After the devastating fires of 2023 in the Dadia Forest, an important question arose. How will small birds (ratites) respond? A group that directly depends on the availability of living trees for nesting and food. With the loss of part of their natural nesting sites, the need for their support was presented. In this context, the National Wildlife Refuge launched and continues a program to strengthen their populations, placing artificial nests, feeders and carrying out systematic recordings to monitor the evolution of the species after the fire.

In 2024 The first systematic survey of the situation was completed and in 2025 the same areas were monitored again, which now allows us to have a clearer picture of the progress over the two years. In total, in 2025, 1540 individuals of 62 bird species were recorded, many of which are species that can use artificial nests. Their presence shows that a significant part of the bird fauna remains in the forest and is gradually recovering.

Several common forest species, such as the chaffinch, the blackbird, the blue tit, the blackbird and the jay, appear consistently and in several cases with slightly increased numbers compared to the previous year. At the same time, the changes in the landscape after the fire, with the increase in low vegetation and the creation of more open habitats, attract new species that take advantage of these different conditions, such as the syrlotchichlono, the vlachochichlono and the aetomachus. Their presence constitutes a normal and expected stage of the post-fire evolution of the ecosystem.

One of the most encouraging findings concerns the successful use of artificial nests. Of the nests placed, a significant percentage were used and several successful breedings were recorded, mainly by warbler species. The increase in use, which reached 25% of all nests compared to 2024, was expected, as birds usually need a period of familiarization before systematically utilizing artificial nests. Nests in areas of lower burn severity showed the best results, which is associated with the greater presence of live vegetation and insects. Correspondingly, the feeders that showed the highest food consumption were also those around which more nests with activity were identified, indicating that the food supply functions supportively, especially during the winter months.

The overall picture emerging from the two-year period 2024–2025 is positive. The abundance and diversity of small birds show a mild but steady increase, while the forest gradually recovers. Vegetation thickens, the insect fauna returns and new ecological niches are formed that are exploited by different species. Small birds remain in the forest despite the difficulties, adapt to the new conditions and make use of the artificial nesting sites that were offered to support the post-fire period. Perhaps the only losers are the species that have a high specialization in closed forest forms, as a result of which they have been limited to a few locations until the forest recovers.

Although the 2023 fire left behind a severely degraded environment, evidence suggests that the Dadia Forest is now in a substantial phase of regeneration. Continued monitoring will allow us to better understand long-term trends and the dynamics of recovery. However, the data to date indicate a clear direction: birdlife has begun to recover and the forest is slowly but surely moving towards recovery.

You can see the recording results here.