Black vultures, lynx and wild horses are among the animals being reintroduced to eastern Spain with the launch of a rewilding project spanning 850,000 hectares (2.1m acres) in the Iberian highlands east of Madrid. Rewilding Europe’s 20-year landscape recovery scheme, which covers an area more than five times the size of Greater London, aims to […]
Tag: Griffon Vulture
‘It’s a serious problem’: battle to save Griffon vulture heats up in Cyprus
They’re vital for the ecosystem, play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and, for bird lovers, are an ecotourism delight. But in Cyprus, where prolific use of poison bait has made the Griffon vulture virtually extinct, campaigners are taking action. “Island-wide, we had just eight,” says Melpo Apostolidou at BirdLife Cyprus, which is […]
Large number of Himalayan griffon vultures killed by pesticide poisoning
More than 95 Himalayan griffon vultures and a steppe eagle were discovered dead in the Chaiygaon region of Milanpur village in Assam’s Kamrup district on March 17, 2022. Prasanna, a local conservationist in Milanpur village, told Down to Earth on March 18 that “about a hundred Himalayan vultures have died all of a sudden.” “The […]
Born to be wild: India’s first captive-bred endangered vultures set free
In February, the doors of an aviary in West Bengal’s Buxa tiger reserve were flung open. Eight critically endangered captive-bred white-rumped vultures cautiously emerged and within minutes were mingling with wild vultures, devouring the meat of carcasses left out by a team of researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The birds were raised […]
Guess who’s coming to dinner? Roadkill placed on ‘sky tables’ to lure rare birds of prey
When a bearded vulture last year graced the UK with its presence, awed birdwatchers from across the country gathered in the Derbyshire moors in the hope of catching a glance. Now conservationists are hoping to make sightings of these magnificent birds more frequent by adding raw nature back into the countryside. No one wants to […]
Almost 100 vultures found dead in suspected mass poisoning in Spain
Almost 100 vultures have been found dead or dying in a suspected mass poisoning in Spain. Authorities discovered 56 birds – 55 vultures and a black kite – lying dead, as well as 41 that were alive but so unwell that the prognosis for them was described as bleak. The birds had been eating the […]
Crested Honey Buzzard in Alheefah Park – Tanoumah
We went to look for Eurasian Griffon Vultures at the lookout point in Alheefah Park and were rewarded with a female Crested Honey Buzzard that flew along the escarpment before disappearing. The species has only been seen five times previously in the summer in the Kingdom but this record being mid-may could be a late […]
Top 25 Birds that Scavenge
Scavenging birds play a vital role in our ecosystems, they clean up carcasses before they have time to rot. Without scavengers, rotting carcasses would become hubs for harmful pathogens. Vultures specialise in eating carrion and are highly efficient at cleaning up a carcass. But many other birds, like crows and eagles, will also scavenge if […]