Bearded Vulture Reintroduction Into the Alps

19466P_Bartgeier_JB2004 19.10.2005 15:29 Uhr Seite 1 Bearded Vulture Reintroduction into the Alps Annual Report 2004 Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture Frankfurt Zoological Society 19466P_Bartgeier_JB2004 19.10.2005 15:29 Uhr Seite 2 LIFE-Nature Project Nr.: 03NAT/F/000100 Program for the Bearded Vulture in the Alps University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna 19466P_Bartgeier_JB2004 19.10.2005 15:29 Uhr Seite 3 BG 444, Toto (right) and BG 436 in the VBU Photo: KARL HOFBAUER-HÖFER, AUSTRIA FOREWORD What twenty years ago still seemed a remote goal is to day a reality. In 2004 over a hun- dred Bearded Vultures are populating the Alps while five young successfully hatched in the wild and the trend is upwards. In this year also the newly developed strategy for the future was presented at FCBV‘s Annual Information Meeting in Haute Savoie. In future, efforts will be directed at linking the now present Alpine population with the autochthonous ones of the Pyrenees and Corsica to finally arrive at a homogeneous population in Western Europe. In 2005, it will be thirty years that I attended in Vienna my first meeting on the possibi- lity of reintroducing the Bearded Vulture into the Alps starting from captive breeding. At the decisive conference in Morges in 1978, of which I had the honour to be the organi- zer, the preceding French-Swiss initiative was joined with the Austrian one, thus for- ming the basis for an undertaking encompassing the entire Alpine chain. This new project in turn received the solid support of numerous Zoological Gardens in Europe. In the years that followed I had the pleasure to preside over countless Board meetings, Annual Information Meetings and other manifestations characterized by their great diversity of nationalities, interests and outlooks, and yet united by the common goal. This goal now having been achieved I feel that the time has come to hand over, and in the autumn of 2005 the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture will have a new President who, if chosen as my successor, may well have been the youn- gest participant in the Morges Conference of 1978. I, personnally, shall take leave of FCBV‘s Board with the gratifying sentiment of "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED". Dr. MAARTEN BIJLEVELD VAN LEXMOND President of the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture 19466P_Bartgeier_JB2004 19.10.2005 15:29 Uhr Seite 4 2 Contents 2004 Foreword 1 Breeding Network Reproduction in 2004 3 Transfers - Increases - Deaths in 2004 9 EEP stock in 2004 13 Reproduction between 1978 and 2004 16 Age distribution in 2004 18 Release Report on Releases in 2004 19 Report on the release in the Hohe Tauern National Park, Kals 2004 27 Report on the release at the Haute Savoie site in 2004 28 Release in Martell Valley, Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio in 2004 30 Release in the Argentera-Mercantour site in 2004, and observations from the Argentera Nature Park 31 Wing marks and ring colours from 1986 - 2004 34 Monitoring Bearded Vulture Monitoring in Engadine, Switzerland in 2004 42 Satellite tracking of Bearded Vultures - the project „ Bearded Vulture on the move“ 52 Hohe Tauern National Park - Breeding in the wild 2004 56 Austrian Bearded Vulture Monitoring 2004 56 Status of the Bearded Vulture in Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio in 2004 59 Evolution of the territorial pairs in the Western Italian Alps 62 Actual situation of Territorial Bearded Vulture pairs identified in the Alps of Haute Savoie (F) and their conservation 63 International Bearded Vulture Monitoring (IBM) in 2004 66 Supplement to 2003: An observation of one Bearded Vulture in The Netherlands 68 Autochthonous Populations Bearded Vulture in the French Pyrenees - Results of the monitoring of 2004 68 The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) population in the Spanish Pyrenees in 2004 70 Conservation of the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in Corsica: monitoring 2004 73 Evaluation of the extinction risk and of conservation alternatives for a very small insular population: the Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus in Corsica 75 Comments to the article: "Evaluation of the extinction risk and conservation alternatives for a very small insular population: the Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus in Corsica” 75 Looking for Birds of Prey on Crete – November 2004 (A privatly undertaken research) 78 Miscellaneous Feasibility Study on the Reintroduction of the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in Sardinia 80 Bearded Vulture reintroduction project in Andalucia: results at the Breeding Centre Guadalentín 105 The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) reintroduction project in Andalusia 110 Phylogeography, genetic structure and diversity in the