August 2008

LOG-BOOK:

News about the environment in blue

August 1^st:  all were still alive early this morning, even the yesterday taken-in Barn Owl. The Pallid Swift was 31 (=), the Barn Owl 271 (+2), the Long-eared Owl 254 (+6) and the Lesser Kestrel 150 (-1) gram. The Bee-eater was 38 (-1) gram and the Eastern Hedgehog 921 (+12) gram. Little Owls: green 196 (-2), blue 197 (+3) and silver 208 (+3) gram. Adult Little Owl with crane-fracture 174 (+5) gram. Early in the morning we had a quite nice example of the Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) sitting against our wall. Later in the morning four Dutch visitors.

Fire at Spata...

The dying embers of a fire at Spata, northeast of Athens, are seen yesterday. Firefighters had to battle gale force winds to put out several blazes in Attica, including one at Marathon, as well as in other parts of the country. The Marathon fire was quickly doused and police are looking for two people suspected of starting it. Fears rose when a wildfire began in Ileia, badly scarred by last summer’s blazes, but firefighters soon brought the situation under control.

At 1.58 p.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne from someone who had found a small, fallen from the nest birdie > she should come and bring it after 3. 30 p.m. And they were here at 4.13 p.m.: little card-board box with quite nice a piece of bread, but as well a . . . . COMMON SWIFT (insect-eater !!). See further over there. It seems of the yesterday taken-in Barn Owl, except from the minor injury on the right eye and the face over there, as well has a problem with the spinal cord (close to the pelvis): the leg-reflexes are OK, but is unable to stand on its legs. At every feeding now physiotherapies are given, hoping for . . . .

August 2^nd:  no victims early this morning !! The Pallid swift was 31 (=) and the yesterday taken-in Common Swift was 21 (-1) gram. The Hedgehog 927 (+6) and the Long-eared Owl 255 (+1) gram. The Barn Owl was 175 (+4) gram. He is trying standing on his legs !! The Lesser Kestrel was 148 (-2) and the Bee-eater 38 (=) gram. Little Owls: green 199 (+3), silver 210 (+2) and blue 198 (+1) gram. The adult with the crane-fracture was 175 (+1) gram. And while we could hear (and see) the whole morning fire-brigade-planes, we read the following:

Fire burns in Markopoulo

Authorities in Attica were struggling to deal with another serious wildfire last night as more than 50 firefighters assisted by at least four water-dropping aircraft tried to control a blaze at Markopoulo, northeast of Athens.

The fire began at around 5 p.m. near a quarry in the area. Although by last night it had only burned areas of low vegetation and with few trees, the blaze was being fanned by strong winds and was heading toward the much greener area of Kouvaras.

Eastern Attica has developed rapidly over the last decade and Kalyvia, an area near Markopoulo, was blighted by fire last summer. Firefighters were also battling a blaze near Marathon that began at 7.40 p.m. yesterday. Earlier in the day, a number of small blazes broke out in several parts of the country.

Authorities have been put on high alert for forest fires today as the strong winds are expected to continue.

And who had (according to their own testimonies) “invented” the shipping in the Mediterranean ???

New collision suggests ships may be all at sea

In the latest of a series of accidents involving passenger ferries, a cruise ship carrying 955 vacationers collided yesterday with a ferry in the port of Piraeus as people were embarking for Chios and Lesvos.

Nobody was injured and the vessels only suffered minor damage when the “Crystal” cruise ship rammed into the “Lissós” ferry (and about the last very old-fashioned ship we have already written last month !!) in the port.

Both ships departed after safety inspections but the accident comes on the back of several other incidents at sea.

Meanwhile, a passenger was injured while traveling on a hydrofoil between Folegandros and Piraeus yesterday when a wave smashed a window on the vessel. The “Flying Cat 3”, owned by Hellenic Seaways, had to dock at Serifos as the 268 passengers waited for the window to be repaired.

Greece ravaged by wildfires Edited: August 2^nd 2008 3.30 p.m.

ATHENS – Wildfires are raging in several areas in Greece. Northeast of the capital Athens the firefighters used water-dropping planes and helicopters to tame the flames.

On the Ionian Island of Zakynthos a village had to be temporarily evacuated in the night form Friday to Saturday.

“We have fought the whole night and saved the village,” according to a spokes-man of the local fire-brigade on the Greek radio.

August 3^rd:  the Pallid Swift was 32 (+1) and the Common Swift 23 (+2); however, the latter is quite lethargic !! The Hedgehog was 944 (+17), the Long-eared Owl 261 (+6) and the Barn Owl 279 (+4). The last one has even sat on his heels for a short time !! The Lesser Kestrel was 155 (+7) and the Bee-eater 38 (=) gram. Little Owls: the adult one was 178 (+3), green 196 (-3) and blue 195 (-3) gram. Silver had, in spite of lesser feedings and smaller portions, gained weight: 212 (+2) gram. So this one is eating on his own and can be transferred to the little owl-aviary in “The Keep” this evening. The juvenile Common Swift was at 9.15 a.m. almost “gone”. From late yesterday evening till this morning 10 o’clock  the whole of Greece was without Internet . . . . !! At 10.15 a.m. the juvenile Common Swift was discovered not alive anymore. We received 4 Dutch visitors.

5,1 Richter Earth-quake on Volos.

An earth-quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter-scale happened at 3.43 a.m.; the epicenter was located under the sea-bed 80 km east of Volos. The tremor was felt in a larger area.

At 12.30 p.m. a phone-call from Skála Kallonís about a doggie with 2 broken rear-legs < one will pass-by. And they were here at 1.04 p.m. > see further at PUPPY. At 5.50 p.m. the silver Little Owl was transferred to the little owl-aviary in “The Keep”. At 7.54 p.m. we received a phone-call from Kratigós (under Mytiléne) about a robust “geráki” (bird-of-prey), with which something was wrong > will be sent tomorrow (if still alive) by the 9 o’clock coach. Is probably again a climate-victim !! And at 8.45 p.m. a phone-call from friends in Skála Kallonís, that the kitten with the broken leg (see July 21^st) could be approached now > will be brought the day after tomorrow. Hearing the story this will be a leg-amputation.

August 4^th:  the little Tom-cat “Moortje”  had to be locked-in for a short while during the breakfast of the other animals, because he’ll have a small “excursion” to the surgery a bit later !! The Pallid Swift was 32 (=), the Hedgehog 922 (-22 !!), The Barn Owl 279 (=) and the Long-eared Owl 262 (+1) gram. The Bee-eater was 27 (-1), the Lesser Kestrel 155 (=), the green Little Owl 197 (-2) and the blue one 196 (+1) gram. The adult one with the brain-damage 176 (-2) gram. In exactly 7 minutes the Tom-Cat “Moortje” was delivered from some parts responsible for the enlargement of the stray-cat-population. See at TOM-CAT. Today again meat-cutting-day and with the help of Tjarda (who had special for this occasion interrupted het holidays) 14,040 kilo (94,78 Euro) was processed. Total now this year 427,923 kilo for 2755,88 Euro. At 9.05 a.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne about a Pigeon > will be sent by the 11 o’clock-coach. The “geráki” we had in our hands at 9.50 a.m. > see at BUZZARD. We received Dutch visitors this morning (one of them had yesterday brought-in the doggie): 5 people. Meanwhile arrived our vice-chairman María Karapolíti with her doggie we had treated a while ago for poisoning: now such a fever one could have fried a “brizóla” (steak) on his back > antibiotics were given. Further not in the statistics. We received a phone-call from akrotiri at 10.20 a.m. about a Barn Owl > will be sent by the coach of 1 p.m. At 11.47 we had the pigeon in our possession > see at PIGEON.

Earthquakes

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale struck between the Sporades Islands and Chalkidiki early yesterday morning but caused no damage or injuries. The tremor was recorded some 50 kilometers north of the island of Alonissos and some 140 kilometers southeast of Thessaloniki. Several smaller aftershocks followed the main quake. A 3.8-Richter quake was also recorded in the small town of Ermioni in the Peloponnese, about 70 kilometers south of Athens, yesterday.

