David Izquierdo & Dr. Richard Zink

Hohe Tauern National Park / Owl- and Raptor Centre Haringsee c/o Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna &

The project partner: Parc Nationale du Mercantour Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime Parc National les Ecrins Parc National de la Vanoise Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta & Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso A.S.T.E.R.S. Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio/NP Stilfserjoch Stiftung Pro Bartgeier Vulture Conservation Foundation Parc Naturel Regional du Vercors Scientifically and technically managed by the Vulture Conservation Foundation and supervised by ALPARC

GLOSSARY

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 3 2. IBM DATA BASE ................................................................................ 4 2.1

Intensity of Data base use in 2011 ................................................................................ 4

2.2

Observations in 2011 ..................................................................................................... 5

2.3

Observations per age class in 2011............................................................................... 8

2.4

Telemetry data (By Daniel Hegglin) ............................................................................ 9

2.5

Identified birds ............................................................................................................ 12

2.6

Fraction of Identifiable birds ..................................................................................... 14

3. RELEASED BIRDS 2011 .................................................................. 16 3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4

Summary of the birds released in the Alps on 2011 ................................................. 16 Argentera, Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime (Italy) ................................................. 16 Chatillon en Diois, Parc Naturel régional du Vercors (France) ..................................... 17 Calfeisen, Swiss Alps (Switzerland) ............................................................................. 18 Habachtal, Nationalpark Hohe Tauern (Austria) ........................................................... 20

3.2

Summary of the marking pattern in the Alps 2011 .................................................. 21

4. REPRODUCTION IN THE ALPS 2010/2011 .................................... 21 4.1

Summary of the season 2010/2011 ............................................................................. 21

4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3

Productivity: ................................................................................................................ 24 Total productivity across the years: ............................................................................... 24 Total productivity per geographic region: ..................................................................... 25 Effect of experience in productivity: ............................................................................. 26

5. MORTALITY ...................................................................................... 27 6. FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 27 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................. 28 8. REFERENCES .................................................................................. 28

2

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

1. Introduction The Bearded vulture is one of the most emblematic and characteristic species of the Eurasian mountain ranges, having kept its status of “king of the skies” until the direct persecution exerted by man conducted to its disappearance from most of its former distribution range. By the end of the 19th century the fast increase of hunting pressure in the Alps lead to the total extinction of the species at the beginning of the 20th century. In the mid- seventies, the idea of bringing back the “Lammergeier” started to take form after the meeting of a small group of conservationists in Vienna, and the subsequent support of the IUCN three years later. Ten years passed until this idea became a reality with the release of the first young birds in the Austrian Alps in 1986. The Bearded vulture was already back in the Alpine skies, now it was up to us to keep it there where it belongs. Dealing with the problems that lead to the former situation has not been an easy task, and it required the commitment of a wide number of well-intentioned people from the beginning, that are already passing the task onto the next generations. As the number of birds increased, so did the difficulties to keep an independent control on a local level, and therefore the necessity of establishing a coordinated monitoring across the frontiers became evident. That’s how the IBM was born. And that’s how what a priori seemed a complicated issue, the cooperation among people from different countries and points of view, has evolved into an excellent – and widely praised – family of collaborators. 2011 has been an outstanding year for the project and therefore for the species: The increase in the number of territories marked an historical record of chicks born in the wild, 14 individuals (4 more than in 2010, which was the maximum up to date) with a general increase in productivity, especially in the central Alps where all the controlled reproductive units raised a chick until fledging. There were likewise excellent results in the breeding in captivity, with 21 chicks raised successfully. Moreover, 2011 has been important for the future of the project, with the improvement of the interface of the satellite telemetry data, the publication of an extensive work on the genetics of the Alpine population, the development of a new working plan, or the incorporation of 2 new Members to the IBM. Nevertheless, not all are good news for the vultures, and the menace of old and new threats must be taken seriously. Be as examples the case of the 2 birds poisoned in the south of Spain, the dead of collision/electrocution (probably) of an adult bird in the Alps, or the discovery of another dead bird in the beginning of 2012 in Austria with high levels of lead in blood.

3

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

2. IBM Data base 2.1 Intensity of Data base use in 2011 The level of use of the data base in 2011 has not varied significantly compared to 2010, with a slightly smaller number of entries, meaning a decrease of approximately 8% of accesses. Nonetheless, this year the percentages of use per IBM Member are more even than before, and the differences among Members are not so pronounced. This is shown in figure 1, which is a pie chart displaying the contribution of each partner to the total volume of data base use, separating the Members by colours and countries (yellow are Members from Austria, blue from France, green from Italy, orange from Switzerland and other special cases in grey). HTNP SPB ASTERS PNV PNM PNÉ PNRV PNAM RVA PNS IBM Genetics P.Fasce Figure 1: Percentage of use of the IBM Database per partner in the year 2011

Leaving aside the fraction of IBM, it can be seen in the figure 1 that the teams of PN Vanoise (France) and Stiftung Pro Bartgeier/ Reseau Gypaète Suisse occidentale (Switzerland) have accessed the Data base more frequently than the rest, followed by the teams of ASTERS (France) and Hohe Tauern NP (Austria) and then the rest of partners in different levels. The figure 2 shows a comparison between the level of Data base use and observations entered (both in percentage). Using as an example the work of the IBM Administration, it is observed that due to their administrative work, the percentage of use is quite high, whereas the quantity of observations entered is the lowest (mainly observations outside of the areas monitored by any of the other members) since it is not considered as part of their tasks. Under this basis, there are some Members such as PN Stelvio (Italy) and PN Vanoise (France) in which the access to the Data base is higher than the percentage of observations entered, whereas there are others such as RA Valle d’Aosta (Italy) and Hohe Tauern NP (Austria) that accessed the data base less frequently comparatively but had the highest quantity of observations entered. The first case can be due to the fact that these Members use the Data base for checking stored information or entering other kinds of information (such as reproductive files), while the second case mean that these members log-in comparatively less often, but once they open a session, they enter several observations before logging out.

