site.btaUPDATED Black Vultures Settle in Nests in Eastern Rhodopes for First Time in 31 Years

For the first time in 31 years, two pairs of cinereous (black) vultures have settled in nests in the Eastern Rhodopes, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) said Wednesday. The birds are four-year-old vultures released into the wild in 2022. They are actively expanding and protecting the artificial nests, built by a team of BSPB and Kartalsko Gnezdo Foundation.

The good news comes 14 months after activities were launched to restore the black vulture population in the Bulgarian part of the Eastern Rhodopes. Dr Dobromir Dobrev of BSPB said that a colony in Bulgaria would contribute to the species' survival in the Balkans, because interactions are expected with individuals from the last surviving local colony of some 25 to 30 pairs, inhabiting the Greek part of the Rhodope mountains, and with the reintroduced black vultures in the Balkan Range.

The activities for the return of the black vulture (Aegypius monachus) to the Eastern Rhodopes are implemented by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in cooperation with the Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation and funded by Rewilding Europe. These activities began in 2022, when the first group of 17 birds were released between Madzharovo and Ivaylovgrad after an adaption period in a specially built aviary. In 2023, another group of 13 black vultures arrived from Spain, transported by the Grupo de Rehabilitacion de la Fauna Autoctona (GREFA) nongovernmental organization; they were reintroduced in the wild in November. Some 6 to 10 birds are planned to be released annually in the next several years.