And the Barn Owl we had in our hands at 2.10 p.m. > see at DARK BARN OWL. At 3.25 p.m. our volunteer Chloe Hodder left us, after having helped us for a good 4 weeks and learned a lot about herself. The this morning taken-in Buzzard is vomiting all the given food again > ???? At 3.56 p.m. a phone-call from Kaló Limáni about a gull with problems > will be brought tomorrow in this direction. The Buzzard was discovered not alive anymore at 5.15 p.m.; if the work allows us, there will be performed a P.M. tomorrow. At 6.20 p.m. the adult Barn Owl succeeded for the first time standing-up on own force !!

August 5^th:  the Pallid Swift was 31 (-1), the Eastern Hedgehog 918 (-4), the Lesser Kestrel 156 (+1) and the Long-eared Owl 265 (+3) gram. The Bee-eater was 37 (=) gram. Adult Barn Owl 288 (+9) and the baby 242 (+13) gram. The juvenile Pigeon was 259 (-1) gram. Little Owls: adult 185 (+9), green 197 (=) and blue 193 (-3) gram. In the little owl-aviary in “The Keep” all seemed to be all right.

Release:

Because the Eastern Hedgehog showed to have problems living in captivity, we have (in spite of the risk) decided indeed to release him. At 8.17 a.m. we walked into freedom at the bank of the Mylopótamos (Mill-river).

Hereafter we went to Kallonís for buying a new chair for working at this computer; was quite necessary, because the old one (bought in Amsterdam before 1985 !!) was falling into pieces. Meanwhile on the answering-machine a message was spoken about an injured cat in Skála Mistegnón > call is answered and one will pass by. We performed a P.M. on the Buzzard, which died yesterday > see over there. We received 2 Dutch visitors. The cat was examined and cleaned a bit > advices and materials were given to clean the injury (under the chin). Further not in the statistics. Hereafter another 3 Dutch visitors. We received the message that the gull from Kaló Limáni meanwhile had died.  

Bear shot

A bear has been found shot dead in the woods in Prespes, western Macedonia, according to the wildlife protection group Arcturos. The animal, aged between 4 and 5 years, had been shot nine times from a distance of about 50 meters not far from the village of Vrontero. Arcturos said that it was the second bear to be found shot dead in the last month.

Volunteers help to extinguish 33 blazes

A volunteer firefighter helps put out a blaze in the area of Aghios Ilias in Aitoloacarnania, central Greece, yesterday. The help of water-bombing aircraft and local volunteers was needed to bring the fire under control. Two fires were reported yesterday afternoon on the island of Evia in the areas of Stropones and Mourtia. Firefighters said that they had the blazes under control by 9 p.m. There were a total of 33 wildfires burning around the country.

After 4 p.m. 4 Dutch visitors. At 7.35 p.m. a phone-call from Pétra about a black bird with a sharp bill and the seize of a duck. Was injured (Coot ??). We will be contacted tomorrow again.

August 6^th: the juvenile Bee-eater was discovered not alive anymore at 4.55 a.m. The Pallid Swift was 32 (+1) and the juvenile Pigeon 247 (-2) gram. Baby Barn Owl 265 (+23) and the adult one 299 (+11) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 269 (+4) and the Lesser Kestrel 154 (-2) gram. Little Owls: green 196 (-1), blue 194 (+1) and the adult 188 (+3) gram. At 7.53 a.m. the Tortoise-shell Cat “Snipper” was injected whereafter she went to the surgery. See further at CAT. We received the message from Pétra that the black bird had gone to heaven meanwhile. Two Dutch visitors. Three children came and brought a kitten with the beginning of Rhinotracheitis > taken-in. See at TOM-CAT. At 12.30 p.m. a phone-call from one of the local pharmacists that he had friends with a parrot with problems > told that those people should contact us themselves. Today the whole country had weather-alert yellow due to extreme high temperatures !! And so the lovely sounds of our birds was several times deafened by the sonorous sounds of fire-brigade-planes . . . . !!

August 7^th:  the Pallid Swift was 32 (=) and the juvenile Pigeon 248 (+1) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 273 (+4), the Baby Barn Owl 231 (-34, but had vomited yesterday a lot !) and the adult one 304 (+5) gram. The Lesser Kestrel was 159 (+5) gram. Little Owls: green 195 (-1), blue 196 (+2) and the adult one 194 (+6) gram. The yesterday taken-in kitten is free of worms, we could see. We have discovered (after cleaning) that the injuries this kitten has in the neck, throat, chest and on the head are caused by teeth; probably those of a dog. We have made some more flourishing pictures of both Barn Owls > see for the baby at his name. The adult we could take a picture after he alone managed standing-up.

We could remove again quite a lot of dead tissue from the left foot of the adult Long-legged Buzzard; she is using the leg more and more again. The right foot seems to have a complete loss of function. At 6.20 p.m. a phone-call from Skála Kallonís about the kitten with the deformed foot, for which we had been waiting the 6^th in vain (see as well August 4^th) > will still come if they can catch it. Hereafter at 7.25 p.m. a phone-call from someone who had bought in Athens a Chinchilla, but who absolutely knew nothing about those animals . . . . !! For this person we have visited the Internet and he will call back tomorrow. At 8.25 p.m. again a call from Skála Kallonís about the kitten > couldn’t be caught !!

August 8^th:  nothing was “minus” this morning: Pallid Swift 32 (=) and the juvenile Pigeon 249 (+1) gram. Lesser Kestrel 162 (+3), Long-eared Owl 273 (=), baby Barn Owl 241 (+10) and the adult one 314 (+10) gram. Little Owls: green 196 (+1), blue 196 (=) and the adult one 199 (+5) gram. There was quite a lot of excitement in de buzzard-aviary early this morning: 1 of the juvenile Sparrows from the nest on top of this aviary was discovered in the aviary and this caused quite a lot of “stress” and not only at the Sparrow. We could catch it and release (after a good “sermon” from our side).        

FOREST FIRES

Mt Parnonas blaze a challenge

There were more than 20 wildfires yesterday, which was somewhat fewer than in previous days but the absence of strong winds helped firefighters contain most blazes, including one in the area of Kechries in Corinthia, west of Athens, and on the island of Thassos. Last night, firefighters were trying to get a fire on Mount Parnonas in the Peloponnese under control. The wildfire broke out in a ravine on the forested mountain and six water-dropping planes and a helicopter had to be called in to help extinguish it.

Pet rules make owners hot under the collar

Animal lovers have slammed a directive issued by Deputy Agricultural Development Minister Costas Kiltidis that prevents any citizen from having more than two cats or dogs and requires them to declare in writing that they will return with the animals whenever they travel abroad.

Kiltidis says he has issued the circular to prevent illegal trading in household pets. “We are trying to restrict the movement of animals, which damages our country’s civilization,” he told Skai TV. (note of the L.W.H.: It is not the movement of animals that damages the Greek civilization, it’s the way Greeks are treating animals . . . . and one can’t evidently name this civilized !!)

However, animal lovers say the measure aims to spare Greece embarrassment. “It seems the deputy minister has a problem with us sending animals abroad as foreigners realize we have a problem with strays in Greece,” said animal welfare campaigner Klea Morianou. Greek animal lovers often pick up strays and send them abroad for adoption. “This circular is an attempt to close this avenue,” she said.

August 9^th:  the Pallid Swift was 32 (=) and the juvenile Pigeon 149 (=) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 279 (+6), the baby Barn Owl 237 (-4) and the adult one 323 (+15) gram. The latter was waiting for us at 4.55 a.m. standing upright in his cage !! The Lesser Kestrel was 163 (+1), the Green Little Owl 197 (+1), the blue one 196 (=) and the adult one 103 (+4) gram. We were informed from Turkey about the juvenile Gull, they had asked for advices (see as well July 23^rd & 24^th): the bird had flown to heaven without using the wings July 25^th, and those people were so impressed, that they all thought another had informed us. But they made a beautiful goodbye-ceremony for the bird !! Their mail is here below:

I am so sorry!

