October 2008

LOG-BOOK:

News about the environment in blue

October 1st: all patients were still alive early this morning; even the severe injured tortoise from yesterday. The Long-eared Owl was 275 (=) and the Little Owl 207 (-2) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 310 (+3), blue 321 (+5) and purple 333 (+6) gram. The Kestrel was 190 (=) and the Goshawk 802 (+17) gram. From both baby tortoises the “home-bred” had remained the same (16 gram) and the other was 17 (+1) gram. The injured Spurr-tighed Tortoise  has spent some hours in the sun outside, but she hasn’t yet eaten. The injured pigeon, which was announced yesterday and should be placed on the coach to our village . . . . was of course delivered at the Shell-Petrol-Station and we were without a car . . . !! So Tjarda has mounted her scooter and picked-up the bird. See further at PIGEON. At 3 p.m. a phone-call from the Agrotikí Stégi that over there were two tourists who had seen a bird of prey falling dead from the sky > they should pass-by to report this. Five minutes later a phone-call from Mytiléne about a juvenile pigeon, discovered in the streets > they should come and bring the bird. The tourists (1 Frenchman and his Turkish girlfriend; both from Constantinople)

were here at 3.25 p.m. and they could show pictures from a female Marsh Harrier, which was eating from a dead chicken, flew up and thereafter dropped dead from the sky . . . . !! Probably the chicken was placed as poisoned bite for foxes.

The young pigeon arrived at 3.35 p.m. > see further at PIGEON. And while the tourists we showed around, two children arrived with their moribund Canary-bird > had all kinds of feather-deformations and died in our hands (not in the statistics).

Dead bear

A brown bear found dead at the foot of Mount Askio in northern Greece had been shot, conservationists said yesterday. The 12-year-old male bear, weighing 200 kilos, was found by a rural police officer in the area.

At 9.05 p.m. still a phone-call from Mytiléne about an injured gull > will be sent tomorrow (if still alive) by coach.

October 2nd:  all patients were still alive this morning !! For today we have again a yellow weather-alert due to expected thunderstorms. The Long-eared Owl was 277 (+2) and the Little Owl 204 (-3) gram. The last one is diminishing nice and slowly, because became too fat !! Dark Barn Owls: orange 305 (-5) but had vomited a lot yesterday, blue 327 (+6) and purple 340 (+7) gram. The Kestrel, which is without a bandage since yesterday, was 191 (+1) and the Goshawk 805 (+3) gram. Baby-tortoises: the “home-bred” was 17 (+1) and the other as well 17 (=) gram. At 11.50 a.m. we had the announced gull in our possession > see at YELLOW-LEGGED GULL. It shows that the rear-legs of the injured Spurr-tighed Tortoise aren’t “working” during walking > she is only using the  front-legs. So is there a damage of the spinal cord as well ?? Not impossible, because the leg-reflex is present !! After the siesta 2 Dutch visitors.

October 3rd:  no victims this morning !! The weather-alert is still yellow, but yesterday we’ve only seen dark clouds. The Long-eared Owl was 278 (+1) and the Little Owl 205 (+1) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 206 (+1), blue 333 (+6) and purple 347 (+7) gram. The Kestrel was 194 (+3) and the Goshawk 812 (+7) gram. Both baby tortoises were unchanged 17 gram. At 7.10 a.m. it started raining . . . . !! And with intervals that remained so the whole morning. At 9.38 a.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne (from the well-known to us María Koufáki), that she had been present last night in Paralía Thermís seeing a bird falling from the sky and ending up on a cat. Hearing the description it can be a Little Bittern. Will be sent by the 11 o’clock coach. And they came and brought the bird themselves > see further (indeed) at LITTLE BITTERN. Both bearers, one from Afálonas and the other (half Greek, half English) from London, had a guided tour around as well. We were able to clean the injury on the breast of the neglected Pigeon and could close (temporarily) the injury with 6 agrafes.

October 4th:  the quite heavy thunderstorms of last night did hardly harm us in any case. The Long-eared Owl was 279 (+1) and the Little Owl 204 (-1) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 305 (-1), blue 346 (+13) and purple 358 (+11) gram. The Little Bittern was 87 (+1), the Kestrel 192 (-2) and the Goshawk 817 (+12) gram. Both baby tortoises were unchanged 17 gram. The juvenile (not injured) Pigeon, which did quite well yesterday, was discovered at the 1st feeding-round being quite cold and languid. Was swallowing difficult. Discovered not alive anymore at 8.20 a.m. > no P.M. was done. We have discovered in the mouth of the Goshawk several strange white spots, which are located under the mucous membrane > ???

Heavy floods kill one, wreck homes in western Greece

The wreck of a pickup truck that was swept away, with a couple in it, by floodwaters in western Greece sits on a riverbank yesterday. Rescue workers found the body of the 47-year-old man close to the wreck. The search for the man’s 45-year-old wife was still under way late last night. The flooding started early yesterday following two hours of torrential rain. Dozens of stores and homes were damaged.

Rescue workers in the western prefecture of Aitoloacarnania recovered the body of a 47-year-old man yesterday and were searching for his 45-year-old wife after heavy rain caused a local river to break its banks and sweep away their pickup truck late on Thursday.

Two solid hours of torrential rainfall on Thursday night wreaked widespread damage across the region but one of the worst-affected spots was the village of Potamoula, where the couple’s car was washed off a bridge. Local residents said the couple had probably been on their way home as the wrecked vehicle was discovered not far from their house.

Rescue workers found the car early yesterday and discovered the body of Giorgos Papathanassis, a father of three, a few hours later. There had been no sign of Stavroula Papathanassi by evening, when additional rescue workers were dispatched to the area from Athens.

There were reports of several other parked vehicles being swept away by floodwaters but no word of any injuries.

Several homes, stores and stables were wrecked by the torrents. In some parts, floodwaters demolished entire walls, rushing into homes and sweeping electrical appliances and furniture out into the submerged streets.

“I have never seen rain like this, it was truly torrential,” the prefect of Aitaloacarnania, Thymios Sokos, told Kathimerini, noting that a local water tank was clocking 1.000 cubic meters of water a second.

There were also several landslides in the broader area, causing problems on roads. In the prefecture of Evrytania, local authorities were forced to close off a large section of the national highway after fallen rocks cluttered the road surface.

The municipality of Trikala was affected too, chiefly its road network. “A huge boulder fell onto one of our main roads,” said Evangelos Mamalis, a local prefectural official.

The girl from Mólivos, who had brought the knocked-down dog September 24th and who is now caring for him (he became a house-dog !!), passed-by with the dog > is almost 100% now !! The vet in Kallonís, they visited the day after the accident, had given him the name “Lázaros”, because “indeed he was awakened from the death . . . . !!” (so see for this dog September 24th and following days). She had a tour around. We have discovered that in both rear-legs of the injured Spurr-tighed Tortoise a tiny, tiny bit of movement is coming back !!!!!!! And as well the first food (little bit) and fluid could be given !! From the left foot of the adult Long-legged Buzzard we could remove about the last pieces of dead tissue. She didn’t appreciate this so much . . . .

October 5th:  there still is a yellow weather-alert because of expected thunderstorms, but this should stop around midday. The pool in the outside-pen of the Shearwater seems to leak . . . . !! The Long-eared Owl was 280 (+1) and the Little Owl 199 (-5) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 297 (-8), blue 345 (-1) and purple 358 (=) gram. The Little Bittern was 88 (+1), the Kestrel 192 (=) and the Goshawk 821 (+4) gram. From both baby tortoises our “home-bred” had remained the same (17) and the other was 18 (+1) gram. We have removed the agrafes from the Corn Crake’s crop-injury; the remaining little holes were closed with Hansaplast-bandage-spray. The hanging cast is removed from the wing of the Yellow-legged Gull > can’t stretch the wing completely yet. After midday we noticed that in Greece the ADSL was “flat” again, so we were without Internet. We could hear on a voice-mail that “we’re busy to repair it”, but it’s a Sunday and it’s hunting-season, so . . . ?

