For a second year in a row the young Riga released in Bulgaria decided to welcome summer in the Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria.
Riga is a female Black Vulture, hatched in May 2018 in Riga Zoo, Latvia and sent to become a part of the programme for the restoration of the species in Bulgaria, implemented within the Vultures Back to LIFE Project. Riga, together with the vultures Boyan and Ostrava were accommodated in an artificial nest near the town of Kotel. They were the very first Black Vultures to be released by hacking in the Eastern Balkan Mountains in 2018.
Riga left her nest last and surprised us all, heading north almost straight away, reaching as far as the Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria. This part of the Alps is really picturesque and holds a breeding pair of Bearded Vultures and some passing Griffon Vultures, yet Black Vultures are a particularly rare sight and her presence raised a lot of interest. Despite being one of her kind, Riga liked the site and stayed for two months, finally heading south and reaching as far as the southernmost parts of the Peloponnesus and the island of Kytira. The bird spent the winter of 2019-2020 in Greece but visited Bulgaria on several occasions. In April 2020 she even returned to her “hatching site” near Kotel, but then headed north to Romania, quickly returning south and following a visit to the other vulture adaptation aviary in Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park, Northwestern Bulgaria, passed Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia to finally reach… the Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria. The transmitter she carries on her back regularly sends update on her location, so our Austrian colleagues are also able to follow her flight. Furthermore, the bird has been seen several times and was even photographed on the territory of the park. We are very grateful to the photographer Richard Straub, who has kindly provided the photoes from the incredible fight between Riga and Alexa – the female Bearded Vulture from the local breeding pair.
We are looking forward to the further adventures of Riga and are very grateful to our colleagues from Hohe Tauern for their care and kind cooperation!
Contacts:Riga is a female Black Vulture, hatched in May 2018 in Riga Zoo, Latvia and sent to become a part of the programme for the restoration of the species in Bulgaria, implemented within the Vultures Back to LIFE Project. Riga, together with the vultures Boyan and Ostrava were accommodated in an artificial nest near the town of Kotel. They were the very first Black Vultures to be released by hacking in the Eastern Balkan Mountains in 2018.
Riga left her nest last and surprised us all, heading north almost straight away, reaching as far as the Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria. This part of the Alps is really picturesque and holds a breeding pair of Bearded Vultures and some passing Griffon Vultures, yet Black Vultures are a particularly rare sight and her presence raised a lot of interest. Despite being one of her kind, Riga liked the site and stayed for two months, finally heading south and reaching as far as the southernmost parts of the Peloponnesus and the island of Kytira. The bird spent the winter of 2019-2020 in Greece but visited Bulgaria on several occasions. In April 2020 she even returned to her “hatching site” near Kotel, but then headed north to Romania, quickly returning south and following a visit to the other vulture adaptation aviary in Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park, Northwestern Bulgaria, passed Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia to finally reach… the Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria. The transmitter she carries on her back regularly sends update on her location, so our Austrian colleagues are also able to follow her flight. Furthermore, the bird has been seen several times and was even photographed on the territory of the park. We are very grateful to the photographer Richard Straub, who has kindly provided the photoes from the incredible fight between Riga and Alexa – the female Bearded Vulture from the local breeding pair.
We are looking forward to the further adventures of Riga and are very grateful to our colleagues from Hohe Tauern for their care and kind cooperation!
Ivelin Ivanov – ‘New LIFE for Vultures’ LIFE14 NAT/BG/000649 Project Manager
Mob.number: 359887589995, email: iivanov@greenbalkans.org