I thought my friends replayed you, but it is obvious that I am wrong..

we lost the baby, on the day I left the institute.. since then I really cannot find any chance to communicate with my friends

It was Thursday night, most probably on 24th of July, her head movements increased too much that we hardly can feed her. She refused food, but she did not throw it out, she just resist Meltem (her colleague) during feeding that Meltem want me to help her during feeding. I tried to hold her, but she was so skinny that I scared of myself, she resist feeding with coughing like reflexes, she did not seem really like controlling her head. we give like 5 breaks during feeding.. we let her walk a little bit, but Meltem complained about her decreased ability of walking, she was like loosing her coordination... after all semi-successful feeding attempt, we let her in the cat box for her night rest.. unfortunately, she hardly can carry her head

Friday morning, Meltem found her very still, the head was not seem like controlled consciously, but she did not resist during feeding.. Meltem was feeding her 4 times in the day; early morning with sun rise, mid-morning, mid afternoon and early night around sun set.

after two depressing meals, we almost lost our hopes on her, but during mid-morning meal she seemed really fine.. I was also with Meltem - in case of an emergency or help - but she seems almost perfect. she ate like crazy, walked around, made sounds, pooped everywhere, with dark green parts in white dominance...

in the afternoon, Meltem left alone though, she found the baby sleeping in beauty

Meltem called us.. we briefly made a ceremony for her.. and that's it...

I left the institute that night.. I am so sorry that we did not inform you

we, me and Meltem especially, were so upset.. we did not talk about it later on.. I thought she wrote you, and most probably she thought I would inform you..

you will see that we are not trained on wild life rehabilitation.

we are just volunteers for the nature messed up by our race, since we are not professionals, there are a lot of emotion around.. every injured bird, turtle, reptile or mammalian is a new challenge for us stuck in the middle, hoping someone to help us..

after each unfortunate ending we discuss on them, and each time we promise not to interfere any more case.. but .. you would know.. in the area we are the only academic institution as being a marine sciences institute, which unfortunately does not have any veterinarians

local people call us for help. and most of the times the poor animals are too delicate because of the injury and starve that we cannot send them to any proper place

I am so sad.. and I appreciate you too much for your kind help and attention. sorry for the confusion that we did not inform you!

I am moving to UK in September, for PhD. now I am with my family, in Akcay, just across you  we were planning me to bring the baby with me so I could bring the gull to you..

I hope to meet you sometime, somewhere.. hopefully in a happy occasion

thank you very much for your help, support, attention, -and hopefully understanding- again sorry for our confusion

very best wishes,

Cansu    

Later this morning 4 Dutch visitors. The juvenile House Sparrow (which after all showed te be a “nest-misfit”; 08-138, July 26^th ’08), and about which we hadn’t written so much till now on, started to eat on itself today for the first time !!

August 10^th:  the Pallid Swift was 31 (-1) and the juvenile Pigeon 246 (-3) gram. The Lesser Kestrel 169 (+6), the Long-eared Owl 281 (+2), the baby Barn Owl 139 (+2) and the adult one 334 (+5) gram. Little Owls: green 199 (+2), blue 198 (+2) and the adult one 205 (+2) gram. We have transferred the Lesser Kestrel for some hours to the falcon-aviary outside to watch how she is behaving: she can practice the use of the broken wing as well now. And so it happened: we could find her in top of the aviary. Just before the siesta we unfortunately had to find that the bottom of the bath in the out-door-pen of the Shearwater was so seriously damaged, that there was quite a leak. So ín the siesta the whole bath was emptied in the hope it will be dry enough by tomorrow to think about a repair . . . . !! At a further inspection after the siesta it showed there were several damages > we’re puzzling now to find a permanent solution. And that solution came late in the evening: we are going to cover the whole basin with polyurethane, thereafter an armour of glass-fiber and again a layer of polyurethane. But the canvas should be completely dry first !!

August 11^th:  the whole night there were thunder-flashes and thunders, but the first tiny drops were only falling against 5 this morning, to change in a bit larger drops against half past five. But this stopped almost immediately. But the canvas of the bath of the Shearwater is of course not dry anymore.

The Pallid Swift was 32 (+1) and the juvenile Pigeon 258 (+12) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 277 (=5), the baby Barn Owl 241 (+2) and the adult one 333 (-1) gram. The Lesser Kestrel was 164 (-5) gram. Little Owls: green 200 (+1), blue 202 (+4) and the adult one 207 (+2) gram. At 7.30 a.m. it really started to rain; in spite of that we have brought out all the birds which are normally going out to enjoy the rainfall. Today again “meat-cutting-day (for Eveliene her last one, because tomorrow she is leaving for Holland again), and by the three ladies 16,325 kilo was processed (for 106,77 Euro). Total now this year 444,248 kilo for 2862,65 Euro. And because we couldn’t work at the renewal of the bath for the Shearwater, we have continued with the cleaning and pointing of the outside-wall.

Summer storm strikes

A summer storm yesterday afternoon caught many people off guard as rain pelted different parts of Greece including Elefsina, west of Athens, which was hit by a hail storm. Television footage showed pictures of holes made in outdoor plastic tables by the force of the hail which also broke car lights. The fire service said it had received dozens of calls from different areas, even in Gytheion, southern Greece, for assistance with flooding.

We had to start treating the little Tom-Cat “RiSta” with Ivomec, because there is starting quite a huge fungus-infection on the back > not so strange for an animal coming from the rubbish.

August 12^th:  we had to rise quite early this morning, because at 5.20 a.m. the taxi took Eveliene to the airport, after quite a successful period over here for all parties !! The Pallid Swift was 31 (-1) and the juvenile Pigeon 259 (+1) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 282 (+5), the baby Barn Owl 245 (+4), the adult Barn Owl 342 (+9) and the Lesser Kestrel 171 (+7) gram. Little Owls: green 200 (=), blue 199 (-3) and the adult one 210 (+3) gram. And after we first in vain had tried to buy polyestrene & hardener at the building-market close to the Shell-Petrol-station (they didn’t know what it was), and as well close to Kallonís at the huge building-market (and they hadn’t those stuff), we had to ride all the way to Panagioúda to buy it over there without any problems. 

People to blame for most fires

Firefighters were last night trying to extinguish wildfires on Mount Athos in northern Greece and on the Cycladic island of Andros as the fire service issued figures indicating that more than 90 people have been arrested for arson or causing fire through negligence since the start of the year.

The fires on Mount Athos and Andros were just two of more than 35 blazes the fire service was called to yesterday. More than 200 wildfires were reported over the weekend.

Even though the scale of devastation has not matched that of last year, when fires burnt large tracts of Evia and the Peloponnese, Greece has experienced several large fires this summer, including one that recently razed forestland on the Dodecanese island of Rhodes.

The department of the fire service that deals with arson revealed yesterday that 92 people have been arrested since the start of the year for causing fires.

The arrests were related to 86 fires, 28 of which were in farming areas, 27 in forests and 13 in areas with low vegetation. Of these, 50 fires started as a result of negligence while 18 are being treated as willful arson.

According to the figures that this department has collated over the last 10 years, only 5% of wildfires start without any human intervention at all. Between 15 and 20% are caused by arsonists looking to scorch land on purpose, while human negligence is responsible for around 75%.

A 59-year-old man and his 48-year-old wife faced a prosecutor in the Peloponnesian town of Gytheion yesterday after being accused of arson. The man allegedly used a lighter to set fire to scrubland next to the Gytheion-Sparta national road. One of the fires was put out by passers-by but the other burnt one third of a hectare before firefighters arrived to extinguish it. Nobody was injured. The 59-year-old, who has not been named, did not explain why he had started the fires, authorities said. The couple is due to stand trial for arson today.

Hunting season

Hunting season will begin on August 20, the Agricultural Development Ministry confirmed yesterday. The season will last until February 28, 2009, apart from the hunting of hares, which will stretch until March 10.

Around midday 4 Greek visitors from Ághia Paraskeví (Athens). And while they were guided around, 5 children came to bring 1 quite little Sparrow > see further at HOUSE SPARROW. At 1.51 p.m. a phone-call from Skópelos about a rabbit which could have been bitten by a cat > one will pass by at 4 p.m. And so they were here . . . . one hour after the agreed time. Rabbit wasn’t bitten by a cat, but had on the hairy part of the nose a little spot where the hairs had disappeared . . . . One had already “treated” with Red-chrome (poisonous !!), with Bethadine, many sachets with antibiotics appeared and so on !! Spot treated with Dermisol-cream and the remnants of the tube were given as well. Further not in the statistics. The owners were told and showed how to hold a rabbit > they didn’t know that as well. Further dissuaded to bath the rabbit . . . . !!