The fault was repaired only at 4.45 p.m. !! With quite a risk for our finger-tops we have been able to force-feed a bit the Spurr-tighed Tortoise “Sophie” !!

October 6th:  all were still alive this morning, although the Corn Crake was quite lethargic > should be released as soon as possible. The Long-eared Owl was 278 (-2) and the Little Owl 201 (+2) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 298 (+1), blue 353 (+8) and purple 374 (+16) gram. The Kestrel was 196 (+4), the Goshawk 828 (+7) and the Little Bittern 91 (+3) gram. Both baby tortoises were 17 gram.

Release:

At 9.15 a.m. is released very, very well the Little Bittern at the Mylopótamos-river > was flying away on the spot !! The as well taken with us Corn Crake was so little “active”, that a release was decided “not meaningfully” and is taken back.

Today 17,590 kilo of meat had to be processed (for 115,21 Euro), which is done by both ladies. Total now this year 577,174 kilo for 3730,18 Euro. Stratis from the Agrotikí Stégi had been to the place where the Marsh Harrier had dropped dead from the sky (see October 1st) and  he could tell that the legs of the chickens were tied together, that poison was on top of their corpses with lots of dead insects around !! We received 3 Dutch visitors this morning.

Greece ‘signs pact’ to delay CO2 plan

A second Polish diplomat has confirmed the reported participation of Greece in an initiative being taken by a handful of relatively new European Union states aimed at stalling the EU’s plans for curbing global warming, Skai and Kathimerini have learned.

According to Andrea Jankowski, a diplomat at Poland’s embassy in Athens, Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias signed an accord with his Polish counterpart, Maciej Nowicki, at the end of last week calling for the postponement of EU measures aimed at cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a fifth by 2020.

The comments by Jankowski followed a statement by a spokesperson for Nowicki, Joanna Mackowiak. “(Nowicki) signed in Greece an agreement referring to the climate package... we have the blocking minority,” Mackowiak was cited by Reuters as saying late on Thursday. Under the EU’s voting rules, some decisions may be blocked by a certain number of member states representing enough voting power. In the case of the climate change plan, Poland is believed to have the backing of Hungary, Slovakia, Roman and Bulgaria as well as Greece.

Some countries are trying to create a “front” in order to delay the implementation of EU measures, Barbara Helfferich, a spokesperson for European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, told Skai.

Asked to comment, Deputy Environment and Public Minister Stavros Kaloyiannis denied that Souflias had signed an accord with Poland but said that a meeting had taken place in Athens between the two ministers.

So it isn’t always the Greek crew which is to blame, but more the infra-structure of the harbors:

Not so serene

A Bahamas-flagged cruise liner struck a pier while sailing into Piraeus early yesterday morning but no injuries were reported. The Crystal Serenity, which had been carrying 620 passengers, was undergoing repairs late yesterday.

And herewith is shown that paper in Greece is patient, but that the practice is different:

Natura areas lacking protection

Most areas of the country included in the European Union’s Natura program are actually entirely unprotected as the state has failed to determine what land use is permitted or forbidden and has formed only a handful of committees to oversee these precious biotopes, environmental experts have told Kathimerini.

“Natura areas are essentially unprotected due to a lack of political will,” said Margarita Arianoutsou, an eco-biologist from Athens University. She said each zone should have a nucleus, which would enjoy total protection, with zones radiating outward where certain activities and use of land would be allowed.

The 371 Natura-protected areas include the Evros Delta, Lake Koroneia, Mount Parnitha, the Prespes Lakes and the National Marine Park of Alonissos. But the existing 27 organizations oversee just a third (87) of these, experts say. The remaining 284 Natura areas are only protected on paper. “Most Natura areas have not been delineated or divided into zones,” said Theodota Nantsou of WWF Hellas. The classification of an area as “Natura-protected” is no guarantee that it will be shielded from natural or human intervention, Nantsou said. “A case in point is Mount Parnitha, where nothing has been done to minimize the risk of forest fires,” she said. “We should not have to wait for the destruction of a protected area before we take measures,” she added.

Environmental experts agree that special studies are crucial but the implementation of these studies is even more important and in this area scientists should cooperate with local authorities. “This will ensure that measures are taken that are acceptable to all and that the word Natura does not provoke skepticism among local communities.”

An area that does not fall under the Natura umbrella but whose unique natural beauty has fueled protests from environmentalists objecting to illegal construction is the island of Santorini. A special study aimed at curbing illegal building on the island has yet to be signed by the Environment and Public Works Ministry, Kathimerini has learned. Sources say that much local construction has ignored restrictions.

The Corn Crake, which we had placed in the Aviary after the unsuccessful release (maybe sunlight should boost him up a bit) was discovered not alive anymore at midday. With a bit of trouble we start force-feeding “Sophie”, but busy swallowing the mouth was re-opened and reopened, so we could “cram” lettuce and tomato. Did the only remnant Pigeon refuse to eat completely today, at 5.45 there was no life at all in him anymore . . . !!

October 7th:  the Long-eared Owl was 280 (+2) and the Little Owl 203 (+2) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 287 (-1), blue 357 (+4) and purple 356 (-18 !! > we noticed this morning there has been vomiting a lot yesterday). Kestrel 201 (+5) and the Goshawk 832 (+4) gram. Both baby tortoises were 18 (+1) gram.

Release:

At 10.004 a.m. was released quite well in the Tsianás-river the Yellow-legged Gull (08-192), which had come-in October 2nd with fish-hooks in the wing. There was started with a comprehensive bath !!  

CO2 accord was ‘verbal’

A Polish diplomat yesterday refuted reports that the Greek and Polish environment ministers had co-signed an accord involving other European Union states aimed at stalling the EU’s plans for curbing global warming but confirmed that a verbal agreement had been reached.

“Greece signed no such accord,” Joanna Mackowiak, a spokesperson for Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki, told Skai. But Mackowiak added that “there was a verbal agreement with (Greek Environment Minister) Giorgos Souflias and his Polish counterpart.”

Mackowiak was speaking after comments by Andrea Jankowski, a diplomat at Poland’s embassy in Athens, referring to the alleged participation of Greece in an initiative aimed at stalling the EU climate change plan. Still Mackowiak said Poland and Greece “have common problems as regards the EU energy package and emissions trading system and so we agreed on a joint strategy.”

And one can read in extensive what are worth promises from politicians over here:

Greek villagers despair, demand help after fires

Little progress since last year’s lavish pledges


A man pulls a cart in front of a house undergoing restoration at Makistos village, in southwestern Greece in a photo taken late August. Among the charred remains of homes and fields, villagers lay flowers on the graves of their dead and say they are losing hope of ever resurrecting their lives from the ashes of last summer’s wildfires.

The blazes, which raged for 10 days and were the worst in memory, killed 65 people, destroyed homes and obliterated olive trees, vineyards, and half of the forests in the southern Peloponnese peninsula.

Politicians declared a state of emergency and promised millions of euros in aid, just weeks before a general election. But a year later, with the vote safely out of the way, villagers say almost nothing has been done. Some people fear the blazes may have dealt a deathblow to hoteliers, olive oil producers and farmers who saw 180,000 hectares of land on the Peloponnese turn black.

Many communities were already struggling to survive in one of the poorest regions in the Euro zone. Some residents had long accused the government of neglecting rural areas, leaving young people to seek better lives in cities. “We are completely forgotten by everyone. A year has gone by and I'm thinking of just picking up and leaving. I have no life here,” said Aris Vassopoulos, 34, a restaurant owner who saw his business and home in the village of Artemida go up in flames.

Greece's largest jewelry maker Folli Follie paid for the reconstruction of his restaurant - one of several businesses to fund reconstruction - but it stands empty as Vassopoulos says he has still received no compensation from the government to equip it.

Twenty-six of 110 villagers perished in Artemida in the southwest Ilia region, which was the hardest hit by the fires. Most of those killed, including a mother and her four children, died as they fled the burning village in cars. The small shrines which residents erected by the roadside where they lost friends and relatives provide the only dashes of color in a carbon-black landscape.

