Big brother watches the egyptian vulture

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The Egyptian vulture is classified as internationally endangered, consequently there is a need of varied activities to effectively protect the species. One of these is the study of Egyptian vulture diet which may answer several questions on breeding success, habitat and nest site selection. It seems that the collection of food remains (bones, feathers, tortoise carapaces etc.) may not be adequate, because it comprises only pieces of food which are not swallowed or digested by bird. When vultures feed on large size animals, they provide their chicks with soft tissue like muscles and intestines which after are completely digested and therefore not discovered in the food remain collection. In order to estimate properly the proportion of soft tissue in the diet of Egyptian vulture chicks, the installation of trail cameras at nests seems to be essential.    
In collaboration with our colleagues from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) in frame of the LIFE+ project „The return of the Neophron“ funded by the European Commission and co-financed by the „A.G. Leventis“ foundation, we installed a trail camera on one of Egyptian vulture nest which is about to take picture every single time when birds move.

A trail camera with a camouflage (WWF Greece).