4

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

25 Data base use 20

Observations entered

15 10 5 0

Figure 2: Comparative between the percentage of Data base use and percentage of common observations entered in the Data base.

2.2 Observations in 2011 Since the year 1986, when the first Bearded vultures were released, more than 45.500 observations of Bearded vultures have been stored in the IBM Data base (up to February 2012). The evolution in the use of the Data base since the year 2000, when the IBM was founded, is shown in the figures 3 and 4. Although the number of observations entered reached its maximum in the year 2004 and has since been decreasing this doesn’t necessarily mean that the work has decreased as well, but instead it also shows the higher level of specialization of data stored, that now is distinguished between the so-called “common” observations, and those of territorial individuals and reproductive units, stored in “reproduction”, with almost 500 extra datasets only in 2011. In any case, with the time, some might think unnecessary to store all observations, or the motivation of the collaborators of our excellent observation network has lessened, which requires a new re-enforcement that can only be achieved in the local level. Furthermore, in the last years some new data bases have been created in a more local level and have rapidly spread through the ornithological and bird-watching communities that collect many of the observations that otherwise would come to the IBM Data base. At the moment the IBM is working to cope with some of these external data bases, but this might take some time yet for the several difficulties that entails. NOTE: Some IBM Members are storing observations in these external data bases with the hope that it will soon be possible to join them to the IBM, but we expressly discourage this action, because it is contrary to the Frame Convention. With respect to 2010, 2011 presented a slight increase in the total sum of common observations entered, amounting up to 1583 (1552 in 2010), meaning an average of more than 4 observations per day. Although the main fall in the number of observations entered occurred from 2008 to 2009, it has been recovering steadily since then, increasing from 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011. This year, some of the data of satellite monitoring (one location per day) has been included in the Data base (see section 2.4) together with the common observations, shown also in the figure 4.

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

In 2011 the differences between countries (see figure 3) have increased from the year before; whereas Switzerland and especially France increased the number of observations entered, Italy decreased this number and Austria as well, although not prominently. When speaking about Members independently (see figure 4), the differences are not so marked, being Hohe Tauern NP (Austria) followed by RA Valle d’Aosta (Italy) on the top and the rest of Members below but more or less equal, until PNR Vercors (France), with the lowest number of data entries. 2011

Austria

2010

Switzerland

2009

France

2008

Italy

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Figure 3: Total number of observations entered in the IBM Database per country (Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy) since the year 2000.

2011

HTNP

2010

SPB/RGSO

2009

IBM ASTERS

2008

PNV

2007

PNM

2006

PNÉ PNRV

2005 PNAM 2004

PNS

2003

RVA P.Fasce

2002

Telemetry 2001 2000 0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Figure 4: Total number of observations entered in the IBM Database per IBM Partner since the year 2000.

6

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

The figure 5 is a map showing the distribution of observations on 2011 per geographic area in 2011. The areas with higher concentration of observations correspond in most of the cases with the controlled reproductive units and release sites, although there are some sectors with many observations and no known territories. The areas without observations show a lower monitoring intensity or lower Bearded vulture population.

Figure 5: Map showing the distribution of observations on each geographic region of the Alps (separated by colours) in 2011.

It is very important to keep in mind that the monitoring by direct “common” observations is an irreplaceable way of collecting highly valuable data that could not be acquired with other more modern monitoring systems such as satellite telemetry and genetics, and neither by the monitoring of territories. Satellite telemetry provides information of radio tagged birds for a certain period of time. It is therefore of high importance in order to control these individuals and study the dispersal behaviour, area of distribution (if it is active for enough time), risks, etc., but it’s not appropriated to provide information about the population status in general. Genetics, on the other hand, can be potentially useful to gather precise information about every individual in the wild and this can be used to monitor the condition of the population and implement specific actions afterwards. However, the capacity to retrieve biological samples is quite low and the analysis costly, being though relegated to be used in a more specific way. Finally, observations of territorial birds are useful to keep an updated and detailed control of the known reproductive (important to remark the “known”) fraction of the population, but are oblivious to the rest of the population unless there are punctual observations while monitoring the territories/nests. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a wide network of observers to report sightings of birds in all different stages, which is the only way to cover the less-known fraction of the population, in particular wild-born birds and among the captive-bred-and-released especially sub-adults, and discover new territories when reporting several observations of one or more birds in the same area. Besides, this is the only way to get information about the behaviour of the birds, it’s necessary for the creation of habitat modelling and, one of the most important reasons: it allows the contact and involvement of external non-connected people. Figure 6 shows the number of observations entered per year in opposition to the number of territories and satellite data, which shows how the former decreased while the latter 2 increased.