Those people left behind blame the conservative government, re-elected with a thin majority after the fires, for lacking a plan to revive their region. The government says the fire caused damage worth 0.6 % of Greece's 230-billion-euro economy.

«They gave us promises before the elections but Ilia won't be saved even if hundreds of homes are rebuilt,» said Eugenios Balkamos, the local prefect on environmental issues. “People despair because they see there's no long-term plan and believe they don't have a future here. Ilia will be deleted from the map.”

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis's government spent a total of 107 million euros in emergency relief and said the redevelopment of afflicted areas would be its top priority. It offered 3,000 euros in immediate aid to those affected and provided temporary shelters, while setting up an emergency fund that later raised 200 million euros in private donations. But data released in August showed only 15 % - about 29 million euros - of those donations have so far been spent on reconstruction. This has outraged villagers in Artemida who are still living in 20-square-meter prefabricated houses.

“Within a few months we will know how the rest will be spent,” said the fund's head, Petros Molyviatis, adding delays were caused because residents did not submit requests on time. Molyviatis admitted nearly 3 million euros from the emergency fund were disbursed to reforest Olympia ahead of the torch-lighting ceremony in March for the Beijing Games.

Greece is grappling with a slowing economy and a huge debt burden - standing around 95 % of gross domestic product. Growth has averaged 4.2 percent a year since it joined the Euro zone in 2001, but economists expect it to slow to 3 %  this year.

Economists warn of serious long-term effects for the Peloponnese unless quick measures are taken to compensate people for fire damage: If agriculture is not revived, jobs will be lost and local businesses shut down. Nearly four out of five people work in tourism and agriculture. “As a result of this trend, the local economy will be trapped in stagnation or will even shrink,” said Nikos Magginas, an economist at the National Bank of Greece.

With some of the country's most treasured landscapes, the Peloponnese welcomes 1.5 million tourists every year and produces one-third of the country's main export, olive oil. About 40 % of the peninsula's olive groves were destroyed by the fires and compensation has yet to be paid for replanting. Environmentalists say destroyed deciduous forests will take at least 20 years to grow again and the fir forests will take around 100 years. Greece's farmers had already seen their incomes shrink because of EU agricultural reforms, increased competition from third countries and volatile weather.

In the foothills of Parnonas Mountain near the historic city of Sparta, 56-year-old Themistocles Charvouros, who lost most of his olive trees and goats, says his few surviving animals have no land to graze.

The Agricultural Ministry, which tasked the Agricultural University of Athens with devising a strategy to revive agriculture, said payouts would be made to stricken farmers by the end of the year. Tourism, which accounts for nearly a fifth of the Peloponnese economy, has also been hit. The local hoteliers association said business fell by 9 percent in the second quarter, year-on-year.

«The phone didn't ring for a long time,» said Antonis Papanikolaou, a hotelier near Sparta, after reassuring one caller that his picturesque village of Polydroso had not been burnt.

«The danger we face is villages inhabited solely by dying old people or the young unemployed,» said Greenpeace Greece director Nikos Charalambidis.

Not Animal Day

One of two dogs guarding an enclosed municipal area in the suburb of Filothei was shot on Sunday, just one day after World Animal Day. A local resident said the person who shot the animal was driving a black Smart car.

The Kestrel had spent the whole day in the Falcon-aviary > tomorrow-morning a check how the body-weight is, because she has had one feeding less today !!

October 8th:  all were still alive this morning. The Long-eared Owl was 281 (+1) and the Little Owl 203 (=) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 302 (+5) and blue 356 (-1) gram. Purple was discovered laying on the bottom with vomited food around > was simmering like a coffee-machine. At once started with antibiotics (15 I.U. Baytril i.m.) and changed to soft food !! The Goshawk was 838 (+6) and the Kestrel 202 (+1) gram > so must have eaten on het own. Today another “testing-day” and with positive results a transfer tomorrow to the Falcon-aviary. Baby-tortoises: the “home-bred” was 18 (=) and the other 17 (-1) gram. The purple Dark Barn Owl (08-180b; September 20th ’08) was discovered not alive anymore at 7.15 a.m.  And while the whole world is worrying about the complete malaise, the Greeks have nothing better to do than . . . .

Strike today

Dozens of flights grounded, public transport disruptions

Public transport employees join a 24-hour strike called by public utilities to protest the government’s privatization plans. Aircraft will remain grounded as air-traffic controllers and Olympic Airlines crews join the action. Ferries will also remain anchored in port.

At 7.08 p.m. a phone-call from our former neighbor in the House-next-door, Panagiótis, that he wanted to pass-by with a puppy, which was vaccinated against typhus, but which had now already diarrhoea for days and was vomiting. They were here at 8.30; deep from the forests. The almost 3 months old Rottweiler was feeling cold and had lost a lot of worms. Because there was vomiting all the time, 25 cc Ringers subcutaneously was given and showed how te repeat this. A bottle of Ringers & syringe with needle was given. Advised to see a vet in the Agrotikí Stégi tomorrow as early as possible. Not in the statistics.

October 9th:  the Long-eared Owl was 281 (=) and the Little Owl 205 (+2) gram. For the latter it remains searching for the exact amount of food which should be fed in one day. Dark Barn Owls: orange 293 (-9_ and blue 361 (+5) gram. The Goshawk was 845 (+7) and the Kestrel 201 (-1) > so not yet a real prove for eating on her own. Baby-tortoises: de “home-bred” was 18 (=) and the other 19 (+2) gram. Had the situation for the white ex-tom-cat “BroBa” (from “Broken Back” > was his intake-reason after being knocked down, 07-133; July 12th ’07) strictly speaking not been like it was before his stay with the Vets in Mytiléne (see May 28th and following days) > it went up and down but every time a bit more down, this morning he had hidden himself again (like the days before) in a corner in the basement of the House-next-door, but was now evidently in pain. We knew this was coming . . . . !! In the presence of almost the whole cat-population from there and from the three humans we have helped him passing-over into another existence . . . . 

Locals protest ‘lagoon threat’

A decision by the Environment and Public Works Ministry to declare the area around Lake Vistonida, in northern Greece, a protected zone includes a loophole that will facilitate industrial development in precious wetlands in the broader region, academics have told Kathimerini.

According to Lázaros Vassileiádis, a professor at the Democritus University of Thrace, most at risk is the Vasova Lagoon, near Kavála, protected under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands. “The pressure has begun for the installation of fuel tanks in the Vasova area,” Vassileiádis said. “We do not want our region to become an energy hub,” he explained, adding that residents were planning protests.

Development in the area would destroy the lagoon and pose a threat to the entire Kavála Gulf, locals say. “We don’t want our area to become Elefsina Bay,” said Dínos Antoniádis, the president of the regional technical chamber.

Meanwhile we have bought a huge plastic barrel (200 liter), which (after being cut to fit) will serve as a new bath for the Shearwater. At 6.40 p.m. a car stopped in front of our door with two Greek men inside (one was brought-up in Germany), who came all around from Mesótopos with a knocked-down doggie. In their hurry coming here (apparently we’re the only on the whole island one can reach in cases of emergency . . . . !!) they had been hit by another car (“old clot”) which hadn’t given way . . . . !! Quite annoying for them (but as well for the knocked-down one) that the doggie, ± 4 months old, at the opening of the boot, succumbed !! Seeing the blood coming out of one ear, it had been in any case brain-damage. Further not in the statistics.

October 10th:  the Municipality most probably hasn’t yet paid the electricity-bill, because nowhere in the village the street-lightning was burning > quite difficult when at 4.50 a.m. one has to take the dogs out !! The Long-eared Owl was 286 (+5) and the Little Owl 205 (=) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 294 (+1) and blue 365 (+4) gram. The Goshawk was 844 (-1) and the Kestrel 205 (+4) gram. So she will be transferred this morning to the falcon-aviary; only again measuring in a couple of days. Baby-tortoises: the “home-bred” was 18 (=) and the other as well 18 (-1) gram. The Kestrel was transferred to the falcon-aviary at 7.45 a.m. Via the village-loudspeaker-system we were informed that the whole island will be next Sunday morning (so the 12th) without electricity from 5 till 11 o’clock !!  As if there exist Greeks who are working already at 5 a.m. . . . !

