Dadia hill and vultures beside dead tree

The Dadia Forest is a large area of natural woodland in the Evros regional unit in northeastern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. The forest consists mostly of oak and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

. It is one of the most important areas in Europe for

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

, and the only forest in Europe where all four European species of

vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

can be seen. It is a fully managed protected area of and is visited by about 35,000 people each year.

Geography

The forest is located in northeastern Greece, to the northeast of

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...

close to the border with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, where the eastern end of the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

are largely uninhabited and unspoiled. The area is one of tree-covered rolling hills, the Evros Hills, reaching up to about but without any high peaks. The protected area covers an area of and is surrounded by a buffer zone of about . The underlying rocks are

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

, some being alkaline and others acidic. Most of the area is forested, but there is some scrubland, grassland and cultivated areas. The trees are mostly oaks and pines, with some areas of primary forest and other areas of secondary, regenerated growth.

Flora

The dominant trees in Dadia Forest are

Turkish pine ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturalis ...

, black pine, and three species of oak. Growing among these are cornelian cherry, smoke bush, eastern hornbeam, hop hornbeam, wild service tree and turpentine tree. Herbaceous plants, herbs and bulbous plants include paeonies, various

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, dwarf iris, ''

Iris reichenbachii ''Iris reichenbachii'' is a perennial bearded iris species native to Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and into northeast Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europ ...

'', ''Fritillaria pontica'', wild

tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...

s, ''

Crocus pulchellus ''Crocus pulchellus'', the hairy crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Crocus'' of the family Iridaceae, found the Northern Balkan Peninsula to Northwestern Turkey. Growing to , it is a cormous perennial, with pale lilac-blue fl ...

'' and ''

Colchicum ''Colchicum'' ( or ) is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coa ...

''.

Fauna

About 36 species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

have been recorded in the protected area as well as 40 species of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...

and

amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

, but it is as a bird reserve that the forest is best known. 36 of the 38 diurnal species of European

are present, as well as 6 nocturnal species (

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s). All four native European species of vulture, the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, bearded, Egyptian and

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with Rü ...

s are found here; Dadia is the only forest in Europe where this happens. Eagles are plentiful, with several pairs of

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

nesting in the protected area. Smaller raptors include

lanner falcon The lanner falcon (''Falco biarmicus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A l ...

levant sparrowhawk The Levant sparrowhawk (''Accipiter brevipes'') is a small bird of prey. It measures in length with a wingspan of . The female is larger than the male, but the difference is not as marked as with Eurasian sparrowhawk. The adult male is blue-grey ...

and

horned owl The American (North and South America) horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus ''Bubo'', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for the Eurasian eagle-owl. This genus contains 19 species that ar ...

. Both

and

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to e ...

s breed here, and among the smaller birds are semicollared flycatcher,

roller Roller may refer to: Birds *Roller, a bird of the family Coraciidae * Roller (pigeon), a domesticated breed or variety of pigeon Devices * Roller (agricultural tool), a non-powered tool for flattening ground * Road roller, a vehicle for compa ...

masked shrike The masked shrike (''Lanius nubicus'') is a species of bird in the shrike family, Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in eastern Iraq and western Iran. It is migra ...

and eastern Bonelli's warbler. Altogether, 219 species of bird have been recorded.

Visitor information

The forest is a fully managed protected area and is visited by about 35,000 visitors each year. These bring economic benefits to the village of

Dadia Dadia (Greek: Δαδιά) is a village in the northwestern part of the Evros regional unit, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Dadia is in the municipality of Soufli. Its population in 2011 was 533 for the village and 546 for the community, i ...

and to the wider area. Other facilities include an Ecotourism Centre, an information centre, and a coffee shop and restaurant. Cars are not permitted, but minibus ecotours are organised, and visitors can follow the trails on foot. There is a hostel near Dadia and various tracks through the forest. Carcases are put out each day to help feed the vultures and other raptors and provide a spectacle for visitors, who can watch from a hide some away.

References

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