First Bearded Vulture release on Monday 6 May – join us in France

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Earlier this week we announced our plans for the releases of captive-bred Bearded Vultures into the wild over the coming months. The first release of the season is taking place in Parc national des Cévennes in the south of the Massif Central, France, as part of our LIFE GYPCONNECT project.

Connecting populations

Beginning in 2015 the LIFE GYPCONNECT project has been reintroducing Bearded Vultures to the French Massif Central mountain range with the aims of connecting this population with the breeding Bearded Vulture populations in Pyrenees and ultimately with the Bearded Vultures in the Alps. 

Releasing birds 

Handing over the young chicks in a public ceremony in 2018
Handing over the young chicks in a public ceremony in 2018

The releases began in 2010 and so far 15 birds have been released as part of the LIFE GYPCONNECT project. This year we will release six to eight birds in three different releases, two taking place at the Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses and one in the Parc naturel régional du Vercors part of the Cévennes National Park . 

The first release of the release season and for the LIFE GYPCONNECT project of 2019 is happening on Monday 6 May and will see three birds released into the hacking site in the Parc at a public ceremony. Over the last XX years the events have been a popular fixture in the public calendar with many people joining in the festivities and wishing the birds well as they begin their new life in the wild. 

Keep track of the releases by following #BeardedVultureReleases on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

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