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Hunted nearly to extinction by the 17th century, the distinctive great white ibis has been revived over the past two decades through breeding and rewilding efforts. But the birds, known for their distinctive black-and-iris green plumage, bald red heads and long, curved beaks, instinctively don't know which direction to fly across without the guidance of their wild-born elders. So a team of scientists and conservationists stepped in as foster parents and flying instructors.
“We have to teach them the migration routes,” said biologist Johannes Fritz.
Once soaring over North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Europe, including southern Bavaria, Germany, the prized migratory bird, known in German as Waldrup, has disappeared from Europe, although small flocks survive elsewhere.
Thanks to the efforts of Fritz and the Waldrup team, an Austria-based conservation research organisation, the population in Central Europe has increased from zero to nearly 300 since the project began in 2002.
The feat has seen the species move from “critically endangered” to “threatened,” and Fritz said it is the first attempt to reintroduce an extinct migratory bird species on the continent.
This photo provided by Waldrup Team Conservation and Research captures a flock of Waldrup ibises migrating from Lake Seekirchen am Waller in Austria to Oasi Laguna di Orbetello in Italy during August and September 2022. (Waldrup Team Conservation and Research via The Associated Press) (Waldrup Team Conservation and Research)
But while the ibis still shows natural migratory urges, it doesn't know which direction to fly in without the guidance of its wild-born elders. Early reintroduction attempts by the Waldrup team were largely unsuccessful, as they didn't teach the birds their migratory routes, and most of the birds disappeared soon after their release. Instead of returning to suitable wintering areas, such as Tuscany or Italy, the birds flew in different directions and eventually died.
There, the Waldrup team stepped in as foster parents and flight instructors for a Central European flock that had emerged from multiple zoo flocks and been released into the wild to create a migratory flock. This year marks the 17th trip with human migratory bird guides, and the second time that climate change has forced them to navigate a new route to Spain.
In preparation for migration, when chicks are a few days old, they are removed from their breeding colonies and taken to aviaries managed by foster parents where they are “imprinted,” allowing the birds to bond with humans and ultimately learn to trust them during their migration.
Barbara Steininger, the Waldrup team's foster mom, said she acts like “the birds' mom.”
“We feed them, we clean them, we clean their nests. We take good care of them and make sure they're healthy,” she said, “but we also interact with them.”
Steininger and other foster parents sat in the back of an ultralight plane, waving and shouting words of encouragement into a megaphone as the plane flew through the sky.
German Bald Ibis (Waldrap Team Conservation and Research)
It's a strange sight — the plane looks like a flying go-kart, with a giant fan on its back and suspended by a yellow parachute — but as Fritz pilots the craft, up to 30 birds follow it as it flies over alpine meadows and rolling hills.
Fritz was inspired by “Dad Goose” Bill Lishman, a naturalist who taught Canada geese to fly with ultralight aircraft beginning in 1988. He later guided endangered whooping cranes to safe routes and founded the nonprofit Operation Migration. Lishman's work was the subject of the 1996 film Fly Away Home, in which the goose's “mother” was played by a young girl.
Like Richmann, Fritz and his team's efforts have paid off: the first bird returned under its own power from Tuscany to Bavaria in 2011. With more birds flying a route of more than 550 kilometers (342 miles) each year, the team hopes that the Central European population will exceed 350 birds and become self-sustaining by 2028.
But because of climate change, the Waldrup's migration is now later, forcing them to cross the Alps in colder, more dangerous weather without the help of updrafts, the currents of warm air that help the birds fly without expending extra energy.
German Bald Ibis (Waldrap Team Conservation and Research)
In response, the Waldrup team has trialled a new route from Bavaria to Andalusia in southern Spain in 2023.
This year's route is about 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles), about 300 kilometers (186 miles) longer than last year's. Earlier this month, the team guided the 36 birds through one stage from the airfield in Paterzell in northern Bavaria under bright blue skies and a tailwind that boosted their speed.
The whole journey to Spain takes up to 50 days, and will finish in early October, but Fritz says the effort is not just about the ibis, but about paving the way for other endangered migratory birds.
