Harassment of young griffon vultures nesting on the cliffs of the Kvarner islands is recognized as one of the main threats to the last remaining scavenger species in Croatia.
Out of the total population of around 125 pairs of this strictly protected species of bird, annually even 20-30 percent of young birds fall out of the nest into the sea and they are saved from drowning only by the timely intervention of the staff of the Visitor Center and recovery center for griffon vultures Beli, which is located in the town of the same name on the island of Cres.
Chicks fall out of the nest due to flight inexperience. But this is found in all bird species that nest in elevated positions. Specific position of the nest of Kvarner vultures on the cliffs directly above the sea means that those who do not successfully complete their first flight fall into the sea, which exposes them to unnecessary stress.
The LIFE SUPPORT project
He deals with the problem of disturbing vultures on nests LIFE SUPPORT project, which is managed by the Biom Association in cooperation with project partners. For this reason, one of the most important project activities - SUPpatrol - started these days.
Namely, for the next few years, every summer, Biom volunteers will visit the Kvarner Islands by boat every day and educate people about the presence of nesting colonies of vultures and tourists at sea who happen to be near them.
Also, the volunteer team will during the critical period of June, July and August visit the colonies vultures in search of fallen birds with the aim of increasing the number of rescued birds.
Increasing traffic at sea
The record of the first volunteers of SUPpatrol shows that already in the first days of the campaign, a large number of tourist boats and small private boats were recorded. For example, only code the island of Plavnik, the small island of Kvarner where the griffon vulture Grif hatched at the beginning of spring, on June 22 SUPpatrol recorded the presence of as many as 15 boats.
Fortunately, most of them were just passing through and were quiet. As for this location, it should be noted that the largest number of birds that end up in the Cres recovery center is precisely from Plavnik.
Donation campaign
In order to eliminate harassment as successfully as possible, the Biom association has launched a donation campaign with which it wants to collect funds so that they can provide to volunteers arrival on the island, the necessary food, but also the rental of a boat and a skipper for patrolling along the Kvarner cliffs. For this purpose, it is necessary to collect 30.000 euros.
Anyone can help save the griffon vultures through a donation at the address https://doniraj.biom.hr/prvilet/. This summer, give up one scoop of ice cream and help vultures have a carefree summer, says the Biom association.
The LIFE SUPport project aims to improve the nesting and survival conditions of the last remaining population of the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) in Croatia, which is located on the Kvarner islands.
Most important threats which this project targets are disturbance during nesting, lack of food, poisoning and suffering from electric shock on electricity infrastructure poles.
Source and photo: Association BIOM
