SEAGULLS AND CORMORANTS NESTING ON PANAGIA ISLAND IN THASSOS GREECE

 

Every year, thousands of seagulls gathered faithfully at their annual rendezvous on the little island of Panagia, southwest of Thassos island Greece.

This is the season when they prepare their nests and lay their eggs. They take to the air in their hundreds whenever a visitor lands on the island, and squawk loudly to try to scare him away. Sometimes, when they have young to protect, they will even attack and beat the visitor with their wings

Apart from the gulls and the other seabirds which use the island for nesting, there is also a fairly large colony of cormorants and Shag (Phalacrocorax Aristotelis). Unlike the gulls these birds make their nests in dark subterranean caves, all of them together in one place in small communities. Their hatchlings must remain in the dark, damp atmosphere of the cave for two months before they can go for their first swim in the sea.

According to local tradition, the island was once inhabited by a hermit who built the little sanctuary and the pool inside the cave, where he apparently lived. The hermit is also responsible for the well and the few olive trees which grow on the island.
This important Aegean habitat has gone largely unnoticed until now, and no measures have yet beentaken to protect it.

CAUTION: When visiting the island during the months of April and May, please be extremely careful, visit only in small groups, be as quiet as possible and do not touch the nests or the young birds.

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