·We found quite a number of new Orchid species which we shall publish later after thorough examination.

·Phlomis floccosa: This very special plant has its roots in Africa and was known from Karpathos. We found P. floccosa on Tilos, too.

·Pistacia terebinthus ssp. palaestina: This tree which produces the famous Pistacia nutlets is widespread on Tilos. However, we doubt whether it is really this subspecies as indicated in the literature. We think it is rather ssp. vera since the leaves were glabrous.

·Plantago: We found 7 species which is remarkable on such a small Island.

·Quercus: We found 5 species, one of which is described as Qu. aucheri in the literature as an endemic species. This, however, should be reviewed since the trees we examined had a clear vicinity to Qu. coccifera.

·Rosularia serrata: Only on rare occasions we met R. serrata on the Islands. Yet on Tilos we found this plant in a cave near Gera.

·Securigera securidaca: The specimen we met were quite larger than known from other sites. Maybe after examination this could be a variation. The habitus seemed to be a bit different.

·Serapias: We found S. bergonii, S. orientalis and S. parviflora, of which S. orientalis is remarkable.

·Sideritis: One of the cosiest looking “pet” plants was Sideritis lanata with its tomentose, fine indumentum of very, very fine hairs. Sideritis curvidens, too, is a remarkable species.

·Silene conica: This species undergoes conspicuous changes from anthesis to the fruit. We found some outstanding species at the beach of Eristos.

·Trifolium: Out of the 7 species we found, T. speciosum was very impressive.

·Valerianella vesicara: This plant inflates its calyx after anthesis and shows its fruit like a ball. We never before found such abundance.

Actually it goes without saying that our stay of a bit more than a week cannot result in a scientifically based Flora of Tilos. Yet we have listed what we met on our excursions. I figure that many more species can be found on Tilos if one day botanists will undertake field studies all year round.

In general, I think that the Flora of Tilos represents a remarkable variety. The Flora of Tilos is such a natural treasure that the activities to create a Tilos Park are well founded. I congratulate the Park Organisation on their difficult, but fruitful work, especially our friend Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos.

[We would like to welcome Wilfried Kaufmann, Dr. Mario Broggi and Dr. Peter Goop from the Principality of Lichtenstein as new and valued members of the Tilos Park Association.]

Greece and Turkey must work together to protect the Aegean Sea!

[The following article is based upon facts and text presented in a recent newsletter published by ARION-Cetacean Rescue & Rehabilitation Research Center and submitted to us by Dr. Aimilia Drougas, a marine biologist who is a founding member of the Tilos Park Association and serves on its Board of Directors.]

On May 18th, 2005, a regrettable scene depicting a mass stranding of small sea mammals on the Greek island of Samothrace in the Northern Aegean was reported to the ARION-Cetacean Rescue & Rehabilitation Research Center. [A cetacean is defined as an order of fish-like water mammals with paddle-like forelimbs, including whales, porpoises and dolphins.]

Like Tilos, the island of Samothrace is surrounded by deep sea with steep slopes and valleys. It is a natural passage for many small cetaceans or porpoises like bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, common dolphins, harbor porpoises, Risso’s dolphins as well as larger whales like Cuvier’s beaked whales, sperm whales and fin whales. ARION’s field cetacean monitoring has documented a local population of a few hundred common dolphins feeding around the island on tuna and small fry and interacting with humans on a very playful, curious and non-aggressive basis.

Following the report of this stranding incident, a representative from the Fisheries Research Institute and a team of scientists collaborating with ARION sailed to Samothrace Island to conduct autopsies and perform biopsies on the dead cetaceans to obtain laboratory tissue samples. The scientific findings concluded that twelve young striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), one Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), a shark, and 19 tunas together with smaller fry died as a result of being entangled in a 1-kilometer-long drift net.

The facts in association with this incident as reported by the authorities raise our continuing concern about the urgent need for Greece and Turkey to work together for the protection of our common natural heritage and to control the destructive fishing methods by which many dolphins, porpoises and whales die prematurely every year in the Aegean Sea. The European Union has banned drift nets which have been dubbed “walls of death” by the international environmental community. Although fishing with drift nets is forbidden in Greece and heavy penalties may be imposed on those who violate the law, there are regularly reports of illegal fishing using “longer than the usual mesh”, explosives, dynamite, gas and noise which some fishermen irresponsibly use and it is already documented that cetaceans face increasing threats from pollution, oil spills, guns, harpoons and poisoning. It is estimated that approximately thirty per cent (30%) of the cases of stranded cetaceans in Greece between the years 1983-2000 died as a direct result of illegal fishing according to ARION’s findings. From these cases, the bottlenose dolphins were the most threatened species (50%) followed by the striped (25%) and the common dolphins (10%).

