As several reports in the press have demonstrated, the recent heatwaves have proved punishing not only for humans but also for young birds of prey, who have been found in a state of exhaustion resulting from dehydration.

As reported on the Facebook page of Sitia Online, on the afternoon of 28^th July a young griffon vulture was found on a remote beach near Goudouras in southern Lasithi, by a local representative of the Archelon turtle protection organisation. As it was late in the day it was decided to leave it where it was and the following morning several of the Archelon team returned and tried to catch the bird, but in the process it fell from the steep beach into the sea. A bystander immediately dived into the water and managed to bring the bird to shore, where it was washed down with fresh water and given an isotonic drink to relieve its dehydration. According to the report it was then taken to a secure place where it would be released after a few days.

Another Facebook post by Vangelis Koutoumanos, on 21^st July, reported that a vulture had landed on the VOAK at Linoperamata near Heraklion. Motorists stopped to help it, the police held up traffic, and the bird was revived with fresh water and quickly recovered. Also, on 2^nd August, bathers pulled a dead vulture out of the sea at Psilos Volakas beach west of Palaiochora. It is thought that it had become exhausted through dehydration and had landed in the sea and drowned.

These are just a few examples of a currently prevalent phenomenon, which is due partly to the heat and partly to the fact that young vultures who have recently left the nest are having trouble coping with the adverse conditions. On 4^th August, Kathimerini reported that in the space of a week, 15 of the birds had arrived dehydrated at the refuge run by the Hellenic Wildlife Care Association ANIMA, to get the treatment they need to recover. As Maria Ganoti, president of ANIMA, explained, there is a large population of these birds in Crete, which means that they reproduce more and so there are a lot of young vultures on the island. These young vultures, if they have not been hardened by surviving their first winter, need a lot of water when faced with high temperatures.

When there are not enough tanks and water troughs for them to drink from, the young birds have difficulty in finding the hidden sources of water which older vultures know about. Following the lack of rain in the winter and with the summer heatwaves, conditions high in the mountains are unendurable and so the young vultures fly down to lower altitudes to slake their thirst. However, as they are still immature they do not know how to fly properly, so they exhaust themselves coming down low, and land in a state of dehydration from which, if they are fortunate, they are rescued by humans. ANIMA has strongly urged that water troughs should be placed in the mountains to help relieve the problem.

Haniotika Nea has also addressed the issue, interviewing Petros Lyberakis, a biologist researcher at the Natural History Museum of Crete. “The birds which we come across around here have been under a lot of pressure because of the extended drought, and their big problem is water,” he said. He explained that when we find a bird which seems immobilised, it doesn’t mean that we need to immediately call for help. It will often be a young bird which is tired and is sitting somewhere to recover its strength, and when that happens after one or two days, it may leave. “However, if we see it sitting there for longer than that period, then we should call someone who can take care of it here in Chania, either the Management Unit of the Samaria National Park (tel: 28210 45570), or the Forestry Department (28210 84209).”

Asked if the recent long heatwave could be contributing to the phenomenon, he said “it’s connected to the strange winter we had where there was little surface water, and that is what is giving them trouble. Then the heatwave came and that intensified the problem.” He observed that it is mostly young birds who get into difficulties, although the size difference may not be apparent to ordinary citizen-observers.

There are two initiatives under way to provide water sources for these birds. One is a programme of the University of Crete aimed at Bonelli’s Eagle, a bird which is found throughout Crete, and another instituted by the government with similar actions for carrion eaters, which includes all the vulture species, but is still at a preliminary stage.

“We have built and installed water troughs for the Bonelli’s Eagle programme, though unfortunately not enough for the whole of Crete,” Mr Lyberakis said, adding that it is not a simple process since it involves cooperation between numerous people and a common effort. The sites are remote, and after reaching them and installing the troughs they also need to be serviced. The positive side is that all these activities of the past few years seem to be bearing fruit, Mr Lyberakis said: “We have a healthy population of vultures in Crete – around 600-700 and increasing.”

“Griffon vultures have been used as model organisms for the study of soaring and thermoregulation. The energy costs of level flight tend to be high, prompting alternatives to flapping in larger birds. Vultures in particular utilise more efficient flying methods such as soaring. Compared to other birds, which elevate their metabolic rate to upwards of 16 times their basal metabolic rate in flight, soaring griffon vultures expend about 1.43 times their basal metabolic rate in flight. Griffon vultures are also efficient flyers in their ability to return to a resting heart rate after flight within ten minutes.” – Wikipedia