Thessaloniki, a fact that is attributed to the
proximity of the city with the estuary of the rivers in the region of the Thermaic Gulf, but with the forest of Sheikh sou, areas that attract many different species of fauna.
The above points out to ana – MPA the member of the Hellenic Ornithological society, biologist, Dimitris Bousbouras, on the occasion of the realization event in the afternoon at the city hall of Thessaloniki, organizers of the youth initiative for the Municipality of Thessaloniki “Live in Thessaloniki”.
“The number is big because of the aquatic birds that we see in front of the sea and forest birds of the Sheikh and the Chortiatis. Most of these species do not breed here but they’re coming down for a long period of time in the winter in the city” says mr. Bousbouras. Among other things, refers to the cormorants and the pelicans moving on the marine environment, kestrel, buzzards and the φιδαετοÏÏ‚ who “descend” from the Sheikh, buffys and the owls that can be seen in the castles of Thessaloniki and the big green parrots that at times have occupied the city. Especially for the case of parrots stresses that this is an asian species that escaped from some cage, and played longer in nature as the climate is similar to the climate of the regions from which it is derived while the species nests in holes in trees growing in mediterranean climates.
The question of whether the presence of numerous of these bird species is an indicator of a good environmental status answer: “the situation is not very good in Thessaloniki because we have a little bit of green. But what saves the situation somewhat is precisely the presence of the wetlands and the sea and the urban forest of the city”. The biologist of the Hellenic Ornithological society considers as very positive the initiative of the Company for the placement of artificial nests on the campus as well as already says the birds have occupied most of them and underlines the need to maintain and multiply the foci of greenery in the urban environment to connect it better to the Sheikh, the streams that are left, any parks, and the seaside front of the town.
At this wavelength, the Landscape Architect and Agronomist EDIP, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Eleni Athanasiadou, speaking to ana – MPA make proposals for the inclusion of natural elements in the urban landscape, such as the networks of green areas, exploitation of non-built spaces, the creation of playgrounds with more planting, vertical gardens, planted terraces and equity gardens neighborhood include the public in their management. As examples from international experience indicate the Central Park in New York city, the parks created in France in the 1970s, the shaping of urban outdoor spaces in Barcelona due to Olympic Games of 1992, and stresses that a common component of all these cases is that the spaces are on their own index of quality of life in a city, pockets of rural and green areas and social activities.
Especially for Thessaloniki, mrs Athanassiadou characterizes the configuration of the beach as an excellent example that belongs in the above category. “The biggest indicator of success of an urban open space is traffic and the new beach speaks for itself with regard to this piece. It is a big single outdoor urban space in the service of the citizen with visitors from other cities and from abroad,” he notes.
Source: ana-MPA
144 species of birds have been recorded in the agglomeration of Thessaloniki
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