SEO/BirdLife presents the results of two decades of radio-tagging of Spain’s largest scavenger, a species that does not migrate, through 52 individuals. The itineraries can be viewed interactively.

An extensive study on black vultures in the Iberian Peninsula, involving the tracking of 52 vultures, has identified two unique individuals, Ramón and Singratella, who broke their species‘ sedentary habits to migrate to Africa. The study, conducted by SEO/BirdLife, tracked the vultures between 2002 and 2023, revealing their movements across the territory. The most surprising finding was that Ramón and Singratella crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to spend winter in Senegal, an unusual behaviour for the species. Sadly, Ramón likely died from poisoning in Africa. The study involved the analysis of over a million GPS locations and the findings were presented in a monograph. The tracked vultures were marked in large colonies in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, Castilla y León and Catalonia. The global population of this species is estimated between 8,400 and 11,400 pairs in Europe and Asia, with 20-30% of all breeding specimens located in Spain, where the species‘ status has improved from endangered in 1992 to nearly threatened today. The study also revealed that young vultures are very active, but as they grow older they tend to return to their birth colony. The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of Alicante, the National Park of Cabañeros, the National Park of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the Junta de Extremadura, and conservation associations Trenca and Grefa.