And so, with this mighty bird photographed at last, we leave the Lammergeyer, Lord of the African Skies, to his mountain home and the freedom of the great peaks and the lonely skies. Long may he survive!
VULTURES
Eight vulture species are found in southern Africa. They are all large, powerful birds with massive wingspans, the largest being the Lappet-faced Vulture, which weighs about seven kilograms and has a wingspan of 2,6 metres. All are scavenging species, living off carcasses they locate from the air. Their large, broad wings enable them to remain aloft for most of the day, and they use their keen eyesight to find food. Two species, the Cape and White-backed, collectively called griffon vultures, are sociable, foraging, roosting and nesting colonially. They may gather in hundreds at the carcass of a large animal, where they jostle and fight for space. The other vulture species are more solitary in disposition, but many of them also attend carcasses. They all have large, powerful beaks with hooked tips that they use to tear off meat or skin strips. Bearded Vultures are unusual in their behaviour of feeding mainly on bones, which they carry aloft and drop to break into fragments; the Palmnut Vulture is aberrant in having a primarily vegetarian diet.
The Lammergeier Vulture Hide as seen from the road below.
While heading to Giants Castle, we witnessed three species of vultures on a carcass. The smaller, darker bird is the White-backed Vulture, and the larger bird is the Cape Vulture.
The Famous Lammergeier Vulture Hide is perfectly positioned on the edge of the Lower Berg Ridge. Due to the prevailing winds, the Vultures approach head-on and fly over this grassed embankment, make a long loop around the Koppie and back over the hide.
Please watch our YouTube video on the Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg.
Bearded Vulture
Gypaëtus barbatus meridionalis, African species, Gypaëtus barbatus aureus, European species
The high plateau of the Maluti Mountains and the escarpment formed by the Natal Drakensberg form the stronghold in southern Africa of the rare and spectacular Bearded Vulture. Here, an estimated 260 pairs represent the remnants of a population that, a century ago, extended southwestwards along the mountain chains almost to the Cape Peninsula. The bird’s straw-coloured head and shoulders and rufous underparts blend well with the winter landscape of its mountain environment. The rufous colouration of the underparts is not, in fact, feather pigmentation but is caused by iron oxide, which adheres to the birds when they settle on ledges or perhaps when they bathe in mountain pools containing iron-rich water.
Throughout their range, Bearded Vultures, or Lammergeiers as they are sometimes known, are associated with high mountain ranges, among them the Himalayas (where they have been observed at altitudes of 7,900 metres above sea-level), the European Alps (from where the last birds disappeared in the 1880s but to which they are now being reintro-
duced) and the various African highlands – from those in Ethiopia, where they are common, to the Maluti Mountains and the Drakensberg in southern Africa, where they are much scarcer.
First light washes over the Giant’s Castle Peak, and the famous Devil’s Tooth can be seen to the left. Giants Castle Main camp is perfectly positioned to capture the breathtaking Barrier of Spears early and late in the day.
Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) was the star of the day, as we enjoyed many fly-by moments and two landings. The hide’s setting, along with the constant coming and going of other birds and animals, made for a memorable experience that we recommend to any wildlife enthusiast or avid birder.
Bearded Vultures are most often seen in flight and, with their long, slender wings and falcon-like profile, are easily recognised, even from several kilometres. Their enormous wingspan is about 2,5 metres and has long, wedge-shaped tails. They fly with speed and remarkable agility, usually cruising along ridges within 100 metres of the ground as they scan for food. Their wing and tail configuration enables them to fly effortlessly, using lift from hillslopes, which allows them to be independent of the thermals needed by other vultures for gaining height.
First light, and we were at the hide ready to place our bones in anticipation of a Bearded Vulture fly-by.
Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) was the star of the day, as we enjoyed many fly-by moments and two landings. The hide’s setting, along with the constant coming and going of other birds and animals, made for a memorable experience that we recommend to any wildlife enthusiast or avid birder.
