Some 200 dead birds have been found at Lake Koronia, a Ramsar wetland located about 20 kilometers east of Thessaloniki.

The site entered the Montreux Record in July 1990 due to changes that have occurred in its ecological character. Τhree years ago about 30,000 birds representing 30 species died near the lake due to botulism, a type of poisoning linked to the ingestion of food containing toxins deriving from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum – an anaerobic, spore-forming rod that produces a potent neurotoxin.

By Monday September 17 2007, dead birds found o­n site included flamingos, avocets, shelducks, sandpipers and terns. Tissue samples from the birds have been sent to laboratories in Athens and Thessaloniki where tests are being carried out to determine why the birds are dying.

(Source: MedWet)

Updated on 11/28/2007 11:33:16 AM.