Samothrace, which lies only a few kilometers off the Turkish coast, has a small fishing fleet and its Coastguard alleges that these Greek fishermen do not use driftnets. In this stranding incident, the investigating authorities reported that the net was found to have floaters containing Turkish batteries that are not sold in Greece. However, it should be noted that without conclusive evidence of the identity of the fisherman who bought and used these batteries, it is not possible to ascertain with certainty the nationality of the fishermen who used these fishing nets and, whether the use was lawful or unlawful depending upon the location of usage.

The report went on to state that the fishnets had been abandoned and thereafter drifted in international waters between Turkey and Greece for ten days before they were carried away by strong currents that brought them to a location off the coast of Samothrace. Based upon the certainty of time during which these nets were reported to have drifted in international waters between the two countries, one might ask whether the Greek or the Turkish Coastguards were even aware of these drifting nets and, if they were, whether the observers felt the responsibility or had the authority to collect the nets. Due to the large number of written reports concerning illegal and dangerous fishing methods in the Aegean as documented by NGO’s and in consideration of reports such as the one contained in this story, the sufficiency of coast guard staff and/or the efficiency of the Aegean patrols appear to be a subject for debate and resolution that should address current needs. A question comes to mind: Are the Turkish and Greek Coastguards cooperating in mapping and defining patrol areas, professional responsibilities as well as internationally recognized maritime law upon which both countries agree? Defining and implementing mutually approved Aegean patrol policies for the purpose of preserving the ethos and professional integrity of the global Coastguard establishment irrespective of politics is something that the citizens of Aegean countries and Mediterranean countries deserve. Anything less than the foregoing standard would reflect inefficiency and irresponsibility on the part of those professionally paid Greek and Turkish government representatives to whom our maritime safety and natural heritage have been entrusted. If scores of sea mammals are at risk and die from unlawful dangers (such as fishermen using explosives) as reported by scientists on an all too frequent basis as mentioned above without any corresponding official reports or implementation of maritime law, how can the maritime authorities in both countries reassure us with proof that our human safety interests in the Aegean are not neglected as well?

ARION is a non-profit research center located in Thessalonica, Greece, devoted to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-introduction of cetaceans stranded along the coast. The Arion Research Center can be contacted at: arion@arion.org.gr

A Very, Very Rare Sighting Excites Bird Watchers on Tilos

It was two o’clock in the afternoon of April 19, 2005, when one of our Founding Members and long time Tilos resident, Dr. Enrico Cavina, a retired surgeon, sat down for a light lunch on his beautiful bougainvillea covered veranda overlooking Livadia Bay. What he did not know at the time was that he would soon be treated to a very, very rare historical sight.

At first glance, he could see the richly colorful European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) painting the sky above Livadia with their fleeting brushstrokes of blue, yellow, red and gray. This sight by itself is not at all unusual because these birds appear every year by the dozens as they hunt for insects to give them strength to continue their migration that takes them from Sub-Sahara Africa to northern Europe for the summer.

Bee-eaters have held a very special place in Dr. Cavina’s heart since he conducted a long term study of this species in the Pisa area of Italy some years ago. He has studied every aspect of their life including breeding, feeding, migration and socialization. He also has a rare collection of photographs taken while he was “undercover” for longer periods than his back and legs would have comfortably preferred. As a result, it is relatively easy for him to observe and recognize the European Bee-eaters’ behavioral and physical characteristics such as hunting high up with straight-winged glides and brief periods of fast wing beats, or flying in long shallow undulations. The adult European Bee-eater is approximately 25 – 29 cm in length and has a bright yellow throat, yellowish-white shoulder patches and a reddish-brown crown and back.

While enjoying this colorful scene of art in motion, his attention was diverted to ten green Bee-eaters who were hunting bees directly above his veranda. As he looked more carefully, he was surprised and delighted to discover that they were the rare Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters (Merops persicus). He immediately brought his camera to photograph and thus document this rare sighting of a species identified as “Vagrants” in The Complete Guide to the Birds of Europe by Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant (published 2000). Vagrants are defined as “Those species which have been recorded only a few times within the region treated, which largely corresponds to the Western Palearctic. … As a rule, this means 3-9 records in total during the twentieth century.” As further described in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Complete Birds of Britain and Europe by Rob Hume, vagrants “occur only very rarely in Europe”. The Western Palearctic region includes Europe, part of the Middle East and part of northern Africa.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters are almost entirely green and approximately 28 -32 cm in length which is almost same size as the European Bee-eater but with longer and narrower tail projections. They have rusty red under wings like the European bee-eater so identifying the bird from below while the bird is in flight is extremely difficult, unless the tail projection is clearly visible. They have a red-brown throat patch with a little yellow on the chin. They live in Africa, the Sinai and Arabian Peninsulas and the Caspian Sea.

