Winter Quarters: Bald Ibis flown to Tuscany
Animals
25 northern bald ibis, which started in Salzburg, arrived in Italy after a flight of 800 kilometers in Tuscany. They spend the winter there. The migratory birds were accompanied by the crew of two light aircraft to show the animals the way south.
On August 16, a total of 26 northern bald ibises took off from Salzburg and landed in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) oasis in Orbetello after a journey via Tyrol, the plain of the northern Italian river Po and the Apennines. One of the 26 birds suffered a wing injury and had to be taken by car to the winter quarters in Tuscany – thus isolated from the original flock of birds. Ultimately 25 northern bald ibis made the flight south.
Biologists flew in light aircraft and showed the way
The northern bald ibis chicks that hatch in zoos and wildlife parks do not know the flight route in their winter quarters. Therefore, they had to fly their personal foster mothers the way to Tuscany in an ultralight aircraft. The crew of the two hang-gliders is involved in the Waldrappteam project for the reintroduction of Waldrappe.
Objective: Settlement of the northern bald ibis in the Alps
Northern bald ibises are part of a zoological research project involving Austria, Germany and Italy. As early as 2007, the first birds born in Austrian zoos and raised by Upper Austrian researchers started their long journey to Italy.
The Waldrappteam project has been running since 2002 – the aim here is to resettle the Waldrappe, which belong to the ibis birds, in the Alpine region again after around 350 years.
On your own on the return flight
Without the journey south, the animals would not survive the winter in the Alps. The migratory birds will return to Austria in the spring themselves. The bald bald ibis lived in the Alps and the Mediterranean until the 17th century. Illegal hunting is the main cause, accounting for three quarters of bird deaths.