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

40

4000

35

3500

30

3000

25

2500

20

2000

15

1500

10

1000

5

500

0

0

Observations Territories Telemetry

Figure 6: Yearly number of observations entered (right axis), territories controlled and satellite data (both left axis) since the year 2000

2.3 Observations per age class in 2011 Out of the 1583 datasets of observations stored in the Data base in 2011, 87% could be assigned to a specific age class of the 4 pre-defined ones (see table 1). By using the demographic model designed by Schaub et al. (2009), the expected number of living individuals per age class in 2011 was calculated; the group theoretically more represented in the population are adults, accounting up to 51,2% of the total, followed by immatures (22,4%), juveniles (13,5%) and finally sub-adults (12,9%). These numbers fit quite well with the results obtained empirically by the percentages of observations per group: Without considering the percentage of observations of unknown birds (that we assume affects equally all age classes), the relative percentages show that adults are the birds more commonly observed (44%), followed by immatures (24%), although the order is inverted for juveniles and sub-adults (respectively 14% and 18%). This can be explained considering that the number of observations of juveniles entered in the Data base in 2011 dropped probably as a result of the introduction of the satellite telemetry datasets in the Data base, so some local administrators find it of lower importance to store direct observations of birds that are monitored by GPS. However, it has to be noticed that the expected percentage of adults in the population (51,2%) and the actual percentage of observed adults (44%) are quite different. This is more than probably biased by the monitoring methodology, since observations of adult birds are mainly stored in the reproduction menu of the IBM Data base. Nevertheless, this could also point out to the fact that there is a certain fraction of non-controlled adults in un-surveyed areas. Table 1: Observations of Bearded vultures in 2011 per age class and expected numbers of birds according to Schaub et al. (2009) Age Class Juveniles

n° obs

% obs

% obs relat.

expected ind/age

% Total ind.

195

12%

14%

23

13,5%

Immature

325

21%

24%

38

22,4%

Sub-adults

243

15%

18%

22

12,9%

Adults

608

38%

44%

87

51,2%

Unknown

212

13%

-

-

-

Total

1583

100%

100%

170

100%

8

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

2.4 Telemetry data (By Daniel Hegglin) In 2011, seven of the 9 Bearded vultures released in the Alps were marked with satellite tags (Vercors: Nisa and Tussac; Calfeisen: Madagaskar, Tamina and Scadella; Hohe Tauern: Smaragd and Jakob. See section 3 for more information about the birds). Due to the excellent results that we obtained in 2010 from a solar-powered satellite tag which was used to follow the bird Ingenius (BG621), it was decided to mark all birds in 2011 with this same transmitter type. The objective is to receive a higher number of locations and especially to follow the birds for a much longer period than in the past years. Thanks to the good performance of the transmitters, we received in 2011 the amazing number of 14.963 locations from 9 birds (7 of 2011 and 2 of 2011) that were equipped with solar-powered devices. Additionally we received 1383 locations from 5 birds which were equipped in 2010 with battery powered devices (Sardona, Lousa, Stephane, Cordouane and Tschadin). All this information gave a very detailed picture of the movements of the released bearded vultures (see figures 7 and 8). A very surprising excursion was observed from the bearded vulture Sardona. At the beginning of the June, we received data from his transmitter from northern France. The bird had left the Alps and, after spending a few days in Normandy, headed north of Paris in the direction of Belgium and the Netherlands. Here Sardona has been observed by ornithologists during several days. In mid-June, Sardona found its way back to Switzerland crossing Luxembourg and Germany (see figure 8). Since then, the young male stayed most of the time in the release region around the Calfeisen Valley. To handle the big amount of data that now can be collected, the wildlife research association SWILD developed a web interface which immediately generates actualized maps as soon as new data arrives. Additionally, public versions were programmed to show the peregrination of the juvenile birds by plotting all midday locations with one-day delay. These maps provide an attractive tool for communication work and are now shown by the regional partners on several platforms (see links below). Another essential innovation in 2011 was the establishment of a link between the satellite telemetry and the IBM Data base. Thanks to a newly built interface, satellite data now can also be used within the IBM Data base and help in certain instances to verify and/or falsify uncertain direct observations. Links to public maps with actual satellite locations of released bearded vultures: Swiss Foundation for Bearded Vultures: e.g. www.bartgeier.ch/sardona/maps (all birds which were released in Switzerland are accessible) National Park Hohe Tauern: http://www.hohetauern.at/de/bartgeier-online.html Parc naturel régional du Vercors: http://parc-du-vercors.fr/ > Nature > Faune > Réintroduction du Gypaète barbu

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

Table 2: Overview on the transmitters used in released bearded vultures in the Alps since 2006 until 2011 2006 m onths Argentera Culan Ortler Folio Natura Zufall Voltoi Tem peratio Rocca Fontvieille Blick Sam uel Nonno Bob Girasole Rosa Monte* Balente* Sandalia* Haristraufu Ikarus Vaulabelle Maseta Condam ine Eustachius Stéphan Cordouane Lousa Ingenius Sardona Kira Figol Tschadin Madagaskar Nisa Scadella Tam ina Tussac Sm aragd Jakob

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2007 8

9

10

11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2008 8

9

10

11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2009 8

9

10

11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2010 8

9

10

11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2011 8

9

10

11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

active data transmission failed transmitter dropped bird retrapped bird died

10

10

11 12

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

Figure 7: Locations of the seven bearded vultures marked with satellite tags in 2011.

Figure 8: Locations of the seven bearded vultures marked with satellite tags in 2010.

11

International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

2.5 Identified birds In 2011, there were a total of 55 birds identified. Although in some particular cases also wild-born birds can be individualized for some specific external characteristic, these are excluded from the list and only captive-born-andreleased birds are accounted. This information has been gathered from common observations, territorial birds and reproduction, Telemetry, Alpine Observations Days and several local reports. The only dead bird found in 2011 in the Alpine range (see section 5) has not yet been identified. The genetic report 2011 was not yet ready when this document was finished so could not be included either. The table 3 shows information of all birds identified in 2011, their age (by the end of 2011) and the source of information. Table 3: List of the birds identified in 2011 displaying Age Class, Age (in days and years), and source of information. The birds with an asterisk are not 100% surely identified Birds Identified birds

Source of information

Bird ID

Age class

Born

Age (d)

Age (y)

C.Obs.

Repr.

AOD

Sat.

