Somewhere between Potamos, the port of Antikythera, and the village of Galaniana, the landscape you can see from the road is characterized by steep cliffs and low vegetation. There between, in a rock-encircled base, overlooking the blue sea and the gloom of the sky, since 16 August, members and volunteers of the Antikythera Ornithological Station have been equipping themselves with their binoculars and tripods and recording the number of raptors migrating to various points on the horizon.
For 44 days, which translates into 391 field hours, the team members, sometimes individually, sometimes as a group, recorded 7,479 birds. The number is a record, at least as far as the station is concerned. Despite five days of no recording due to adverse weather conditions, with winds of over seven Beaufort beating the island of Antikythera, several records were set by the Observatory team. These relate to the number of Waspfish (Pernis apivorus), which have been recorded in high numbers over the years, but in the autumn recording reached 6,008. OSA members note that this increase is a common occurrence and is consistent with the pattern at other birding stations in the Western Palearctic.
Despite the northeasterly winds that made it difficult for the birds to «move», the team says that 2023 was a good year for Milvus migrans, with 433 birds recorded compared to 229 last year. In fact, northwest winds helped them gain height.
The important observations that highlight the work of the Ornithological Station in terms of monitoring predators do not overshadow some important individual observations, such as the recording of an adult and a juvenile Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), which stayed for a few days in Antikythera, a Finnish osprey (Pandion haliaetus), several species of hawks, but also a possible Yellow-billed Shrike (Milvus migrans parasitus/aegyptius). The latter is the first record of the species in Greece, if accepted.
The work of the OSA continues with various actions and surveys, but it is important that these numbers testify to the importance of Antikythera as a safe passage for migratory birds of prey.