Fishermen worm their way through Schinias

The seabed off Schinias, northeast of Athens, is being damaged by fishermen who are damaging the marine ecosystem while the local coast guard is powerless to intervene, an investigation by Kathimerini’s Eco magazine has discovered.

Local residents recently complained that they were finding large craters in the seabed. It emerged that these were being created by fishermen using special equipment to blow air at the seabed in order to flush out worms that they use for bait.

Environmentalists say that the practice seriously damages the local marine ecosystem and the quality of the water at Schinias, which is popular with bathers, as the worms help clean the water.

The local coast guard has not been able to catch the fishermen in the act as it does not have any divers.

Greece fails UN emissions test

A United Nations committee yesterday deemed that Greece had failed to demonstrate its ability to adequately measure carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions despite having been given several months to come up with a new plan after its system was deemed unreliable by UN officials in April.

According to the UN’s compliance committee for the Kyoto Protocol, an action plan submitted by Greek officials in July is “inadequate” and means Greece is unfit to re-enter a greenhouse gas emissions trading program from which it was suspended by the UN in April.

The final decision on whether Greece will remain suspended from the program will be taken by the group of United Nations inspectors who visited Athens last month to assess the country’s progress in conforming to UN standards in measuring pollution levels.

Asked to comment, an Environment and Public Works Ministry spokesperson insisted that all was not lost, as the final decision had yet to be taken. But environmental groups expressed outrage yesterday, saying authorities had had plenty of time to improve the situation but had failed to take action in a timely fashion.

“Greece insisted to the committee that everything was alright, which shows that it had no understanding of the UN’s problem,” Dimitris Lalas, the former president of the Athens Observatory, told Kathimerini.

According to Lalas, the extension of Greece’s suspension from the emissions trading program “would create serious problems” as a trial is currently under way to allow businesses in Europe with emissions trading rights to exchange them with those in other parts of the world.

The conservation group WWF Hellas was even more scathing in its criticism. “The continued exclusion of our country indicates that we are not even in a position to fulfill our basic environmental obligations,” WWF Hellas president Dimitris Karavellas said.

At 5.35 p.m. an injured Collared Dove was brought by a fellow-villager > see further at that name.

October 11th:  no further victims in the Sick-Bay this morning. The Long-eared Owl was 284 (-2) and the Little Owl 205 (=) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 299 (+5) and blue 366 (+1) gram. The Goshawk was 855 (+11) gram. Baby-tortoises: they were both 19 (+1) gram. For the coming days our islands have a yellow weather-alert due to stormy weather. We have placed the injured Spurr-tighed Tortoise “Sophie” under a warming-lamp to try her being a bit more active. At 11.10 a.m. the Vet Myrsíni Tourvalí phoned that she should send with the 1.15 a.m.-coach an young pigeon, discovered in a park > probably caught by cats. After the old bath in de Shearwater-pen was removed, the new one (the half barrel) was placed at 11.40 and filled with water > should only be placed a bit more inclined to contain more water. And we’ll have created a place for terrapins as well after that.

Mountain rescue on slippery path

The rescue of a Bulgarian climber on Mount Olympus, northern Greece, earlier this week revealed the absence of coordinated planning in Greece, according to sources, to deal with these types of emergencies even though more than 150,000 people, mostly tourists, have hiked up the mountain this year alone.

According to a member of the fire service, the mountain rescue set up is “in a mess” and volunteers often get in the way of authorities. In contrast, volunteers say that authorities cannot accept that they are vital to the success of rescue operations.

A rescue team on Monday managed to locate a Bulgarian climber who had slipped and fractured his leg in heavy snow on Mount Olympus. The climber was one of a group of nine Bulgarians who became trapped at an altitude of 2,700 meters when the accident occurred. The injured Bulgarian was airlifted to a hospital in Katerini.

However, sources in the fire service said that the effort could have gone disastrously wrong as the Greek Rescue Team, made up of volunteers, took it upon itself to call in a private helicopter to transport them to the scene of the accident.

But the helicopter was forced to land at 2,400 meters due to the snowfall. “Who would be responsible if the helicopter crashed while carrying the injured climber,” commented the member of the fire service, who wished to remain anonymous, adding that an air force Super Puma helicopter had already been dispatched by the EMAK rescue team after the accident was reported.

Volunteer rescuers said that they only hired a helicopter to get them to the injured climber, not to transport him to hospital. They add that they have more know-how and are better equipped than members of EMAK for conducting these types of operations.

Aside from the apparent disagreement between authorities and volunteers, it seems that Greece’s mountain rescue training leaves much to be desired.

Construction of a training center for mountain rescuers in Pieria, northern Greece, began in 2003, but is not due to be completed until the end of this year. To make matters worse, a lack of funding means that the center is probably going to be used as a fire station rather than for its intended purpose.

 At the end of the morning 2 Dutch visitors. The announced pigeon we had in our possession at 1.58 p.m. > see at ROCK DOVE. At 7 p.m. a phone-call from Tjarda, who had heard a smack and howling of a dog > close to her house was laying under a parked car a bleeding, knocked-down dog > so we went for a look and picked him up and we could (and had to) use for the first time the stretcher. See further at HE-DOG.

October 12th:  all was still alive this morning at 4.30 a.m., but the right rear-leg of the knocked-down dog seems to have leaked quite a lot. Meanwhile the yellow weather-alert is abolished for today. Exactly at 5 a.m. the whole island was covered in darkness and this didn’t last till 11 a.m., but till 11.53 (but of course it wasn’t dark anymore at that time !) Measuring and feeding we did with the help of a little lamp on our forehead . . . !! The Long-eared Owl was 301 (+2) and the Little Owl 204 (-1) gram. The Goshawk was 871 (+16), the orange Dark Barn Owl 301 (+2) and the blue one 372 (+6) gram. The “home-bred” baby-tortoise was 18 (=) and the other 20 (+1) gram. The yesterday taken-in Rock Dove is eating on its own ! As soon as we had a bit day-light we have caught and measured the Kestrel: showed to have diminished with 22 gram (now 183 gram), so hasn’t eaten. Will be taken-back for the nighttime and force-fed in the morning and in the evening. It showed to be that the bloody bandage around the right rear-leg from the He-Dog, meanwhile named “Mázzel” (Yiddish for “Luck”) because he had been very lucky that Tjarda had reacted so adequately, didn’t come from that lag, but was leaking from the other leg. The right rear-leg is meanwhile without a bandage. Forced by a lack of electricity we could place the bath in the Shearwater’s pen better now and fasten it well against hard winds; this was done as well with the Papyrus-plant, which is in the bath. Finished at 11 a.m. After electricity had returned, it showed to be that the yellow weather-alert had returned because of stormy winds, but such we had noticed meanwhile !! After the siesta 3 visitors: 2 Dutch people, living in Pétra and 1 Flemish woman, living in Holland. “Mázzel” isn’t only laying anymore, but tries to sit !!

October 13th:  still a yellow weather-alert due to the winds, and we have noticed that evidently !! Which a pleasure it was this morning being capable of in a normal way preparing food and measuring & feeding !! “Mázzel” was sitting nicely straight in his cage and had been quite vivid last night !! The Long-eared Owl was 288 (=) and the Little Owl 204 (=) gram. The Kestrel was 198 (+15) and the Goshawk refused measuring . . . (ow !!).  Dark Barn Owls: orange 311 (+10) and blue 372 (=) gram. Baby-tortoises: both had diminished with 1 gram and they were now 18 and 19 gram. We’ll have a look today if we can find a safe place for the release of the “home-bred” Little Owls. We have given the Rock Dove tablets against worms, but as well against Trichomonadiosis> This will of course be a “shooting with both eyes closed”, but the swallowing and the digestion is going with too many problems !! For the first time in a fortnight (the time she is here) “Sophie” has produced stools: we were quite well aware of that because we could completely change clothes . . . . !! “Mázzel” had weed (clear !!) and outside walked two steps > due to this we could see that there is no serious spinal injury and as well that there is no fracture of the right leg as well. The injury is and stays nicely clean and we continue with the Dermisol-solvens. Hereafter he was stánding for a while in his cage . . . . !!

