Northern Bald Ibises on spring migration: Messengers of hope arrive from Italy
Newsletter 26/03/2020
The first two Northern Bald Ibises arrived at their breeding site in Burghausen, Bavaria. They left from their wintering site Laguna die Orbetello in southern Tuscany a few days ago and covered the distance of around 1,000 km in a few days. Further birds are on the way. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impairs the European reintroduction project.
For 2020, a further release of juvenile birds for the breeding colony near Überlingen at Lake Constance was planned. In the beginning of April, we wanted to collect 32 chicks from a zoo breeding colony at Rosegg in Carinthia. The birds should have been hand-raised and trained to follow a microlight-plane that should have lead them to the wintering site. But for 2020, these plans had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the given conditions it is impossible to carry out hand-raising and training of the birds. The risk for the team would be too high.
But even the basic management of the release population is severely impaired. Most of the birds are currently in Italy, out of range for the project team. Though, most of the birds carry GPS devices, which allow at least remote monitoring. These data provide reason for hope, because an increasing number of birds leave from the Tuscany, migrating to their breeding sites.
For us, birds currently returning from Italy are messengers of hope. They show that life is going on, for nature and for people in this country so badly affected by the current pandemic.
Despite the significant limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we do not expect a sustainable impairment for the European Northern Bald Ibises population. Population growth will be significantly lower this year. However, if we are able to continue the project in 2021, hopefully in the frame of a second LIFE project, the major goal of the project will be achieved, to enrich European fauna by reintroducing the Northern Bald Ibis.
Picture: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no hand-raising will take place. Nevertheless, we are optimistic to continue the project in 2021 as planned. Helena Wehner with hand-raised juveniles, Heiligenberg in Baden-Wuerttemberg 2019. Foto: Anne Schmalstieg
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