August 13^th:  all were still alive early this morning !! The Pallid Swift was 31 (=) and the juvenile Pigeon 257 (-2) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 281 (-1), the Lesser Kestrel 169 (-2), the baby Barn Owl 245 (=) and the adult one 346 (+4) gram. Little Owls: green 198 (-2), blue 197 (-2) and the adult one 204 (-6) gram. The last three ones are fed lesser so they should start eating on their own. Both Sparrow are eating well and the Chicken has as well nothing special to report. August 10^th we received a message about the cat we had treated August 5^th: 

Just finished the anti-biotics (last tonight) - the wound is looking clean and is slowly closing - we are still cleaning the wound day and night.    
She is still eating and drinking well (very well) so I think all is ok.    
We leave on Thursday and will mail you and leave cat food and notes for the next family (we think English again)    
Paul

and this morning we heard that mother and kittens are doing fine. We started with the first layer of polyestrene in the bath of the Shearwater. And while this was hardening, we continued with the pointing of the outside-wall. We had to take back the adult Little Owl (with the brain-damage) from the bigger cage he was staying-in with 2 juveniles of the same kind: self-eating wasn’t done and the two “urchins” were quarreling all the time and had damaged his head !!

August 14^th:  no victims this morning, only during the catching the adult Barn Owl a “crick in the back happened”, which isn’t conductive at all to the works of today . . . . !! The Pallid Swift was 30 (-1) and the juvenile Pigeon 259 (+2) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 282 (+1), the Lesser Kestrel 175 (+6), the baby Barn Owl 254 (+9) and the adult one 352 (+6) gram. Little Owls: green 197 (-1) and blue 196 (-1) gram. The adult Little Owl was 198 (-6) gram. Other (not measured) patients nothing special. We have discovered that the juvenile Sparrow (08-056; May 7^th ’08), which is staying in the Aviary, in any case is a male. But he could still develop into a SPANISH SPARROW (Passer hispaniolensis); so wait and see. We received 2 Dutch visitors. And while they were guided around, there was a phone-call from the Shell-Petrol-station that a Collared Dove was delivered over there > so we picked it up. See further at COLLARED DOVE. Meanwhile a whole Greek delegation arrived: 2 from Athens and 2 from our village.

Koroneia dries up, rescue difficult

Lake Koroneia near Thessaloniki, once a key habitat for wildlife that included rare birds, has completely dried up and any effort to restore it to its former state is likely to be extremely difficult, scientists have said.

A lack of rainfall in recent months and high summer temperatures mean that only sludge has been left at the bottom of the lake, which had been the focus of repeated efforts to save it from disaster.

The latest effort to rescue the lake, which is set to receive 27 million euros in European Union funding, has stalled in the assessment and tender phases of the project.

The drought has led to thousands of birds, including pelicans, finding new habitats.

Scientists say that any efforts to divert water from rivers or nearby Lake Volvi would be an extremely complex undertaking that would have no guarantee of success.

“The sustainable restoration of Lake Koroneia is very difficult and will have to be approached from many scientific angles, while ensuring the protection of Lake Volvi which is also in an average ecological state and is in need of care,” said Maria Matsouka, a biology professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Following the death of some 30,000 birds at the lake in 2004, a plan to protect Koroneia was drawn up by authorities but has never been implemented. Some 200 birds were found dead at the lake, some 20 kilometers east of Thessaloniki, last September.

Koroneia had been described as Greece’s dirtiest body of water, believed to contain the highest rate of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in the world.

And what’s happening when gratuitously and without any control is drilled for water:

Dodgy water

Authorities in charge of water supply and sewage in Nafplion and Argos in the Peloponnese yesterday warned residents to avoid drinking local tapwater due to increased levels of chloride ions. According to authorities the water quality has fallen because local drilling has caused seawater to infiltrate groundwater.

After the siesta (and they had especially made a trip around and waited > so homage !!) two Dutch visitors. At 5.24 p.m. a phone-call from close to the air-port that one had found a “geráki” (bird-of-prey) floating in the sea > they will come and bring the bird. And they were here at 6.24 p.m. see further at BUZZARD. Both takers were showed around as well.

August 15^th:  all patients were still alive early this morning !! Almost the whole of Greece (including our islands) has weather-alert yellow for today due to extreme high temperatures > so we’re taking our measures !! The Pallid Swift was 31 (+1), the juvenile Pigeon 266 (+7) and the juvenile Collared Dove 78 (-3) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 290 (+8), the baby Barn Owl 254 (=) and the adult one 350 (-2) gram. The Lesser Kestrel was 172 (-3) and the new Buzzard 383 (-16), but this one was measured yesterday still being wet !! Little Owls: green 194 (-3), blue 193 (-3) and the adult one 198 (=) gram. We have transferred as well the juvenile as the adult Barn Owl to the place for Nocturnidæ. The now empty cages are prepared for the coming of bigger birds-of-prey. We could remove quite a lot of weeds from in between the feathers of the yesterday taken-in Buzzard, under which seeds of the “Wall-Barley” (Hordeum murinum), which fortunately hadn’t yet penetrated the skin !! Was this bird sitting yesterday only on the heels, this morning he was standing right-up and after the cleaning of the feathers there was even sitting on the roost !! And before it became really hot, and almost as much sweat as polyestrene had ended into the bath, we were able to fix the bottom with fiber-glass and polyestrene. As well a flower-pot with holes was fastened for the placement of a Papyrus-plant. At 12.30 p.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne about a Pigeon which is probably injured > will be brought. And the bird was here at 1.28 p.m. > see further at PIGEON. Both bearers received a tour around as well. The droppings from the yesterday taken-in Buzzard are (in any case till now on) normal of color and consistence, and the bird is beginning to be more lively !! At 6.30 p.m. a three-headed delegation from Salzhemmendorf (Germany). In the evening at 9.28 p.m. a phone-call from Parákoila about a cat, most probably poisoned > as good as possible advices were given, but (having heard the story) we don’t have a lot of hope !! Thereafter at 9.42 p.m. a phone-call from the Fire-Brigade in Mytiléne (!!) about a dog which had escaped from the owner and which couldn’t be controlled anymore > transferred to the Animal-Lovers-Society in Mytiléne (they are the “closest to the fire” after all !!).

August 16^th:  still yellow weather-alert for the whole country due to the heat !! The Pallid Swift was 32 (+1), the juvenile Pigeon 266 (=), the juvenile Collared Dove 75 (-3) and the mauled-by-cats Pigeon 197 (-18) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 293 (+3), the Lesser Kestrel 174 (+2), the baby Barn owl 256 (+2) and the adult one 345 (-5) gram. The Buzzard was 393 (+10) gram. Little Owls: green 194 (=), blue 190 (-3) and the adult one 198 (=) gram. The yesterday taken-in Pigeon, which was mauled by cats is probably not going to make it: can’t stand on the legs, is laying on the side and the crop won’t empty. At 10.30 a.m. both sides of the bath in the Shearwater-pen had their 2^nd layer of polyester as well. At 12.45 p.m. 3 visitors from Lafiónas, (2 English, 1 Dutch) who properly speaking came to be informed how to get a dog from here to Holland. At 1.30 p.m. the bath of the Shearwater was filled and the Papyrus placed. After the siesta a check for leakage. And that we haven’t (yet) discovered. What we had expected, became true: the mauled Pigeon was not alive anymore at 3.25 p.m. > no P.M. was done. The partial lunar-eclipse was in any case seen by one of us !!

August 17^th:  no victims early this morning. The whole of Greece has still a yellow-weather-alert due to the heat !! The Pallid Swift was 31 (-1), the juvenile Pigeon 270 (+4) and the juvenile Collared Dove 72 (-3) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 292 (-1), the Lesser Kestrel 173 (-1), the baby Barn Owl 256 (=) and the adult Barn Owl 337 (-8) gram. The juvenile Buzzard was 418 (+25 !!) and so this one is going to make it !! Little Owls: green 194 (=), blue 190 (=) and the adult one 204 (+6) gram. For the first time since one week the Shearwater could “enjoy” a bath. We received the message from Parákoila, that the poisoned cat (see August 15^th) seems to be doing fine. We started carefully giving the young Buzzard some adulte food. The adult Barn Owl is having problems with eating > the reason ?? At the end of the morning 2 visitors from Germany: 1 from Oberhausen and the other (a Greek) from “Kölle” (Cologne).