Dr. Cavina carefully obtained his photographs, immediately wrote a letter explaining in detail and number what he had observed with the corresponding date and time, sent that letter along with the photographs to the Director of the Tilos Park Association who promptly forwarded that communication to the Hellenic Ornithological Society and Bird Life International for verification and confirmation of the accuracy of the discovery. Dr. Cavina may have missed lunch, but he definitely made history. Our congratulations to you, sir.

[This Blue-cheeked Bee-eater sighting on Tilos is significant and may be one of the largest ever observed in Europe.]

Ambassador of Sweden Scales New Heights!

The Ambassador of Sweden to Greece, the Honorable Marten Grunditz and his lovely wife, Maine, sailed into Livadia this last month to tour the island, do some hiking, swimming, bird watching and meet with Mayor Aliferis about their mutual Swedish-Greek business interests. The Ambassador and his wife were accompanied on Tilos by Andreas Andreadis, Consul General of Sweden in Rhodes, whose multi-lingual skills, European professional business expertise and enthusiasm for athletics complemented the visit by the Honorable and Mrs.Grunditz wherever they went on the island.

Ambassador Grunditz and Mayor Aliferis also combined business with pleasure during their adventurous climb to the top of one of the island’s mountains to see the newly constructed vacation hideaway for physically fit holiday makers. The guest suite was built on the site of a former tower which served as an observatory equipped with large industrial size mirrors used to communicate with people on the neighboring island of Nissyros during periods when defense of territory was unfortunately made a municipal priority. The romantic tale that accompanies the reason for building this stone tower is that the wife of the Italian Commander stationed on Tilos at the time was so beautiful that her husband needed an isolated place to protect her from “unwarranted attentions” from the men on the island who found her beauty to be unparalleled. Today, those who follow the path to the top of this mountain will be rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of the island and the crystal blue Aegean sea.

Ambassador Grunditz is an avid sailor and keen sportsman as well as a worthy and extremely knowledgeable advocate of the finest goods and services that Sweden has to offer the international marketplace. We look forward to having the pleasure of the couple’s intended visit again this fall when the avian migration season through Tilos to Africa is quite a sight worth seeing.

Island Youth Celebrates Life

The Greeks have been represented throughout recent history as a culture that truly knows how to celebrate life. There is one island resident who has demonstrated an enthusiasm, a passion, and an undeterred determination to learn about the island’s natural treasures and save those that are in trouble.

His name is Aristotle Hadzifoudas, or Tellis as his friends call him. He is the manager of the Nitsa Apartments, En Plo Café and Mini Market in Eristos Beach. His credits include the sighting and reporting of endangered or rare migratory birds on Tilos, and he has even enthusiastically transported some of us on the island to the birds’ locations so that we could share in the rare or special sightings. He is also a dancer and entertainer for the Tilos Cultural Association in his spare time.

His sightings during which he has invited islanders to share the viewings include: One adult Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) on March 24, 2005 and three juvenile Purple Heron on May 3, 2005 [status: vulnerable]; Four adult and one juvenile Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) on March 24, 2005; one Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis) on April 10, 2005, that traditionally resides in such areas as the South Sinai, Red Sea coastal area, Eilat and Suez as well as Senegal; Two Red-billed Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) [status: vulnerable] on April 10, 2005; One Hoopoe (Upupa epops) on April 10, 2005; and One Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) on April 19, 2005.

His latest rescue with a ladder that he carried on his motor scooter was a weakened baby Scops Owl (Otus scops) whose mother had disappeared three days earlier and whose sibling had fallen out of the abandoned nest on the morning of the rescue. In accordance with the Tilos Park Association guidelines, the conditions of the baby owls were immediately reported to Dr. Anastasia Komninou of the Veterinary School of the Thessalonica University and Filippos Dragoumis, Director of the Wildlife Hospital in Aegina, who offered instructions on the care and feeding of these infants. Immediately after the rescue, Tellis volunteered to bring fresh raw chicken from the En Plo Café in Eristos Beach to the TPA Rescue Center for the baby owls in accordance with the dietary instructions and thereafter he returned to work. We are pleased to report that the little ones appear to be in good condition despite the absence of food and the corresponding stress imposed as a result of the mother’s unfortunate disappearance.

Tellis has shown a genuine enthusiasm for sighting, reading about and preserving the natural heritage that surrounds us every day here in the Aegean. His wealth of experience with eco-tourists who frequent the café, mini-market and hostelry that he manages has provided first hand knowledge about what Tilos tourists are interested in seeing. He is an example of what responsible and responsive entrepreneurial management truly means. In simple marketing terms, he provides tourists with information and tourist destinations that are the subject of their visit. Perhaps his contributions to Tilos will serve as a humble reminder to those serving in government offices throughout Greece that the current young generation of professionally employed citizens of the Dodecanese already understand the dynamics of ecotourism and have acted in furtherance of the prosperity to be gained by everyone.

