In total, 21 bearded vulture chicks (Gypaetus barbatus) They fled to Aragon in this season, according to the inventory carried out by Nature Protection Agents (APN), technicians from the regional government and members of the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture (FCQ).
The objective of this census is to know the size of the population and demographic parameters such as productivity or reproductive successindicators of the population health of this endangered species.
Thus, today, the population is made up of at least 87 breeding unitsof which around a quarter are made up of trios, distributed in the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees and the Iberian system.
Up to 55 positions
During this 2023-2024 season, 55 broods were checked, including 26 bearded vulture chicks born in the wildultimately flying to 21 copies.
Of these 55 positions, the FCQ, with the collaboration of the altitude intervention group of the Government of Aragon and the mountain rescue groups of the Civil Guard, removed the broods from 10 nests for incubation and reproduction in captivity.
Liberation at Peaks and Gredos
With this operation, 10 chickens were obtained which were intended to be released in the reintroduction programs of the species carried out by the FCQ in the Picos de Europa and Sierra de Gredos National Parkas part of the LIFE Pro-Corredores Ibericos Quebrantahuesos project.
The ratio of chickens transported to the number of territorial units checked is 0.28. That’s to say, Only chicks from 28% of the nests monitored successfully flew..
It is a number which marks a model of stabilitylow if we compare it to the values obtained in other mountains such as those of the Alps, where this parameter frequently doubles, but very similar to those obtained in France, Catalonia or Navarre.
Population monitoring
Continuous monitoring also makes it possible to identify possible risk factors. disturbance in the areas of nestingrecreational and sporting activities jobs forestryincluding the maintenance of infrastructure and many other actions in the territory.
The information obtained through monitoring makes it possible to adapt the dates and methods of carrying out these activities, in order to ensure its compatibility with the continuity of reproductionas established in the Bearded Vulture Restoration Plan in Aragon.
ghoul birds
Currently, the guild of scavenging birds is affected by a set of emerging diseases, such as avian malaria or avian flu, which in recent years have been the cause of greater mortality of chickens in the Pyrenean population and which constitute a current source of concern. on the future of these species in the community.
The bearded vulture is an incomparable and large bird, which can exceed 2.80 meters in wingspan, which makes it one of the largest birds of prey in European wildlife.
In flight, the bearded vulture (whose aptly named scientific name means baleen eagle vulture) presents a very long silhouettewith the long and relatively narrow wings (a little wider in juvenile specimens) and a very long wedge-shaped tail, which allow it to fly extremely agile and maneuverable.
Genetic improvement
Recently, four bearded vulture chicks traveled between the autonomous communities of Aragon and Andalusia to mimprove the genetics of this species.
Concretely, two specimens born in Cazorla (Jaén) were transferred to Alfranca (Zaragoza), from where two specimens born in its facilities were transferred to Andalusia.
This bearded vulture chick exchange agreement aims to diversify the genetics of existing populations in the Iberian Peninsulaa measure that includes the Strategy for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture in Spain and Portugal, currently in the development phase.