August 18^th:  the Pallid Swift was 32 (+1), the juvenile Pigeon 272 (+2) and the juvenile Collared Dove 73 (+1) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 300 (+8), the Lesser Kestrel 173 (=), the baby Barn Owl 270 (+14) and the adult Barn Owl 331 (-6) gram. The young Buzzard was 459 (+41 !!) gram > this one now has half soft food, half coarse food. Little Owls: green 192 (-2), blue 192 (+2) and the adult one 205 (+1) gram. Today again the weekly “meat-cutting-day” and both ladies have processed 15,750 kilo (for 102,48 Euro). Total now this year 459,998 kilo for 2965,13 Euro. At 12.13 p.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne about a pigeon of which lots of feathers should have disappeared > one is trying to catch the bird and send him/her by the 1.15 p.m.-coach. 

Dirty rivers to get ‘black flags’

The uncontrolled discharge of toxic waste by industry and agriculture as well as dwindling rainfall are transforming many of the country’s rivers into festering pollution hot spots, according to scientists in northern Greece who are planning to grade the dirtiest bodies of water with “black flags.”

Using a similar system as the one that tags with “blue flags” the cleanest beaches in Europe, experts from Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, Ioannina University and the Democritus University of Thrace intend to pinpoint the filthiest rivers in Greece.

According to research by these experts, top offenders include the Loudias River and the so-called Trench 66 – an irrigation canal – in the region of Macedonia, the two cross-border rivers Evros and Axios, the Pineios in Thessaly and the Asopos in central Greece.

The high levels of copper and chromium in the waters of the Loudias and Trench 66 are believed to have provoked abnormalities in the livers of resident frogs. Local authorities complain about a high incidence of cancer sufferers in their areas, though there have been no tests to determine whether this is true and whether local water is to blame.

The Evros and Axios rivers both show high traces of phosphates, nitrates and other chemicals believed to be runoffs from agricultural and industrial activity.

The Pineios River is similarly infected. “All Thessaly’s pollution is concentrated here,” said Triandáfyllos Albanis of the University of Ioannina.

Tests on the Asopos River indicate high levels of chemicals, including depleted chromium, which can cause cancer. The fact that the drinking water of tens of thousands of local residents has been drawn from the Asopos for more than 20 years has fueled public protests.

One wasn’t successful in catching the bird, so they should call us again at dawn . . . . and so we were wakened at 2.35 p.m. with the message that they had the bird. Will be sent now tomorrow maybe with the 9 o’clock-coach, and otherwise with the 11 o’clock-coach. At 8.30 p.m. arrived after her “maiden-flight” our new Dutch trainee Anouke Janssen.

August 19^th:  the Pallid Swift was 32 (=), the juvenile Pigeon 272 (=) and the juvenile Collared Dove 84 (+11) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 299 (-1), the Lesser Kestrel 174 (+1), the baby Barn Owl 277 (+7) and the adult one 330 (-1) gram. The Young Buzzard was 494 (+35) gram. Little Owls: green 192 (=), blue 190 (-2) and the adult one 201 (-4) gram. Anouke received a complete tour around and is a bit dizzy now from all the received information . . . . !! We received a phone-call that the announced pigeon (from yesterday) definitively will be sent by the 11 o’clock-coach. And we had the bird at 11.40 a.m. > see further at ROCK-DOVE. A fellow villagewoman came with her grand-daughter from Athens, bringing a small rabbit, which (of course . . . . Greeks !!) had the wrong food: food for squirrels  . . . . !! The right food was given; further not in the statistics.

And such is the result after mankind first deliberately destroys the habitat of bears:

Farmer, 70, bearing up after rare attack

A 70-year-old farmer was recovering in a hospital in Florina, northern Greece, yesterday, after being attacked by a large bear on Saturday.

Georgios Pierias had set off from his home in the village of Kladorachi on Saturday morning to inspect his corn crop when the incident occurred. According to Pierias’s account, the bear leaped out from behind some trees near his land, chased him and knocked him to the ground. In the ensuing struggle, the bear bit the man who subsequently fainted. The farmer, who suffered a fractured shoulder and scratches, is to be discharged from hospital in a few days.

An increasing number of bears have been spotted in Florina and Kastoria since last summer when forest fires (most of them deliberately caused by humans > note L.W.H.) damaged their mountain habitats and killed many of the small animals they feed on.

The Lesser Kestrel has spent the day outside from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. > let’s have a look if this will be of any importance for the body-weight tomorrow-morning (has missed 1 feeding !). We received 2 Dutch visitors in the afternoon.

August 20^th:  after the death of our out-door-cat “Foúrno” (see June 17^th) there had been a kind of power-vacuum in both court-yards, which only was filled very slowly. As regular visitors are coming for a meal (or two-three) “Little Friend” (Tom-cat from our neighbor Yiánnis), “Little Brother” (brother of the deceased “Foúrno”) and since a week or so two black-and-white cats: “Two-eye” and “One-eye”. The latter has become a mother some months ago in the deserted houslet, and this morning she came, together with her 4 kittens, eating in our court-yard !! She is loosing slowly-on her shyness, so maybe she can be neutered in the future !!

The Pallid Swift was 33 (+10, the juvenile Pigeon 275 (+1) and the juvenile Collared Dove 88 (+4) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 298 (-1), the Lesser Kestrel 175 (+1), the young Buzzard 530 (+36), the baby Barn Owl 281 (+4) and the adult one 327 (-3) gram. Little Owls: green 190 (-2), blue 192 (+2) and the adult 200 (-1) gram. At 11.48 a.m. a phone-call from the Library in the village over here, that the care-taker had a Collared Dove > so we picked it up. See further at COLLARED DOVE.

A firefighting aircraft...

A firefighting aircraft drops water over a blaze that ravaged forestland near Lykostomo village in the northwestern prefecture of Ioannina yesterday. The flames approached the village but were doused before they could damage any homes. A fire that broke out near the Peloponnesian village of Zacharo, one of the worst hit in last summer’s fires, prompted a large-scale response by firemen. The extent of the damage it had cause was unclear last night. A blaze that broke out on Monday near the village of Amaranto in Konitsa, northern Greece, burnt some 100 hectares of land.

Against dawn still 2 Greek visitors: the Librarian and her daughter (who has discovered the Collared Dove).

August 21^st:  the Pallid Swift was 33 (=), the juvenile Pigeon 274 (-1) and the juvenile Collared Dove 90 (+2) gram. The Rock-Dove and the adult Collared Dove aren’t measured > are doing well. The Long-eared Owl was 299 (+1) and the Lesser Kestrel 177 (+2) > so can be transferred today to the little falcons-aviary for the time being. The Buzzard was 542 (+12) the baby Barn owl 275 (-6) and the adult Barn Owl 318 (-9) gram. The last one received an orange ring right foot and will be transferred this morning to the barn owl-cage in “The Keep”: he wants so deeply to use his wings and we hope that seeing mates eating, will mean eating as well. Little Owls: green 192 (-2), blue 192 (=) and the adult one 203 (+3) gram. At 7.40 a.m. the Lesser Kestrel (-8-135; July 20^th ’08 from the island of Límnos) was transferred to the little falcons-aviary, at 8.15 a.m. the blue Little Owl (08-088b; June 11^th ’08) was transferred to the little-owl-aviary in “The Keep” and at 8.25 a.m. the adult Barn Owl (08-144; July 31^st ’08) to the barn owl-aviary in “The Keep”. The last one we’ll catch from time to time, measure him (and if necessary: feed a bit). We have heard from our neighbor Yiánnis a) that our little Chicken (08-132; July 16^th ’08) is a young cock and b) when he is a bit older he can be re-homed with Yiánnis’ chickens. We received 2 Dutch visitors.

Filling the 1^st hole with the 2^nd . . . . ??

Flood prevention a pretext to dredge river

Residents and environmental groups in the prefecture of Ileia in the western Peloponnese allege that local building contractors are illegally removing large quantities of sand from the bed of the Erymanthos River, which at this time of year is dry.

The practice negatively impacts the riverine habitat, the flow of water and its absorption by the bed and banks of the river.

“These activities are carried out at weekends when our service is closed, so it is up to the police, who have nevertheless made some arrests and imposed fines,” said Nikos Sianis of the Ileia Property Association.

According to Elke Spiliopoulou, head of the Naturalist Association of Ancient Olympia, the practice began a year ago when subsidies were made available for flood prevention works after the summer forest fires.