Jakob

676

juvenile

24-03-11

282

0,77

x

-

x

x

Smaragd

675

juvenile

19-03-11

287

0,79

x

-

x

x

Tussac

670

juvenile

14-03-11

Scadella

667

juvenile

12-03-11

292

0,80

x

-

x

x

294

0,81

x

-

-

x

Nisa

666

juvenile

09-03-11

297

0,81

x

-

-

x

Madagaskar

665

juvenile

06-03-11

300

0,82

x

-

-

x

Tamina Schubert

669

juvenile

04-03-11

302

0,83

x

-

-

x

661

juvenile

01-03-11

305

0,84

x

-

-

-

Italia 150

660

juvenile

27-02-11

307

0,84

x

-

x

-

Tschadin

629

immature

19-03-10

652

1,79

x

-

-

-

Figol

628

immature

16-03-10

655

1,79

x

-

x

-

Kira

626

immature

11-03-10

660

1,81

x

-

-

-

Ingenius

621

immature

06-03-10

665

1,82

x

-

-

x

Cordouane

618

immature

01-03-10

670

1,84

-

-

-

x

Sardona

624

immature

01-03-10

670

1,84

x

-

-

x

Stephan

616

immature

01-03-10

670

1,84

x

-

-

x

Lousa

619

immature

28-02-10

671

1,84

x

-

-

x

Spelugue

615

immature

24-02-10

675

1,85

x

-

-

-

Elena

613

immature

17-02-10

682

1,87

x

-

-

-

Eustachius

587

immature

02-03-09

1034

2,83

x

-

-

-

Condamine

586

immature

28-02-09

1036

2,84

x

-

-

-

Maseta*

585

immature

28-02-09

1036

2,84

x

-

-

-

Vaulabelle

583

immature

24-02-09

1040

2,85

x

-

-

-

Pinzgarus

558

immature

05-03-08

1396

3,82

x

-

-

-

Girasole*

549

immature

16-02-08

1414

3,87

x

-

-

-

Rocca

516

subadult

20-02-07

1775

4,86

x

x

x

-

Michegabri

488

subadult

08-05-06

2063

5,65

x

-

-

-

Doraja

465

adult

13-03-05

2484

6,81

x

-

x

-

Escalero*

462

adult

27-02-05

2498

6,84

x

-

-

-

Hubertus 2

446

adult

04-04-04

2827

7,75

x

x

x

-

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

Jausiers

413

adult

23-02-03

3233

8,86

-

x

-

-

Martell

395

adult

08-03-02

3585

9,82

-

x

-

-

Ambo

392

adult

27-02-02

3594

9,85

-

x

x

-

Paolo Peila

388

adult

21-02-02

3600

9,86

x

-

-

-

Felice

375

adult

02-03-01

3956

10,84

-

x

-

-

Roure

370

adult

16-02-01

3970

10,88

-

x

x

-

Louis

364

adult

09-04-00

4283

11,73

-

x

-

-

Montblanc

361

adult

12-03-00

4311

11,81

-

x

-

-

Pablo

359

adult

04-03-00

4319

11,83

-

x

-

-

Retia

357

adult

03-03-00

4320

11,84

-

x

-

-

Sereno

348

adult

03-02-00

4349

11,92

-

x

-

-

Veronika

321

adult

22-02-99

4695

12,86

-

x

-

-

Diana-Valais

301

adult

13-03-98

5041

13,81

-

x

-

-

Jackpot 3*

296

adult

07-03-98

5047

13,83

x

-

-

-

Gildo

299

adult

23-02-98

5059

13,86

-

x

-

-

Republic 11

288

adult

20-02-98

5062

13,87

-

x

-

-

Gelas

279

adult

04-03-97

5415

14,84

x

x

-

-

Entraque

266

adult

17-03-96

5767

15,80

x

-

-

-

Andreas hofer

260

adult

26-02-96

5787

15,85

-

x

-

-

Cic

186

adult

02-03-93

6878

18,84

-

x

-

-

Jo

169

adult

09-03-92

7236

19,82

-

x

-

-

Moische

146

adult

13-03-91

7598

20,82

-

x

-

-

Assignat

111

adult

01-04-89

8309

22,76

x

x

-

-

Colleen*

112

adult

19-02-89

8350

22,88

-

x

-

-

Balthazar

99

adult

17-02-88

8718

23,88

x

x

-

-

When compared with the results obtained in 2010, when 49 birds where identified (including the genetic report), the total number of birds recognized in 2011 (55) is higher. However, these figures are deceptive, since the population is now bigger but the number of identified birds didn’t increase accordingly; in fact, there are 7 birds identified in 2010 that were no re-identified in 2011 (BG559, Rurese; BG549, Nonno Bob; BG493, Zufall; BG229, Firmin; BG355, Georg; BG411, Guillaumes; and BG526, Samuel) and only 2 cases of birds that were certainly identified in 2011 but not in 2010 (BG413, Jausiers; and BG266, Entraque). Table 4 refers to the quality of the alpine monitoring in terms of re-identification of released birds in 2011. For each age class, the number of birds identified in 2011 has been defined, together with the expected number of individuals in that group, calculated using the demographic model designed by Schaub et al. (2009) for the Alpine population (considering only released birds), and the final percentage of identified birds has been estimated with both data total and relative. When looking at the total percentage of birds identified of each age class, the results respond to the number of individuals per age class, being adults the most frequent, followed by immatures and finally sub-adults and juveniles, but also to the biases in monitoring (see section 2.3). The results change when we look at the percentage of birds identified in each age group in relation to the expected number of birds (last column on the right). The figures show that the monitoring has been excellent for juveniles and immatures (respectively 100% and 94.1 % of reidentification), whereas the value drops for adults (40,6%) and especially subadults (20,2%).

