The mountain range of the Hohe Tauern is the main area in Austria, which is regularly visited by young and non-breeding griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in summer. The birds, also known as ‘white-headed vultures’, do not breed in the Hohe Tauern National Park. Their breeding areas are in Friuli (Italy) and the north-western Balkan Peninsula.
The monitoring data shows that 100 to 120 griffon vultures spend the summer in the Hohe Tauern every year. The griffon vultures arrive at the start of the alpine pasture season to search for carcasses of dead animals. The high number of domestic and wild animals that where killed by thunderstorms, falls, diseases, avalanches, but also by predators leads to a sufficient food supply for vultures in the Hohe Tauern. Depending on the food situation, the vultures also switch between breeding areas and summering areas. As part of a scientific project, six griffon vultures were fitted with GPS transmitters at the vulture station of Lago di Cornino. The GPS data and the documentation of observations of ringed birds from south-east and south-west Europe shows the high mobility of this impressive vulture species and its wide-ranging network.
In 2013, three cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) spent the summer in the Hohe Tauern. Since then, a very small number of cinereous vultures have repeatedly been observed in the protected area every summer. Data from tagged and ringed birds shows that the rare guests often fly into the Hohe Tauern in the company of griffon vultures from south-east Europe, but also from western Europe.