Releases:

After having checked first quite well if there were possibilities for a release, we could release at 10.37 a.m. in a hole in the basement of the old water-mill next to the Mylopótamos-river the four “home-bred” Little Owls of this year: green (08-078; June 4th) and orange, silver and blue (08-088abc, June 11th). Blue escaped twice from the hole and choose at once freedom.

Today again a “bloody, endless self-repeating history”: 16,685 kilo of meat, liver and minced meat (for 112,90 Euro) had to be processed. Total now this year 593,859 kilo for 3843,08 Euro. Since this afternoon there is no weather-alert anymore.

October 14th:  the Rock Dove, which was doing after the given medication of yesterday a bit better, was in spite of that discovered dead at 5.50 a.m. “Mázzel” had a good night; making water is ok, but till now on still no droppings. The Long-eared Owl was 185 (-3) and the Little Owl 205 (+1) gram. The Kestrel was 194 (-4) and the Goshawk, which was more friendly this morning, 868 (-3) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 310 (-1) and blue 374 (+2) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 20 (+2) and the other 19 (=) gram. We had to remove the agrafes from the belly of “Mázzel” because otherwise he should have removed them himself (like he has done with the one in the penis). The leg-injuries don’t smell badly, so that’s a good omen. At 9.18 a.m. a phone-call from our village that somewhere was roaming around a bleeding cat > told them that they should bring him over here. And at 1.40 p.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne about 2 little tortoises, which people had already for 2 months > will be sent tomorrow by the 11 o’clock-coach. At 4 p.m. still no injured cat was seen here . . . . !! At 7.15 p.m. “Mázzel” produced his first droppings over here: by own force and with a normal consistence !!

October 15th:  it’s raining !! “Mázzel” has last night perfectly produced water néxt to his sleeping-place !! The Long-eared Owl was 290 (+5) and the Little Owl 203 (-2) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 303 (-7) and blue 374 (=) gram. The Goshawk was 872 (+4) and the Kestrel 196 (+2) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 19 (-1) and the other 20 (+1) gram. We received 2 Dutch visitors. For “nothing” we went down to the Petrol-station: both tortoises were (of course) not aboard !!

Strong quake

An undersea quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale rattled the island of Evia early yesterday but there were no injuries or damage reported. Initial reports said the quake, off the island’s northern coast, had a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter scale, putting rescue services on standby.

October 16th:  “Mázzel” has shown last night having quite a good stools (we could find the turds everywhere in the Sick-Bay !!), but as well a tail-waggling was seen this morning !! The Long-eared Owl was 290 (=) and the Little Owl 206 (+3) gram. The Kestrel was 207 (+11 !!) and the Goshawk 879 (+7) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 307 (+4) and blue 384 (+10) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 21 (+2) and the other 20 (=) gram. Changing the bandages around “Mázzel’s” leg we noticed that several pieces of dead skin were coming free. And after we had read in the newspapers, and endless repeated heard on the radio that the three ferries, which connect Mytiléne with Pireaus, the “Mytiléne”, the “Theóphilos” and the “Taxiárchis” should disappear to Egypt and will leave an immense gap, we could read on the Internet the following:    

Islanders lose ferry service

The islands of the Cyclades will be left without the ferry service that usually connects them from tomorrow as the vessel plying that route has been deemed unseaworthy.

The “Panaghia Chozoviotissa” failed an inspection and subsequently lost its safety certificate, joining the “Panaghia Tinou”, which was anchored in June for the same reason.

Representatives from the islands yesterday stressed the seriousness of their situation during a meeting with Merchant Marine Ministry officials. Cyclades Prefect Dimitris Bailas insisted on immediate action to provide ferries for the islands, stressing that residents need to be able to depend upon regular service. “Residents of the Cyclades are being treated as second-class citizens,” Bailas remarked in a letter sent to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

A senior ministry official, Christos Kourousis, said that a new tender for so-called “unprofitable routes” had attracted several firms offering new vessels.

The airlines will rub their hands, but how all those islands will be provisioned is quite a good question . . . . !! Our ambulance passed without problems the 2-yearly inspection. At 12.34 p.m. the whole island was without electricity (reason unknown) and piece by piece this was restored. We had again power at 1.13 p.m. At 4.38 p.m. two fellow-villagers (he is a city-counselor) were at our door with an injured bird > see at COMMON MOORHEN. Both Dark Barn Owls had spent the time since midday in “The Keep” and it showed that the orange one indeed isn’t capable of flying (well); blue is capable.

October 17th:  the Long-eared Owl was 290 (=) and the Little Owl 208 (+2) gram. The Kestrel was 199 (-8) and the Goshawk 885 (+6) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 304 (-3) and blue 381 (-3) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home bred was 21 (=) and the other 20 (=) gram. And writing this, at 6.32 a.m. suddenly electricity disappeared again, to return exactly one quarter of an hour later. The injuries of “Mázzel” are closing slowly. “Sophie” has spent some hours in the sun, till she was approached sexually quite hotly, and her shell still can’t stand that, so we had to take her back-in again. Both Dark Barn Owls have spent the afternoon again in “The Keep”.

October 18th:  the Long-eared Owl was 295 (+5) and the Little Owl 204 (-4) gram. The Kestrel was 200 (=1) and the Goshawk 886 (+1) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 304 (=) and blue 384 (+3) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 21 (=) and the other 22 (+2) gram. “Sophie” was this morning not like the previous mornings: very lethargic, the mouth could be opened much too easy and was filled with slime. She was placed under the red lamp to see if we could get some more activity in her, but . . . . ?? Even when she was placed in the sun, she remained lethargic > the eyes aren’t clear as well. “Mázzel’s” belly-injury is almost closed; he has walked already about 10 meters to find his own spot to relieve himself. And because the hunting-season is open, the “gentlemen-hunters” have the idea they are allowed coming in every property; if one objects to, the following can happen:

Farmer beaten

A farmer from Mantineia, near Tripoli in central Greece, was hospitalized yesterday after an attack on Thursday afternoon when two hunters violently beat him on his farm. The hunters are alleged to have set upon the farmer after the latter spotted them on his land and asked them to leave.

At 5.30 p.m. “Sophie” had almost passed-away: hardly any reaction anymore and slime continued dripping from the mouth. And this was still the case at 9.30 p.m. . . . .

October 19th:  there is no weather-alert, but the winds are blowing so strongly, that we should take care with opening doors, otherwise they’re booming out of one’s hands !! The shutters of the house are almost all closed. In the Sick-Bay we were greeted by a walking-around “Mázzel” !! “Sophie” was still present, but it’s the question what is still impressing her . . . . !! The Long-eared Owl was 295 (=) and the Little Owl 205 (+1) gram. The Kestrel was 201 (+1) and the Goshawk 893 (+7) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 307 (+3) and blue 388 (+4) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 22 (+1) and the other 21 (-1) gram. “Mázzel’s” leg-injuries are becoming more clean; however, changing the bandages still has to be done with the help of a muzzle, because this isn’t discovered as “nice”. At 9.15 a.m. “Sophie” was still with us. At 1.45 p.m. a well-known young fellow-villager was at our door with a Canary-bird in a small cage. In one way or another the little one had an open, bleeding fracture of the elbow. Only a little bandage was given, because the prognosis is absolutely infaust. Further not in the statistics.

