Ficedula Press Release, May 15, 2023

The Ticino bearded vultures are trying again

For the third year in a row, the Ticino bearded vultures are trying again. After the failures of their first two attempts (2021 and 2022), the chick, born a few weeks ago, now appears to have made it through the critical period and is being cared for closely by both parents.

Ficedula, the Association for the Study and Conservation of Birds in Italian-speaking Switzerland, reports that a pair of Ticino bearded vultures is currently nesting. After the failure of their first two attempts (in 2021 and 2022), the chick, born several weeks ago, now appears to have successfully made it through the critical period and is being cared for intensively by both parents.

We hope that, despite the countless sources of disturbance, a young Bearded Vulture—native to Ticino—will be able to make its first confirmed flight this time, more than 150 years after the species abandoned its breeding sites in our region. Ficedula therefore urges everyone to exercise the utmost caution!

Not only are bearded vultures nesting, but so are several pairs of golden eagles, and they, too, need complete peace and quiet. Birds of prey are very sensitive to drones, paragliders, and helicopters flying near the cliffs; these disturbances startle them, causing the young to fall from their nests prematurely, with fatal consequences.