Rare bald ibises are guided to Spain by micro aircraft

Fifteen northern bald ibises have joined a growing flock in northern Spain after human migration guides in micro aircraft led them along the route. The birds belong to a European population of Geronticus eremita, a species that had been extinct on the continent for 300 years.

By the end of the 20th century the last major population, in Morocco, had fallen from 9,000 birds to 250 in the wild. Captive breeding and reintroduction plans were then launched at several sites in Europe, first in Austria and in Jerez, Andalucía. The newest project, in Alt Empordà in Catalonia, has just welcomed the birds from Austria to join a flock that was already established there.

Bernat Garrigós, the biologist who runs the Alt Empordà project, describes the birds as intelligent, very sociable and each with a different personality. They like to check everything that enters the project with their beaks, from socks to food. Because they have never met predators, they have no fear of people and stay curious and trusting.

The team started work in 2024, and by 2025 it had a first-generation flock of nearly 60 ibises. They were released in March at Torre d’en Mornau, a converted Spanish army stable, where two full-time and two part-time staff look after them.