In this news, we will introduce you to the work of the field collaborators on the Green Balkans' "Reintroduction of the Saker Falcon in Bulgaria" project.
Their work begins the moment the first falcon egg is laid at the Rescue Centre's aviaries.
Then, the people working in the field start their preparatory activities.
They clean the adaptation aviaries, check their equipment and mechanisms, tighten the ropes, lay nesting material, repair the feeding tables and perches around the hacks, and prepare the food.
The real work, however, begins when the first young Saker falcons are transferred from the Center's aviaries to the adaptation aviaries in the wild. Then, responsibility for the lives of the little ones lies with the field assistants and their volunteers.
Twice a day - early in the morning and in the evening, using a special elevator, food is loaded into the hack. The condition of the birds is monitored both with binoculars and thanks to special video surveillance in each aviary.
The responsibilities of the field assistants include the assessment of when the youngs are ready to take the wild and independent life in nature. When this time comes, the lid of the aviary is opened very carefully and it is monitored when the young will fly out.
But the work of our colleagues does not end here! They continue to feed on specially adapted "tables" in the area around the aviaries and observe daily the behaviour of the newly fledged young falcons. And this continues until the last falcon leaves the release site. Sometimes the field activities last until the end of July, and sometimes until the middle of August.
Then there is, again, cleaning, de-equipment and "freezing" of the aviaries until the next breeding season, collecting and summarizing data, writing reports and debriefing the past field season!
The project "Reintroduction of the Saker falcon in Bulgaria" is financed by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund and "Armeec" JSC.
Their work begins the moment the first falcon egg is laid at the Rescue Centre's aviaries.
Then, the people working in the field start their preparatory activities.
They clean the adaptation aviaries, check their equipment and mechanisms, tighten the ropes, lay nesting material, repair the feeding tables and perches around the hacks, and prepare the food.
The real work, however, begins when the first young Saker falcons are transferred from the Center's aviaries to the adaptation aviaries in the wild. Then, responsibility for the lives of the little ones lies with the field assistants and their volunteers.
Twice a day - early in the morning and in the evening, using a special elevator, food is loaded into the hack. The condition of the birds is monitored both with binoculars and thanks to special video surveillance in each aviary.
The responsibilities of the field assistants include the assessment of when the youngs are ready to take the wild and independent life in nature. When this time comes, the lid of the aviary is opened very carefully and it is monitored when the young will fly out.
But the work of our colleagues does not end here! They continue to feed on specially adapted "tables" in the area around the aviaries and observe daily the behaviour of the newly fledged young falcons. And this continues until the last falcon leaves the release site. Sometimes the field activities last until the end of July, and sometimes until the middle of August.
Then there is, again, cleaning, de-equipment and "freezing" of the aviaries until the next breeding season, collecting and summarizing data, writing reports and debriefing the past field season!
The project "Reintroduction of the Saker falcon in Bulgaria" is financed by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund and "Armeec" JSC.