At 2.37 p.m. a phone-call from Mesótopos from a Dutch rep over there, that there was someone there with a kind of injured duck > she should be in ± 40 minutes with the bird at Hotel Kallonis II in Skála Kallonís. So we went for a ride and picked-up the bird. So see further at . . . . WHITE STORK !! Around 5.45 p.m. a phone-call from the man who had discovered the “kind of injured duck” > it showed to be that the bird was found at Tavári, but to be exact floating 5 miles of shore . . . . !! From this afternoon again a part of Greece (under which as well our islands) has a weather-alert yellow due to the heat !! At 7.25 p.m. a phone-call from Paralía Thermís (from our friend Náso) that close by the church of St. Constantine a shot Goshawk was discovered > in spite of the late hour we went and picked-up the bird. See further at BUZZARD.

August 22^nd:  still weather-alert yellow and we’re dripping !! In the Sick-Bay all was still alive this morning !! The Pallid Swift was 32 (-1), the juvenile Pigeon 276 (+2) and the juvenile Collared Dove 88 (-2) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 290 (-9, but had vomited yesterday) and the juvenile Barn Owl 279 (+4) gram. Buzzard I was 553 (+12) and the yesterday-evening taken-in Buzzard II was 436 (-5) gram. This  last one was so covered with parasites, that they were creeping over our head, back and under our clothes . . . !! As well the bird as we were treated with PINEX-spray. Little Owls: green 195 (+3) and the adult 201 (-2) gram. No victims could be detected in “The Keep”: the yesterday transferred Barn Owl was seen sitting on the bottom of the cage. We could scrape-away (protected by special clothes, including hair-nets) lots of fly eggs from Buzzard II (who received a blue ring) and ultra-dirty feathers were removed. There showed to be a minor injury above the left eye (with lots of fly eggs > scraped away); injury was sprayed with Hansaplast-bandage-spray. The whole bird was sprayed again with PINEX-spray. Buzzard I received a red ring. We performed physiotherapies on the leg of the White Stork and the “hot spot” on the leg is covered with Ichtyol-cream: super-old military therapy for healing of injured tendons. This bird as well was again sprayed with Pinex.  The total amount of birds/animals we’re caring now has risen till at least 145 !! After the siesta we could remove quite a lot of maggots from the injury above the left eye, but as well fly eggs from in the right-eye. The right nostril is filled with ???? At 5.15 p.m. we discovered the Barn Owl, which was yesterday transferred to the barn owl-cage in “The Keep”, laying on the floor and not capable standing-up > taken back. At 8.07 p.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne from a vet who had someone there who had an injured “Koukouvágia” (literal: Little Owl, but another small owl is possible as well). Agreed that early tomorrow-morning we’ll contact him again.

August 23^rd:  all were still alive early this morning !! Still a huge past of Greece (under which as well our islands) has a yellow weather-alert !! Was Buzzard II seen at 4.55 a.m. sleeping on his roost, at 5.50 a.m. he was sitting on the cage-bottom and 2 minutes later is was over . . . . !! Today (if the time allows us) we’ll perform a P.M. The Pallid Swift was 32 (=), the juvenile Pigeon 278 (+2) and the juvenile Collared Dove 94 (+6) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 310 (+20 !!), the juvenile Barn Owl 285 (+6) and the yesterday taken-back adult one 308 gram. Buzzard I was 567 (+13) and he will be transferred today to the buzzard-aviary. Buzzard II (which we still measured p.m.) was 426 (-10) gram. Little Owls: green 197 (+2) and the adult one 202 (+1) gram. At 7.37 a.m. the juvenile Buzzard was transferred to the buzzard-aviary and at 7.38 a.m. the last of our four “home-bred” Little Owls (green) was transferred to the little-owl-aviary in “The Keep”. At 9.45 a.m. we received a phone-call that the little Owl will be sent by the 11 o’clock coach. At 11 a.m. they phoned that it should be the one o’clock-coach ! And some later that the bird should be brought over here.

TICK DEATH

Woman, 61, is second victim of fever-carrying parasite

A 61-year-old woman from Rhodope, northern Greece, who died last Tuesday after suffering a high fever, had been bitten by a tick carrying a bacteria that also led to the death of a 49-year-old woman from Alexandroupolis last month, doctors said yesterday. The Rhodope woman had been admitted to the hospital three times this month after suffering from insomnia, a heavy cough and high fever, but had not told doctors about the tick bite. Doctors determined that the woman had been infected by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever once they had been told about the bite by the victim's relative.

Forest fires

Strong winds and high temperatures yesterday fueled several forest fires around the country, with the most serious blazes on Evia, Crete and in the Peloponnese. Firefighters were late yesterday struggling to contain a blaze in southern Evia that spread quickly but did not threaten residential areas. Fires in Corinth and Rethymnon, on Crete, caused widespread damage before they were contained.

At 12.23 p.m. arrived quite a dreadnought of a car with on board 2 birds > see at DARK BARN OWL ( and so not a Little Owl, like the vat had named it) and at COLLARED DOVE. We performed a P.M. on the Buzzard which died this morning > see over there. At 5.35 the White Stork was seen for the first time standing on 2 legs  !! Around 8 p.m. suddenly there was a young woman in our court-yard with a kind of basket in which an about six weeks old puppy: “if we would stitch the tail ?” Showed that some bastard in a quite inexpert way had amputated the tail; something which is as well forbidden by Law in Greece (“they said the doggie should be more beautiful hereafter . . . . !!”)  The remnant of the tail was one huge mass of pus !!We have told her that she should go back to that yokel and that he should clean his own mess. She only left (in a hurry) after we had threatened to inform the Police !! Further not in the statistics.

August 24^th:  just after midnight we were disturbed cruelly in our first sleep because all our dogs were barking like hell: there was a huge car behind ours and in there an about two months old huge pup, with which they had already visited 2 vets . . . . Should suffer from Typhus, but wasn’t adequately treated. The owner himself had already started with (subcutaneously given) transfusions of fluid. Told him to continue with this therapy and a whole bottle of Lactated Ringers-solution was handed over, and a 60 cc syringe with a long & thick needle. More we weren’t able to at that moment . . . . It took us quite a lot of time before we were in sleep again . . . . !! And as well this patient not in the statistics.

Early in the morning all our patients were still alive and the White Stork was again standing on 2 legs !! It still is a yellow weather-alert for huge parts of Greece (including our islands). The Pallid Swift was 31 (-1), the juvenile Pigeon was 279 (+1) and that one will be transferred to the pigeon-cage in “The Keep” today. The juvenile Collared Dove was 96 (+2) and the yesterday taken-in “Captain One-Eye” Collared Dove was 94 (=) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 304 (-6) and the adult Little Owl 202 (=) gram. Dark Barn Owls: the juvenile was 299 (+14), orange 306 (-2) and the yesterday taken-in blue 207 (+4) gram. After having received a blue ring around the left leg, the juvenile Pigeon (08-149; August 4^th ’08) was transferred to the pigeon-cage in “The Keep”. We have removed the hanging cast from the wing of the adult Collared Dove with the wing-fractures. Three Dutch visitors were received. Because the juvenile Dark Barn Owl is hardly to distinguish any more from the 2 adults, this one received a green ring right foot. At 8.30 p.m. a phone-call from a woman from our village, who has a doggie which doesn’t seem to be OK > will pass-by tomorrow-morning.

August 25^th:  the Pallid Swift was 33 (+2) the juvenile Collared Dove 97 (+1) and the “Captain One-Eye” Collared Dove 90 (-4) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 304 (=) and the adult Little Owl 199 (-3) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 309 (+3), blue 194 (-13) and green 300 (+1) gram. The yesterday transferred juvenile Pigeon seems doing fine together with the other pigeons. The woman with the doggie was here at 9.30 a.m.: it was the old (a good ten years old, and almost no teeth left over in the mouth) he-dog “Rex”, where in the past we had several time clipped the thumb-nails of the rear-legs, which had grown into the foot. In any case this was repeated now. Dog is refusing to eat already for days > advices were given and a huge (30 cc) syringe for giving fluids and soft food. Further not in the statistics. Today again meat-cutting-day and the three ladies haven processed 17,275 kilo (112,72 Euro). Total now this year 477,273 kilo for 3077,65 Euro. And still our islands have a yellow weather-alert. And “happy giving birth to such a child . . . .?”:

Teenage arsonist

A 17-year-old has been arrested in Thesprotia, northwestern Greece, on suspicion of repeatedly trying to set fire to brush and forest land. Police said the teenager admitted to five cases of arson.

