The young male bearded vulture – named Larzac – that was found last weekend in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, made a tour of the country and continued to attract huge attention in Holland. From north Holland the young bearded vulture moved to the island of Schiermonnikoog, where it was seeen by many people visiting thje nature reseve there, and then flew back to the mainland. It passed near the city of Groningen, and also above Blokzijl, and then came back to the area where it was found, and even visited the area where some food was placed for him after a few days of bad weather
Flying great distances and exploring new areas is normal for young bearded vultures. To fly all the way to the north is not that common, but it happens every now and then, usually in Spring. This summer bearded vultures have already been seen in Belgium, the UK and Denmark.
The normal home of bearded vultures are the mountainous regions of Europe, Asia and Africa. There they find the perfect conditions for flying, steep walls for breeding & open landscape to search for bones to feed on. Let’s hope Larzac finds the way back to the mountains!
The VCF is reintroducing bearded vultures in three mountain ranges – the Alps, Andalusia, and in the Massif Central-Grands Causses – the latter project is locally managed by LPO, and is now financed by an EU LIFE grant – LIFE GYPCONNECT – see http://gypaetebarbu.fr/life-gypconnect/
Photos: Hans Pohlmann & Jaap Denee