The great journeys of “Vaios”
The Bonelli’s eagle named “Vaios” was born in March 2021 in southern Andros, at an intensively monitored territory, in the framework of the LIFE Bonelli eastMed Project.
He was tagged with a satellite transmitter by the NCC Team on the 25th of April 2021 and took his first flight almost one month later, on the 17th of May.
After a two-month stay in Andros, on the 18th of July he started his journeys, conducting the largest dispersion ever recorded by a Bonelli’s eagle, in the framework of the LIFE Bonelli eastMed Project.
He crossed to the mainland of Greece via Evia and then he continued towards the Northwest. On the 26th of July he arrived in Hungary, after having passed through most of the Balkan countries. At the end of July he entered into Austria, where he had a short adventure, since on the 4th of August, during a storm, he fell exhausted on a field. From there he was collected by local bird watchers, who were following his every move with great enthusiasm, since it is a very rare species for Austria. Vaios was taken to a Wildlife Care Center, and after no injury was found, he stayed for approximately one week in order to regain strenght. Finally, he returned back to nature on the 12th of August. The rest he got proved to be very effective as he immediately started crossing the Alps, passing through Italy, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, entering in Germany and on the 21st of August he crossed river Rhine into France.
Vaios spent the whole of his first winter in the area between Auxerre and Troyes and on the 24th of March 2022 he started his return journey, this time having less adventures and wanderings. He arrived in Greece onApril 7th and after a short pass through Evros area, (also ticking Turkey in his shortlist of visited countries), he wandered in the plains of central Bulgaria.
Then, he returned back to Greece and he visited Chalkidiki on 14/04. But the wanderlust of this restless Bonelli’s eagle was not quenched yet, so our intrepid explorer left again towards north, passing through the eastern Balkans, reaching war-torn Ukraine (21/04), passed through Belarus (25/04) and on 28/04/2022 he crossed the border of Russia. But his stay there was not long, as on the 2nd of May he was already back in Hungary, where he stayed for almost one month. In June he returned back to France and spent the winter in almost the same area of central France fro a second time in a row.
The following Spring Vaios made another long trip back to Greece and from there through Bulgaria he went on to pass into the coast of Asia minor. From there the narrow sea separating Lesvos from Turkey was crossed by Vaios, and up to date he is on the island.
His journey has so far exceeded 24.000 kilometers expanding over 21 countries!
The Bonelli’s eagle reaches sexual maturity at the age of 4 and as closer as the youngsters are getting to that age they tend to lessen their wandering and settle down on the territory of their preference. Vaios is already 3 years old but his restless nature does not let us exclude the possibility of yet another great voyage!
