For over a week there was no trace of the released female Bearded Vulture Bavaria – now it has reappeared. The bird of prey was spotted on Monday between Werfen and Golling in the Salzburger Land, said Toni Wegscheider from the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV): “That is terrific!”
Bavaria and the female bearded vulture Wally were released in June in the Berchtesgaden National Park. On Monday they drew circles together, said Wegscheider, who heads the project as part of a European resettlement program. The birds are actually equipped with transmitters, and their flight routes can even be followed on the Internet. But Bavaria’s transmitter has not sent any data since November 24th.
Wegscheider thinks it is possible that the battery operated with solar energy is exhausted because of the gloomy winter weather. She was last seen on November 28th. A few days ago, the LBV launched a call to report sightings of the birds that are easily recognizable as individual feathers were bleached.
Winter is a good time for Bearded Vultures, including for breeding. Bavaria and Wally are still too young for that. They would only become sexually mature when they were five to seven years old, Wegscheider said. Many other bearded vultures are sitting on their nests because there is a lot of food. When it snows, avalanches occur and, according to the expert, take animals such as chamois or ibex with them – ideal food for bearded vultures. The birds have a wingspan of up to 2.90 meters. They were exterminated in Germany a good 100 years ago.