Vulture

Conservationists are facing a setback after an endangered white scavenger vulture named Ionas disappeared during his first migratory journey.

Positive signs first emerged in April when experts found that the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), also known as the Eurasian black vulture, a rare but emblematic species of the Dadia Forest in northeastern Greece, had not abandoned the area after what European Union officials described as the largest fire recorded in the EU up to 2023.

The cinereous vulture is back at the Dadia forest in northeastern Greece. So are other big birds, such as the golden and white-tailed eagles.

The forest was devastated in August and September 2023 by a wildfire that burned about 73,000 hectares (730 square kilometers or 282 square miles). About half the forest area is estimated to have been burned.

A red kite, a medium-sized bird of prey that is rare in Turkish, was spotted in Istanbul.

The bird from the accipitridae family, also known as the hawk or vulture family, was sighted by a birdwatcher near a solid waste disposal site in the Sile district.

Currently, 245 white-headed vultures inhabit the region along the Arda River valley, as 60 birds live in the Greek part of the Rhodope Mountains.  

This is the largest number of vultures found to stay overnight in the Eastern Rhodopes since 2005.

Attempts have been made in Bulgaria for several years to restore the bird population. The killed vulture, named "Ultron", was donated to Bulgaria by a Belgian zoo. After adaptation, the bird was released near Kotel. 

Reports emerged from Mesolongi, central Greece, a few days ago of the country's most serious case of vulture poisoning in the last decade, with nine dead birds found so far in the area's lagoon, while two others were transported to hospital in Athens.

Despite rumors and a "bad reputation," vultures play an important role in the environment, said the director of a conservation organization.

Turkish authorities took a small, wounded endangered vulture into treatment on Aug. 8.

A black vulture has been released back to nature after getting weeks of treatment by veterinarians in southeastern Turkey.