First Egyptian Vultures this Spring in the Rhodopes

The first couples of Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) are back in the Eastern Rhodopes and began to repair their nests.

Egyptian Vulture is a globally threatened species. A few centuries ago it was a numerous bird and even nested on the hills in Plovdiv (Southern Bulgaria), the second biggest city of this country.  Twenty years ago in Bulgaria there were about 100 couples of Egyptian vultures and in 2010 - only 33. If the Egyptian Vulture population decrease continues at the same speed, the species will disappear from Bulgaria in the next decades.

In 2010 twenty five couples of Egyptian vultures -75% of their population in  Bulgaria - nested in the Eastern Rhodopes according to the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. Thanks to the special vulture feeding sites with good supply of “clean” carcasses ( not contaminated) the number of  Egyptian vultures in the Eastern Rhodopes has not decreased over the past five years.

The Eastern Rhodopes have several specially constructed shelters where professional photographers, amateurs and tourists can easily take pictures of Egyptian vultures. It is a favourite attraction for foreign nature tourists.

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