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A preliminary overview of 
monitoring for raptors in Greece
Predhodni pregled monitoringa populacij 
ptic roparic v Grčiji
Dimitris E. Bakaloudis
School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle 
University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 241, University 
campus, GR–541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece  
e–mail: debakaloudis@for.auth.gr
One of the fundamental concerns in raptors’ 
conservation is the monitoring of their populations 
(Andersen 2007). A long-term monitoring of raptor 
populations can help to identify early threats either 
concerning the birds or their habitats, and thereby is 
a useful tool for establishing adequate conservation 
measures (Witmer 2005). In most ornithological 
advanced countries, monitoring programmes have 
started during the last few decades.
On the other hand, although many scientists and 
ornithologists have appeared in Greece during the 
last two decades, there is no comprehensive scheme 
for monitoring the populations of birds of prey as yet. 
Greece, due to its position among three continents 
and due to its variable climate, which in turn affects 
the vegetation and habitats, supports diverse raptor 
communities. From a total of 442 birds that occurred 
in the country, 38 (8.6%) species are diurnal raptors of 
which 24 (63.2%) breed here (Handrinos 2009). In 
addition, eight out of nine owls breed in the country. 
Both in the mainland and on the islands, 4 vultures, 
6 eagles, 3 buzzards, 3 hawks, 1 kite, 1 harrier and 6 
falcons breed as well. However, except for the Black 
Vulture Aegypius monachus in Dadia forest in north-
eastern Greece and for the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus 
and the Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus in Crete, there 
is no other long-term national monitoring programme 
in progress in the country.
The aim of this study was to present briefly an 
overview of monitoring for raptors in Greece.
Main players
The main actors in monitoring raptors’ population 
and distribution in Greece are the Universities, mainly 
the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in northern 
Greece, the University of Patras in Peloponnesus, and 
the Natural History Museum of Crete University in 
southern Greece. Furthermore, non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) are activated in monitoring 
programmes, mainly under LIFE projects, and in a 
few cases the Forestry Service has collaborated in these 
projects. Recently, the authorities of the 27 National 
Parks are also responsible in monitoring all biotic 
(including raptors) and abiotic features within their 
areas.
Unfortunately, only in a few occasions foreign 
ornithologists have collaborated in monitoring 
programmes. These ornithologists originated from 
Spain, Austria, Germany, England and Belgium, 
and most of these scientists were volunteers working 
during the data collection.
The data collected from those projects were 
used by the ornithologists either for publications in 
scientific journals or for formulating conservation 
recommendations to the Greek government.
National coverage
Information concerning raptor population across the 
country is limited for a few regions and only for specific 
periods of time. The first monitoring programme 
started during the end of the 1980s in Dadia forest 
(north-eastern Greece), concentrating on the Black 
Vulture population recovery after the establishment 
of the first feeding station (Vlachos et al. 1999). 
Today, the authority of the National Park with the 
help of the WWF Greece is continuing the moni-
toring programme (Poirazidis 2003, Poirazidis et 
al. 2011). Another monitoring project for the Griffon 
vulture and the Lammergeier in Crete has been run 
by the Natural History Museum of Crete University 
since the mid-1990s (ongoing; Xirouchakis & 
Nikolakakis 2002). The Eleonora’s Falcon Falco 
eleonorae monitoring project was carried in Dionysades 
island complex in Crete by Dr D. Ristow and Prof 
M. Wink (Heidelberg University) from 1965 to 2001 
(e.g. Ristow et al. 1989). In addition, two monitoring 
projects were carried out in the country (for the Lesser 
Kestrel F. naumanni during 2001–2002, and for the 
Eleonora’s Falcon during 2005–2006); both were 
realized in a short period of time. However, there is 
no national integrated monitoring programme for 
raptors in Greece.
Monitoring of migrating raptors was established at 
several sites (e.g. Antikythira Island, Mount Olympus, 
etc.) in the last few years with the help of Italian 
ornithologists (Lucia et al. 2011, Panuccio et al. 
2012).
After the first meeting of ornithologists that took 
place in Aegina Island in 2002, a web-based network 
has been established in order to exchange information 
among scientists, concerning mainly the vultures’ 
population, distribution, and threats.
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D. E. Bakaloudis: A preliminary overview of monitoring for raptors in Greece
Key species and key issues
In general, the key species addressed by monitoring 
in Greece are the four vultures, specifically the Black 
Vulture, the Griffon Vulture the Lammergeier and 
the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, although 
two falcon species, the Eleonora’s Falcon and the 
Lesser Kestrel, were also considered (Dimalexis et al. 
2008, Vlachos et al. 2004, respectively). Especially 
for the Lesser Kestrel, a number of colonies have been 
systematically monitored since 1998, including the 
reproductive success and process, radio-telemetry, 
feeding ecology, habitat use and foraging ecology. A 
further ringing programme for juvenile Lesser Kestrels 
was initiated in 2009.
The key issues that were addressed by the monitoring 
programmes were to census the populations, identify 
the reasons for their population decline, establish 
conservation measures, and recommend their 
protection and recovery to the government.
Strengths and weaknesses
The main weaknesses of monitoring for raptors in 
Greece are (1) the cost of this action, (2) the large 
partitioning of the country, and (3) the low level of 
public awareness for birds. Greece covers ca. 132,000 
km2 and consists of thousands of small and large 
islands covering 25,000 km2 (18.9%). Thus, this 
makes a national monitoring scheme for raptors 
difficult and costly. However, there are strengths in the 
monitoring of some raptors, such as the recovery of 
the Black Vulture population in Dadia forest, and the 
improvement of the breeding colonies of the Lesser 
Kestrel in Thessaly.
Although the data concerning most of raptors in 
Greece are patchy, information on their distribution 
and population is limited and has not been obtained 
from a systematic monitoring programme (Meyburg 
& Meyburg 1987, Handrinos & Akriotis 1997). 
Furthermore, except from a few sporadic observations 
there are no data for some species such as the 
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, the Levant Sparrowhawk 
A. brevipes, the Peregrine Falcon F. peregrinus, and the 
Hobby F. subbuteo.
Therefore, the knowledge from international 
experts would be beneficial for the implementation of 
a realistic monitoring programme across the country.
Priorities, capacity-building
A fundamental priority to strengthen monitoring 
for raptors in Greece is the development of an atlas 
for birds of prey, which will describe accurately their 
status, distribution and population estimates. Species-
specific long-term data are also important for the 
continuation of threatened and/or charismatic raptors, 
such as Black Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Lammergeier, 
Lesser Kestrel and Eleonora’s Falcon. Furthermore, we 
need to shift from short-term and local projects to an 
integrative long-term monitoring programme under 
the auspices of the Institutes.
Although there are some ornithologists and scien-
tists across the country, the main capacity-building 
needs are to strengthen a realistic monitoring 
programme are personnel, and a satisfactory budget to 
address the specificities throughout Greece.
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Arrived / Prispelo: 27. 3. 2013
Accepted / Sprejeto: 1. 7. 2013