
A wetland gem in need of some TLC
This article was first published in the Cyprus Mail newspaper on 16 March 2022, as opinion piece written
by our Director Martin Hellicar.

This article was first published in the Cyprus Mail newspaper on 16 March 2022, as opinion piece written
by our Director Martin Hellicar.

Μετά από ενάμιση χρόνο εντατικής εκπαίδευσης στην Ελλάδα, οι δυο σκυλίτσες Sofie και Dixie ράτσας Border Collie έχουν έρθει στην Κύπρο για να αλλάξουν τα δεδομένα στην αντιμετώπιση της παράνομης χρήσης δηλητηριασμένων δολωμάτων στην ύπαιθρο.

At a time when the need to turn to renewables is more pressing than ever, Cyprus has finally managed to find a good recipe: a climate policy that goes hand-in-hand with biodiversity policy!

To some people’s surprise, our cities are home to many a different bird species: from resident birds, such as Great Tits, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Sardinian Warblers and Kestrels to migratory species, such as White Wagtails, Barn Swallows and Swifts – even Cyprus Wheatears!

BirdLife Cyprus invites the public to the first worldwide screening of the documentary ‘Eleonora’s Falcon – Life in the Balance’ featuring the Akrotiri Peninsula, on Wednesday 6 April in Nicosia and on Thursday 7 April in Limassol.

Κοινό Δελτίο Τύπου από το BirdLife Cyprus, το Terra Cypria – To Κυπριακό Ίδρυμα Προστασίας του Περιβάλλοντος και το ΑΚΤΗ Κέντρο Μελετών και Έρευνας.

BirdLife Cyprus is looking for highly competent, experienced and hard-working fieldworkers to visit the island as full-time volunteer bird surveyors, to help with the monitoring of breeding bird species.

BirdLife Cyprus invites you to the conference of the Erasmus project ‘Seeing

Like many large birds of prey, Griffon Vultures get ready to breed

BirdLife Cyprus reports a worrying increase in bird trapping levels for autumn 2021. This sadly comes as no surprise, following a shameful relaxation of the relevant Cyprus bird protection law in December 2020.

This year marks the 40th anniversary since BirdLife Cyprus began contributing with data from Cyprus to the International Waterbird Census (IWC).

Since the time of writing of this article, another Flamingo was found in distress at Paralimni Lake. The bird was taken to a vet, and despite all efforts, it died shortly after. X-rays showed presence of shotgun pellets in the stomach and throat.

As we look to set up our own dog units as part of the LIFE with Vultures project, we talk to the handlers of Greece’s canine heroes. Covering more than 500 kilometers in patrols since their units’ creation, Kouki and Ioli, two four-legged detectives, and their handlers, Dimitris and Victoria respectively, have found and removed from the Greek countryside 119 poisoned animals and 122 poison baits. In the interview that follows, Dimitris Vavylis and Victoria Saravia, handlers of two Anti-Poison Dog Units run by HOS (BirdLife in Greece), share their experience. (Interview date: February 2020)

Martin Harper, Regional Director for BirdLife Europe & Central Asia, writes about key nature conservation challenges in Cyprus after his recent visit to our island. Martin Harper visited at the invitation of BirdLife Cyprus, the local BirdLife partner. The focus for Martin’s visit was on environmental issues in the British Bases, both due to the urgency of the challenges there and because of Martin’s previous role as Head of International division at the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK).

Overhead power lines can often have negative impacts for wildlife – especially

The BirdLife Cyprus 2022 calendar features some of the forest birds of

The first 15 Griffon Vultures to support the extremely threatened population of the species on the island arrived in Cyprus in mid-November 2021. This restocking action took place as part of the “LIFE with Vultures” project, which aims to prevent the extinction the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus from the island and at the same time strengthen its population and preserve it for the long-term.

On 30 November 2021, BirdLife Cyprus handed the President of the House of Representatives, Ms Annita Demetriou, the signatures of more than 13,700 citizens who are calling for the annulment of the relaxation of the bird protection law.

Τις ερχόμενες μέρες καταφθάνουν αεροπορικώς, από την Ισπανία, οι πρώτοι Γύπες που θα ενισχύσουν τον εξαιρετικά μειωμένο πληθυσμό του είδους στην Κύπρο. Η εισαγωγή Γυπών γίνεται στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος «Ζωή με τους Γύπες» που έχει στόχο να αποτρέψει την εξαφάνιση του Πυρόχρου Γύπα Gyps fulvus από το νησί και παράλληλα να ενισχύσει τον πληθυσμό του και να τον διατηρήσει μακροχρόνια.

There was a time when lead was used in many household items,

We all know that spending time in nature is enjoyable, but there’s increasing evidence that watching wildlife – and birds in particular – has a profound positive impact on our mental wellbeing. Here we delve into the latest discoveries from the fields of biology, economics and psychology.