Αn extraordinary guarding day (short stories from volunteer guards’ diaries)

15.10.2014

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On the 9th of September in early afternoon while going to an observation point to monitor an Egyptian vulture nest, I thought that the guarding day would pass as usual, nothing extraordinary may happen. At the beginning everything looked normal, the weather and the visibility were just perfect. I was waiting patiently to see my known vulture family of which the daily life has been monitored since few months. I was with them while incubation, chick hatching and fledgling. I knew that the one chick of this was already flying. Checking the nest and the cliff I could not spot any member of the family. Suddenly, at 17:30 the whole family (two adults and one chick) arrived and landed on one cliff of the nest. But wait a minute! Turning a bit the telescope a big surprise waited for me, there were two more chicks on the cliff. They were roosting all together for a while, after one of the "intruder chicks" attacked one adult. When the family decided to go to their nest, the "intruders*" simply followed them. It was amazing observation, at the same time there were three chicks and one adult trying to be inside the nest. Moreover, I could observe the "intruders" eating in the nest. Around 19:00 the "intruders" left. Well, that day was very interesting!

Intraspecific kleptoparasitism by Egyptian vultures especially post-fledglings of food left in other nests is not rare and food piracy in nests of other vultures is also well known.
*Donazar, J.A., Ceballos, O. 1990. Acquisition of food by fledgling Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) by nest switching and acceptance by foster adults. Ibis 132: 603-617.

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