First breeding of Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Sardinia and temporal and environmental factors affecting its frequentation of a supplementary feeding station

Abstract

The Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus, a medium-sized scavenging bird, is the most-threatened bird species in Italy, with only 10–12 breeding pairs in 2019 distributed in three regions of Southern Italy. With this study, we aim to describe the first documented breeding of Egyptian vulture in Sardinia and to understand which temporal and environmental factors affected its frequentation of a supplementary feeding station. We monitored the nest used during 2019 through direct observations, and the use of the feeding station through camera traps. We fitted a Bayesian Generalised Additive Model to model the effect of the day of the year, the hour of the day, wind direction and wind speed on the presence of Egyptian vulture in a specific hourly time slot at the supplementary feeding station. The chick hatched around 5 July 2019, and it fledged around 21 September. The Egyptian vulture had two peaks of frequentation at the supplementary feeding station: a first one in June, and a second, more important one, between late August and early September. The probability of recording Egyptian vulture peaked between 10:00 and 16:00, and was affected by wind direction, with a slightly higher chance of recording Egyptian vulture when winds came from South-West, West or even North-West, and a lower chance when winds were eastward. This study marks an important step in the conservation of the Egyptian vulture in Italy; it provides an example of spontaneous colonisation, and of the increased attractiveness of the habitat for scavenging birds linked to the actions implemented within a LIFE project. To better target future conservation efforts, it is important to continue with the monitoring and to perform genetic analyses to assess the origin of the individuals.