A webcam is again bringing us live the antics of a wild bearded vulture pair nesting in Vanoise (French Alps). This pair has laid an egg on the 6th January and is now incubating. The nest is near Termignon, and the webcamera, placed at approximately 1000 m from the nest to avoid any disturbance, has been set up with the permission of the Parc National de la Vanoise.
This pair established itself in the Gorges du Doron in 2001 and has been nesting there ever since. The female, named Gelas, was born in captivity and released at Mercantour (Alpes Maritimes) in 1997, only a few months old. Four years later the female had acquired an adult plumage, and started to breed when only 5 years old, which is quite early for the species. The male is named Stelvio, and was born in the wild in Italy in 1998.
Last year the pair bred successfully, and raised a young baptised Gygybarbe by the local schools – you can see its history here
Bearded vultures are staging a remarkable comeback in the Alps, where there are now 30 established territories, only 100 years after it went extinct there. Spearheaded by the VCF, the reintroduction of the species into the Alps, started in 1986, is a large multinational effort covering 4 countries, and with many partners. 192 birds, almost all young coming from the captive breeding network, have been so far released across the Alpine arc, and last year 16 fledglings came out of wild nests – a new record
When the weather is windy or bad, the image can often appear with bad quality – and obviously it is dark at night! Today the only thing you could see was a snowstorm, but yesterday you could have great views to an incubating bearded vulture.
The VCF would like to congratulate the Parc National de la Vanoise for this initiative
You can see the webcam here