We Need Your Support

Please, consider becoming a Member of the Tilos Park Association. For just €30 per year, 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 e-mail to tilopark@otenet.gr

Newsletter 11

A Pocketful of Miracles!

Our island medical doctor, Mayor Anastasios Aliferis, has continually demonstrated his medical resourcefulness and scientific creativity in applying alternative medicines to all of his patients, regardless of their species. Now, he has done it with a bird.

Ms. Eddy Efinger, a German born resident of Tilos, found an injured song thrush (Turdus philomelos) by the side of the road on a very, very cold February 7. Eddy wrapped the bird in her winter neck scarf and looked for Dr. Aliferis to seek his advice, all the while cradling this little bird. The Mayor suggested to Eddy that she bring the bird to the Tilos Park Director who nurses injured animals at his home. When Eddy arrived at the house and carefully unwrapped the scarf, she kept saying _I don_t know if she_s still alive_I_m not sure._ The song thrush had received a massive blow and resulting injuries to her head and neck area. She was still alive but obviously suffering and couldn_t lift her head as it lay limp and upside down. She had lost her sense of balance, couldn_t eat and was frightened of her new environment. The aviary expert and veterinary surgeon, Dr. Anastasia Komninou, at the Veterinary Hospital of the Thessalonica University, was doubtful on the telephone about the bird_s potential recovery indicating that her symptoms reflected possible irreparable neurological injuries in addition to soft tissue damage. She was placed on a soft blanket on the floor of a bird cage in our home for what little comfort and warmth we could offer her.

For the next three weeks, we put soft food and water in small sea shells and held each up to the bird_s beak while her head was upside down. We repeated this every quarter hour from morning to evening each day. Her condition worsened during the first 6 days. During the first three days, the bird could at least stand on her legs with her head limp and upside down against her chest. By the fourth day, she had fallen to her knees with her head resting on the blanketed floor, no longer able to even stand on her legs. She wanted to eat and drink but could hardly manage. She suffered from intermittent frenzied fits of violent wing flapping resulting from lost balance in desperation to restore her balance. These fits became more frequent.

By February 14, she seemed to be emotionally accepting and adapting to her physical losses and deterioration and, as we have seen with all injured birds regardless of species, this song thrush never gave up. She would rest most of each night with only occasional violent wing flapping to correct her balance and her appetite began to improve.

Then on February 18, we received a house call from Dr. Aliferis who extended his warm greetings to us with a corresponding appearance of very serious preoccupation (not unusual behavior), walked with great determination and unusual speed straight to the bird cage, pulled his hands out of his coat pockets and dropped three dozen fast running, biting little bugs with tail pincers into the center of the cage. The bugs hit the blanket, scattered in all directions and the song thrush did something for the first time: she lifted her head. This astonished us. The bird obviously had to make a supreme effort, but she chased the bugs and was delighted with her reward of catching and swallowing each one. Dr. Aliferis_ idea to bring a neurological and muscular stimulus into the cage which was familiar and not artificial, nourishing, and not frightening to the bird significantly improved her mental and physical condition. This was a turning point in her recovery. As he rubbed his hands that were still stinging from bites, he told us where to find certain kinds of bugs for the patient and said no prescription was necessary. We have followed this example ever since as a form of physical therapy for her and it has made a noticeable difference.

When the weather warmed up in March, we moved her to an outdoor cage with rosemary, lemon verbena and marjoram bushes, thyme, marigold flowers, berry vines and laurel (bay leaf) trees where she finds her own bugs, exercises and feels safe from predators (including interfering humans). Our song thrush has very slowly, but steadily improved to the point where she can lift her head and look straight at you although she has it lowered some of the time, and she still has some difficulty flying. Her appetite is good, her weight and body fullness are good, she moves freely on the ground without apparent discomfort and she continues to eat the recommended soft food we prepare for her each day supplemented with snails, worms and bugs. It is amazing what a pocketful of miracles can do.

A Kingfisher Day ... in March!

As you have already noted, Tilos has a philanthropic aviary ambulance service offered by the efforts of Eddy Efinger. On March 31, Eddy rescued a beautiful female kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) that had hit the glass door of Stefanakis Travel Agency in Livadia and fallen to the ground injured. She quickly designed a comfortable stretcher using a small laundry basket lined with a soft blanket and covered with a cloth secured by a string. She used a rental car from Stelios Stefanakis and brought the kingfisher right over to the house. The kingfisher was transferred to the house cage fitted with dishes of fresh water and fish donated by Michalis Kypreos of Eleni_s Super Market and Hotel. The cage was covered with a blanket to subdue a very frightened bird and allow her to feel safe. She calmed down, rested, drank water and ate all of the fish. The next day, her movements, appetite and appearance were reported to the avian specialist and veterinary surgeon, Dr. Anastasia Komninou of the Veterinary Hospital of the Thessalonica University, by phone and she was pronounced well enough to be released. Photographs of this charming and fearless little bird were taken before she was freed. She was a delightful lodger with a lot of personality.

