Nowadays the use of remote photography systems is very popular for diet assessment. Despite the popularity, there is a greater need for evaluation of these systems against traditional methods of diet assessment, such as direct visual observation. The diet of Lesser Kestrel nestlings and adult provisioning rate were assessed using cameras and direct observations at four nests with various brood sizes during the breeding season in 2013. The study was conducted in an intensively cultivated area that belongs to a Special Protected Area of the Natura 2000 network in central Greece. Diet composition (prey type and size) was not affected by the recording method, the sex of adults, the brood size, the period of the day or the age of nestlings. Tettigoniidae was the most frequent prey delivered by adults. Our results from both methods showed that males delivered more prey items than females, supporting the general consensus of reversed sexual dimorphism for the Lesser Kestrel. The provisioning rate was not significantly related to brood size, but it was affected by the method of observation, parent sex and the interaction of method and nestling age. According to the direct observations, provisioning rates increased as nestlings grew up, while they decreased based on camera information. Higher provisioning rates recorded in direct observations at later nestling stages, can be explained by higher food requirements of nestlings. The decrease in provisioning rate with nestling age was mostly affected by the camera function, as a result of digital limitations, nest type and Lesser Kestrels behavior.

The Eurasian Black Vulture is a globally threatened raptor that in Southeast Europe only occurs in an isolated population in Greece. We examined the population viability for the species under demographic fluctuations and conservation scenarios. The current population showed no possibility of extinction for the next 100 years. However, simulated scenarios showed that the most important factor affecting the viability of the species was medium and high poisoning, leading to 94.8% and 100% probability of extinction, respectively. Furthermore, high reduction of supplementary feeding highlighted an 18.6% extinction possibility. Also, a high increase of wind farms in the area may result in 17.4% extinction possibility. Additionally, the non-establishment of the feeding station in 1987 in the study area would have resulted in an extinction risk of 7%. The species can be translocated to the Olympus National Park by releasing 80 juveniles over 10 years. The implementation of the conservation scenarios concerning the establishment of a supplementary feeding site network, and the reintroduction of the Eurasian Black Vulture in its historic range, along with the elimination of threats posed by poisoning, low food availability, and wind farms would increase the probability of the species persistence and allow the population to become a source for dispersal across Southeast Europe.

Transhumance is a traditional animal husbandry system, but its effects on grassland avian communities have not been dealt with in depth. In this study, we quantified the influence of transhumance on the grassland avifauna, in representative pseudo-alpine grasslands with no (NGG), low (LGG), and high (HGG) grazing intensity in the Pindos Mountains, Central Greece. Two point count surveys were conducted within 20 sites in each grassland during the bird breeding season of 2016. We assessed bird diversity indices and accounted for whether the recorded habitat and topographic variables were involved in their variation. A total of 25 bird species were recorded, with the grazed grasslands supporting the most species of high conservation value, while the NGG showed the highest bird diversity. Bird species richness and diversity increased with the decrease of vegetation height, vegetation height heterogeneity, and the increase of rock cover. Bird communities exhibited different patterns among the three grazing regimes and specific bird species of high conservation value appeared to prefer different grasslands. Six species preferred HGG, one preferred LGG, while two preferred NGG. Our study highlights the necessity of heterogeneous pseudo-alpine grasslands with short and tall grass areas in order to maintain highly diverse bird communities.

The spatial ecology of feral horses (Equus ferus f. caballus) in Greece has never been studied before, including home range size and habitat selection. We tracked two mares fitted with global positioning system collars between September 2020 and August 2021 in a portion of Mount Menoikio in Central Macedonia, Northern Greece. We used K-select analysis to assess habitat selection for the study period by combining location data with several environmental variables. The mean home ranges for horses varied from 26.72 km² (95% Minimum Convex Polygon; SE = 0.442) to 27.84 km² (95% Kernel Density; SE = 1.83). Both horses selected areas with flat and smooth topography near natural grasslands with high green productivity. Conversely, they avoided areas near broadleaved forests and pastures, as well as at north-facing aspects. Overall, suitable habitats corresponded to a small portion (15.1%) of the available habitat. Our findings could assist land managers in mapping primary horses’ habitat in the wider region and implement management regimes that will aid in preserving natural grasslands.

Eleonora’s Falcon is the commonest bird of prey in Greece, with more than 80% of the global population breeding on Greek islands. The aim of this study was to assess the population status and the colony characteristics for the species in the National Marine Park of Alonissos—Northern Sporades. Every island was circumnavigated twice in order to count individual birds and active nests during the breeding season of the species in 2021 by boat. Colony characteristics including nest category, nest height above sea level and nest orientation were recorded. The species was recorded nesting in 13 (12 uninhabited and 1 inhabited) out of 29 islands involving a total of 329 active nests. Most nests were in cliff cavities located between 12 m and 400 m above sea level, and had predominantly north-westerly and westerly orientations. These findings may inform conservation management decisions including minimization of disturbance in colonies, safeguarding colonies under threats, eradicating invasive species and protecting and enhancing the breeding habitat of the species in the specially protected area of the National Marine Park of Alonissos—Northern Sporades.

Megafires are a growing global phenomenon, with their frequency increasing in recent decades. In 2023, Europe’s largest recorded fire occurred in North-Eastern Greece, burning 94,250 hectares, including the Dadia–Lefkimi–Soufli National Park (DLS-NP). This protected area is of high ecological importance due to its rich biodiversity, hosting 18–20 breeding raptor species. The fire exhibited remarkable spatial heterogeneity, with some patches burning at low to moderate severity while others remained unburned, likely functioning as critical post-fire refugia. In this study, 15 environmental variables were analyzed using Maxent to model pre-fire potential nesting habitat suitability for eight tree-nesting species, including seven raptors and the Black Stork. The models were then used to examine the spatial overlap between historically suitable habitats and unburned, low-, and moderate-severity areas. The results suggest that these patches may represent important spatial remnants of potential nesting habitat for raptor communities after the fire, especially where historically suitable areas coincide with unburned or moderately burned forest structures. Accordingly, post-fire landscape management in Evros should prioritize the protection of unburned refugia and the cautious retention of partially burned forest structures, particularly in areas identified as historically suitable, while avoiding interventions that may unnecessarily simplify habitat structure. Effective management should combine species-specific protection of key habitat islands with landscape-scale strategies that preserve heterogeneity and support prey availability, within an adaptive framework guided by systematic monitoring over the next 3–5 years.