October 20th:  “Sophie” still showed some reactions at 5.10 a.m. !! The Long-eared Owl was 297 (+2) and the Little Owl 205 (=) gram. The Kestrel was 204 (+3) and the Goshawk 895 (+2) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange (which had refused to eat yesterday-evening) was 300 (-7) and blue 392 (+4) gram. When the latter is above the 400 gram, we’re beginning the release. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 22 (=) and the other 21 (=) gram. Meanwhile we think we know why “Sophie” is in such a bad condition: since her arrival here (September 30th) she absolutely hasn’t weed > so there is a malfunction of the kidneys. As well we have discovered that the rear legs don’t show a reflex anymore and are only “hanging”. Today meat had to be processed again and both ladies, reinforced by Janice and later as well Douglas, prepared 17,025 kilo (for 111,13 Euro). Total now this year 610,884 kilo for 3954,21 Euro. The wing-injury of the Goshawk is at last closing (NB: was taken-in over here September 4th !!). At 4.30 p.m. we received a crew from Skai-TV, which came to make a commentary about our work. When at 6 p.m. they wanted to make a close-shot outside with the orange Dark Barn Owl, that one showed suddenly being capable of flying (although hesitatingly) and it took 20 minutes, the use of ladders and the disturbing of several neighbors before we had the bird again in our possession. And this all before the eye of the running camera !! He has showed being capable of flying, but landing (and the complete use of the legs) is still not yet possible !!

Oktober 21st:  “Sophie” is still with us !! The Long-eared Owl was 299 (+2) and the Little Owl 204 (-1) gram. The Kestrel was 205 (+1) and the Goshawk 894 (-1) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 303 (-7) and blue 391 (-1) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 22 (=) and the other 22 (+1) gram. “Mázzel” has spent, after the changing of the bandages, the whole morning in our living. “Sophie” was still alive after midday, but the flame is burning lower and lower.        

KYOTO PROTOCOL

Greece to be allowed back in

Greece looks set to be reinstated to the emissions-trading system of the Kyoto Protocol as a team of United Nations experts has found during a visit to Athens that the country’s measuring systems are up to scratch, sources said yesterday. Greece was suspended from taking part in the UN’s scheme in April after inspectors found that methods for testing pollution levels were inadequate. But it has emerged that in a report due next month, inspectors will say Greece is now in line with international standards.

If in a case of a shipping-disaster mountaineers are launched, one can expect the same:

Tardy rescue

A 35-year-old British woman, who fell into a rocky ravine in Argolida, in the Peloponnese, on Saturday and had to wait several hours to be rescued, was in serious condition in hospital yesterday. After the woman’s fall, her husband sought help. But calls to the coast guard went to an answering machine. By the time the coast guard arrived on the scene, the local fire service had managed to rescue the woman and take her to hospital.

Strike to disrupt transport, services

A nationwide general strike today will disrupt air travel and public transport, shut state offices and paralyze many key services.

Thousands of workers are expected to walk off the job to join the action, called by the main labor union (GSEE) and the civil servants’ union (ADEDY) to protest rising prices and pension reforms.

There will be very little activity at Athens International Airport, as Olympic Airlines (OA) staff stage a walkout and air-traffic controllers hold a work stoppage between noon and 4 p.m. More than 100 flights have been canceled, 75 of them OA flights.

Although the seamen’s union had not called any action by late yesterday, those planning to travel by ferry should contact their local port authority since two smaller unions are striking, which may affect some routes.

Doctors, teachers and journalists will also join the action. Staff at Attica’s main landfill site, northwest of Athens, are striking too, prompting Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis to appeal to citizens not to throw out their trash today as there is nowhere for it to go.

At 4.30 p.m. two Dutch visitors. At 7.38 p.m. suddenly the electricity disappeared (only in our village), returning suddenly at 8.33 p.m., herewith “kicking the bucket” to the satellite-connection . . . . !! So we are without TV and can’t use as well the Video anymore !!

October 22nd:   “Sophie” is still the same . . . . !! “Mázzel” had a nice surprise for us at 5 a.m.: he showed to have had severe diarrhoea last night, and placing him back after his morning-wee of course we didn’t switch on the light (not to disturb other sleeping animals) . . . . So a Double Axel with screw !! The Long-eared Owl was 299 (=) and the Little Owl 204 (=) gram. The Kestrel was 205 (=) and the Goshawk 902 (+8) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 308 (+5) and blue 295 (+4) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 21 (-1) and the other 22 (=) gram. We have started with the re-organizing of the stock of candles and lamps: as well the place where it’s stored, as with the sorting. With all those power-cuts quite necessary. “Sophie” has amazed us by walking around in het cage; the eyes are a bit more bright as well. At 4.55 p.m. the whole re-organizing and re-arranging of the candle- & lamp-stock was finished. Now only light must be made over there.

October 23rd:  all were still alive this morning !! The Long-eared Owl was 303 (+4) and the Little Owl 203 (-1) gram. The Kestrel was 205 (=) and the Goshawk 914 (+12) gram. Dark Barn Owls: orange 304 (-4) and blue 403 (+8) gram. So that one can be released tonight. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 23 (+2) and the other as well 23 (+1) gram. Since yesterday the Shearwater is vomiting all the given food > . . . . ?? At 11.20 a.m. the light in the yesterday finished place was put in.

And when someone is behaving “beastly”, the following is happening (with excuses to the boars):

Hunting accident

A 31-year-old man who went hunting yesterday in the northern prefecture of Pella accidentally shot dead his 30-year-old friend after mistaking him for a wild boar, police said (note L.W.H.: was the man sóó ugly ??). The two men had been out shooting wild duck when the 31-year-old heard a rustle, turned to fire at the prey but ended up shooting his friend in the head.

And “Sophie” has surprised us all by walking in the tortoise-pen and allowing us to feed her a bit !!

Release:

At 5.55 p.m. we have released in the deserted houslet the blue Dark Barn Owl (08-180a; September 20th ’08).

October 24th:  The Scopoli’s Shearwater (08-030; March 20th ’08) was discovered not alive anymore at 5.05 a.m.  The Long-eared Owl was 305 (+2) and the Little Owl 205 (+2) gram. The Kestrel was 207 (+2), the Goshawk 920 (+6) and the (orange) Dark Barn Owl 306 (+2) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 22 (-1) and the other 24 (+1) gram. At 6.15 a.m. no Barn Owl was spotted anymore in the deserted houslet. And still the fishermen have the opinion that áll the fish in the sea belongs to thém, so . . . .

Dead seal

A dead seal that washed up on the island of Milos last week had been shot, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (MOm) said yesterday. Port Authority officials informed MOm of the discovery last Friday. An examination of the seal, a member of the dwindling Monachus monachus species, revealed a gunshot wound in its chest. MOm asked port authority officials to intensify inspections on vessels carrying firearms.

Moderate quake

A moderate undersea quake, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, occurred off the coastal town of Xylokastro, near Corinth, shortly after 5 a.m. yesterday but no injuries or damage were reported.

ANCIENT FARM

Rare find in northern Greece

A prehistoric farmhouse that provides significant information about Neolithic architecture and household life has been unearthed in northern Greece, it was revealed yesterday. “This is a very rare case where the remains have been undisturbed by farming or any other outside intervention for some 6,000 years,” the Culture Ministry said of the discovery, which included crockery and wood-fired ovens, in the village of Sosandra, near Aridaia. “The household goods are in excellent condition,” the ministry said.

“Sophie” has herself drunken water in the tortoise-pen and had walked to do so quite a distance !!

October 25th:  no victims this morning ! The Long-eared Owl was 307 (+2), the Little Owl 207 (+2) and the Dark Barn Owl 304 (-2) gram. The Kestrel was 210 (+3) and the Goshawk 935 (+15) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 24 (+2) and the other 25 (+1) gram. The cage, the Shearwater has spent so many months, was prepared this morning as a winter-cage for “Sophie”: as well light and heating was installed, because she is not allowed to hibernate. And we could feed her quite well today !! And in a country which claims having invented “democracy” it’s not even allowed criticizing the system, because one is quickly on trial:

Asopos is toxic, tests indicate

The Asopos River, from which thousands of residents north of Attica draw their drinking water, is heavily polluted with toxic chemicals, according to recent laboratory tests whose results were made public yesterday.