endangered Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus, L.) as revealed by mitochondrial DNA 112 Annual Report of the Breeding Centre Natur- und Tierpark Goldau, Switzerland, 2004 113 Ecological requirements of reintroduced species and the implications for release policy: the case of the bearded vulture 114 Remarks of the editors on Ecological requirements of reintroduced species etc. 114 Status and conservation of the Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus meridionalis in Lesotho 115 Soaring to Extincton: The population status of the Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus meridionalis, in southern Africa 120 The FCBV Annual Meeting 124 Flute sounds, coming from a Bearded Vulture bone 125 Editorial 126 19466P_Bartgeier_JB2004 19.10.2005 15:29 Uhr Seite 5 2004 Breeding Network 3 Reproduction in 2004 by Hans Frey * The Vienna Breeding Unit In this breeding season, six pairs produced a clutch: BG 009 x BG 006019020 produced two eggs (14th and 19th/20th of December). The single egg of BG 014 x BG 133134135 was laid on the 13th od December. BG 105161162 x BG 178 had three eggs laid on the 19th/20th of December, on 26th of December and on 5th/6th of January. The first egg was abandoned in the morning of 25th of December, the other two died during incubation. The pair BG 017019021 x BG 070022023 produced two eggs (30th of December and 4th of January) which died during incubation. BG 199 x BG 107150151 laid one egg on 4th of January, which hatched on 4th of March (BG 440119107). BG 108065040 x BG 175152153 had produced two eggs (19th/20th and 25th of December). The first hatched in the nest on 11th of February (BG 433108175). The second was transferred to an incubator where it hatched on the 17h of February (BG 435108175). Because of the installation of VIDEO EQUIPMENT in each single Bearded Vulture facility, a variety of interesting observations could be made: ➛ Remarks on pair BG 009 x BG 006. We were lucky to observe egglaying on 14th of December 2003. Prior to incubation, female BG 006 rolled the egg approx. 25cm to one side and started to brood only 20 minutes later. Both eggs incubated by the pair and exchanged against dummy eggs on 4th of February. The bigger egg had died during incubation, the second was transferred to an incubator. Both birds continued brooding on the dummy eggs. The second egg did not hatch so it was opened in the evening of 13th of February. The embryo had died before pecking the shell. On the 22nd of February, the pair received BG 435108175 for rearing. The adoption took place without any difficulties and the nestling developed well. ➛ Remarks on pair BG 014 x BG 133134135. The pair cancelled brooding on the 7th/8th of March and did not react to offered eggs. On 13th of March, again two eggs were put into their nest, one of which was warmed by the male, the second was thrown out. On 16th of March, BG 441134135 was transferred from Prague Zoo to the VBU, where it was put into the nest of BG 014 x BG 133. The pair immediately started to take care of this young bird and reared it without any problems until 7th of April when this bigger nestling was exchanged against BG 444080081. Also this bird was adopted and raised without problems. ➛ Remarks on pair BG 105161162 x BG 178. The first egg was abandoned on 25th of December. In the morning of 27th of December, BG 105 stayed in the nest but the second egg was deposed at the edge of the nest! BG 105 toughed the egg twice with his bill but started to incubate in the empty trough. The still warm and unharmed egg was removed and transferred to MALE PAIR BG 204 X BG 065. They continued brooding on the dummy egg and the egg of BG 105 x BG 178. BG 178 returned to the empty nest and started to trough. On 8th of January the third egg rolled out of the nest! In the afternoon it was transferred to the nest of pair BG 014 x BG 133. On 4th of February female BG 178 was rather active working at the nest (troughing etc.). ➛ Remarks on pair BG 017019021 x BG 070022023. Both eggs removed on the 20th of February: both embryos had died during incubation! Two dummy eggs were put into the nest, one of which was thrown out by the female but the second one was warmed. On the next day both dummy eggs were in the nest and warmed by the pair. * Department of Pathobiology, Institute of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Wien, Austria. [email protected] 19466P_Bartgeier_JB2004 19.10.2005 15:29 Uhr Seite 6 4 Breeding Network 2004 Table 1: Breeding pairs in 2004 AUSTRIA Alpenzoo Innsbruck BG 019 x BG 021 1st: 11th Jan broken 2nd:16th Jan broken 3rd: 23rd Feb embryo died 4th:28th Feb embryo died Tiergarten Schönbrunn BG 201 x BG 044002003 1st: 31st Dec embryo died Vienna Breeding Unit BG 014 x BG 133134135 1st: 13th Jan broken BG 009 x BG 006019020 1st: 14th Dec died 2nd:19/20th Dec embryo died BG 199 x BG 107150151 1st: 4th Jan broken

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