Research by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in cooperation with Archipelagos, records for the first time, Eleonora’s falcons (Falco eleonorae) providing plastic waste to dependent nestlings which is confused for food. An article about this phenomenon was published by the Greek newspaper H Kathimerini.

2/3 of the world population of Eleonora falcons migrate every spring from Madagascar and east Africa to the small uninhabited islets of the Aegean, where they find ideal nesting grounds.

The unusual behavior of confusing plastic for food was recorded on an uninhabited islet which is part of the Wildlife Refuge of Arki and north Patmos islets. This provides one more very worrying evidence of the dramatic extent of plastic debris pollution, which is evident even in the most inaccessible areas of our coasts. The consequences are dangerous not only for wildlife but also for humans!

This research which is carried out for the past 2 years and is led by Dr. Ronny Steen, uses a contemporary software for the analysis of the images that are recorded by the camera traps monitoring the nesting behavior of the falcons. See our publications to learn more about the findings!