The tests, carried out by the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME) in February, indicate high levels of chromium, arsenic and lead. But the central water committee of the Environment and Public Works Ministry, which commissioned the study, yesterday played down the findings. Responding to questions submitted by a group of environmental organizations, the committee said the tests had been conducted “on too small a sample to be representative” and called for fresh tests.

“Instead of taking badly needed action, they have ordered a study of the study,” said Nikos Constantopoulos, a lawyer representing the group.

A former ministry inspector is on trial for criticizing the ministry’s alleged failure to protect the river from pollution.

October 26th:  beginning of the winter-time, but we still have risen at the “normal time”, because the animals of course don’t understand those “human shit” and they showed evidently they wanted to go out !! From those extra-time we made a good use by checking the time-clock in Sophie’s cage, which yesterday-evening had some problems. We could make from two old ones one working clock. The Long-eared Owl was 310 (+3), the Little Owl 206 (-1) and the Dark Barn Owl 308 (+4) gram. The Kestrel was 209 (-1) and the Goshawk 932 (-3, but he had produced quite a huge pellet) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 24 (=) and the other as well 24 (-1) gram. We started with the straitening-up and re-organizing of the Surgery: in the last months so many things were donated to us, that we had problems with the storage (and re-finding) of everything !! Today for the first time we could change the bandages around the leg of “Mázzel” without the help of a muzzle !! “Sophie” is a lot more active in her new cage and was fed according to her behavior. The weather was too cold letting her out. The other tortoises are preparing for their hibernation: there is hardly eaten anything. The wing-injury of the Goshawk is almost completely closed now !! Just after 1 p.m. a well-known woman was at our door with a cardboard box, in which a Canary-bird was, which constantly was tumbling. It was true, the nails were too long, but that couldn’t be the reason. Showed to be the bird had locked himself in inside the food-bowl and for a long time (days ??) had been unable to drink. When a bottle with Ringers was placed against the bill and the first drops were inside, he was behaving like a Greek drinking Ouzo > one after the other !! Problem was solver herewith. Further not in the statistics. And were we still full hope about the “working time-clock”, around nightfall it showed it hadn’t worked at all . . . . !!

October 27th:  still not feeling at home due to the winter-time: all kind of things must be done in another point of time because of the light !! The Long-eared Owl was 310 (=), the Little Owl 206 (=) and the Dark Barn Owl 308 (=) gram. The Kestrel was 210 (+1) and the Goshawk 947 (+15) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 25 (+1) and the other 26 (+2) gram. Today again meat had to be processed (17,020 kilo for 109,71 Euro. Total now this year 627,904 kilo for 4063,92 Euro), but as well the regular “cutter” as the “substitute-cutter” were “cut down” due to an otitis. So Ineke has done a lot alone, assisted by the measuring and packing by Tiny, who is on holiday here. Her husband Ger meanwhile was preparing the TV in the House-next-door for the coming of the trainees, so they will have some entertainment as well. We bought 2 time-clocks for the cage of “Sophie”: one for the light and the other for the heating.

Mild quake

An earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck 50 kilometers north of Athens in the gulf south of Evia at 7.20 p.m. yesterday. The tremor was felt in Athens but did not cause any damage.

And when fire-arms can be bought without any control in “the shop around the corner”, the following can happen easily:

Man shoots dead his son-in-law on Crete

An argument yesterday between a 46-year-old and his father-in-law over where to place some firewood at the family home on Crete ended with the older man shooting his son-in-law dead.

Police said the 80-year-old man shot the 46-year-old in the stomach and neck with a hunting rifle after the pair argued. Officers said they were told that the two men had a fractious relationship. The incident took place in front of two of the younger man’s three children.

After the shooting in Iraklion, the 80-year-old left the house on foot but turned himself in at a local police station soon afterward.

Police did not name the two men involved, but said that the victim’s first name was Dimitris and that he had been celebrating his name day yesterday.

So a nice party . . . .

October 28th:  the new time-clocks are doing perfectly what they should do !! The Long-eared Owl was 312 (+2), the Little Owl was 204 (-2) and the Dark Barn Owl 305 (-3) gram. The Kestrel was 210 (=) and the Goshawk 963 (+6) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 25 (=) and the other 26 (=) gram. With the help of Tjarda today was processed the last 2,6 kilo of meat. Although “Sophie” has spent some hours in the sun outside, we have covered the netting of her winter-cage with Agrotical plastic to keep the warmth better inside. We’re now checking how warm it will be inside with this covering. In the afternoon measurements gave in any case 28° Centigrade. At 7.34 p.m. a phone-call from Mytiléne about a pigeon, which was caught by a cat > will be brought tomorrow at  ± 9 a.m.

October 29th:  “Mázzel” has had diarrhoea last night and is was quite good we used a little lamp, otherwise it should have been “skating” again . . . . The Long-eared Owl was 311 (-1), the Little Owl 204 (=) and the Dark Barn Owl 300 (-5) gram. The Kestrel was 210 (=) and the Goshawk 950 (-3) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 25 (=) and the other 26 (=) gram. The announced pigeon arrived at 8.30 a.m. > see further at COLLARED DOVE. We used the morning-hours developing a new Status (patient-card); the old one was completely written in Greek and dated yet from 1997 !! The new one is in English.

Greek coasts, marine life at risk

Overfishing threatening unique animals, ecosystems, experts say and propose new ‘inclusive’ marine parks

Greece’s coastline and marine life face irreparable damage over the next few decades unless radical action is taken to protect the region’s unique wildlife and ecosystems, scientists are warning.

No essential measures have been taken to protect dwindling species of animals living off Greece’s coasts nor the unique ecosystems that avert coastal erosion, experts agreed at a seminar in Serres.

Overfishing is another key culprit, destroying Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass endemic to the Mediterranean that protects marine organisms, according to research by the Institute of Marine and Environmental Research of the Aegean Sea, also known as Archipelagos. A similar fate is befalling red algae, crucial to the protection of coral reefs, experts say. “The regions in which these two ecosystems exist have not been delineated and so it is difficult to take measures to protect them, such as the designation of fishing areas,” said Anastassia Miliou of Archipelagos. She also expressed concern about the discovery of 65 dead mammals and reptiles on the country’s coastlines this year – chiefly turtles and seals.

“At a time when other countries are trying to promote their natural wealth by declaring protected areas, we are ignoring our outstanding potential in this area,” Miliou said, noting that Greece is known as “the Noah’s Ark of European seas” due to its vast marine biodiversity. The Mediterranean hosts more than 550 kinds of seaweed and thousands of invertebrates and fish.

Miliou stressed the need for the creation of a new type of marine park “which benefits local communities as well as marine life.” Greece currently has two marine parks – one on the Ionian island of Zakynthos and the second in the western Aegean, the National Marine Park of Alonissos.

Miliou and her colleagues are calling for the creation of a new park in the northern Dodecanese and have already approached local communities on the 87 islands in the region to discuss potential cooperation.

Athens sewage water to be reused

The Environment and Public Works Ministry is planning a project to reuse the hundreds of tons of wastewater that are discharged daily from a sewage-processing unit on the islet of Psyttaleia, off Piraeus, sources have revealed.

The ministry aims to finance a 2-million-euro study intended to lead to reusing up to 250,000 tons of water from the Psyttaleia plant for the irrigation of parks and green spaces in Attica, according to an announcement by the director of the Athens Water and Sewage Company (EYDAP), Costas Costoulas. The water would be purified before being used for irrigation.

The initiative was announced following a meeting between EYDAP staff and members of a group of environmentalists from 16 municipalities in Athens and Piraeus.

It would be the first attempt to recycle some of the 900,000 tons of wastewater believed to be gushing into the sea from Psyttaleia every day.

