A large excursion of the reintroduced Cinereous Vultures from the Eastern Balkan Mountains improved records for the species’ observations in a natural and a national park in Bulgaria.
On February 13, 2020, the Cinereous Vultures released in the Eastern Balkan Mountains in 2019, gliding in a strong east wind, made a big excursion to the west, with a group of 8 out of the 10 individuals wintering in the Sliven / Kotel region reaching Central Balkan. For the next 3-4 days the vultures spent the night and fed in the territory of the Central Balkan National Park in the area of Djendem and over the Tazha Gorge. With this, a new record for the presence of the species on the territory of the National Park was set up. So far, only rare Cinereous Vulture sightings of single individuals have been reported on the Park’s territory during the summer months, most likely coming from the last colony of the species on the Balkans – Dadia Reserve in Greece.
The species is thought to have disappeared from Bulgaria since the late 1970s, although later due to conservation measures taken at that time its presence increased in the Eastern Rhodopes and led to occasional nesting in the area.
A few days later, six of the Cinereous vultures returned to the Eastern Balkan Mountains, while two of them continued flying westwards, reaching the Vrachanski Balkan. There, they set another record, although, there were recent sightings of individual Cinereous vultures in the area – two individuals at a time was now first time observed.
We hoped they would stay longer, but the weather worsened and apparently the Cinereous Vultures could not make contact with the conspecifics in the aviary awaiting their release in the area. After two nights in the Park near the places of the local Griffon Vultures’ traditional roosts, they moved to the east again, but this time individually to explore the Balkan Mountains and Sredna Gora. With food and overnight landings around Teteven, Lovech, Koprivshtitsa and others their excursion continues…
Thus, in a short time, one national and one nature park acquired new records of high presence of the rare and extinct as a breeding species in Bulgaria Cinereous Vulture. We hope that the project for the restoration of the species along the Balkan Mountains will continue with its success and we will soon report breeding of Cinereous Vultures in the eastern part, but also creating a nucleus and breeding ground of the species in the Vrachanski Balkan area with regular visits of individuals and small groups from the two regions to the Central Balkan National Park in summer.
