Cinereous Vultures are nesting again in Bulgaria after nearly 30 years

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** Vulture Conservation Foundation news bulletin
March 2021
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** Cinereous Vultures are nesting again in Bulgaria after nearly 30 years
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🥚 It's official — Cinereous Vultures are nesting again in Bulgaria! In mid-March, local partners of the Vultures Back to LIFE project confirmed that three Cinereous Vulture pairs in the Balkan Mountains showed the first signs of breeding behaviour, nest building and copulating, for the first time in 30 years. A few weeks later, the two pairs in Kotel laid their eggs and begun incubating their nests!

This milestone became a reality thanks to vast conservation and reintroduction efforts carried out by both local and international conservationists, striving to restore large vulture species in Bulgaria for decades now.

Cinereous Vultures are demonstrating breeding behaviour in Bulgaria for the first time since their extinction nearly 30 years ago ([link removed])


** A worldwide record of Bearded Vulture chicks hatched in Guadalentin
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🐣 On Wednesday, 24 March 2021, a Bearded Vulture chick hatched in the Bearded Vulture Captive Breeding Centre of Guadalentín located in Andalusia and received the nickname "Guinness" since it broke a worldwide record! "Guinness" was the 10th chick that hatched this year in the centre, a number no other facility in the world has ever managed to attain during a single Bearded Vulture breeding season.

The chicks that hatch in captivity within the Bearded Vulture Captive Breeding Network, coordinated by us here at the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) on behalf of EAZA's EEP, have an extraordinary purpose. Some will be released into the wild to reintroduce or restock Bearded Vulture populations in the coming months, while others will become part of the captive stock to eventually grow into healthy adults and produce chicks for conservation purposes.

Guadalentín is the most important centre within the Network since it produces the most chicks in captivity every year and at the same time also adopts and raises chicks from other centres and zoos to ensure natural rearing. The VCF currently manages Guadalentín following an agreement with the Junta de Andalucía.

Achieving a world-record: Guadalentín centre in Andalusia hatched the highest-ever number of Bearded Vulture chicks produced in a single breeding season ([link removed])



** Latest news about Europe's
vulture species
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** Bearded Vulture
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Bearded Vulture chicks keep on hatching in captivity ([link removed])

One more Bearded Vulture translocated as part of the newest reintroduction project in Maestrazgo ([link removed])

Bearded Vulture chick travels to a new facility to be adopted by experienced foster parents ([link removed])

New issue of the Bulletin "infoGIPETO" now available ([link removed])

Bearded Vulture Flamadel returns home after 15 months of receiving challenging veterinary treatment ([link removed])


** Cinereous Vulture
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WATCH: Webcam live streams the daily life of a Cinereous Vulture pair nesting in Spain ([link removed])

Express rescue mission rehabilitates, tags and releases Cinereous Vulture breeding adult in Salamanca (Spain) ([link removed])

Significant blow to the Cinereous Vulture breeding population in Turkey – 7 birds found dead, probably poisoned ([link removed])

First evidence of a vulture killed by veterinary diclofenac in Spain – will the Spanish government and the EU act after this smoking gun? ([link removed])


** Egyptian Vulture
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Two adult Egyptian Vultures from Bulgaria will not return to their breeding grounds this spring ([link removed])

New research reveals when, where, and why Egyptian Vultures are dying ([link removed])


** Griffon Vulture
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Research review: New study reveals the importance of feeding sites and carcasses in the wider landscape for Griffon Vultures in Bulgaria and Greece ([link removed])

New portal launched in Serbia to report bird suffering and respond in real-time ([link removed])


** Latest news from our
vulture conservation projects
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Vultures Back to LIFE ([link removed]) led by Green Balkans and the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna aims to reintroduce the Cinereous Vulture back to Bulgaria since it was declared extinct in the 1980s.

Latest news
Natural disaster in Bulgaria kills the reintroduced and paired Cinereous Vulture Marina ([link removed])

Cinereous Vultures are demonstrating breeding behaviour in Bulgaria for the first time since their extinction nearly 30 years ago ([link removed])

Second proven case of fatal lead poisoning for a Griffon Vulture in Bulgaria ([link removed])

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The ([link removed]) LIFE RE-Vultures ([link removed]) project, led by Rewilding Europe, aims to support the recovery of Cinereous and GriffonVulture populations in the cross border Rhodope Mountain region.

Latest news
Griffon Vultures in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria reached more than 100 pairs ([link removed])

Poisoned to death: Only remaining Cinereous Vulture breeding colony in the Balkans loses two nesting birds ([link removed])

Vultures' biggest threat causes big losses
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⚠ Poisoning, vultures' biggest threat worldwide, recently led to the loss of several vultures, some considered Critically Endangered. What makes things worse is that adult birds were affected in some cases, which caused adverse effects on breeding populations.

In west Africa, 50 Hooded Vultures were recently found dead in Guinea-Bissau ([link removed]) , one year after 2,000+ Critically Endangered vultures were poisoned to death in the country, which marked the biggest ever mass vulture mortality event in the world. Further east, two adult Egyptian Vultures died from poisoning ([link removed]) in Chad and Ethiopia and will unfortunately not return to their Bulgarian breeding grounds this spring. Moving to Europe, two Cinereous Vultures, members of the only remaining breeding colony of the species in the Balkans, lost their lives due to a recent wildlife poisoning incident ([link removed]) that transpired in Dadia
Forest, Greece. While in western central Turkey, a suspected mass poisoning incident killed seven Cinereous Vultures last week ([link removed]) , most of which were likely starting to breed or about to lay eggs, meaning that their loss caused a significant blow to the species' national breeding population.
Diclofenac officially kills first vulture in Europe — will Spain and the EU act?
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❗️ After nearly wiping out the Gyps vulture populations of South Asia two decades ago, veterinary drug diclofenac officially kills the first vulture in Europe — a fledgling Cinereous Vulture.

This incident proves that diclofenac, which is toxic to vultures, can enter the food chain of these scavenging birds in Europe. Safe alternatives to diclofenac exist, notably meloxicam, a viable and effective option for treating livestock. The VCF asks Spanish authorities to release data on diclofenac use, to ascertain relative impact and risk, and eventually consider a nationwide ban. Will Spain and the EU finally step up and take action?

First evidence of a vulture killed by veterinary diclofenac in Spain – will the Spanish government and the EU act after this smoking gun? ([link removed])
New tracking study reveals when, where and why Egyptian Vultures are dying
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Since the early 2000s, scientists have been monitoring Egyptian Vultures with remote tracking devices to study their movements, behaviour and mortality. A new study conducted by 38 researchers from 12 countries, including from the VCF, compiled and analyzed the satellite-tracking data of 220 individual Egyptian Vultures travelling across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The results identify when, where, and why Egyptian Vultures are dying ([link removed]) and what implications this may have for their conservation.

We here at the VCF also follow the movements of several vultures as part of different projects. You can track the movements of all the European vulture species we tagged within our different projects and regions by visiting our online public maps ([link removed]) .

Bearded Vulture online maps ([link removed])
Cinereous Vulture online maps ([link removed])
Egyptian Vulture online maps ([link removed]) .
Griffon Vulture online maps ([link removed])
Watch our latest videos
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Photo credits: Green Balkans, Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF), Hansruedi Weyrich, Bruno Berthemy, Associate Professor Emine Hesna Kandır, GSM Agents Rurals and Evan Buechley.
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If you have any news you would like to share, please contact Eleni Karatzia (mailto:[email protected]) , Events, Outreach and Communications Officer.

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