But sources at EYDAP concede that there are various barriers. These include the absence of the infrastructure required for the water to be transported and purified. Both the transport of the water and the necessary purification facilities will be costly, according to Costoulas.

Another problem is the lack of any legislative framework that would set out conditions for the use of the recycled wastewater.

The practice of reusing water from waste-processing plants for irrigation is widespread and well established in countries such as Israel, Tunisia and Morocco, which have serious drought problems. Greece is considerably less advanced in this area. The most recent study of the issue, in 2001, indicated that virtually all no water discharged from waste facilities was reused, with 45 percent running into the sea, 12 percent into rivers, 32 percent into streams and 7 percent seeping into the ground.

The one initiative that has been taken in Greece to reuse waste water is in Thessaloniki, in a project launched 10 years ago. This year, some 2,500 hectares of farmland in the broader Thessaloniki area was irrigated by purified wastewater.

We could remove the bandage around the wing of the Goshawk.

October 30th:  no victims this morning !! The yesterday taken-in Collared Dove is eating pretty well on its own. The Long-eared Owl was 315 (+4), the Little Owl 203 (-1) and the Dark Barn Owl 296 (-4) gram. The last one will be fed again with sorter food, in the hope this will avoid vomiting !! The Kestrel was 211 (+1) and the Goshawk 957 (+7) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 26 (+1) and the other 27 (+1) gram.

Greece rapped as eco-laggard

Country needs equivalent of ‘three planets’ to sustain current rate of consumption of natural resources, WWF says

Greece needs the equivalent of three planets to sustain its current rate of consumption of natural resources, according to a report by the World Wildlife Fund conservation group (WWF) made public yesterday, which found the country to have one of the worst records in the world when it comes to energy and water use.

Greece’s record is significantly worse than the global average, according to the report, which noted that the Earth overall “needs the equivalent of two planets.”

The report, titled Living Planet, places Greece 11th  from the bottom out of 148 countries assessed in terms of their “ecological footprint.”

Staff at the Greek branch of WWF said this ranking was a foregone conclusion. “Our way of life in Greece has far outstripped our ecological limits and this is chiefly due to a warped mentality which regards the natural environment as an inexhaustible source of resources,” said WWF Hellas director Dimitris Karavellas. He blamed Greece’s poor performance on the country’s excessive consumption of energy, and its reliance on dwindling fossil fuels such as lignite and anthracite, which are highly polluting.

The report also found Greece to be particularly wasteful in its use of water, using around 2.4 million liters of water per person per year – the largest “water footprint” after the USA and nearly double the global average of 1.24 million liters of water per person per year. WWF Hellas blames this chiefly on the wasteful use of water for irrigation and the failure to purify and reuse wastewater.

According to WWF, concessions must be made or the country will face serious shortages which it is not prepared to handle.

“The time has come to make some radical changes to our way of life – changes that will improve our standard of living while reducing our impact on our natural environment,” Karavellas said.

In a statement accompanying the WWF report, Jonathon Loh, of the Zoological Society of London, likened the problem to the global financial crisis.

“We are acting ecologically in the same way as financial institutions have been acting economically – seeking immediate gratification without due regard for the consequences,” he said.

TRANSPORT STRIKES

Airplanes to be hit by employee action today

Dozens of Olympic Airlines flights, mostly domestic routes, will be canceled today as OA workers stage a walkout over the carrier's privatization.

And that’s the reason we didn’t receive post today > no flights !! Today we could feed “Sophie” lots of food. We have given “Mázzel” one Imodium in our efforts getting the diarrhoea under control.

October 31st:  the Long-eared Owl was 314 (-1), the Little Owl 203 (=) and the Dark Barn Owl 294 (-2) gram. The Kestrel was 211 (=) and the Goshawk 969 (+2) gram. Baby-tortoises: the home-bred was 25 (-1) and the other 27 (=) gram. At 8.05 a.m. was discovered in the pigeon-cage in “The Keep” a dead pigeon; we’re still checking which one it was. In any case not one from this year. Due to wild behavior the agrafes on the back of the Collared Dove had loosened > overstitched with Vicryl.

Greek roads trail in EU list

The Greek mainland has the worst record for road deaths of any other mainland region in the European Union, according to statistics released yesterday by the European Commission.

The figure for road deaths on Greece’s mainland was 308 per million residents in 2006, the most recent statistics available. This is nearly double the average of 159 deaths per million residents in the 15 original EU states. Of all 27 EU states, Greece ranks fourth from the bottom on the list ahead of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

It is feared that Greece’s poor record in this area is chiefly due to the Maliakos Gulf, a notoriously dangerous section of road in central Greece, and other hot spots on the national highway linking Athens and Thessaloniki. Contributing to the problem are the large number of cars and motorcycles on the roads and reckless behavior of many motorists. Drunk driving appears to be at relatively low levels but this may be due to the inconsistent reporting of incidents.

Total amount of visitors this month:  019                     (total this year: 487)

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 073 (total this year 3178 kilometers)

Total amount of intakes this month: 09 [wild ones: 08; others 01], (total this year 216: wild ones 166, others 050; total since the start of registration in 1996: 4027) of which:

PIGEON (Columba livia dom): 2 from Mytiléne; the first was neglected completely already for some days (green starvations-droppings). Had an immense hole in the right side of the chest, which was treated with antibiotics-spray (but which was impossible now to stitch). The left wing is thick as well (elbow-joint). (see as well October 3rd & 6th). The 2nd was a juvenile and bone-thin. Feathers were quite dirty as well. (see as well October 4th).

YELLOW-LEGGED GULL (Larus michaellis): 1 adult, discovered in Mytiléne. At arrival at the L.W.H. it showed there were 3 fish-hooks in the left wing: 1 in the skin and the 2 other in the hand-part > are removed all three without problems (for the gull; not for our hands !!). We later heard that in Mytiléne already was removed another fish-hook out of the mouth. (see as well October 5th & 7th).

LITTLE BITERN (Ixobrychus minutus): 1 juvenile from Paralía Thermís > could have been bitten by a cat (Lincospectin will be injected for three days). In any case is too light (only 86 gram i.s.o. 140 – 160 gram).

(see as well October 6th).

COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto): 2; the first one came

from our village. Could have been bitten by a cat > the whole crop was open and it took lots of stitches getting this closed. However, the prognosis isn’t all too well . . . . !! Was taken-in at 5.35 p.m., at 6.15 still alive but not any more at 7.10 p.m. The 2nd came from Mytiléne close to the airport and people had seen the 28th around 6 p.m. that the bird was first bitten by cats and later by a dog. Out of the mouth of the dog the bird was taken away. Two injuries: a small one in the crop (closed with 1 agrafe) and a bigger one on the back (closed with 3 agrafes); both injuries on the left side. Antibiotics (Lincospectin) was injected. The bird is missing as well almost all big tail-feathers.  

ROCK DOVE (Columba livia): 1 quite young one from Mytiléne; was discovered over there with cats around. Is missing in any case all tail-feathers. Is as well bone-thin. Prophylactically antibiotics were injected in case of a cat-bite. (see as well October 14th).

HE-DOG (Canis familiaris): 1 ± 6 months old one. Was bleeding quite heavily from the left rear-leg. Showed to be a quite serious skin-injury with probably damage to the internal bone-structure as well. At the right rear-leg only one nail was ripped-off. Both legs were dressed (the left one with Dermisol-solvens). Two quite huge holes in the belly > closed with 4 agrafes. So observation for all possible and impossible injuries

Late in the evening 1 ampoule of Konakion was injected, because clear blood was coming out of the penis and the right rear-leg (which we had dressed safety-first as well) was leaking blood too. So tomorrow further examinations. (see as well October 12th & following days).

COMMON MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus): 1, discovered in Mytiléne. Was hatched this year and not completely in full colors. Now shot: tip of the upper-bill was missing and was bleeding severely. Both legs on several places penetrated by pellets (with as well fractures as maggots in the injuries) > put down. 

 

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