The necessary recovery of carrion birds

GironaIn Catalonia, there are seventeen dumps or supplementary feeding points (SFPs) for birds of prey or scavengers. These are authorized and regulated spaces where, subject to a series of requirements, meat by-products not intended for human consumption from slaughterhouses, such as lamb, sheep, or goat feet, can be left. Each of these contributions must be traceable, recorded, and strictly monitored. Thanks to these dumps, some scavenger birds, such as the griffon vulture, have been able to recover, and others, which are still vulnerable or directly in danger of extinction, such as the bearded vulture, the Egyptian vulture, the black vulture, and the red kite, are on the way to recovery.

On the brink of extinction

"In the last century, they lived off domestic animals from extensive livestock farming. They fed on them when a cow, a mare, a donkey, or a goat died. The carcasses were left in the fields or in the mountains, and they ate them," explains Joan Real, a biology professor at the University of Barcelona and a scientist specializing in birds of prey. "They were replaced by tractors, and that was a first for these birds."

The first, but others soon followed. "Extensive livestock farming began to decline, and at the beginning of the last century, many predators began to be hunted with poisons like strychnine, basically for eradication. Raptors ate these poisoned baits and also died," adds Real. All of this caused the necrophagous birds of prey to decline dramatically, so much so that they became extinct in many areas of Catalonia. "In the eastern Pyrenees, all the necrophagous scavengers—black vultures, as they were known—disappeared. In the 1970s, not a single one remained, so to speak. In the western Pyrenees, a stronghold remained, in Pallars," explains Real.

Then, little by little, the populations began to expand. "First, because they stopped persecuting them, they stopped poisoning them because strychnine was banned, and probably also because of the increase in pig farms, because previously, pigs that died were left outside. From then on, the necrophage populations began to expand."

But those years were also when the so-called mad cow disease appeared. "That led to a ban, first by European and then by Spanish regulations, on any dead animal being left in the countryside. All these birds were practically left without food at once. This caused many common vulture colonies to disperse; it was quite a mess," Real recalls. Legislation was passed that carcasses had to be placed in a container and taken to be incinerated, a measure that is still in force today in much of Catalonia, despite some organizations that manage dumpsters.

Three cañitos in Girona

Most of the middens or PAS are in the regions of Lleida and central Catalonia, there are two in Terres de l'Ebre, and three are in the Girona region. "They are to promote necrophagous species that are protected or endangered," says Ricard Casanovas, head of the Fauna and Flora Service of the Generalitat (Catalan Government). The oldest reed bed in Girona is the Coma de Planès, managed by the Cabeceras del Ter Natural Park in Ripollès, which has been in operation since 2002.

Around that time, the Garrotxa Naturalist and Ecologist Association (ANEGX) began providing food to the Comanegra mountain, but encountered several difficulties. One was that winter is the time when these birds need food the most, and they were unable to access it because everything was covered in snow. "So we started leaving them on a mountain range within the municipality of Olot, and to our surprise, the lion vultures started coming. But it wasn't a sustainable situation. Vultures can eat up to three kilos, so they can't fly and stay on the roofs of houses. It was going well because the schools could go and see them [the ANEGX], but that wasn't possible," says Joan Montserrat, president of ANEGX.

They currently manage a reed bed in Alta Garrotxa, called La Canova de Escales, in the municipality of Oix i Montagut, and have a custody agreement with a livestock farm where students go to see the reed bed from a distance. The current reed bed was legalized last year: "The administrative and bureaucratic procedures are very slow," Montserrat laments, "but they've been working to recover them for over twenty years. The scavengers began appearing in La Garrotxa in 2000; before, you never saw them, you never saw them." They currently make a weekly food contribution and have counted 47 vulture nests, 5 pairs of Egyptian vultures, and 4 pairs of golden eagles, "which aren't scavengers but take advantage: when everything is covered in snow and they can't find teak, they go to the reed bed," says Montserrat.

I PASSED the Vineyards in Cabanelles

The latest reed fence or PAS to enter service in the Girona region is the Les Vinyes reed fence, located between the municipalities of Albanyà and Cabanelles, in the north of Alt Empordà, which is also part of Alta Garrotxa. It is located on a property with a land stewardship agreement from the Pioneers of Our Time Foundation. It began its testing phase in 2020, was definitively approved in 2021, and renewed in 2024. The reed is widely used by the Egyptian vulture, and specific contributions are made for this species. This reed has allowed the breeding area of this species to expand eastward into the Pyrenees. The Egyptian vulture recently bred for the first time in Alt Empordà. The area is also expected to promote the recovery of the black vulture population in Catalonia and connect it with populations in France. "The black vulture, the common vulture, the Egyptian vulture, the bearded vulture come here... It's a place that's working very well for the Egyptian vulture, which is a vulnerable species," explains Aleix Millet, head of the foundation's biodiversity department. It began as a feeding ground for scavenger birds, "but other activities have developed from there, such as nature photography, and we also capture, tag, and monitor specimens with universities," Millet adds.

At least ten Egyptian vultures have been recorded visiting the Carrizo de les Vinyes area from March to September. Scientific monitoring of the species is also ongoing, and collaboration agreements have been established with research centers to conduct studies through tagging. There are at least three different specimens of the black vulture, as well as four bearded vultures. At least two golden eagles have also been detected. Other species that frequent the area include the black kite, the red kite, ravens, and crows.

Importance of scavenger birds

There are currently areas designated as Special Protection Zones for the feeding of necrophagous species (ZEPAEN) where animals that die in the wild are allowed to be eaten by scavengers and not have to be incinerated. Nobody ate them. "From my point of view, the problem I see with dumpsites is that you're conditioning the animals, because they depend on this human who brings them food. Animals shouldn't depend on being brought food." "Going to the mountains to find an animal when it dies and taking it to be incinerated has very significant CO₂ costs. In a period in which we are seeking decarbonization, we let the vultures do their natural function, which they are the scavengers of nature, and on top of that, they don't bother me.₂", concludes Real.