State Association for Bird Protection in Bavaria (LBV) e. V
Hilpoltstein
The GPS transmitters of Bavaria, Recka and Dagmar, the three young bearded vultures previously released by the Bavarian nature conservation association LBV (state association for bird and nature conservation) and the Berchtesgaden National Park, are finally sending reliable new data again. In recent months, this has only been possible to a limited extent because the weak winter sun did not provide enough energy for the transmitter’s solar cells. As the day progresses, the batteries are sufficiently charged again to send position reports every day. “We never had any reason to worry that the female vultures weren’t doing well, also because we kept receiving photos and videos. The data we are now receiving regularly are exciting for the entire project team to watch,” says LBV bearded vulture expert Toni Wegscheider. Since the start of the project, interested parties have been able to follow the flight routes of the three Bavarian bearded vultures through the Alps online on a map thanks to the GPS backpacks attached to the backs of the birds www.lbv.de/bartgeier-auf-reisen.
“While the young bearded vultures are currently hatching from the eggs for the coming release season in the European breeding centers of the conservation program, it is nice to see that the three Bavarian bearded vultures are doing well and have settled in well in their habitat in the German-Austrian Eastern Alps”, says National Park Project Manager Ulrich Brendel. Dagmar, released in 2022, has been exploring large parts of the Alpine region from South Tyrol to the Central Alps to Allgäu since last autumn. Your transmitter was always able to maintain some battery power due to the long flight distances and deliver so much data. Recka and Bavaria, on the other hand, were relatively loyal to their location and spent the winter in the Berchtesgaden and Salzburg Alps.
In addition to the transmitter data and occasional sightings, the project staff from the LBV and the national park also depend on reports from attentive observers, which the project team used to be able to convince themselves of the good health status of the vultures. “In the last few months, for example, we have received beautiful videos of Dagmar circling in a ski area, Recka from an area in Austria densely populated with chamois, and pin-sharp photos of Bavaria from the Berchtesgaden National Park,” says a delighted Tony Wegscheider. In addition to the exact whereabouts, such recordings can provide important information about the respective bird, possible interactions with other wild animals or unusual behavior. Even though the transmitters are now active again, the project team is still asking those interested in nature and hikers to report possible bearded vulture observations with a photo or video to [email protected].
Using a VHF signal that is independent of the GPS transmitter, the project team can also regularly locate the bearded vultures using a hand-held antenna to a distance of around ten kilometers. “The transmitters are designed in such a way that they fall off the birds after a few years. Nevertheless, it is important to monitor them closely, at least during their approximately three-year migration phase,” explains the LBV bearded vulture experts Tony Wegscheider. On several occasions, conspicuous transmitter data have helped to locate and save bearded vultures in the Alps that have been weakened or poisoned with lead residue from hunting ammunition. Together with the GPS information, a variety of vital data such as body temperature and movement patterns usually provide the bearded vulture team with a clear picture of the activity of the birds.
In the winter months, chamois and ibexes that died from falling rocks, avalanches, disease or falls serve as food for the bearded vultures, which are completely dependent on carrion. “It’s striking how clearly the vultures apparently recognize areas with a high density of wildlife, such as the Steinernes Meer in the core zone of the national park or parts of the nearby Hagen and Tennengebirge mountains,” he said National Park Project Manager Ulrich Brendel. The movement patterns of the birds clearly show that they repeatedly undertake search flights lasting a few hours to a few days and sometimes use found wild animal carcasses for weeks. For example, the high calorie density of the bone marrow of a single ibex skeleton can feed the bearded vulture, a specialized bone eater, for three to four weeks.
About the project:
With a wingspan of up to 2.90 meters, the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is one of the largest flying birds in the world. At the beginning of the 20th century, the majestic bird of prey was extinct in the Alps. As part of a large-scale breeding project, young bearded vultures have been released into the wild since 1986 in close cooperation with the zoos’ EEP (European Endangered Species Program), which was founded in the 1970s. The European bearded vulture breeding network is managed by the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) based in Zurich. While the birds in the western and central Alps have been breeding independently again since 1997, natural reproduction in the eastern Alps is progressing only slowly. A project for the release of young bearded vultures in the Bavarian part of the German Alps, jointly initiated and supervised by the Bavarian nature conservation association LBV (state association for bird and nature conservation) and the Berchtesgaden National Park, is taking up this and supporting the reintroduction throughout the Alps in cooperation with the Nuremberg Zoo. To this end, young bearded vultures will be released into the wild in Klausbachtal in the coming years – in 2021 for the first time in Germany. The Berchtesgaden National Park is suitable as an ideal reintroduction site in the Eastern Alps due to a variety of factors. More information about the project at www.lbv.de/bartgeier-auswilderung.
Press contact:
For questions LBV press office:
Markus Erlwein | Stefanie Bernhardt | Franziska Back, Email: [email protected], Tel.: 09174 / 4775 -7180 | -7184 | -7187. Mobile: 0172-6873773.
Original content from: State Association for Bird Protection in Bavaria (LBV) e. V., transmitted by news aktuell
