Searching for Bearded Vultures in Picos de Europa

This guided tour will bring us to the Picos de Europa National Park where we will search for Bearded Vultures.

The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as the lammergeier, can only since recently be observed in Asturias. It became extinct in Picos de Europa National Park in the early 20th century due to poisoning and hunting. Since then, this astonishing scavenger bird could only be observed in the Pyrenees.

In 2005, the Bearded Vulture Foundation (Fundación para la conservación del Quebrantahuesos, or FCQ) developed a project to reintroduce Bearded Vultures in Picos de Europa. As a result, the Bearded Vulture returned to these mountains. Part of the reintroduction efforts are the use of colored markings on their wings and radio tracking devices. These allow researchers to reconstruct the routes, feeding areas and the habits of each individual in great detail. Since 2010, young birds are released every year and adult vultures visit from the Pyrenees. Since a few years, pairs started to lay eggs in the Picos as well.

This tour starts in the Center for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development ‘Mountains of the Bearded Vulture’ in Benia de Onís. Here, a biologist of the FCQ provides a guided visit and shows us the most interesting aspects about the Bearded Vulture and the reintroduction project. After that, our specialized guide will lead us through the Picos de Europa National Park, trying to find the Bearded Vultures.

Other birds that we may encounter are: Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Short-Toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus), Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Red-Billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Yellow-Billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) and many other alpine species.