Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park wins the prize with 2 colonies holding at least 10 pairs and a total of more than 44 resident Griffon Vultures. Georgi Stoyanov from the Birds of Prey Protection Society (BPPS) says that as of March 1st 7 pairs have already laid eggs, with further three preparing to lay. New nesting sites of the species were discovered near the town of Vratsa and the village of Dolno Ozirovo; they are on the territory of Vrachanski Karst Reserve and Vrachanski Balkan NP. For the first time this year some of the pairs include ‘new-comers’: not birds released by the project but individuals from existing colonies on the Balkans that have been attracted to the area; one of the birds have been confirmed to have hatched in Croatia and to have been tagged in Israel later.
We hope that in 2016 we will beat the record from 2015 when a young Griffon (Michelle) hatched and was raised successfully in the Balkan Mountain for the first time in 60 years.
Our second prize goes to the new nesting grounds in Eastern Balkan Mountain; there the Griffon Vultures nest in the area of Kotlenska Mountain and Sinite Kamani Nature Park. Lachezar Bunchev from the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna (FWFF) and Iliyan Stoev from Green Balkans report that there are about 35 resident birds in the area; 7 pairs have already been formed; of them 4 have already laid eggs, and the remaining three are preparing to lay. As the number of adult birds here is high the formation of more pairs is a probability; there could also be pairs nesting at undiscovered sites.
Third prize goes to Kresna Gorge, although the site has serious chances of moving up the list with 7 formed pairs and a total of about 40 resident birds. Hristo Peshev from FWFF reports that in the two colonies there, there are 3 incubating pairs and 4 more are preparing to lay. Here there are birds attracted from other Balkan colonies too. One of the birds has been tagged in Greece, and the other two do not have any tags, meaning they were not released during the project.
The efforts for the recovery of the Griffon Vulture in the Balkan Mountain and in the Kresna Gorge are carried out in cooperation between Green Balkans, the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna, the Birds of Prey Protection Society and the Vrachanski Balkan and Sinite Kamani nature parks. The activities are co-financed by the EU LIFE + projects: Bright Future for Black Vulture (LIFE14 NAT/BG/649); Life for Kresna Gorge (LIFE11 NAT/BG/363) and Vultures Return in Bulgaria (LIFE08 NAT/BG/278). The latter ended in 2015 and it was recognized as one of the best LIFE+ projects realized in Europe for 2015 due to outstanding success with the return of the Griffon Vulture in the Balkan Mountain.
Latest data from the beginning of the breeding season for the Griffon Vultures in the new colonies of the species in Bulgaria
