The past 4 weeks I have been spending my time volunteering for Wildlife Sense on the Greek island of Kefalonia. Kefalonia which is a part of the Ionian islands has some of the most diverse ecosystems out of all the Greek islands. With so many different landscapes it has been incredible to explore, from the sprawling mountains towering over you as you stand along the beaches, with the saltiest, bluest, and clearest water I’ve ever experienced in my life! Walking along the sandy and rocky beaches I have found some incredible treasures as well as spotted some very exciting wildlife! One morning I couldn’t believe my eyes because I had the chance to see the one thing I wanted to see most during my time here which was the Mediterranean monk seal, the most endangered species in Europe! I was glued to the binoculars and will share much more about that experience later! Volunteering with wildlife sense I have been lucky enough to help the logger head sea turtle hatchlings make their way to the ocean safely as well! Between all these experiences and spotting seahorses gripped to seagrass, jellyfish gliding along the sandy floor, and watching the BEAUTIFUL European Bee Eater at bird surveys all the wildlife here has amazed me for the past 4 weeks! I should also mention the FLAMINGO we saw which is not very typical on the island so there was a lot of excitement in the field van that day.
Over the course of the 4 weeks, I spend each of my days surveying different beaches in my area! We go out on fieldwork trips both in the morning and in the evening so in the heat of the day we can hide away from the heat. We stay in our little secret garden full of fruit trees, cats, and turtles where I work online, rest and recover from fieldwork and hot days, and learn more about the data we collect! We go on a few different fieldwork trips so we can collect a wide range of information that effects the ecosystems of coastal areas in Kefalonia. Field work such as sand dune plant surveys, bird identification, beach profile, snorkel surveys of Posidonia, beach cleanups, and beach surveying of sea turtle nests are the focus areas that I can’t wait to share more about with you in the future! Wildlife Sense has created an amazing program helping so many turtles and conserving habitat here on the island I could not be more thankful for my time here and all that I learned!
Cayla Dives into Wildlife 