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

Table 4: Results of re-identification parameters in 2011 and measurement of the quality of the monitoring Expect n° ind.

identified

% Total ident.

% ident. relat.

Juveniles

9

9

16%

100%

Immatures

17

16

29%

94,1%

Sub-adults

10

2

4%

20,2%

Adults

69

28

51%

40,6%

-

-

-

-

105

55

100%

52,5%

Unknown Total

These results are easily explained considering the different monitoring processes and methods. About the juveniles, all of them are specifically followed at least in their first months of life to insure that they adapt properly to the environment; furthermore, 7 out of the 9 birds released this year in the Alps are equipped with satellite transmitters, also included in this section. When speaking about immatures, this high percentage can be explained also because of the use of satellite telemetry in some cases, but especially due to the fact that they still exhibit the individual marking pattern (bleached feathers) which lasts until the birds are 2-3 years old. However, once the birds are in the dispersal phase and moult the feathers, it becomes hardly possible to identify these individuals, as most of the observations are punctual and the birds are roaming around; this is therefore the case of sub-adults, which have the lowest re-identification percentage. Once the birds are settled in a territory, the chances to identify them increase, and the percentage increase once again. Nonetheless, the percentage of re-identified adults is still quite low, not even 50%, so it becomes more and more important to improve the monitoring in these last 2 groups. The average age of the birds re-identified in 2011 is 7,9 years-old, which is quite similar to the average age calculated for the wild population (7,2 years-old), which also prove that the results in re-identification are fairly consistent with the general state of the population.

2.6 Fraction of Identifiable birds One issue that has been arising in the last year is the decreasing fraction of identifiable birds in the Alpine sub-population. Since 1997, year when the first chick was raised successfully in the Alps, the percentage of wild-born birds with respect to the total number of vultures have been increasing to reach more than 1/3 of the population in 2011 (38%), with a rapid increase of more than 25% in less than 10 years (see figure 9). The total population in the Alps is estimated to be of around 170 birds in the year 2011, out of which 65 birds would be wild birds. However promising this could be for the future of the species in Europe, a higher number of wild-born birds also means a higher amount of unidentifiable birds, which hinders the current exceptional conditions for population monitoring.

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

100%

91% 91%

90%

87% 86%

83%

80%

79% 77%

Annual Report 2011

%released 72% 70%

70%

%wildborn 67% 65%

62%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

9%

9%

13% 14%

17%

21% 23%

28% 30%

33% 35%

38%

Figure 9: Percentages of wild born and released birds with respect to the total new birds in the Alps from 2000 to 2011

In 2011, approximately 1/2 (52,5%) of the distinguishable birds could actually be identified (see section 2.5) and since this portion of the population is only 62% of the total (in 2011), this means that 68% of the total population is currently not being identified. The identification of birds is a combination between different techniques, including the classic use of aluminium rings, the use of genetic analyses, and the individual marking pattern (bleaching). Although sometimes difficult to see from afar, aluminium rings are quite resistant to all climatic conditions and the birds cannot remove them, but after some years the colours are hardly recognizable. Genetics is a good method to accurately identify individuals, but is limited by the difficulties on getting samples and the high costs it entails. Furthermore, there are no samples of several birds released during the first years of the project, which in some cases leads to situations of inaccurate identification. Finally, the bleaching marking is the cheapest and better way to identify birds, allowing an easy and accurate recognition of individuals from long distances; however, besides being quite abrasive for the feathers, this method is limited to the first 2-3 years of life, so it doesn’t offer information of the birds while and after the dispersal phase. Presently, the percentage of birds marked by bleaching is lower than 12,4% of the total, so this fraction is not useful to study population parameters. Since the beginning of the project, the intensive monitoring of the released birds first and the control of nests afterwards allowed to virtually have under surveillance the entire Alpine sub-population. The increase in the unidentifiable portion plus the new difficulties faced might lead to the loss of the overview unless new measures are taken. Several actions have been initiated to improve the identification capabilities: During the meeting of the IBM Steering Committee in November 2011 (Mallnitz), it was decided to start the test of darvic rings in captive bearded vultures, which in the future might be used in the wild facilitating the long-distance identification of the birds. Likewise, it was also resolved to start the marking of wild-born chicks in the nest, which was not allowed in the Alps since the beginning of the re-introduction project. Nevertheless, this marking will be limited to the marking of the chicks with aluminium rings and getting samples for genetic fingerprints.

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3. Released birds 2011 3.1 Summary of the birds released in the Alps In the year 2011 a total of 9 birds was released in the Alps in 4 different sites, all of them the same as in 2010 (Argentera, in the Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime, Italy; Chatillon en Diois, in the Parc Naturel Régional du Vercors, France; and Calfeisen in the Swiss Alps), except of Hohe Tauern NP, that changed the classical site in Rauris to the new release site in the Habachtal, since there is a territorial pair close to the former release site. In Andalucía (Spain), where the first Bearded vultures were released in 2006, it was decided to stop the whole releasing program indefinitely as a response to a major poisoning event that caused the death of the birds Cata (BG581) and Pontones (BG515) in the Sierra de Castril (Spain).Therefore, the birds intended to be released this year in the area were transported to the facilities in Guadalentín (Jaen, Spain) and will be kept for future reproduction in captivity. Each released bird was marked with a distinctive pattern by bleaching some tail or/and wing feathers in their dark plumage (Frey & Zink, 2000), keeping the tips dark to avoid confusions with missing feathers. The silhouettes of the birds shown are seen from below; the primaries and secondaries are counted continuously from the wing tip towards the body and the tail feathers are counted from the sides to the centre. Colours shown for the rings have been tried to match those used in reality, as far as possible.

