The project started with its first action, performing premigration counts of Egyptian vultures in Greece!

The project’s actions contributed in the official Balkan EV premigration count 2023. A total of 56 Egyptian Vultures of different ages were counted by the field teams in Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, and Albania. The Eastern Rhodopes, which include Greece and Bulgaria, are home to the majority of the Balkan population, with 43 Egyptian Vultures counted there in total. In 2022, 38 Egyptian Vultures were recorded during the pre-migration count. The higher number recorded this year is due mainly to an increase in the number of immature and subadult individuals in the Eastern Rhodopes.

The project’s team also visited eight different territories in Greece and Albania to record plumage charactristics and facial markings of birds to facilitate future individual identification during migration and wintering.

Stay tuned for further updates on the project’s next phases!