La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	The pitch springs on Zakynthos (Greece) as death traps for birds
Auteurs :	Jochen Hoelzinger, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Ornithologischer Anzeiger (48(2) OCT 2009)
Article en page(s) :	155-158
Résumé :	In the south of the Greek island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea, close to the coast by the town of Keri, lies a wetland area with reed beds and shallow water zones. Several pitch springs in the area have been known since antiquity. The consistency of the crude oil seepages vary from very fluid to viscous. A small lake of relatively viscous pitch in the reed bed area is a death trap for birds. Altogether 12 individuals of the following species were found on the surface of the spring: Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, European Greenfinch, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Great Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler and European Goldfinch.No trapped birds were found in the shallow water zones with very fluid pitch inflow. The natural pitch springs at Keri present only a locally restricted danger to small numbers of birds, which cannot be compared with coastal oil Pollution from human sources, such as oil spills resulting from tanker accidents.

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