Cinereous vulture is considered extinct as nesting in Bulgaria, and the last established nest is in the region of East Rodopi in 1993. The nearest colony of the species is in the nature reserve Dadia, northern Greece, but cinereous vultures visit often southern Bulgaria and especially the region of East Rodopi in search of food. Since the teams of Green Balkans, Wild Fauna Fund and the Association for Protection of Birds of Prey started maintaining sites for feeding up in the regions of Vrachanski Balkan, Eastern Stara Planina and Kresna gorge, more single specimens have been observed deeper in the countryside as well. We believe that the newly formed colonies of griffon vultures contribute to that, which with joint efforts we succeeded to form in these regions with setting free 210 birds, imported from Spain, France and various European zoos. For example, last year, a young cinereous vulture spent more than a month in the company of griffon vultures in the region between Sliven and Kotel, with this species showing up there for a third year in a roll after tens of years of absence.
This gives us hope for future recovery of the species, envisaged in the new project “Bright future for cinereous vulture” LIFE14 NAT/BG/649, which set off in 2015. We plan to set free 48 cinereous vultures by 2018 in Eastern Stara Planina and Kresna, while hoping that they will like and stay in the regions, where there are already permanently established groups of griffon vultures.
Meanwhile, the situation in Vrachanski Balkan is definitely optimistic. After last year here was the first successfully hatched and grown free griffon vulture in Stara Planina for the last 60 years, a year later there are six established couples, which are hatching and around four, which exhibit territorial behavior, and we hope on more good news!
And thus, step by step, we are on the way to seeing our dreams fulfilled, and vultures – there, where they belong – as an inseparable part of the nature of Bulgaria!
A cinereous vulture visiting griffon vultures at Vrachanski Balkan
