Opening of the training camp
Newsletter 31/05/2019
Currently, 36 young Northern Bald Ibises are hand-raised at the glider airfield Heiligenberg. 32 chicks stem from the breeding colony of Tierpark Rosegg in Carinthia. During the first weeks of hand-raising, they were staying at the Zoo of Vienna; mid of May, they were transferred to Heiligenberg.
Another four chicks come from the Zurich Zoo. They are younger than the ones from Tierpark Rosegg and are representing a genetic breeding line that is under-represented in our wild colonies.
The camp was opened the day before yesterday in the presence of the mayor of the municipality Heiligenberg, representatives of the city Überlingen, the municipality Hödingen, the Überlinger Landesgartenschau GmbH, the Heinz-Sielmann Foundation, the Segelflugverein Heiligenberg and several media representatives. The project manager Johannes Fritz explained the LIFE project and Prof. Peter Bertold presented it in a wider context of species protection and research.
The young birds raised in Heiligenberg are to become the founders of a new breeding colony in Überlingen at Lake Constance. They lack conspecifics who show them the way to the wintering area. That is why they are hand-reared by human foster parents. Flight training will begin in June, with the birds learning to follow a foster mother in an ultralight aircraft. Initially, training will take place only at the glider airfield. From July, the flight distances will continuously be increased to up to 100 km.
In 2020, the first sexually mature Ibises will return from Tuscany to Überlingen. For the first time in 400 years, the species will again be breeding in the cliffs along the shores of Lake Constance northwest of Überlingen, just in time for the Landesgartenschau in Überlingen where the project and the breeding Northern Bald Ibises will be presented.
13 breeding pairs are currently breeding in the two colonies of Burghausen (Bavaria) and Kuchl (Salzburg). We expect a very successful breeding season with up to 30-35 fledged juveniles in these two colonies.
Picture (Waldrappteam): Foster mother Helena Wehner with the hand-raised Northern Bald Ibises. From June 1st, the training camp at the glider airfield Heiligenberg can be visited daily from 1 to 5 pm. Hourly guided tours are available.
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