3.1.1 Argentera, Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime (Italy) This year as the one before, there were 2 release sites located in the SouthWestern Alps; in the Italian site, Argentera, 2 males (Italia 150 and Schubert) were released on the 28rd of May.

1) BV660: ITALIA 150 Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Richard Faust Centre (A) 27.2.2011 no - left wing: 22-24 - tail left: 2-4 right: silver; left: black. male 28.5.2011

(view from below)

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2) BV661: SCHUBERT Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Valcallent (E) 01.3.2011 no - right wing: 12-13/ 23-25 - left wing: 20-21 right: silver; left: blue male 28.5.2011

(view from below)

3.1.2 Chatillon en Diois, Parc Naturel régional du Vercors (France) The second site in the South-Western Alps, Vercors, is the westernmost release site so far. This year 2 birds were released in this new site on the 15th of June. A third bird that was intended to be released died before being old enough to leave its parents

1) BV666: NISA Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Zoo of Ostrava (CZ) 09.3.2011 yes - left wing: 3-5/ 14-15 - right wing: 23-24 right: silver; left: cupreous female 15.6.2011

(view from below)

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

Annual Report 2011

2) BV670: TUSSAC Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Zoo of Ostrava (CZ) 14.3.2011 yes - left wing: 2-3 - right wing: 5-6/ 9-10 right: silver; left: pink male 15.6.2011

(view from below)

3.1.3 Calfeisen, Swiss Alps (Switzerland) In the central Alps, the new site inaugurated with a big success in 2010 has been selected once again to release 3 birds, which are of an important rare genetic line. The event took place on the 11th of June.

1) BV665: MADAGASKAR Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Guadalentín (E) 6.3.2011 yes - right wing: 3-4/ 23-24 - tail right: 2-4 right: silver; left: gold male 11.6.2011

(view from below)

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International Bearded vulture Monitoring (IBM)

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2) BV667: SCADELLA Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Guadalentín (E) 12.3.2011 yes - right wing: 22-24 - left wing: 2-4 right: silver; left: green female 11.6.2011

(view from below)

3) BV669: TAMINA Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks:

Rings: Sex: Release date:

Goldau (CZ) 04.3.2011 yes - left wing: 17-18 - right wing: 2-3 - tail right: 2-4 right: silver; left: red female 11.6.2011

(view from below)

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3.1.4 Habachtal, Nationalpark Hohe Tauern (Austria) This year for the first time a new release site in the Habachtal was used. In principle, as explained above, the release was supposed to take place in Rauris, but it was changed due to the presence of a territorial pair close by. 2 juvenile males were set free on the 21th of June.

1) BV676: JAKOB Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Guadalentín (E) 20.3.2011 yes - left wing: 12-13 - right wing: 2-3/ 8-9 right: silver; left: violet male 21.6.2011

(view from below)

2) BV675: SMARAGD Place of birth: Birth date: Equipped with transmitter: Marks: Rings: Sex: Release date:

Tierpark Berlin (G) 19.3.2011 yes - left wing: 8-9/ 20-21 - right wing: 2-3 right: silver; left: silver male 21.6.2011

(view from below)

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3.2

Annual Report 2011

Summary of the birds released in the Alps 2011 The table 5 is a brief outline of the distinctive marks of each bird released in the Alps in 2011, displaying bird identity, bleached feathers and rings used.

Table 5: Summary of the marking pattern and ringing of each bird released in 2011 ID

Bird Name

sex

left wing

660 661 665 666 667 669 670 675 676

Italia 150 Schubert Madagaskar Nisa Scadella Tamina Tussac Smaragd Jakob

m m m f f f m m m

22-24 20-21 3-5/ 14-15 2-4 17-18 2-3 8-9/ 20-21 12-13

bleached feathers tail left tail right right wing 2-4 -

2-4 2-4 -

rings left talon

right talon

silver silver silver silver silver silver silver silver silver

black blue golden cupreous green red pink silver violet

12-13/ 23-25 3-4/ 23-24 23-24 22-24 2-3 5-6/ 9-10 2-3 2-3/ 8-9

4. Reproduction in the Alps 2010/2011 4.1 Summary of the season 2010/2011 In 2011, a total of 14 birds fledged successfully in the Alps. These astonishing figures mean that the number of wild-born juveniles have increased by 40% with respect to 2010 being therefore by far the most successful year in the history of the re-introduction project. Of the 22 territorial pairs registered for the season 2010/2011, 20 of them laid eggs, out of which 16 chicks hatched; the couples named as Katschberg (Austria) and Chamoussière (Italy) couldn’t raise their chicks until fledging. These results are represented in the figure 10 and the tables 6 and 7. Table 6: Reproductive parameters of the whole Alpine population 1995-2011 positive trend

year

95 96 97 98 99

0

1

2

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

9

1

1

2

3

4

4

5

8

9

Breeding pairs (clutch) 0

1

1

2

4

4

5

6

7

8

8

9

13 15 13 18 20

134

0

1

1

2

3

3

4

6

4

5

8

7

12 11 10 15 16

108

0

0

1

2

1

3

1

5

2

5

7

6

10

83

C1 controlled territories C2 D E F

Mature, territorial pairs

Reproduction with hatching successful pairs (fledgelings)