These birds are called vultures, not because they are taxonomically closely related to other vulture species, but because they are primarily scavengers, living on the bones and carrion they locate from the air. To a great extent, they depend on food from domestic animals, and their strongholds (for example, the Tibetan and Ethiopian highlands) are regions where subsistence agriculture and stock farming are practised. Most of the Drakensberg Bearded Vultures are similarly reliant on the unsophisticated pastoral activities that occur daily on the high Lesotho plateau, where natural deaths among the free-ranging herds of sheep and goats provide a steady supply of carcasses.
Bearded Vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus meridionalis), African species
The most incredible setting for a Bird Hide with the Majestic Drakensberg Mountain Peaks keeping guard over these unspoilt lands
Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) was the star of the day, as we enjoyed many fly-by moments and two landings. The hide’s setting, along with the constant coming and going of other birds and animals, made for a memorable experience that we recommend to any wildlife enthusiast or avid birder.
Bones comprise a large part of a Bearded Vulture’s diet, and there is usually a good meal to be had even after Cape Vultures have picked a clean carcass. The bird has a unique way of dealing with bones too large to swallow: it carries them high into the air, holds them lengthwise in its talons and then drops them onto a rock surface, often repeatedly, until the bone shatters. Specific sites are especially effective for this purpose: they are called ossuaries, and are readily recognisable by the large numbers of bone fragments that accumulate at and around them.
Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture), Juvenile, was the star of the day, as we enjoyed many fly-by moments and two landings. The hide’s setting, along with the constant coming and going of other birds and animals, made for a memorable experience that we recommend to any wildlife enthusiast or avid birder.
Cape Vultures are like ghosts; they appear. On this chilly morning, seven individuals used this rock outcrop to soak up the first morning rays.
The Bearded Vultures of the Drakensberg and Lesotho highlands live together in pairs year-round. Their ranges centred on resting sites spaced at five to ten kilometres intervals. Within the vicinity of the nest, they are territorial, but when foraging, they overlap with pairs.
Bearded Vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus meridionalis), African species
A pair may cover an area of 5,000 square kilometres in search of food. The nests – large, untidy accumulations of sticks, hair, and wool, often well-caked with excreta – are located in caves and potholes, as well as on sheltered ledges on high cliffs. The same nest is usually used year after year, some becoming impressively large structures. The clutch of two eggs is laid in winter, and the parents share the incubation duties more or less equally, one attending the nest while the other forages. Incubation lasts about 57 days, and the nestling period lasts 15 to 16 weeks. Although both eggs may hatch, and there is little or no aggression between the siblings, only one chick survives.
Bearded Vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus meridionalis), African species
The bones and scraps of carcasses from successful forays often accumulate on the nest ledge to be picked at at leisure. Even when the chick is on the wing, it frequently returns to the nest to feed; it only becomes independent of its parents when they begin their next breeding cycle. In the five or six years it takes these young birds to reach maturity, they range widely, sometimes living semi-communally with other young Bearded Vultures and often scavenging around villages and at refuse dumps, venues not usually used by adult birds.
SOUTHERN AFRICAN
BIRDS OF PREY
PETER AND BEVERLY PICKFORD • WARWICK TARBOTON
Ode to the Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture)
Solitary recluse, your ghostly appearance from the Dragon Mountains lair.
Soaring high, searching in the early morning air.
Powerful in flight, Fiery red eyes that flare.
Vulnerable in existence but humble, what an honour to
Share.
(Alex Aitkenhead)
Bearded Vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus meridionalis), African species
Bearded Vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus meridionalis), African species
Taking flight after landing for a moment, the Bearded Vultures seemed aware of our presence. They were exceptionally shy and landed at the furthest point away from the hide.
Another highlight of our Drakensberg experience, Southern Bald Ibis nearby, memorable as we stood no more than ten meters away from these spectacular locally endemic birds of the Drakensberg
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