There is just one week to go before International Vulture Awareness Day and there are lots of activities planned celebrating these amazing birds not only in Europe but the across the globe.
International Vulture Awareness Day
On the first Saturday in September each year the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Vulture Specialist Group, the UK’s Hawk Conservancy Trust and South Africa’s Endangered Wildlife Trust co-ordinate International Vulture Awareness Day.
This year International Vulture Awareness Day falls on Saturday 1 September and will be a celebration of the brilliance of the world’s 23 species of vultures, the people who work tirelessly to conserve the many species that are classified as endangered and to raise awareness on the threats that they face, from from illegal poisoning to electrocution to collision with lines.
Celebrating vultures at the Vulture Conservation Foundation
This year we will be celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day with a week of activities highlighting our work to conserve and protect the four species of vultures in Europe. Each day in the run up to International Vulture Awareness Day we’ll highlight one of our conservation projects along with one of the four species of vultures. Many of our own vulture conservation projects are taking part and you’ll get a chance to meet the teams protecting vultures across Europe. Check out their websites for more information. LIFE Re-Vultures, Vultures Back to LIFE, LIFE GYPCONNECT, LIFE Rupis and LIFE GYPHELP.
Find an activity
There are countless activities happening across Europe to take part in with many zoos celebrating vultures as part of the day, visit the International Vulture Awareness Day website for your nearest activity.
On Saturday 1 September our very own Alex Llopis, Bearded Vulture Captive Breeding Network EEP Coordinator will be presenting a talk at Parc de Oiseaux.
Other highlights of planned activities include guided birdwatching in Spain’s vulture rich Extremadura as well as visiting the projects such as Proyecto Monachus with a full range of talks and behind the scenes visits.
In France the LPO are coordinating a full two weeks of activities across France celebrating vultures including our LIFE GYPCONNECT + LIFE GYPHELP projects as well as the opportunities across the French Alps to spot bearded vultures.
In Germany, friend of the VCF and dedicated vulture volunteer Bettina Boemans is leading activities at Zoo Duisburg kicking off activities on Sunday 26 August sharing her passion for vultures.
Get involved
If you can’t make an activity in person make sure you check any social media using #VultureAwarenessDay to find all vulture related information. If you’re interested in one of the European species we also share our work using #BeardedVultures #CinereousVultures #EgyptianVultures #GriffonVultures and our conservation work #VultureConservation
