Number of juvenile birds
days of migration
KM to Andalusia
A human-led migration to Andalusia is planned again this year. Hand-raising of the chicks began on April 4th. Around 32 chicks will be raised, trained, and guided to their wintering grounds in Vejer de la Frontera, Andalusia.
This year, Andalusia is the destination for the third time. Instead of flying to the wintering area in Tuscany, as in the years before 2023, the human-led migration in 2025 will again head to southern Spain to release the young Northern Bald Ibises there into the wild. The partner project Proyecto Eremita has been building a sedentary population of Northern Bald Ibises in Andalusia for 20 years. Our birds will also overwinter there.
Why Andalusia?
Global warming is also becoming a challenge for the Northern Bald Ibis. The birds of the colonies in the northern foothills of the Alps are having increasing problems flying over the Alpine barrier in autumn. A new migration corridor to Andalusia should enable them to reach a suitable wintering area without being hindered by the barrier of the Alps.
Click here for the latest pictures and information:
Timetable for human-led migration 2025
KW 14 - 15
Collection of approximately 32 Northern Bald Ibis chicks at Rosegg Zoo (Carinthia).
KW 14 - 18
The chicks are hand-raised for the first few weeks in Rosegg (Carinthia).
KW 18 - 33
The birds are being raised and trained at the training camp in Taching (Bavaria).
Address:
Schröckenbauer 1
83373 Taching am See
Camp management:
Clara Renner
camp@waldrappteam.at
+49 1525 2424697
KW 33 - 40
Migration through Germany, France, and Spain:
The human-led migration 2025 began on August 19th. We plan to reach our wintering site in Vejer de la Frontera by the end of September.
Current location: Hütten-Hotzenwald (GER)
Next stage destination: Besancon (FR)
KW 50
Release of the HLM 2025 birds in Andalusia.
Migration Diary 2025
September 2nd 2025
In the end, we did not fly to Kißlegg the next day as originally planned. Instead, we decided to extend our stay in Paterzell for another week. The reason was that the birds were not flying as expected, and we wanted to give them more time for training.
Throughout the week, we trained with the birds by moving the microlight along the runway while they followed in the air. Later that week, on Sunday, August 31st, we made another flight attempt. Unfortunately, it was not successful.
Because of this, we decided to transport the birds to our next stop in Kißlegg by car on Monday, so as not to lose more valuable time. The travel day passed smoothly. Late in the night we were surprised by a thunderstorm but the birds and the aviary weathered the storm well.
Tomorrow we will attempt to fly to Binningen.
: D.Barth
August 21st 2025
Unfortunately, our first flight from Taching to Paterzell did not pass as well as we would have hoped. More than half of the birds returned to Taching shortly after take-of. Therefore all birds had to be brought to Paterzell by car. This poor first result was potentially due to a lack of training of the birds. The training this year could not proceed as well as in previous years, due to poor weather conditions.
Although our first flight did not pass as well as expected, we are very hopeful that our next flight day will be successful. Tomorrow, we are leaving Paterzell to fly to Kißlegg.
July 27th 2025
The last few weeks have been emotionally challenging for us.
Strong winds and rain made training almost impossible, so we are a little bit behind schedule. But even worse, there were several tragic accidents during the few days of flying.
First, one bird broke its leg. It was immediately taken to Vienna for surgery, but cannot migrate due to the healing time. Shortly afterwards, three birds collided with a power line – one died, two escaped with abrasions. Just two days later, another bird was so badly injured that both legs were broken. Sadly, it had to be put down.
We are now hoping for stable weather conditions, accident-free training and safe preparation for the upcoming migration.
: C. Renner
July 1st 2025
: C. Renner
June 27th 2025
: C. Renner
June 19th 2025
The 1st free flight took place last Saturday. The gates of the aviary were opened and all the Northern Bald Ibises took off immediately, flying off in all directions. By the evening, 31 birds were back, only one was sorely missed. The following day we searched tirelessly for him, we were even able to see him briefly but he was immediately attacked by a buzzard and disappeared from our field of vision. On Monday morning he actually returned to the aviary on his own and the relief in the team was absolutely palpable.
The following two free flights were very good, the birds did not fly so far away and always followed the instructions of the foster parents.
: B. Steininger
June 12th 2025
The first free flight is coming up soon!
They are currently training hard for this. Initially, the flying machine was only shown to the Northern Bald Ibises and pushed in front of the aviary. In the meantime, the engine has already been started and the foster mothers drove it along in front of the
aviary so that the birds can get used to the sound of the engine.
We are very excited to see what the first free flight will be like and hope for the best.
: M. Batzdorf
May 22nd 2025
Would you like to visit us in Taching am See, get a short guided tour and observe the Northern Bald Ibises from a distance?
Then come and visit us!
From 1st of June until the 27th of July, you can visit us every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3-5 PM.
Address:
Schröckenbauer 1
83373 Taching am See
Germany
We look forward to welcome you!
Note: please leave your dogs at home and do not wear yellow clothing.
: C. Renner
May 13th 2025
: M. Batzdorf
April 29th 2025
All of our 32 Northern Bald Ibis chicks are now eating with a good appetite, which is why our two foster parents Johanna and Marie have now started the famous “Komm komm Waldi komm komm” song during feeding. The Northern Bald Ibises thus associate the song with something positive, which means that the birds always listen to and pay particular attention to their foster parents during the song. This is very important for the migration this summer so that the birds follow the call during the flight.
Our youngest Northern Bald Ibis chick “Fasabi” is now 19 days old, which means that the foster mothers can finally enjoy their first coffee.
The weeks before all foster parents have a strict caffeine, nicotine, medicine and alcohol ban as they enrich the birds food with their own saliva to add digestive enzymes. This is because Northern Bald Ibises naturally feed their offspring with digested food mash.
: J. Haas and C. Renner
April 14th 2025
After the third and final collection, our group of birds is now complete:
32 chippy Northern Bald Ibis chicks are currently being cared for around the clock by their two foster parents in the hand rearing container, located in the backstage area of Rosegg Zoo.
Thanks to the good weather over the past week, the chicks had an excellent start to their adventure – all of them were well-fed and in good health when they were handed over to their foster mothers.
: B. Steininger
April 4th 2025
The first chicks are collected at Rosegg Zoo and given into the care of this year’s foster-parent team, Marie-Luise Batzdorf & Johanna Haas.
: B. Steininger