SmartBirds
Photo:© Juan Lebrija
At the beginning of last week, experts, veterinarians, and volunteers from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), Green Balkans, RIEW Haskovo, and GREFA participated in the tagging and transmitter fitting of a total of eight Cinereous vultures in the adaptation aviary near Madzharovo. Nearly twenty people took part in the event. The new group will join the previously released birds in the spring of 2025, to form a colony in Bulgaria.
Each bird underwent a medical examination, was tagged with a standard metal and PVC ring, and fitted with a GPS/GSM transmitter. The tracking technology and markings will allow experts to monitor the vultures in real time and help track their adaptation to their new home in the Eastern Rhodopes of Bulgaria.
© Juan Lebrija
Additionally, all birds were examined and dewormed by a veterinary team from the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Centre – Green Balkans.
© Stoycho Stoychev/BSPB
It is worth noting that the Cinereous vultures released over the past three years have also been equipped with transmitters. GPS transmitters provide invaluable information, helping teams respond promptly to incidents. One such example is the successful rescue of the vulture with transmitter B14 in Greece in 2023. At the end of January, this bird returned to Bulgaria and will be re-released into the wild in the Eastern Rhodopes. Unfortunately, not all cases have happy endings – the incident involving the vulture Andalusia revealed evidence of poaching, serving as an additional call for stricter protection of the species.
© Stoycho Stoychev/BSPB
Experts hope that the Cinereous vulture will once again establish itself as a key species in the region and one day it will inhabit all of Europe again. Establishing a colony in the Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria, will support the species’ survival in the Balkans, as it is expected to facilitate the exchange of birds with the last surviving natural colony of around 30 pairs located in the Greek part of the Rhodopes, as well as with the reintroduced Cinereous vultures in the Stara Planina.
The reintroduction activities are carried out within the framework of the LIFE project “The Return of the Cinereous Vultures to the Rhodopes,” which in Bulgaria is carried out by the BSPB in cooperation with Rewilding Rhodopes. The project (No. 101148254 — LIFE23-NAT-BG-LIFE Rhodope Vulture) is co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Union and Rewilding Europe.