The kingfishers are draped in a spectacular array of colors, notably blue on the back and orange on the chest with a white neck collar. The females are distinguishable by the reddish color at the base of their beaks. These small (17-19 cm) birds excavate tunnels over one meter long in a sandy bank where the nesting chamber is located and the baby birds are reared on a pile of small fish bones.

Flights Arriving Daily!

Night heron, Grey heron, Purple heron, Hoopoes, Glossy Ibis, Sardinian Warblers, Bee-eaters, Rollers and more. You don_t need more than a good pair of binoculars, a portable beach chair and a flask of whatever you fancy drinking to enjoy the spectacular and colorful parade that we have on Tilos every spring. Against a backdrop of warm, sunny days, vibrant spring flowers and wild herbs, and budding trees with soft new leaves, Tilos is an extremely important midway location between sub-Sahara Africa and Europe for migratory birds. For those of you who love birds, our recent sightings include flocks of Night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) that first arrived from Africa on March 21 in a north wind which made their journey more difficult. This group was later joined by a flock of 44 Night heron on March 29 that landed in a cypress tree grove in Eristos by the Tropicana Taverna where one kept watch while the others rested.

Four adult and one juvenile Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) and a pair of Purple heron (Ardea purpurea) were observed March 24 resting and feeding in the shallow water of the island reservoir. These large 90-100 cm long birds with bold shades of blue-gray or variegated purple/gray/brown, as the case may be, with striking feather plumes emanating from the back of their heads are extremely graceful when still or in flight. Hoopoes (Upupa epops), who are usually shy and wary of humans, were first observed with their unmistakable long feather crest in Eristos on March 24 and later on April 11 relaxing in the sun for almost a half hour on this writer_s patio grapevine while surrounded by feeding Sardinian warblers (Sylvia melanocephalus) that were first seen on March 22, doves and House sparrows. Two Little Ringed Plovers (Charadrius dubius), who winter in Africa and are _rather scarce in most areas_ according to Birds of Europe authors Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, were seen scampering up and down Eristos Beach on March 25 pecking at the sandy shore at sunset with pink and grey clouds passing overhead that cast a shade of rose on the surface of the blue Aegean. A dark purple-brown Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellis) with green gloss on the wings was observed flying amidst olive and oak trees by the main road between Megalo Horio and Livadia on April 3. Colorful Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) and Rollers (Coracias garrulous) are expected shortly; however, if the island bird population continues to expand at its present rate, reservations may soon be required.

Egyptian Bird visits Tilos.

Similar to the Little Egret in appearance, a white morph Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis) with its distinctive pristine white feather plumes emanating from the back of its head and neck made a rare appearance on the island on April 10 feeding alone in shallow water of the island reservoir. The bird walked slowly along the shallow edge of the water raising its greenish grey-black legs to expose its yellow feet and toes while occasionally shaking its breathtakingly beautiful white feathers along its 65cm length body. It has an elegant wingspan of between 88 and 112 cm, a bill that is a touch longer than a Little Egret_s bill and ever so slightly curved. This egret usually appears in small numbers at Eliat and Suez. It breeds in Senegal and south Sinai. It feeds on fish and is therefore found in coastal habitats and rests on shores, buoys, jetties usually along the Red Sea coasts. This was a spectacular sight.

A Whale of a Time!

If you have ever enjoyed a cappuccino on the Via Veneto or a caf? au lait on the Champs Elysees while engaged in the ancient pastime of people-watching, you are not alone. Two weeks ago, a free spirited whale with an engaging curiosity about humans was reported to have been basking in beautiful Livadia and St. Zachariah Bay enjoying a whale_s _eau de vie_ before returning to the deeper waters surrounding the Dodecanese Islands that is also home to dolphins, marlin, schools of large tuna and other denizens of the deep blue sea. Livadia Bay is a crystal clear, calm bay surrounded by a beautiful beach with shade trees that is dotted with small cafes and tavernas from which you can easily find a lovely spot to relax and enjoy watching our island_s esteemed guests such as this unique and friendly one.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

We are currently recruiting volunteers among our membership who would like to join the Festival Committee and assist us in organizing what promises to be a unique and very special annual event. Please, contact our Director, Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos, with your details. Wherever you are in the world, whatever your skills and experiences, you can help to make this dream a reality. All that is needed is your passion and enthusiasm. We promise to supply the fun.

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.

Newsletter 7

Thank You!

This Newsletter is dedicated to all of you who signed our Petition or sent letters to the General Secretary of the Periphery of Southern Aegean in support of our call for help in keeping the hunting ban on Tilos. Your support means the world to us! Thank you!

