Bartgeier counting day 2024: Hope hope for the giants of the Alps!

Bartgeier counting day 2024: Hope hope for the giants of the Alps!

In Austria, the majestic bearded vultures are currently swinging through the air! With an impressive wing span of up to three meters, this bird of prey is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Once exterminated by humans, there has been more and more in the wilderness since 1986. According to current surveys, the population of the bearded veteran in Austria is around 40 copies, as both dolomitenstadt.at as well as osttirol-heute.at . The establishment of at least twelve breeding pairs that are distributed over the Austrian Alps is particularly gratifying.

The annual inventory takes place as part of the "International Bart Vulture Counting Day", in which almost 1,400 participants on October 12: the heights of the Alps roamed for the "giants of the air". In Austria, 53 nature lovers from Vorarlberg to Carinthia were active. A total of 35 sightings were reported. The counting day not only serves to collect the inventory, but also to prove new breeding pairs and building sites. In the Ötz and Lechtaler Alps and the Hohe Tauern National Park, some breeding pairs were observed, which were already eager to prepare their nests for the upcoming breeding season.

joint efforts for protection

The cooperation between the German-Austrian researchers already shows the first successes: a new bearded vulture couple has been demonstrated. The data collected is currently evaluated to develop targeted protective measures for the endangered way. Despite the encouraging numbers, the beard vulture remains one of the rarest bird species in the Alps, and the protection of their habitats remains of the utmost importance.