Thanks Nick! Yes the Lammers were really something; as for Snowfinch... they were nesting in some of the building there, so easily seen and pretty tame, too - but I think the best views we had were in the Gran Sasso NP 3 years ago. Or just visit a ski resort on the Alps in winter!
Will be next summer now, but thank you very much!
Wonderful photos of Bearded Vultures. Please may I ask: are these Bearded Vultures in Italy naturally-occurring or are they part of some re-introduction project?
Thank you. They were naturally occurring until around the beginning of the last century - the last individuals were seen around 1910 in the western Alps, with random sightings later on in the century. The reintroduction efforts started in the early 1990s and the first successful breeding attempt was in 1996. The effort has been very successful with several breeding pairs now established in the Italian Alps.
Thank you so much for this information I wonder if the birds are all ringed?
To be honest, I don't know. The individuals we saw, and the ones we saw elsewhere two years ago weren't ringed. I think that most nest cavities are probably out of reach even for professional climbers, but it may also be for other reasons.
