Local partners: City of Burghausen, Environment Department; Bund Naturschutz in Bayern e.V.
Coordinates: 48° 9'22.36"N, 12°49'31.09"E (Breeding Wall Castle of Burghausen, defence wall).
Since the “Bayerische Landesgartenschau 2004”, the Bavarian city Burghausen is a location of the Northern-Bald-Ibis project. Five human-led migrations were conducted since 2007, to guide hand-raised young Ibises from Burghausen around the Alps to the wintering area in Tuscany.
On 28 June 2011, the first Northern Bald Ibis returned independently from Tuscany to Burghausen; it was the female GoJa. Since then, our birds migrate every year from Bavaria to Italy and back again.
At the beginning of April, the first birds arrive at Burghausen, where they start displaying and breeding. The young fully fledge around mid of May. At the beginning of August, the birds leave the breeding area; often, they stay at the northern pre-Alps for several weeks to forage on rich hay meadows. Sometimes, they also return to Burghausen, but they only rarely use the breeding structures to rest or to sleep. In September, the actual migration to the south starts; young birds join older, experienced fellows to find their way to the wintering area.
Burghausen is home of the world´s longest castle. An altarpiece from the 15th century, displayed in the castle museum, pictures a young Northern Bald Ibis, which gives evidence that this species once occurred in the area. Since 2015 , the castle of Burghausen is home to Northern Bald Ibises again. Already in 2014, wooden breeding structures were installed on the defence wall near the “Pulverturm”, to where the birds were relocated from the primary location “Laimgrube” in 2015.
The use of the new location is approved by the Bavarian “Schlösser- und Seenverwaltung”. The funding, project coordination and implementation is executed by the city of Burghausen in close collaboration with the Waldrappteam.
The aim for the breeding area Burghausen in context of the LIFE+ project is the establishment of an independent, migratory colony with 40+ individuals until the end of 2019.
It is not possible to visit the breeding location of the Northern Bald Ibis, to avoid disturbance during breeding.
The birds can be observed between April and August in the surrounding of the breeding site. Members of Waldrappteam, volunteers and the Environment Department of Burghausen care for the colony.
Please keept your distance to the birds, don't lure them, don't feed them!
For further information please contact burghausen[at]waldrapp.eu or +49 151 223 74 920
or the Environment Department of the city of Burghausen +49 (0) 8677 887308.
(c) Waldrappteam
(c) Waldrappteam
