Cinereous vulture chicks have hatched in Spain’s Iberian Highlands for the first time in around a century. With the species also breeding again in Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains following a 30-year absence, these twin milestones show how long-term rewilding efforts are effectively restoring one of Europe’s largest birds of prey across its former range.
A landmark year for Europe’s largest vulture
The first cinereous vulture chicks to hatch in Spain’s Iberian Highlands for around a century have been born in Alto Tajo Natural Park, marking a major milestone in the recovery of one of Europe’s largest and most ecologically important birds of prey.
With cinereous vultures also breeding again in Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains after a 30-year absence, these latest successes mark 2026 as a landmark year for the species. Together, they demonstrate how long-term rewilding efforts are restoring breeding populations to landscapes where cinereous vultures had long disappeared.
One of Europe’s four native vulture species, the cinereous vulture is the largest bird in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the continent’s most important scavengers. It plays a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems by removing carcasses, preventing the spread of disease and recycling nutrients, while its return also benefits local businesses and communities by attracting wildlife watchers and supporting nature-based tourism.
From reintroduction to breeding success
The two chicks were born to two of the five breeding cinereous vulture pairs that settled in Alto Tajo this spring following their release — the first resident pairs recorded in the region for at least 100 years. While one chick died a few days after hatching, the surviving youngster is developing well and has been fitted with a GPS transmitter that will enable the Rewilding Spain team and partners to monitor its movements after fledging.
The achievement represents the clearest evidence yet that the Cinereous Vulture Reintroduction Programme in Alto Tajo and the Serranía de Cuenca — which has released 37 birds since 2020 — is on its way to establishing a self-sustaining breeding population. Led by the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha through its Department of Sustainable Development and Alto Tajo Natural Park, and carried out in the field by Rewilding Spain and Spanish NGO Terra Naturalis, the programme combines carefully managed releases with artificial nesting platforms, supplementary feeding stations and a purpose-built acclimatisation aviary to help birds settle in their new home.
Towards a new stronghold
One of the successful breeding pairs nested on one of the 21 artificial nesting platforms installed as part of the reintroduction programme, while the other built its own nest naturally. Three additional pairs also occupied artificial nests this season, although none laid eggs.
The establishment of breeding pairs is of even greater long-term importance than the chicks themselves. Cinereous vultures generally breed close to where they were born and, once paired, remain in the same territory for life. The reintroduction team hope these birds and their offspring will become the nucleus of a stable breeding colony that will continue to grow in the years ahead.
“The extensive forests of Alto Tajo and the Serranía de Cuenca have the capacity to support a large number of nests,” says Jorge Layna, a biologist with Terra Naturalis responsible for the reintroduction programme. “We believe the area can become an important breeding stronghold for this threatened species in the years ahead.”
Restoring nature’s clean-up crew
The Iberian Highlands already supports healthy populations of griffon and Egyptian vultures. With cinereous vultures now breeding successfully here, the landscape is on course to once again support all four of Spain’s native vulture species, with plans underway to reintroduce bearded vultures here too.
“We are now an exciting step closer to restoring a complete scavenger community in the landscape,” says Rewilding Spain’s team leader, Pablo Schapira. “This will not only strengthen an essential natural process within the food web, but is good news for businesses and communities here too, as thriving vulture populations attract wildlife watchers who generate income and support local jobs.”
The success in Alto Tajo is part of a broader European comeback. Earlier this year, cinereous vultures also returned to breeding in Rewilding Europe’s Rhodope Mountains landscape in Bulgaria for the first time in more than three decades, with three chicks hatching from eight breeding pairs.
We are now an exciting step closer to restoring a complete scavenger community in the landscape.
Pablo Schapira
Rewilding the skies: European recovery gathers momentum
The cinereous vulture was once widespread on the Iberian Peninsula and across Europe, with thousands of birds soaring through the skies. Throughout the twentieth century the species became increasingly scarce, however, with breeding colonies disappearing from many countries. This downward trend was largely driven by habitat loss, mortality from poisoning campaigns against predators such as wolves, reduced availability of food, direct persecution, and human disturbance.
The achievements in the Iberian Highlands and Rhodope Mountains demonstrate that carefully planned reintroduction programmes, delivered through long-term collaboration between governments, conservation organisations and local partners, can amplify the comeback of Europe’s largest scavenging bird. They also reinforce Rewilding Europe’s Circle of Life approach, which aims to restore complete, naturally functioning ecosystems where scavengers once again play their vital ecological role.
Onwards and upwards
The hatching of the chicks in the Iberian Highlands is the result of years of collaboration, scientific monitoring and sustained commitment. But the work is far from over. Another 13 cinereous vultures are currently undergoing acclimatisation at the programme’s aviary in Peralejos de las Truchas and are due to be released this autumn, further strengthening the growing population.
With breeding populations now becoming established in both Spain and Bulgaria, 2026 will be remembered as a milestone year for the recovery of the cinereous vulture in Europe. After decades of absence from parts of its former range, Europe’s largest vulture is once again reclaiming its place in the skies — and helping to restore the natural processes on which wilder, healthier, more resilient landscapes depend.