Please, go to: http://www.petitiononline.com/proact02/petition.html to sign our Petition if you have not already done so. Forward this e-mail to your friends who might share our views against hunting in our island that is a designated Special Protection Area for endangered resident and migratory birds who stop here for rest, food and water on their pan African/European routes. We need to convince the Greek Government Authorities that the scientific, legal and ethical reasons which have supported the continuing series of temporary hunting bans on Tilos for the past twelve years also support the decision for a permanent hunting ban. We agree with the General Secretary’s statement in his latest press release that the issue of hunting on Tilos requires a decisive and permanent solution and to us this can only mean the enforcement of a permanent hunting ban on Tilos and its fourteen islets.

The following list of organizations and individuals who took the time and the effort in answering our call is assembled below at random. This is a partial list since new signatures are added to our petition every day. In addition, many of you chose to write to the General Secretary of the Southern Aegean Periphery without our awareness of your kindness due to the inadvertent oversight of not sending us a copy. Our sincere appreciation goes to all of you as well.

D. Conlin, K. Mentzelopoulos, A.M.N. Dragan, E.J. van Dijk, S. Logothetis, A. Gouni, M. Kalamaras, M. Dickinson, A. Theodoridou, I. Christofidis, A. Aliferis, P.A. Lemis, M. Galouzi, G. Tatsis, S. Galanopoulos, A. Alexandridis, A. Goloda, G. Pastrikos, C. Rosser, B. Dyhr, Dr. C. Alexander, J. Hunt, Dr. S. Hannon, S. Riggs, Dr. A. Drougas, T. Karteros, M. Thessalou-Legaki, A. Tasos, M. Favre, P. Vouros, I. Tsimbidis, Dr. E. Hughes, R. Moura, Dr M. Hows, H. Chelmis, D. Greene, J. Lowther, N. Petala, P. Papatheodorou, C. Beattie, A. Girndt, D. Dillon, Geffroy, A. Kondylidou, P. Tsoumas, V. Sofronas, Sofia Papastamkou, Angela Faulkner, Kris Vermeeren, Danièle Covo, E. Lavi, Anais, Maniquet, J. Blake, J.A. Smith, D. Broadley, D. Petrogas, Mick Schroepfer, Oriana Simoncini, Federica Eugenia Lavi, Andy and H. Pay, G. McAdam, M. Collard, R. Collard, G. Katzourakis, P. Rhion, David Roberts, Elena Papanicolaou, Pantelis Zinas, Maria Lagou, Marie-C. Mayene, M.l Mayene, S. Favre, I. Kokkaliari, R.E. Papadakis, R. Mazaraki, Stergios Chrousis, Ioannis Bardanis, Spiros Agapitos, Fotis Mouselimis, M. Moreels, I. Trikoiklis, D. Diakoloukas, D.P. Quinn, R. Alnervik, R. Clarke, Charles and June Seagrave, the Tilos Cultural Association “Nea Omonia”, the 800 members of Proact International (http://www.proact-campaigns.net/), the 18000 members of the Bird Forum (http://www.birdforum.net), the Greek Society for the Protection of Nature, the Greek Society for Immediate Response for the Protection of Wild Nature, the Greek Ornithological Society (http://www.ornithologiki.gr), the Tilos Mayor, the Tilos City Council, the Governor of the Dodecanese, the House for Literature and Arts of Rhodes, the Tilos Hotel Owners Association, the Greek Anti-Hunting Initiative, the Union of Animal Friends of Kos, the Greek Union of Ecological Societies, the 300 members of the Friends of Tilos Association, the Parliamentary representatives of the Greek “Coalition Party of the Left and Ecological Movement” (http://www.syn.gr) and the Hellenic Youth Parliament which in a unanimous vote passed a resolution in support of our cause. Thank you!

The Tilos Life-Nature Program

The European Commission has approved funding for the Tilos nature conservation project under the LIFE-Nature programme 2004. This project will further contribute to safeguarding important wildlife habitats and threatened species.

“The Natura 2000 network is the European Union’s key contribution to stopping the erosion of Europe’s biodiversity”, said Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström. “With LIFE we are able to provide funding to strengthen Natura 2000 and to help threatened animals and plants recover. We need biodiversity - for emotional and ethical, economic and ecological reasons -, and LIFE makes an important financial contribution to preserving it."

LIFE-Nature is part of the LIFE programme. Established in 1992, LIFE is the EU's financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU, in candidate countries and in some neighbouring regions. For additional information please, visit http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/home.htm.

The Tilos Life-Nature Project:

Title: Tilos, Conservation Management of an Island SPA

Beneficiary: Municipality of Tilos

Partners:

Regional Directorate of Forests in Southern Aegean

OIKOS – Nature Management Ltd.

