9. January 2010
The Bulgarian Society for the protection of birds has a conservation programm for the Egyptian Vulture.
As part of the project, members of the BSPB made a trip to Ethiopia to learn more about wintering Egyptian vultures there. They counted 1424 Egyptian Vultures. None of them had rings used to mark 52 juveniles during 2008 and 2009 in Bulgaria, indicating that most Egyptian Vultures from Bulgaria probably spend the winter somewhere else.
As in many areas around the world, the Egyptian Vulture shows a decline in the Afar region. The BSPB suspects the following causes leading to a decline:
- Increased adult mortality due to poisoning in the wintering grounds in South Ethiopia and North Kenya;
- Increased mortality as a result of illegal poaching along the migration route in The Near and Middle East;
- Increased mortality in the breeding grounds;
The Egyptian vulture is one of the most endangered raptors in Bulgaria (and in Europe). In Bulgaria the population declined from 57 pairs in 2003 to only 31 in 2009. If the trend continues, BSPB fears that the species may be extinct in Bulgaria in 20-25 years.
For a more detailed report and for information about the BSPB Egyptiann Vulture conservation work, see here:
The Egyptian Vulture – What’s going on in Afrika?
(Click on the English icon on the top right corner if you only see the Bulgarian Version)
8. January 2010
A new book about the European vultures is forthcoming (available soon). It is bilingual with texts in Spanish and English.
Written by many of the leading vulture experts in Europe, it is the most detailed and up to date publication about European vultures I know of.
Book details:
Buitres, muladares y legislación sanitaria: perspectivas de un conflicto y sus consecuencias desde la Biología de la Conservación.
Vultures, feeding stations and sanitary legislation: a conflict and its consequences from the perspective of conservation biology.
Tamaño / Size: 21 x 29,7 cm (A4)
Numero de páginas / Pages: 552
Textos / Texts: Inglés – castellano / English and Spanish
Libro con numerosas fotografías, tablas y gráficos / Book with of dozens of mapes, tables, figures and pho
Publisher: Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi
The prize of the book is 30 Euros.
More details incl. full table of contents and a bilingual order form can be found in this PDF:
hojapedido.pdf
You can also the book here:
www.weboryx.com
This new book will be a must have for everyone interested in European vultures. And a lot of the information will also be useful for vultures outside of Europe.
5. January 2010
Cinereous Vulture, Monfragüe Nationalpark, Extremadura.
© Markus Jais
The Cinereous Vulture is the largest raptor in Europe and a spectacular sight. I am very happy to announce another interview on euroeapraptors.org, this time with Cinereous Vulture expert Rubén Moreno-Opo about the Cinereous Vulture in Spain, where most of the European pairs breed.
Here is the interview:
Interview with Rubén Moreno-Opo about the Cinereous Vulture in Spain
Rubén talks about the current population trend, the threats and conservation measures, the relationship with traditional livestock farming, hunting activities and much more.
If you want to learn more about this spectacular bird, be sure to read the interview.
6. November 2009
The Cinereous Vulture is the largest raptor in Europe – and also one of the most endangered ones. Due due conservation efforts, the population in Spain has increased dramatically during the last decades.
On Mallorca, the species was almost extinct and at the beginning of the 1980s, only about 20 birds existed on the island. Thanks to conservation efforts and reintroduction programs by the Black Vulture Conservation Foundation, BVCF, the population has now increased to about 110 birds.
The Black Vulture Conservation Foundation has now merged with the Foundation for Conservation of Bearded Vultures (FCBV) to focus on vulture conservation across Europe. The new organisation is called the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF).
More information:
Wieder mehr Geier auf Mallorca heimisch (German)
Black Vulture Conservation Foundation
4. October 2009
The Balkan Vulture Action Plan has a new website. With a new design and many beautiful pictures, it replaces the old website of the project.
The new website with lot’s of information about Vulture conservation on the Balkan can be found here:
www.balkanvultures.net
20. September 2009
In the Pyrenees, two dead Beared Vultures have been found. One juvenile with an age of 5 month died because of collision with power lines. The other bird was an adult that died in France. The cause of death is investigated in the Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre de la Alfranca (Zaragoza).
In the French Pyrenees, in 2009, 32 territories were occupied and 11 young bearded vultures fledged.
More information (in Spanish):
http://www.quebrantahuesos.org/htm/es/noticias/control?zone=pub&sec=not&pag=ver&id=537&loc=es
17. September 2009
The Egyptian Vulture is one of the most endangered raptors in Europe. Illegal poisoning and habitat loss are a constant threat in many areas.
Another threat are high levels of toxic substances in the birds, like pathogens of poultry and pigeons, antibiotics and non-steroidal antiinflamatory drugs. Those substances have been found in Egyptian Vultures in Bulgaria. (see here for details).
In order to find out more about that problem, this year, BSPB (Birdlife Bulgaria) did a made toxicology sampling of all 25 unfledged juvenile vultures this year. Also, all birds were ringed.
The toxicological samples will be analysed in Madrid, Spain. The final results of this study will be published in 2010.
The Egyptian Vulture has declined dramatically in Bulgaria. From 2003 to 2008, the species declined from 57 to 35 pairs. The high levels of toxins probably play an important role in the species’ decline.
More information:
Alarming results from toxicology study on the Egyptian vulture in Bulgaria
BSPB made toxicology sampling and ringed all juvenile Egyptian Vultures in Bulgaria
5. September 2009
The organisation Green Balkans started a new project called “Conservation activities for EEC Birds Directive target species – Lesser Kestrel, Black Vulture and Imperial Eagle in their main habitats in Bulgaria”. The project is supported by the European union. (Black Vulture is another name for the Cinereous Vulture).
All the species are endangered in Europe. The main goals for the project are:
- support and maintenance of the populations of rare bird species included in the EEC Birds Directive (79/409/ЕЕС) and their habitats
- creating conditions for increasing their numbers and restoring their populations in their former habitats
- reducing the conflict between the target species and the realization of investment intentions and projects
- increasing the nesting success of the breeding Imperial eagles and Black vultures
- improving the conditions for nesting of the target species
- “ex-situ” activities for restoring the population of the Lesser Kestrel
- identification of areas from the habitats of the target species sensitive to investment intentions
- raising the public awareness on the aims and effects of raptor conservation and biodiversity protection in general
All three species were a lot more widespread on the Balkan in the past. The new project is an important steps towards securing and improving the future of those raptors on the Balkan.
More information:
Green Balkans Federation started a European project for the conservation of threatened bird species
