My first contact with birds was almost one year and a half ago at the beautiful lake of Agra. I went there with my friend who already was a caretaker of the area to found out what kind of activity is the birdwatching (he was bugging me for so long).

Just when we arrived in the Information Center a mute swan appeared in front as if it was welcoming us. It was so strong welcome that seemed to me like a party of life and joy.

The lake was filled with various birds’ species in so many different colors that looked as a living painting. And behind of all these, you could hear a chorus.

At that moment I realized that all these years that I ignored their existence, I lost a large gift that nature created for us.

I wanted to know everything about birds, to distinguish them, to observe their behavior, to watch them while feeding…. Unfortunately all this wonderful experience was interrupted by a gunfire from a hunting weapon, after a while I found some shells in the shore of the lake.

Then I realized that the birds need my help so they keep living in wild. My next step was to go to H.O.S. Thessaloniki’s office and become a member and a volunteer in order to learn as much as I can about birds and to help in their conservation.

From the first moment I felt as a true member of the group of Thessaloniki’s volunteers. The more experienced helped me to learn a lot about birds and consequently to love them even more.

That’s why apart from volunteering in Bird monitoring of North Greece's Protected Areas I decided to become an Important Bird Areas Caretaker in Vourinos Mountain (Kozani, North Greece).