Newsletter 14/10/2021
The departure of the northern bald ibises to the south is still a long time coming this year. The birds have probably left their breeding grounds everywhere. But they continue to stay on apparently still very abundant feeding areas in the surrounding area. This is not unusual; in previous years, too, the departure has sometimes been delayed until October or even November.
Newsletter 03/09/2021
On September 1st, after a journey of 14 days, we arrived with 28 human-raised juvenile Northern Bald Ibises on the edge of the WWF protected area Oasi Laguna di Orbetello in southern Tuscany. Already during landing, wild bald ibises joined the group of juvenile birds. They have reached the Northern Bald Ibis winter area. This will be their home, where they will stay for the next two or three years until they will return on their own to their breeding area in Austria to raise their own offspring.
Newsletter 25/08/2021
This year's migration is characterised by a number of peculiarities. First and foremost, the 28 young Northern Bald Ibises. Our pilot Walter Holzmüller said after a training flight that these birds were almost scary to him, because they follow with such high confidence and especially because they can be guided to any altitude.
Newsletter 15/08/2021
On August 12th and 13th, the team for the migration was completed and it consists of 13 people. In addition, an English-Canadian film team of 8 people arrived in the last few days and will accompany us throughout the migration. This is probably the largest team in a human-led migration so far.
Newsletter 24/07/2021
In Seekirchen am Wallersee, Land Salzburg, we have a group of 30 young birds who are now super trained. Therefore, we planned a first big flight to Fuschlsee and Mondsee for last Wednesday. A French film crew had arrived on Tuesday to film this circular flight.
Newsletter 30/06/2021
On June 5th, the first ibis hatched in Überlingen on Lake Constance. Almost half a millennium after the extinction of the local breeding colony. In the meantime, the chick is big enough for individual ringing, as it will already fledge in almost two weeks.
Newsletter 10/06/2021
The last recorded evidence of the occurrence of the Northern Bald Ibis in Europe was at the beginning of the 17th century. No longer did the ibises return to breed on the Molasse cliffs on Lake Constance between Überlingen and Sipplingen. After its extinction in Europe, this migratory bird species also disappeared from the collective memory of the European population. For a long time, the historical accounts of the Northern Bald Ibis were thought to be stories, the ibis a fantasy creature.
Newsletter 16/05/2021
On May 9th, the 32 Northern Bald Ibis chicks and their two foster mothers moved from Vienna Zoo to the training camp at the Ackerl family in Seekirchen am Wallersee in the region of Salzburg. Animals and humans have quickly made themselves at home there. Now an exciting time begins, the birds are gradually fledging, and the flight training will soon begin.
Newsletter 29/04/2021
The season is off to a wonderful start this year. Many birds have already returned to the breeding grounds and more are still on the way.
Newsletter 17/04/2021
Hand-raising at Vienna Zoo has begun. Helena Wehner and Katharina Huchler are raising a total of 33 Northern Bald Ibis chicks, all of which come from the Rosegg Zoo in Carinthia. The birds are developing splendidly and are gaining 40-60 grams in weight every day. At the beginning of May, the chicks will start to leave the nests, so it will be time to move to a training camp where they will fledge and be trained to follow the ultralight aircraft.
Newsletter 10/04/2021
After a one-year interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the time has come again. On April 8th, 16 Northern Bald Ibis chicks were taken from the breeding colony at Rosegg Zoo in Carinthia and brought to Zoo Vienna for hand raising. More chicks will follow in a few days until a total of 32 chicks will be reached.
Newsletter 07/04/2021
After a cold front slowed down the Northern Bald Ibis at the end of March, the spring migration is now proceeding all the more rapidly with rising temperatures. Nine birds have arrived in Burghausen, eight in Kuchl and two in Überlingen. Numerous other ibises are on their way north and their flights can be followed on the app Animal Tracker.
