! FIRST AID !        NEW >> "Rosie", the Peregrine

I have been interested in raptors since I was a boy. After years of private ornithological fieldwork I happened to meet the coordinator of the European Bearded Vulture Project, Dr. Hans Frey, who is also in charge of the EGS (Eulen- und Greifvogelschutz Österreich) Center for birds of prey and owls. This is Austria's official rehab center for raptors.

Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) at the EGS Center (Click to enlarge, use the BACK-button of your browser to return!)

Lifetime patients have always been a major problem there, as they occupy their aviaries sometimes for decades. I was offered the possibility to care for some of these birds thus having the great chance of studying them very closely.

Since 1992 I have especially focused on:

• first aid for injured raptors,
• releasing rehabilitated birds back to the wild,
• handling imprinted birds,
• pellet analysis of wild Eagle Owls (Bubo bubo) and
• monitoring of wild native raptors.