Haskovo, Bulgaria: A young Egyptian vulture was rescued and taken from a nest of a pair of species in the area of Valche Pole village, Lyubimets municipality.
Experts from the RIOSV – Haskovo and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BJP) sent him for inspection to the Wildlife Rescue Center (SCJ) in Stara Zagora at the beginning of the week.
Regular monitoring of the Egyptian vulture nest population showed delayed nesting and hatching of young in three of the observed nests.
Experience in previous years has shown that the small ones will fly out in September, which will have a short adaptation period before the autumn migration and, respectively, a lower chance of survival. This is precisely what requires taking young birds from their nests and rearing them indoors until next spring.
In the Spring of 2024, the bird will be released by the delayed release method – after adaptation to the aviary. The little will be marked with ornithological rings and a satellite GPS transmitter.
Data collected so far indicates that young vultures released using the delayed-release method are 10% more likely to survive than wild juveniles that naturally leave their nest.
At the moment, two of the late birds have been seized and sent for rearing to the SCDZ, and the third little one is yet to be rescued.