August 26^th:  the Pallid Swift was 30 (-3), the juvenile Collared Dove 99 (+3) and the as well juvenile “Captain One-Eye” 105 (+15 !!) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 307 (+3), the orange Dark Barn Owl 310 (+1), the blue one 198 (+4) and the green one 297 (-3) gram. The Little Owl was 197 (-2) gram. At 10.48 a.m. a phone-call from Skála Eressoú about a gull, which was still on sea and which shouldn’t be OK > one will call us later again. And around midday we received a call that a woman from there should take care of the gull.

Heat and wind spark wildfires  

A delivery driver on a scooter races past a forest fire on the road to Epidaurus, near the Corinth canal, west of Athens. There were several large fires yesterday, including one at Gytheion in the Peloponnese. Another area of the Peloponnese, Messinia was also troubled by a wildfire, as was the region of Fokida in central Greece. No homes or lives were threatened. Authorities in Athens have been put on alert for the possibility of more fires today.

Migrants detained

Port Authority officials on the islands of Kos, Agathonisi and Lesvos yesterday detained a total of 69 illegal immigrants, including nine children. The would-be migrants had been trying to reach Greece from neighboring Turkey in rowboats which they destroyed on being spotted by officials.

And who is believing the explanation about the mini-tsunami, may put up one’s hand; we’ll keep them deep in our pockets !!

The mysterious case of the mini-tsunami

A large pleasure boat or an underwater rock slide were yesterday blamed for waves up to two meters high hitting beaches in the Gulf of Corinth, injuring four bathers and startling dozens of others.

The waves hit those beaches last week, prompting fears there had been an earthquake. Officials were yesterday considering two different possibilities. The head of the Civil Protection Authority in Achaia, Dimitris Filippatos, said yesterday the sea was up to 980 meters deep in some areas of the gulf and that it was possible there had been an underwater rock slide.

Giorgos Ferentinos, a geology professor at the University of Patras, discounted this explanation. “It could not have been an underwater rock slide as no waves were recorded on the opposite shores.” He said that it was more likely a large vessel had caused the waves. (note of the L.W.H.: how huge should that ship has been and with what speed it should have sailed, while nobody has noticed neither the ship nor the waves it caused ??)

Did we have this morning for the first time since days no yellow weather-alert (heat), since this afternoon we’re “in” again, only now due to stormy weather: so that’s going to be “nice” for ferry- & plane-passengers !! We could remove again quite a lot of dead tissue from the left foot of our adult Long-legged Buzzard.

August 27^th:  the Honey Buzzard was this morning not like usual: was sitting on her roost with the eyes closed and was breathing difficultly. Eye-lids (were glued together) carefully opened and the stuffed-up nostrils were cleaned. Further wait and see. The Pallid Swift was 32 (+2), the juvenile Collared Dove 102 (+3) and the “Captain One-Eye” was 103 (-2) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 300 (-7) but had eaten badly due to a children-visit; the adult Little Owl 199 (+2), the green Barn Owl 302 (+5), blue 205 (+7) and orange 314 (+4) gram. At 8.50 a.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne about an injured Hoopoe > they came in our direction till Lámbou Míli on a moped > see at EURASIAN HOOPOE. And while we were busy treating this bird, a phone-call from Skála Polichnítos about an injured Stork close to the salines over there > and as well this one we picked-up. See at WHITE STORK. Meanwhile there was processed meat again: 20,235 kilo (for 118,45 Euro). Total now this year 497,508 kilo for 3196,10 Euro. And as well we received 2 Dutch visitors. We have discovered that the Honey Buzzard has Trichomonadiosis (from where ??) > we have tried to give 2 tablets of Spartrix.

And it had been already too long quiet in the Aegean:

Ferry holdup

Passengers stranded on small island after engine problem

The passenger ferry Dimitroula remained moored yesterday at the small Aegean island of Lípsi for several hours after two of its four engines suffered a serious malfunction. None of the 193 passengers aboard the Dimitroula were injured. The ferry, which set sail from Piraeus at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, had been due to dock at Léros, Kos, Kálymnos and Sími before reaching its final destination of Rhodes.

Forest fires

Several forest fires were reported across the country yesterday, the worst of which were near the village of Zacharo, in the Peloponnese, which was hard hit in last summer’s fires. There were also blazes near Chania on Crete, Koropi in southeastern Attica and near Drama in northern Greece. There were no reports of any residential areas being threatened.

The Long-eared Owl, which normally is sharing during the day the aviary with the Honey Buzzard, started vomiting as well > so this evening a check as well for Trichomonadiosis. And it was good we did so, because although we haven’t discovered signs of Trichomonadiosis, we have discovered lots of worms in the pharynx. So double-barreled treated: with Levamisol against the worms and with Carnidazol (Spartrix)against a potential Trichomonadiosis. The Honey Buzzard was given Levamisol as well. At 6.40 p.m. two boys from our village passed-by with a sad story: they had 2 puppies from ± 2 months old, but they were knocked-down. One had died on the spot, but the other was still alive and most probably shouldn’t make it. “If we (if necessary) could euthanize ?” Told them to pass-by with the pup; they were back at 6.48 p.m. > see further at PUPPY.

August 28^th:  the Honey Buzzard (07-172; August 27^th ’07) was discovered not alive anymore at 4.53 a.m. > had fallen dead from the roost . . . . !! The Pallid Swift was 30 (-2), the juvenile Collared Dove 103 (+1) and the one-eyed one 105 (+2) gram. Long-eared Owl 292 (-8), adult Little Owl 198 (-1), green Barn Owl 310 (+8), blue 209 (+4) and orange 312 (-2) gram. The Hoopoe was 94 (+7) gram. We started treating the injured wing of the White Stork of yesterday with Dermisol-fluid. The first White Stork received a splint around the foot which is forcing him/her to keep the foot open; due to this there can be leaned on this foot. We could remove again some worms from the pharynx of the Long-eared Owl. And in spite of the note on our door, suddenly in our siesta we had 3 Dutch visitors. We are afraid we’re going to loose the blue Dark Barn Owl: has vomited today all the given food !! It seems if the bird “doesn’t believe in it anymore . . . . !!”

August 29^th:  and what we had reared, became the truth: at 4.50 a.m. the blue Dark Barn Owl was discovered not alive anymore > today (if the time allows this) a P.M. will be performed. The Pallid Swift was 31 (+1), the juvenile Collared Dove 110 (+7) and de one-eyed juvenile Collared Dove 112 (+7) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 298 (+6), the Little Owl 203 (+5), the green Dark Barn Owl 304 (-6) and the orange one 318 (+6) gram. The Hoopoe was 95 (+1) gram. We could perform a P.M. on the blue Brown Barn Owl > see over there. The wing of the 2^nd White Stork is such a mess, that we are going to amputate this wing at the elbow tomorrow . . !

We received 2 Dutch visitors.

And mankind is continuing destroying the “children of a lesser God”:   

Last bear on Mount Olympus found dead

A brown bear, found dead at the foot of Mount Olympus yesterday, was the last of the protected species in the area, conservationists said yesterday, noting that the animal appeared to have been shot or poisoned. The fact that the bear’s mouth was frozen open suggests it had suffered spasms and may have eaten poisoned bait, according to members of the environmental group Callisto. The animal also had chest injuries so it may have been shot.

Callisto, which has been monitoring the presence of bears, wolves and other protected animals on the Greek mainland for years, believes the bear found yesterday was the last of its kind in the area. Last November the mutilated remains of a bear were found in a forest in Elassona, central Greece. The bear had been shot and three of its paws, along with its lower jaw, had been removed.

And again troubles with Greek ferries:

Ferry glitch

A passenger ferry that had been due to depart from the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa for the Italian port of Brindisi on Wednesday night remained moored due to a problem with the vessel’s ramp. Following a three-hour delay, the 387 passengers aboard the Penelope were transferred to another ferry sailing to the port of Bari, some 100 kilometers from Brindisi.

