Between June 2 and 6, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) organized a youth conservation and educational camp in the “vulture town” of Madzharovo. Eight participants with a strong interest in birds and nature conservation took part in the event.
Leading experts in vulture and biodiversity conservation introduced the young participants to the main activities under the project “LIFE Rhodope Vulture”. They presented approaches to the protection, research, monitoring, and supplementary feeding of the Cinereous Vulture and other birds of prey, the main threats to vultures, the use of camera traps, international experience and work with vultures, eco- and photo-tourism, and more.
In addition to the theoretical sessions, the camp included hands-on activities and field visits: the construction of a Cinereous Vulture nest in the “Black Rock” Protected Area, a visit to the adaptation aviary where seven Cinereous Vultures are being prepared for life in the wild, and the feeding site near the village of Potochnitsa. There was also a demonstration by a BSPB team with a trained anti-poison detection dog and an expedition along the Arda River.
The youth camp was organized as part of the educational activities under the LIFE project, “Restoration of the Cinereous vulture population and trophic chain in the Bulgarian-Greek cross-border region“, implemented on the Bulgarian side by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in collaboration with Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation. The project (No. 101148254 — LIFE23-NAT-BG-LIFE Rhodope Vulture) is co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE program and Rewilding Europe.