Lammergeiers in the Spanish Pyrenees, 2010

There has been much discussion generated by the arrival in England of a juvenile Lammergeier from the reintroduction program in the Alps this year. This reminded me of my experiences with the species in the Spanish Pyrenees, some ten years ago.

In early February 2010, I spent a few days in the mountains of northern Spain. I called into Gallacanta, the main wintering grounds of the European population of Common Crane. Many thousands of Cranes were present:

But my main target was in the mountains. I had arranged to spend a few days in a photo hide at a vulture feeding site. The site was on a ridge in the Pyrenean foothills. In the picture below, the feeding area is the open area above the dry stone walls. The photo hide can just be seen protruding from the bush on the right side of the feeding area:

A few barrel loads of goat carcasses and goat’s feet and were picked up from a local abattoir en route. As soon as I was safely locked in the hide, the animal remains were distributed across the feeding area. Immediately, about one hundred Griffon Vultures began to gather in the sky. No doubt such numbers would pull in birds from farther afield and hopefully attract a passing Lammergeier or two as well:

It took about 30 minutes for the first Griffons to land. As soon as the first birds hit the ground, the rest of the flock piled in and a true feeding frenzy began. There were Griffon Vultures everywhere, devouring the meat from the bones and often being drawn into confrontation with others. Below, this is the “glare-and-blink ” display (as described on p77 of BWP vol 2):

The sight and sound of a vulture feeding frenzy at close range is something to behold:

A few Black Vultures (now Cinereous Vulture) also joined the feeding Griffon Vultures. These are dramatic birds with contrasting dark masks, pale bill bases and pale napes:

Within a few hours, the Griffon and Black Vultures had stripped most of the meat from the bones on the feeding site. As these birds began to depart, presumably to digest for a few days, the first Lammergeier appeared in the sky above the ridge. Both immature and adult birds were present in small numbers, but I only had eyes for the adults.

The huge size of adult Lammergeiers in flight is hard to convey. They are enormous birds, the largest in all of Europe. Strangely, my overriding memory from ten years ago is not the sight of these majestic raptors, but the sounds. One of my strongest memories is of sitting in the hide at first light on my second morning. From above and behind the hide came the sound of an enormous pair of wings making a strong downbeat, a deep “whoosh, whoosh”. I felt a primeval fear rising within myself: a huge predator was in the sky behind me and there was nowhere to run! Still, I could see nothing. Then a pause, before more wing beats, whoosh-whoosh, so loud they must be nearly over the hide. Then the sky turned black as a Lammergeier blasted low over the hide and swooped down to take a large bone, before disappearing upwards. There was silence for a few moments before a loud thump to the right told me that the bone had been dropped from a height and smashed, to allow easier access to the nutritious marrow. It was like being in a hide in one of the enclosures in Jurassic Park. I was fully adrenalised!

The adults themselves quickly began to establish some sort of aerial hierarchy. There were frequent aerial confrontations between birds, some defecating and descending with talons outstretched on birds they were pursuing from above:

One pair swooped up to confront each other, locked talons, and spiraled down together, before parting. Aerial battles between such massive birds seemed to take up most of the sky, it was like watching winged-Gods wrestling each other. I sat open-mouthed in absolute awe:

The first Lammergeiers to land were young birds. Lammergeier are extremely shy when on the ground. I expect Pteranodons and Quetzalcoatlus felt the same. Juvenile Lammergeiers have a mostly dark plumage, with slightly paler underparts. The head and neck are solid black. For a brief while, I could see all three common western European vulture species together; (l-r) Griffon Vulture, juvenile Lammergeier and Black Vulture:

The young Lammergeiers began devouring the bones that were left by the meat-loving Griffon and Black Vultures. There seemed to be no limit to how large a bone a Lammergeier can swallow whole. Here a goats’s rib disappears…

… in one! The red eye-ring is aquired at very early age and is present on all birds more than a few months old:

Slightly older birds were the next to arrive. Forsman (“Raptors of Europe and the Middle East” 1999) distinguishes six plumage types in Lammergeier before full adult plumage is acquired. Compared to the image above, the bird below has a greyer face, has very worn greater coverts, and more fresh median wing coverts, making it an older bird, although still a juvenile-type:

Subadult Lammergeir also came in to feed. These birds gradually acquire more of the adult-type plumage. This bird has an adult-like grey crown and black lores, and has some of the adult golden feathering in the nape, legs and underparts. However, the mantle and wing coverts are still mottled and juvenile. It swallowed this section of goat’s spine whole:

Here the protective, transparent nictating membrane can be seen, being drawn across the eye, from front to back:

This sub-adult bird became aggressive, spread its wings, and confronted two immature Lammergeiers. Note the mottled underpart feathering, a mixture of adult and immature feathers. The necklace shown by adult Lammergeiers has not yet developed:

The bones furthest from the hide were eaten first. By my second afternoon in the hide, Lammergeiers came to take the bones closest to the hide, providing some incredible intimate views of a notoriously shy species:

The monstrous size of these birds can be forgotten in portraits. Carrion Crows are simply dwarfed by Lammergeiers, they could scuttle easily between its legs.

Eventually, mature adult birds came down to feed:

Magnificent does not do these birds justice. They were more like mythical Griffins (half-eagle, half-lion) but standing in the flesh before me:

In adults, the wing feathers are all dark. The pale central feather shaft contrasts with the dark upperpart feathers beautifully. The neck and underpart feathering in adults is uniformly golden:

The adult birds were the masters of the remaining bones. They only needed to lift a foot to send the Crows scuttling away. I almost found myself leaning back in the hide too when they walked towards my hiding place:

Apparently, Lammergeiers often form breeding units, rather than pairs. It is not uncommon to have three birds in such a unit.

Seeing adult Lammergeier on the ground at close range is an experience that I will never forget. My memories of the sounds of these birds may last even longer.