21

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 11

11 18 15 18 18 15 17 19 21 14 12 16 16 15 17 19 21

7

9

10 14

Total 183 167

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Annual Report 2011

Besides the confirmed pairs in reproductive age, some other pairs under formation (or overlooked so far) have been observed in different areas of the Alps: - South western Alps: 2 potential new couples have been detected, in Ubayette (2 unknown adults) and Haute-Tinée (1 sub-adult, Rocca BG516, and one unknown immature), and an extra territory in Vésubie where a single adult built a nest alone - North-Western Alps: The couple of Valdigne, that bred unsuccessfully in 2010 did not start incubation in the season 2010/11, although 2 birds were observed together from July on, giving hopes for the next breeding season 2011-12. This year it could be observed in Rhêmes an exceptional case of reproduction, with 2 adult females breeding about 9 Km from each other (both laid, but no egg clutched), plus an adult male and a sub-adult male that seemingly conform one single unit. - Central Alps: In summer 2011 we received the news of the observations of an adult couple flying together with a young fledgling begging for food in the region of Foscagno; this pair, which nesting site is still unknown, was considered the 14th successful couple in the year. Besides, there are 3 more sites with potential mature pair formations in val Sinestra (1 adult and 1 or 2 immature/sub-adult, all unknown), val Grosina and val Foraz (2 unknown adults showing nesting activity), plus 2 young couples in Poschiavo (South of Foscagno) and val Tuors. Furthermore, in 2011, there were reports of a possible new pair in Schnals (South Tyrol) that have already been confirmed for the season 2011-2012.

Figure 10: Reproductive parameters on the Alpine population in 2011, showing pairs with clutch, hatchings and finally fledglings, as well as the release sites

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Table 7: Summary of the activity of breeding pairs in the Alps in 2011 organized by country, showing the identity of the pair members, important dates in the reproductive season, offspring (if any) and years of first occupation and breeding. Failures are highlighted in red Country

Birds ID

Pair Male

Austria Total

France

Switzerland

Total

Italy

Female

Gastein/Rauris

Andreas Hofer (BV260)

GT015

Katschberg

Hubertus 2 (BV446)

Ambo (BV392)

2

-

-

Bargy

Balthazar (BV099)

Assignat (BV111)

Clutch

Hatch

Fledge

14.01.2011 09.03.2011 13.07.2011 03.02.2011 30.03.2011 2

2

Chick Failure

Year of first Occupation Breeding

-

Kruml2011

2002

2010

-

11.04.2011

-

2009

-

1

1

-

-

-

-

Clarins 2011

1996

1997

21.02.2011 24.04.2011 20.08.2011

Aravis

GT028

Republic 11 (BV288)

22.01.2011

-

-

19.03.2011

-

2006

2009

Termignon

Stelvio GT018

Gelas (BV279)

31.12.2010

-

-

27.02.2011

-

2002

2002

Val d’Isere

?

?

-

Aile d’or

1995

2002

Peisey Nancroix Phenix Alp action (W01)

Total

Important dates

10.01.2011 11.03.2011 07.07.2011

GT027

10.01.2011 09.03.2011 10.07.2011

-

Pépite

2004

2005

Source de l'Ubaye

Sereno (BV348)

Roure (BV370)

18.01.2011 14.03.2011 16.07.2011

-

Ubaye

2007

2008

Sixt Fiz

Montblanc (BV361)

Veronika (BV321)

01.02.2011 29.03.2011 10.07.2011

Andagne

Till (?)

Math (?)

8

-

-

Tantermozza

Zebru (W12)

Martell (BV395)

-

Cascade

2004

2007

01.02.2011

-

-

13.02.2011

-

2011

-

8

5

5

3

-

-

-

-

Silvan-Tantermozza

2006

2007

31.01.2011 27.03.2011 17.07.2011

Ofenpass

Livigno (W08)

Retia (BV357)

22.01.2011 17.03.2011 24.07.2011

-

Buffalora-Fuorn

2006

2007

Albula

Louis (BV364)

Diana-Stelvio (W07)

17.01.2011 12.03.2011 03.07.2011

-

Valletta-Albula

2006

2008

Derborence

Pablo (BV359)

Gildo (BV299)

01.01.2011 21.02.2011 14.06.2011

-

Vérouet

2004

2007

Leukerbad

Diana-Valais (BV301)

?

-

-

-

-

-

2011

-

5

-

-

4

4

4

1

-

-

-

-

03.06.2011

-

2011

-

-

Rimani

2002

2002

Chamoussière

?

?

Zebru

?

Felice (BV375)

05.03.2011 10.05.2011

10.01.2011 05.03.2011 22.07.2011

Livigno

Cic (BV186)

Moische (BV146)

Rhemes

?

?

12.02.2011

18.01.2011 13.03.2011 08.07.2011

Foscagno

?

?

01.02.2011 27.03.2011 30.07.2011 11.01.2001 09.03.2011 22.06.2011

-

-

-

Livignornitho.it

1999

2000

08.04.2011

-

2010

-

-

Foscagno2011

?

2011

Valle del Braulio

?

Jo (BV169)

-

Braulio-monticola.org

1997

1998

Total

6

-

-

6

5

4

2

-

-

-

Total 2011

21

-

-

20

16

14

7

-

-

-

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Annual Report 2011

4.2 Productivity Productivity is measured as the number of fledged birds successfully raised per mature unit, and it is considered as an optimal parameter to check the state of the population, both on the general level when is calculated for the whole population, and on the local level giving an idea of the suitability of each area to sustain Bearded vultures.