Tilos Park Association

Co-financiers: European Union

Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food

Budget: € 824.212.000,00

Duration: 40 months, 01/11/2004 – 28/02/2008

Objective

Tilos Island is scientifically rated as very important for Bonelli’s Eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus) and Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) and as important for Mediterranean Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii), hosting high percentages of these species’ rare European populations. The project objective is to implement management measures in order to improve the conservation status of these three bird species and to set a basis for the Special Protection Area for the Birds (SPA) management requirements of the site of Tilos. (In other words, we will inventory and locate our populations and build the infrastructure as well as provide the people to protect what we have. Then priority actions can be taken and funded to ensure the target species’ growth and development.)

Threats:

Low fresh water availability for wild fauna, which in turn causes a shortage of prey (i.e. food) for targeted species as well as abandonment of farmland and loss of traditionally cultivated habitat, which also results in a shortage of prey for our targeted species. Disturbance of breeding sites and lack of protection and conservation management for targeted species. Lack of understanding and appreciation of the SPA conservation value of the site by locals and visitors. Lack of incentives and management proposals.

Actions and means involved:

Bird species management

Expected results:

Sustainable and constant provision of fresh water for wild fauna and targeted species; Effective surveillance of the breeding populations of targeted species and feeding sites for Phalacrocorax aristotelis; Increase/maintain breeding success of H.fasciatus; Increase breeding success of Falco eleonorae; Elimination of human disturbance to the targeted birds through awareness; Control of visitors’ pressure on important spots for the breeding of targeted species; and appreciation of the conservation value of the site by users and visitors; creation and promotion of specific management proposals for targeted species; Upgrading the capacity of local Services for environmental management and enhancement of collaboration among local, regional and central authorities for future projects.

: creation of fresh water ponds, experimental sowing of local varieties of cereals, enrichment of the island’s prey, monitoring and surveillance of bird breeding colonies. Public awareness: provision of leaflets and material concerning the targeted species and the project; operation of information center; provision of guided tours; organization of a voluntary scheme for surveillance and eco-guiding; conference on islet conservation; establishment of educational trails, of information stands; putting up of signposts. Site management: creation of detailed proposals for future management of the species targeted and for enhancement of traditional farming.:

We are just a “click” away!

We are working on securing the finances necessary to develop a website for the Tilos Municipality (http://www.Tilos.gr) and another for our Tilos Park Association and the Tilos Life-Nature Project (http://www.Tilos-Park.org). You can get a taste of what our new websites will be all about by visiting: http://www.world66.com/europe/greece/tilos and http://tilos-park.typepad.com/

 

We have also developed two Internet discussion groups for those of you who share our passion for Tilos and nature’s biodiversity and who want to share your experiences and thoughts with others.

The Tilos Life & Traditions Group is a Yahoo Group with members from over twenty countries who share our passion for Tilos and its culture. It is free and it is fun. You can join by visiting the following address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tilos-Life/

The Tilos Park Member Group is a Yahoo Group for the members of the Tilos Park Association from all over the world. You have to be a Member of our Organization to join this group, which you can visit at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tilos-Park/

Join us on the Internet! Tilos and the Tilos Park are closer to you now than they have ever been before.

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.

To receive a membership application package, please send an e-mail to tilos-park@otenet.gr with your name and snail mail address. Thank you for your consideration and your support.

Newsletter 6

Zoë

For the past two months, we have had the privilege of living with a little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) who was hurt and found in a very poor state outside of Mr. Christofis’ Hotel Irini in Livadia.

A hotel guest found her injured on the patio outside of his room. He took the bird to Mr. Christofis who gave her to Tasos Aliferis, our Island Doctor and Mayor, who promptly brought her to us along with oral rehydration salts and a syringe. When we held her to administer the water infused with salts through a syringe that she desperately needed, we saw her frightened, in a state of shock, exhausted but instinctively trying to survive. She captured our hearts, earned our respect and so she became known as Zoë meaning “Life”. We immediately contacted Mr. Philippos Dragoumis of the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital who suggested that since Zoe was in such poor health she could not survive the long voyage to the island of Aegina where the Hospital is located. Zoe was hungry, dehydrated, exhausted, missing feathers along the top ridge of her entire neck and, most disconcertedly, was unable to use and stand on her left leg. Mr. Dragoumis advised us to feed her fresh, raw fish twice a day along with sufficient water to replicate her natural diet. He also reminded us that Zoë would naturally miss the October migration to Africa due to her anticipated long period of recovery. Making a special place in our home for her has been a real joy. Since she is immobile, we take her out during this beautiful autumn weather for feeding and she is alert to every sound of nature including the nightingales, rednecks, owls, and night herons that recently left Tilos for Africa.

Zoë has been more than a patient to us: she has actually been a teacher. We watch her relentless struggle to find the life she previously knew, her refusal to give up, her creative ways of balancing herself and moving about in her nest by using her left wing in place of her left leg and her courage in accepting us as a potentially threatening species when we handle her and feed her. Her proven adaptability and character during this transitional period following her injury from which Dr. Dragoumis said she might not survive is a good lesson for us all. It serves as an inspiration to us to accept the reality of life’s adversities and work constructively to improve the conditions that confront us. I try to imagine that in a few months she will hopefully be free to join her family of birds as they return to our island to give life to another generation. We will have to wait and see.

