A Final Glance at Our Work in Greece

Picture 1 A chameleon found on the road is admired by volunteers.		Picture 2 A female chameleon digs her nest in a sand dune. It takes a chameleon four to six hour to dig a nest. She’ll lay 20 to 40 eggs in the nest. The eggs incubate in the nest for 11 months.
Picture 3 An exhausted females recovers from laying and burying her eggs. The wire cage protects her from predators. Once recovered from the stress of nesting she returns to the vegetation.		Picture 4 Walking away from the finished nest, a female chameleon returns to the brushy vegetation that is her habitat.
Picture 5 Chameleon hatchlings cluster on a plant near the nest from which they emerged. Once spotted, we disperse the hatchlings by placing them higher in the nearby vegetation.		Picture 6 Rachel examines a hatchling to determine the sex. Males are identified by a spur on their hind legs. In general there are equal numbers of males and females hatched from a nest.
Picture 7 Not all the chameleons that hatch survive journey to the surface. As the juveniles hatch they must dig approximately 30 cm to reach the surface. Objects such as rocks and roots can block their progress. The juveniles being held died after being trapped under a root.		Picture 8 Armand, a volunteer from France, counts the number of birds that migrate to the area. Currently, there are over 200 flamencos, thousands of ducks, osprey, large and small egrets to name a few species
Picture 9 Dustin collects trash. Due to the rapidly increasing number of tourists entering the project area trash is a growing problem. The trash is unsightly and detracts from the natural beauty. More detrimental to the chameleon however, are the rats, cats and dogs that are attracted by the garbage and prey on chameleons.		Picture 10 Every night from 9 pm to 5 am volunteers work in shifts to patrol the project area. Previous attempts to poach chameleons and their young made it necessary to protect the chameleons from this danger.
Picture 11 Much of the hard, physical work is done at night when it is cooler. This series shows, Morton and Alex digging holes for posts that limit vehicle access to the beach. Driving on the beach profoundly alters the nesting sites of the chameleons.
Picture 12 Clara uses bamboo to build a barrier to discourage people and animals from walking across a favorite chameleon nesting site.	Picture 13 In the lagoon stands an aging bird observation tower. Ray, Clara and I begin the task of replacing the side walls with new plywood.
Picture 14 Time for a barbeque! Hagen, a volunteer from Germany, celebrated his 30^th birthday while working on the project. He is now back in Germany continuing his studies in Biology and Informatics.	Picture 15 We spent a day helping a family harvest their olives. Some people keep “life lists” of birds that they’ve seen, my list is of agricultural crops that I’ve harvested. I couldn’t let pass the opportunity to add olives to the list. In case you are wondering, olive harvesting is very hard work! Ask to see the slide show if you’re interested in the specifics.
Picture 16 Ray handles a four foot long snake that Andrew, standing in center, caught. This snake species is quite docile and non-venomous. Life among a group of reptile lovers was seldom dull!	Picture 17 While the flamencos remain in the lagoon until spring, it is time for us to leave Greece and make our way to Panama. The first week of December I start work with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Isla Colon. Click on the link to view the Institute. http://www.stri.org/english/visit_us/bocas/index.php

Thanks to Benny Trapp and Andrea Bonnetti for the use of their photographs.