At 1.05 p.m. a phone-call from Tavári about two White Storks: one was overrun by a car, but the other was unharmed: “If the remaining one could cope alone ?”  Told them that if it still was a juvenile bird (bill not yet completely red) it should be better catching that one and bring it here. We will be informed later. At 7.25 p.m. still, dressed in their Sunday-best, 4 visitors from Mesótopos > the fisherman (with family) who had plucked White Stork nr 1 out of the sea outside Tavári.

August 30^th:  the Pallid Swift was 32 (+1), the juvenile Collared Dove 114 (+4) and the one-eyed juvenile Collared Dove as well 114 (+2) gram. The Long-eared Owl was 299 (+1), the green Dark Barn Owl 314 (+10) and the orange 313 (-5) gram. The Little Owl was 200 (-3) and the Hoopoe 92 (-3) gram. This morning we have tried to amputate the wing of White Stork II > see further at WHITE STORK. Four Belgian visitors from Gembloux this morning.

August 31^st:  Pallid Swift 31 (-1), juvenile Collared Dove 114 (=) and the one-eyed 119 (+5) gram. Long-eared Owl 293 (-6), green Dark Barn owl 322 (+8) and the orange 309 (-4) gram. Little Owl 201 (+1) and the Hoopoe 90 (-2) gram. This morning we have temporarily removed the splint from the foot of the White Stork to see if there was improvement: a beginning of moving the toes could be detected !! After 11 o’clock a fellow-villager came with a doggie, which hardly anymore could stand on her legs > one had visited already 2 Vets and both had prescribed something else !! The she-doggie (± 1,5 years old) was so fat, that the hart- & lung-function was hindered. Laxatives were given. Further not in the statistics. At 3.30 p.m. was remarked that the juvenile Buzzard (08-154; August 14^th ’08) was sitting disconsolately at the water-basin. Caught and examined: showed to have a very thick (and closed) right eye > carefully opened (fluid was gushing out) and lots of “cheese” round the eye-bulb could be removed. Eye was treated with Cavasan-cream and the bird was placed again in the Sick-Bay. 

Total amount of visitors this month:  077                     (total this year: 408)

Kinds of animals who are mentioned like this were for the first time in treatment in the L.W.H.

Amount of kilometers (Animal-Ambulance) for bringing-in/releasing animals this month 254 (total this year 2726 kilometers)

Total amount of intakes this month: 21 [wild ones: 16; others 05], (total this year 179: wild ones 137, others 042; total since the start of registration in 1996: 3990) of which:

COMMON SWIFT (Apus apus): 1 juvenile from/via Mytiléne. Was 22 gram and received a green ring. According to the bearers he had fetched the bread with both legs and eaten from it . . . . (see as well August 3^rd).

PUPPY (Canis familiaris): 2; the first was a ± 5 months old female from Skála Kallonís. Should have two broken rear-legs. Showed however having only a huge hemorrhage in the right thigh (knocked-down ?? Or received a huge kick from some-one ??). The euthanasia-materials could be placed-back and the Dutch tourist & Greek driver could be reassured. The doggie left the L.W.H. walking on 4 legs !! The 2^nd was a ± 2 months old male; was knocked down and had severe internal bleedings (the belly was shimmering completely blue). Put down.

TOM-CAT (Felis catus): 2; the first was “Moortje”. Taken-in over here October 5^th 2007 and started to have evidently “tom-cat-habits”. So we have changed him from a bass into a soprano and he was within half an hour after the surgery back in home. The 2^nd was a white-with-black little one, ± 2 months old, of which the left eye was quite pussy > cleaned and CAVASAN-cream was used. As well Lincospectin was injected. Received after some days the name “RiSta”, because he has a black Ring at the beginning of the tail (Staart > Dutch for tail).

BUZZARD (Buteo buteo): 3; the first was an adult male from Kratigós. Was quite diminished (480 gram in stead of at least 550 gram). No injuries could be discovered, but more than 20 ticks were removed from the head. 

The 5^th  a P.M. was performed on her (showed to be a female, and thus the body-weight was much too low: should have been in between 700 – 1200 !!). Cloacae was filled and intestines half-filled. In the pericard a foamy fluid was discovered. In both lungs in the lower lobs as well fluid. The ultimate cause of death had been suffocation due to vomited food and drinks. The 2^nd was a young bird (*2008), which one had fished out of the sea close to the air-port . . . . !! Was only 399 gram !! So again a victim of the changing climate, because with the keel on the sternum one could shave oneself !! The prognosis . . . . ??

(see as well August 15^th, 23^rd & 31^st). The 3^rd was discovered at Paralía Thermís > was announced as a Goshawk, but was a juvenile Buzzard. Was covered with parasites and fly eggs. Body-weight at intake was 441 gram. Had been in contact as well with rotting meat > was covered herein as well. So first livening up and thereafter cleaning.

(see as well August 23^rd). P.M. No injuries could be detected in the muscles of the body. In the belly the intestines were half-filled. It showed to have been a female (ovaries was detected). Organs without specific problems. Skull: injury above the left eye was indeed quite small. Above the right eye there was an immense skin-rupture with lots of maggots. Huge hemorrhage till in the skull-bone. Cause of death: subdural or epidural hemorrhage due to being hit with a blunt object while the bird was already quite weakened (should have been in between 600 and 1200 gram !!) 

PIGEON (Columba livia dom.): 2 juveniles from Mytiléne. The 1^st only trying to rear, because nothing was wrong. (see as well August 24^th). The 2^nd was discovered in the streets the evening before intake with lots of cats around > they had really had a “party” because we Pigeon was more looking like Swiss Cheese > so lots of holes !! On top of the skull quite a huge injury; closed with 2 agrafes. The neck was open completely from the left side back-wards till right side front (contra-clock-wise) > lots of stitches were needed. Hole in the crop and an injury left side on the back. At once placed under a heavy Lincospectin-cure. (see as well August 16^th).

DARK BARN OWL (Tyto a. guttata): 2; the first was a juvenile from Akrotíri. Was at intake 229 gram.

The 7^th he was standing more like a real owl in his cage.

(The 2^nd came from Mytiléne and was a bird hatched this year, but already full-grown. Should have been knocked-down by a car and as result a broken wing (according to the vet). Only not a single little fracture could be detected (but lots of gluing seeds). Was quite a lot under-weighted: 203 gram in stead of at lest 300 gram !! Received blue ring.

(see as well August 28^th & 29^th). P.M.: no injuries could be detected. Stomach was tolerable filled with half digested food, but the intestines were collapsed completely > so the bird was already too far gone to make it.

CAT (Felis catus): 1 from the L.W.H. > “Snipper” (ex 07-200; October 13^th ’07). Was quite in heat (2 eggs ready for “release” were detected) and before she will be rehomed in Holland the “joy of mother-hood” was taken-away from her.

HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus): 1 quite small juvenile from our village > so we’re trying to rear it again.

COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto): 3; the first was a juvenile from ??? Was delivered at the Shell-Petrol-Station. The 2^nd was an adult and discovered in Mytiléne. One had visited already the vet Giórgos Palaiológos and according to him there were evidently no fractures . . . . !! In spite of this diagnosis the bird was transferred to us. However: injury in the arm-pit of the right wing with multiple fractures till in the end of the hand-part . . . . !! (see as well August 24^th). The 3^rd came from Mytiléne, was a juvenile and had lost due to ?? the right eye: thick scab, which was removed here. Almost cured injury hereunder. Received red ring.

ROCK-DOVE (Columba livia): 1 adult female from Mytiléne. Was missing from the right wing almost all the flight-feathers and from the tail and the feathers above the tail nothing was left-over.

WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia): 2 juveniles, the first was discovered in or around Mesótopos. Was announced as a “kind of injured duck”. Has an older injury on the right leg, just below the knee, with stuck tendons for the foot (foot is contorted). Not yet clear if this a shot-injury.

(see as well August 28^th & 31^st). The 2^nd came from the neighborhood of the salines in Skála Polichnítos: older injury left wing. Hand-part already dead. Lots of maggots. For the time being only splinted.

(see as well August 28^th & 29^th). The 30^th we have tried to amputate the wing > however the maggots were already above the elbow, so an amputation was and hardly possible and no livable life should be left-over > with lots of pain in our harts put down. And till the last breath he/she was fighting . . . . !!

EURASIAN HOOPOE (Upupa epops): 1 adult from Mytiléne: fracture left wing (radius & ulna) with immense hemorrhages > splinted.