Spanish Court Ruling Sends Strong Signal Against Poaching of Northern Bald Ibises
Northern Bald Ibis in Spain (Foto: B.Steininger)
Spanish Court Ruling Sends Strong Signal Against Poaching of Northern Bald Ibises
In a landmark decision with international relevance, a Spanish court has upheld a prison sentence for the illegal killing of four Northern Bald Ibises, clearly affirming that the poaching of this critically endangered species is a serious criminal offence with real consequences.
2025: A Year of Challenges – and Encouraging Developments
The year 2025 was challenging for the project in many ways. There were numerous losses, partly due to human influences and partly due to natural causes. The first birds that had independently returned from Andalusia to Baden-Württemberg.
Season Review: Tragic Losses and New Hope along the Spanish Northern Bald Ibis Migration Route
The year is drawing to a close, and it has been some time since our last newsletter. Before we conclude the year, we would like to update you once again on key events and new insights from our project.
Within One Hour of Arrival: Two Northern Bald Ibises Shot in Italy
On 16 October, two of our project birds, Zoppo and Zaz, were illegally shot during their autumn migration in the Province of Sondrio in northern Italy – less than one hour after successfully crossing the Alps. Thanks to their GPS transmitters, the incident was detected immediately and authorities were notified at once, enabling rapid response measures.
Human-Led Migration 2025 – A Journey Full of Challenges and New Perspectives
The human-led migration of 2025 has come to an end.
After successfully leading a total of 68 young Northern Bald Ibises to their wintering grounds in Andalusia in 2023 and 2024, a highly motivated team once again set out on 19 August 2025 with 29 young birds from Taching am See, heading south.
Research for Animal Welfare
The use of GPS transmitters has been an indispensable tool in research and species conservation for many years. The Northern Bald Ibis population, which has been almost entirely equipped with transmitters for over a decade, provides valuable data for the protection of this endangered species.
Between Setbacks and Successes: The Northern Bald Ibises on Their Way to France
This year’s human-led migration is proving particularly eventful – marked by challenges, but also by encouraging successes. At Paterzell airfield we had to remain for 13 days. During this time, we tried to make up at least partially for the training deficit from the summer.
Human-Led Migration 2025: A Difficult Start with Open Options
On August 19 at 08:15 a.m., an aircraft took off from the Schröckenbauer farm in Taching am See (Upper Bavaria) together with 29 young Northern Bald Ibises. This marked the beginning of the 2025 human-led migration – the 18th migration of the project overall and the third with the destination Vejer de la Frontera in Andalusia.
Delayed Flight Training and Challenges in the Golf Course Habitat
This year’s flight training of our young Northern Bald Ibises in Taching am See (Upper Bavaria) is taking place under special conditions. The persistently unstable weather – with frequent wind and rain – has prevented many training sessions. Since our ultralight aircraft is particularly sensitive to wind and the training can only take place in the early morning hours, there is only a narrow time window for progress.
Biodiversity at risk: Strong opposition to controversial hunting bill in Italy
A broad coalition of 48 organisations, including environmental and animal welfare associations, scientific institutions and stakeholders from the sustainable economy sector, has spoken out against the hunting bill currently being debated in the Italian Senate.