The young bearded vultures Noel-Leya and Schils were brought to the Calfeisen valley (St. Gallen, Switzerland) on the 29th of May. After some time in the release niche, enjoying the warm cosiness of the nest, they have now both fledged. Noel-Leya started to fly already on the 7th of June at an age of 105 days. This is one of the youngest fledging ages within the alpine reintroduction project. In the days after the first flight, Noel-Leya explored the area more on foot than by flying. On the 22nd of June, Schils followed his nest-mate and did his first flight at an age of 119 days. Since then both young birds are improving their flight abilities day by day and will soon be soaring also outside the Calfeistental. At the moment both young birds have to learn a lot of things: how to land, flying with different weather conditions, getting to know other wildlife like ibex and golden eagles, how to break a bone so that it can be swallowed and many more things. Additionaly to the two young freshly released birds up to three older bearded vultures can be observed in the Calfeisen valley almost daily. Sardona (more information) and Madagaskar (more information), which were release in 2010 and 2011 at the very same site are well known in the area. A bird with no marks or rings and therefore a wild-born bearded vulture is also often present. You can find more information about both birds on the website fo the Swiss foundation for the bearded vulture:
Noel-Leya: more information>>
Schils: more information>>
The daily blog written by the team of the Swiss foundation for the bearded vultures provides more pictures and informations: www.bartgeier.ch/bilderblog (only in German)
