Egyptian Vulture Conservation Project - a BOTB and Ornithological Society of the Middle East co-funding partnership.

Birds of the Brink is pleased to announce it has teamed up the Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) to help fund the continuation of a project aimed at helping beleaguered Egyptian Vultures in Turkey.

Above: Egyptian Vultures are migrant breeders in Turkey but larger numbers pass through on migration in spring and autumn. ©Klaus Bjerre/Nature Photographers Ltd

 Turkey has an important role to play in the survival of Egyptian Vultures in the eastern Mediterranean, and the Balkan region in particular. The country supports a remnant breeding population of the species. It also serves as an important migration route for birds from farther afield, with bottlenecks in the Adana and Mersin regions.

 Despite the pandemic, a project entitled IMPROVING THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE BIGGEST EGYPTIAN VULTURE POPULATION IN TURKEY was able to run in 2020, thanks to a previous grant from OSME. This allowed BirdLife’s Turkish partner Doğa to locate the most significant breeding areas for the species, and identify key threats that Egyptian Vultures face in the region, both while breeding and on migration: electrocution and poisoning came top of the list.

Above: an adult Egyptian Vulture. ©Paul Sterry/Nature Photographers Ltd

 The continuation of the project will allow Doğa to address the problem of electrocution, in particular at migration bottlenecks in the Adana and Mersin regions. They will share their findings and recommendations with decision makers and electric companies, the aim being to insulate hazardous infrastructures. As a second objective, they aim to survey Egyptian Vulture populations in the Bolkar Mountains Key Bio-diversity Area.

Above: an immature Egyptian Vulture. ©Paul Sterry/Nature Photographers Ltd

 BirdLife International classifies the Egyptian Vulture as Globally Threatened and Endangered due to recent and rapid population declines in India (where poisoning from the veterinary drug Diclofenac is implicated), and chronic long-term declines in Europe and West Africa. A previous Birds on the Brink blog discusses the importance of vultures in general to a healthy environment, the tragedy of their catastrophic global decline, and the role that Diclofenac and other anti-inflammatory drugs have played in their demise.

Above: in Turkey, Egptian Vultures often nest on ledges and in caves in limestone cliffs. ©Paul Sterry/Nature Photographers Ltd