New Cinereous Vulture Pair was formed in the Eastern Rhodopes in February. The male vulture, numbered 4VU, now in its fifth calendar year, had been alone for a long time but exhibited territorial behavior, occupying an artificial nest built in collaboration with the “Kartsalsko Gnezdo” Foundation. His partner is a fully mature, unringed female, most likely originating from the black vulture colony in Dadia National Park in the Greek part of the mountain.
With this, the total number of formed Cinereous vulture pairs in the region has increased to three. The first pair consists of birds F10 (a five-year-old female) and F32 (a six-year-old male). The second pair includes bird F12 (a five-year-old male) and a female, also likely originating from the Dadia colony.
The ringed birds are part of the reintroduction program for the species in the Bulgarian part of the Eastern Rhodopes, carried out by BSPB in collaboration with the “Rewilding Rhodopes” Foundation. The return of the species to the area began in 2022. Currently, a total of 16 Cinereous vultures are flying free in the Rhodopes, with six more set to be released in the spring.
On February 5th, Dr. Ivaylo Angelov from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and Jurabek Tulaev from the Institute of Ecology under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of Uzbekistan witnessed courtship behaviour and copulation of a new pair of Cinereous vultures at a chosen nest in the Eastern Rhodopes.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Stuart Minnikin, who photographed the newly formed pair from the photography hide managed by “Nature Madzharovo” and kindly provided us with the images!
The reintroduction activities are being implemented within the LIFE project “The Return of the Cinereous Vultures to the Rhodopes,” which in Bulgaria is carried out by the BSPB in cooperation with Rewilding Rhodopes. The project (No. 101148254 — LIFE23-NAT-BG-LIFE Rhodope Vulture) is co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Union and Rewilding Europe.