Little Bitterns are the smallest members of the Ciconiiformes family which include herons, storks and ibises. They breed in extensive or small reed beds, overgrown reedy ponds and ditches. They are summer visitors to Europe and they winter in Africa. They nest on a platform of reeds often raised above water-level in reedbeds or bushes. They are very reclusive and often retreat from danger by climbing and running instead of flying. They frequent Tilos and can be seen where they used to live by aquatic ecosystems before they were dried out for tourism development or agricultural use.

We would like to thank Nikitas Asimakis (Municipal Water Co. employee) who was the first contributor of fresh fish for Zoë, followed by Michalis Papagregoriou (Waste Disposal Plant employee) and Michalis Kypreos (Eleni Supermarket owner). Pavlos Charalambakis (Municipal bus driver) made a special trip with the Tilos bus to ensure Zoë’s food supply. Their genuine eagerness to provide for this little bittern reflects the growing sensitivity on the island to preserve our Aegean wildlife heritage.

Hunting Tales

Lifting the twelve year old hunting ban on Tilos continues to be on the priority agenda of the General Secretary of the Periphery of Southern Aegean. A long list of hunting clubs, a few conservation organizations, and our Association have been invited by the General Secretary to attend a meeting to resolve 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 off certain wildlife, and then leave the broken flora and injured animals on the island to return to their undisturbed homes. The issue of lifting the hunting ban on Tilos has significant scientific, legal, and most importantly ethical and moral implications.

On the evening of October 7, 2004, following a rainy day, a fire of suspicious origin broke out in an inaccessible northwest part of our island. According to the fire-fighters on the scene, the most probable cause of the fire was incendiary material propelled by one or more flare guns that could only have been fired from a boat in the sea since the area is virtually impossible to access from land due to its steep, hard terrain, complete absence of walking paths or roads and the threatening presence of sheer cliffs. Our Tilos volunteer fire-fighters risked their lives in combating the fire which seriously threatened the village of Megalo Horio at one point when the evening wind began blowing from the north. The suspicious fire began at night so that it could not be combated from the air since the airplanes and helicopters of the Dodecanese Fire Department do not fly at night. What made the fire more suspicious in origin was the fact that the previous day’s rain created a high level of ground humidity and water retention thus requiring a strong and enduring fiery material beyond cigarettes, for example, to create the conflagration that ensued. The most distressing fact was when more than one unhappy resident said in the presence of non-resident witnesses that this was a criminal act of arson representing the revenge of hunters who wanted to punish us for resisting their attempts to open hunting on Tilos. We hope that such declarations are untrue. What was discouraging was that a few pro-hunting members of our small community tried to capitalize on the fear generated by the firefighters’ conclusion of arson to promote their cause. This climate of fear does not build a constructive road of dialogue in preparation for our upcoming meeting with the pro-hunting groups.

The majority of Tilos residents who support the hunting ban are asking for your help. Please, consider sending an e-mail to the Secretary General of the Periphery of Southern Aegean in support of the continuation of the hunting ban on Tilos. The General Secretary’s e-mail address is: grgenikou@saregion.gr or by signing our Petition to the General Secretary of the Periphery of Southern Aegean at: http://www.petitiononline.com/proact02/petition.html. Please, consider also joining our Association. Your membership support will add strength to our efforts and assist us in responding to the public opinion campaign that the hunting clubs have engaged to gain support for the lifting of the hunting ban on our island.

Tilos Park Board of Directors

Our first elections were concluded at the General Assembly of the Founding Members of the Tilos Park Association (TPA) on October 26, 2004, in the Livadia Community of Tilos. It is with great pride that we present to you our first Board of Directors.

1. President: Anastasios Aliferis, MD, Mayor of Tilos
2. Vice President: Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos
3. Scientific Director: Aimilia Drouga, Phd
4. Finance Director: Spyridon Logothetis
5. Legal Director: Eleftherios Levantis
6. Strategic Development Director: Konstantinos Sakellaris, Vice Mayor of Tilos
7. Press Director: Panagiotis Vouros
8. Marketing & Business Development Director: Michael Kypraios, Member of the Tilos City Council
9. Purchasing Director: Elena Pissa

We congratulate and thank our newly elected Board Members for their spirit of volunteerism in upholding the aims of the TPA.

We Need Your Help

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 respond to this e-mail by filling out and returning the following form. Thank you for your consideration and your support.

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If you missed any of our past Newsletters, you can read them by visiting the following address on the Internet:

http://tilos-park.typepad.com/tilos_park_newsletter/2004/11/index.html

(Please, copy and paste this address on your browser.)