During the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season we all cherish tender emotions for our loved ones, who are far away from us in these precious moments. We, at Green Balkans, had somebody else to think about. These were the birds of rare and protected species we had tagged with special transmitters to track their migration around the world. Every single day we can hardly wait the time when the devices send the location coordinates of the birds. And, not like experts but human beings, during the holidays we asked ourselves “where is the Lesser Kestrel BDS now?”, “where’s Belcho the White Stork?”, “and Otec Grigorii, the Griffon Vulture?”
And even more feverishly, on January 1st, early in the morning, we loaded the program to find out how far away from home our friends had gone, as we are getting increasingly attached to these friends of ours over time!
So, let’s start with the two Lesser Kestrel females – BDS and BSB (these are the codes on their ornithological rings). They were equipped with satellite transmitters within “Lesser Kestrel Recovery” LIFE11 NAT/BG/360 project implemented by Green Balkans with the support of the LIFE program of the European Union. These small and graceful falcons migrated south to Africa a couple of months ago, spending the winter months in a safe and warm place. On the very first day of 2016, BDS was located in the territory of Nigeria, while BSB was in Chad.
We have also mounted transmitters on several White Storks.
We don’t know where the juvenile female called Poli from Polikraishte (a settlement in northern Bulgaria) was, but her brother – Kraycho, saw the New Year in Kenya.
We are particularly happy for Victor the Hook – named after the fish hook we removed when we rescued it. Its transmitter made it possible to track its successful recovery and long migration to Africa. On December 31st, in the morning, Victor had left southern Sudan, crossing Kenya, and stopping in northern Uganda.
Poli, Kraycho, and Victor were tagged with transmitters provided by the project “White Stork: Assisting biodiversity conservation during the realization of large infrastructure projects” project, funded by the European Business Congress.
Belcho is the other adult stork – a bird from the village of Belozem – the Bulgarian village in the European White Stork Villages network. It was the first White Stork tagged with a transmitter during the breeding season. Since December 15th, it has been located in the area of Inga dam on the Shabelle River near the town of Asasa in Ethiopia. This is Ethiopia’s biggest Hydroelectric Power Plant - Melka Wakena, built in 1989 at an altitude of 2300 m a.s.l. Belcho was tagged within the project “Flight of the storks” funded by foundations “EuroNatur” (Germany) and “Ciconia” (Liechtenstein) within “Wet meadows and pastures” project. This was the first adult White Stork in Bulgaria tracked through such devices.
For real time tracking of White Storks click here.
Otec Grigorii, the Griffon Vulture, turned out to be something of a homebody. The bird has been tracked by the team implementing “Bright Future for Black Vulture in Bulgaria” LIFE14 NAT/BG/649 project under the LIFE program of the EU. Grigorii saw the New Year on a high voltage electric pylon, at less than 5 km from the vulture adaptation aviary in Vrachanski Balkan. Vultures often use these pylons in case of snowy or bad weather, and we hope this type of electric devices is less hazardous.
For real time tracking of Grigorii click here.
Thus, the New Year brought us stronger hope that the birds will overcome all the difficulties faced during migration and will be back home when the spring comes.
For further information, please contact:
Gradimir Gradev, Green Balkans, Project Manager
Lesser Kestrel Recovery, LIFE11 NAT/BG/360
Mobile: +359 885 609 289; Е-mail: ggradev@greenbalkans.org
For more information about tagged storks and vultures, please contact:
Elena Kmetova-Biro, Project Manager
Vultures back to LIFE - Bright Future for Black Vulture in Bulgaria, LIFE14 NAT/BG/649
Mobile: +359 885 219 557; Е-mail: ekmetova@greenbalkans.org
And even more feverishly, on January 1st, early in the morning, we loaded the program to find out how far away from home our friends had gone, as we are getting increasingly attached to these friends of ours over time!
So, let’s start with the two Lesser Kestrel females – BDS and BSB (these are the codes on their ornithological rings). They were equipped with satellite transmitters within “Lesser Kestrel Recovery” LIFE11 NAT/BG/360 project implemented by Green Balkans with the support of the LIFE program of the European Union. These small and graceful falcons migrated south to Africa a couple of months ago, spending the winter months in a safe and warm place. On the very first day of 2016, BDS was located in the territory of Nigeria, while BSB was in Chad.
We have also mounted transmitters on several White Storks.
We don’t know where the juvenile female called Poli from Polikraishte (a settlement in northern Bulgaria) was, but her brother – Kraycho, saw the New Year in Kenya.
We are particularly happy for Victor the Hook – named after the fish hook we removed when we rescued it. Its transmitter made it possible to track its successful recovery and long migration to Africa. On December 31st, in the morning, Victor had left southern Sudan, crossing Kenya, and stopping in northern Uganda.
Poli, Kraycho, and Victor were tagged with transmitters provided by the project “White Stork: Assisting biodiversity conservation during the realization of large infrastructure projects” project, funded by the European Business Congress.
Belcho is the other adult stork – a bird from the village of Belozem – the Bulgarian village in the European White Stork Villages network. It was the first White Stork tagged with a transmitter during the breeding season. Since December 15th, it has been located in the area of Inga dam on the Shabelle River near the town of Asasa in Ethiopia. This is Ethiopia’s biggest Hydroelectric Power Plant - Melka Wakena, built in 1989 at an altitude of 2300 m a.s.l. Belcho was tagged within the project “Flight of the storks” funded by foundations “EuroNatur” (Germany) and “Ciconia” (Liechtenstein) within “Wet meadows and pastures” project. This was the first adult White Stork in Bulgaria tracked through such devices.
For real time tracking of White Storks click here.
Otec Grigorii, the Griffon Vulture, turned out to be something of a homebody. The bird has been tracked by the team implementing “Bright Future for Black Vulture in Bulgaria” LIFE14 NAT/BG/649 project under the LIFE program of the EU. Grigorii saw the New Year on a high voltage electric pylon, at less than 5 km from the vulture adaptation aviary in Vrachanski Balkan. Vultures often use these pylons in case of snowy or bad weather, and we hope this type of electric devices is less hazardous.
For real time tracking of Grigorii click here.
Thus, the New Year brought us stronger hope that the birds will overcome all the difficulties faced during migration and will be back home when the spring comes.
For further information, please contact:
Gradimir Gradev, Green Balkans, Project Manager
Lesser Kestrel Recovery, LIFE11 NAT/BG/360
Mobile: +359 885 609 289; Е-mail: ggradev@greenbalkans.org
For more information about tagged storks and vultures, please contact:
Elena Kmetova-Biro, Project Manager
Vultures back to LIFE - Bright Future for Black Vulture in Bulgaria, LIFE14 NAT/BG/649
Mobile: +359 885 219 557; Е-mail: ekmetova@greenbalkans.org
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