4.2.1 Total productivity across the years: The total productivity in the Alps has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the reproduction in 1996 (first failed reproduction attempt with clutch), following a positive lineal tendency with a low steepness (see figure 11). The productivity in 2011 was quite high, 0,67, meaning an increase of 17% with respect to the previous year 2010 (~0,5). The average of all the years up to 2011 is almost 0,5 (0,497) (see table 8). The global increase across the years in the values and the overall high level are a good indicator of the positive development of the Alpine sub-population. On the one hand, it can be asserted, as will be explained below (see section 4.2.3), that the productivity raises as the pairs acquire more experience (see figure 13); on the other hand, it is expected that the productivity during the early stages of the project is high while the best breeding sites are still being occupied and there are new optimal areas to be colonized by new couples yet, and therefore the productivity is likely to decrease and stabilize when less suitable areas are being occupied, as it has happened in the Pyrenees, with an average productivity in 2011 of ~0,4 and a total of 0,36 since 1995 (results shown during the Annual Meeting 2011, Mallnitz, Austria). These values are lower as a result, among other possible causes, of the over-population close to the feeding sites used specially in the Spanish sectors. 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0

productivity

Linear (productivity)

Figure 11: Total productivity in the Alps across the years, from 1996 to 2011 Table 8: Reproductive parameters in the whole Alps from 1995 to 2011 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Total C1

Territories

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

9

11

18

15

18

18

15

17

19

21

183

C2

Mature pairs

1

1

2

3

4

4

5

8

9

14

12

16

16

15

17

19

21

167

D

Clutch

0

1

1

2

4

4

5

6

7

8

8

9

13

15

13

18

20

134

E

Hatching

0

1

1

2

3

3

4

6

4

5

8

7

12

11

10

15

16

108

F

Fledgling

0

0

1

2

1

3

1

5

2

5

7

6

10

7

9

10

14

83

% breeding % successful Productivity

0

1

0

0

D/C2 F/D F/C2

0

0,77 0,58 0 0,5 0,7 0,3 0,8 0,2 0,6 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,4 0,6 0,5 0,5 0,5 0,7 0,50 0,5 0,7 1

1

1

1

1

0,8 0,8 0,6 0,7 0,6 0,8

1

0,8 0,9 1,0

0,3 0,8 0,2 0,8 0,3 0,6 0,8 0,7 0,8 0,5 0,7 0,6 0,7

24

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Annual Report 2011

4.2.2 Total productivity per geographic region: The table 9 and figure 12 represent respectively the reproductive parameters per geographic region accumulated up to date and this same parameters of each of the mature couples registered up to date which are located in the provided map of the Alps, and structured in shades of blue. Table 9: Reproductive parameters across the years from 1995 to 2011 N-Western

Central

Eastern

Total Alps

14 4 3 2

82 66 49 38

57 51 48 41

14 12 6 2

167 133 106 83

0,286 0,5 0,143

0,805 0,576 0,463

0,895 0,804 0,719

0,857 0,167 0,143

0,796 0,624 0,497

% breeding

F/D

% success Productivity

Zebru

Bonneval

Ofenpass

Modane

Valdigne

Sixt Fiz

Central

Andagne

Derborence

Chamoussière

Val d’Isere

Peisey Nancroix

Aravis

Termignon

Bargy

N-Western Stura-Pietraporzio

Chatelet

Ussolo-Prazzo

Valle Varaita

Source de l'Ubaye

Pair

S-Western

Rhemes

F/C2

Eastern

Katschberg

D/C2

Heiligenblut

Fledglings

Gastein/Rauris

F

Valle del Braulio

Hatching

Albula

E

Foscagno*

Clutch

Tantermozza

D

Livigno

Mature pairs

Leukerbad

C2

S-Western

D/C2 0,6 0,0 0,0 1,0 0,0 1,0 1,0 1,0 0,9 1,0 0,5 0,0 1,0 0,5 0,7 1,0 0,3 0,0 0,0 0,7 1,0 1,0 0,8 0,7 1,0 0,9 0,9 0,7 1,0 F/D

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 0,8 0,2 0,7 0,6 0,6 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,5 0,6 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 1,0 0,8 0,8 0,6 1,0 1,0 0,8 0,2 0,0 0,0

F/C2 0,4 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,8 0,2 0,7 0,5 0,6 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,3 0,4 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,7 0,8 0,8 0,5 0,7 1,0 0,7 0,2 0,0 0,0

Figure 12: Main reproductive parameters of each reproductive unit per geographic year since 1995, displaying their position in the map of the Alps by ranges.

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Annual Report 2011

The results of productivity show clearly that the “core zones” (NW-Alps, 0,46, and especially Central Alps, 0,72) present much higher values than those of the “extremes” (SW-Alps and E-Alps, both with 0,14), where the number of established mature pairs is also lower. The productivity in SW and E-Alps is extremely low, which is a probable indicative that there are one or more factors affecting the settlement of couples or the upraising of the chicks, or even as a consequence of an eventual higher mortality rates, although these factors have not been clarified up to date. When looking at the pairs individually, the results are more or less the same; only 3-4 couples present really high productivity (> 0,75), 3 of them (Zebru, Livigno and unless proven otherwise, Foscagno) in the Central-Alps and the fourth one (Bargy) in the NW-Alps, and 7 more below the former but still with high values (between 0,5 and 0,75), 4 of them in the Central-Alps (Ofenpass, Tantermozza, Albula and Valle del Braulio) and 3 in the NW-Alps (Termignon, Vald’Isere and Peisey-Nancroix), and below the rest of territories. The big difference between the Central-Alps and the NW-Alps is that in the latter one, the number of registered couples is higher but half of them never raised a chick successfully, whereas in the Central Alps is the other way around; although the overall number of territorial couples is not surprisingly high (half the number in the NW-Alps), these are extremely successful.

4.2.3 Effect of experience in productivity: It is not new for people working with this and other big raptor species, that the experience of the parents is a determinant factor when looking at the reproductive success. However, this year this has been subjected to statistical analysis. The results are shown in the figure 13, which presents the mean productivity of all reproductive units registered in the Data base until 2011 clustered regarding the number of reproductive seasons started (regardless of whether or not it was successful). Likewise, the result of the statistical analysis (means comparison test) gives a p= 0,011. Since p