Thursday, 5.19 a.m., the morning sun shines over the Berchtesgaden National Park. Up in the rock niche on the Knittelhorn, Bavaria stretches out, flaps its wings a few times – and takes off. There is only one intern at the observation stand of the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV). He doesn’t really know what is happening to him.
The female bearded vulture draws a loop in the air that is perhaps a hundred meters wide. Nobody notices the landing – not even LBV boss Norbert Schäffer, who has meanwhile arrived. Shortly afterwards he discovers Bavaria safe and sound on a rock. From there it takes off again. It goes on like this all morning. “Bavaria drops into the air from a ledge, sails through the air, touches down and climbs up the steep slope again,” reports the head of the Bearded Vulture project, Toni Wegscheider, who also rushed over immediately. “Then the game starts all over again.”
With Bavaria’s maiden flight, the resettlement of the mighty birds of prey in Bavaria has cleared the next hurdle. Wally still takes her time. The female bearded vulture of the SZ was curiously eyeing Bavaria’s goings-on all the time.