By DPA
Vienna : Speedy almost made it. The three-year old Waldrapp ibis male needed only five days to fly from his hibernation grounds in southern Tuscany 1,000 km into Austria to find his breeding grounds. He crossed three mountain ranges en route, but 40 km from his summer grounds he lost his way and had to be collected by his parents.
Speedy is one of the small but growing population of Austrian-born Waldrapp, or Northern Bald ibises, who are relearning their centuries' old migration patterns with the aid of human "parents" and high-tech micro light planes.
Austrian behavioural scientist Johannes Fritz, 39, and the Konrad Lorenz institute in Gruenau and Scharnstein, Upper Austria, work with a colony of hand raised ibises trying to establish new migration traditions, flying with the flock and teaching the migration ropes to the young.
The ibis or Geronticus Eremita has been extinct in Europe since the 17th century and its existence was often a mystery.
"The Waldrapp was regarded, possibly due to its odd looks as a mythical creature," Fritz said. Rediscovered in northern Africa, a growing number of the highly intelligent birds today populate zoos worldwide. Wild or semi-wild Waldrapp colonies are found in Turkey, Morocco and Syria.
An adult ibis weighs around 1.3 kg and has a wingspan of 1.2m. In captivity they can grow to become 30 years. As they are migratory birds, the birds are genetically programmed to fly from their wintering grounds to the breeding grounds every year after reaching maturity.
Work with the Waldrapp ibis in Austria began in 1998, with a free-flying colony of the highly socialized birds established in Gruenau. In late summer, the mature birds took off – looking for a place to spend the winter according to age-old instincts. But with no experienced birds to lead the way, the ibises where scattered all over the continent, the colony almost lost.
This meant the birds needed help. "They had to be taught. If not they would just fly anywhere … If the birds were to live in the wild one day then we had to rebuild the lost tradition. Instead of parents, so to speak," Fritz said.
At Vienna's Schoenbrunn zoo biology students Martina Schiestl and Tanja Hampel coo over two cardboard boxes with eight fluffy grey ibis fledglings, feeding little Blacky, Arturo, Zoe and the others with insects, baby mice and curd. For the ibises to follow them on the big trip south, they need to build up a close personal relationship with the birds, essentially becoming their parents.
This year about 20 human-imprinted birds will be raised in Schoenbrunn. The fledglings are hand-reared by their human parents a few days after hatching. Ibises lay several eggs – one fledgling always remains with its natural parents.
In the first weeks, the substitute parents are with their feathered charges almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"My eldest son is 10 now. He still comes to greet me when I come by," said one of the former foster mothers.
The project's main hitch is that flying does not come naturally to humans, so the idea was born to lead the birds south with a plane. Over the years, the researchers experimented with different technologies – motorized paragliders, microlights and in 2007 settled for a two-seated paraglider with a gondola and an average speed of 30 km per hour.
During several weeks of training between late April and mid- August, the ibis fledglings are slowly accustomed to gear and plane, before the big flight south begins. Flying time from Austria to Italy is around 10 days, but the trip takes around 26, allowing for resting time and adverse weather conditions. The daily three-hour-trips of 80 to 90 km are usually made in the calm morning hours.
Flying itself was a learning process. In the 2004-05 migrations, planes were too fast for the birds' top speed of 35 km per hour. That may have lead to them not properly remembering their route, one possible reason for Speedy and his companions to get lost.
Another difficulty was the choice of parent. "The main challenge was to find someone who was qualified to be a foster parent and pilot a plane at the same time", Fritz said. Experience showed that male foster parents often could not cope with the stress.
Once in the bird reserve in Ortobello, Tuscany, the birds remain there until reaching maturity at three years. Then, they fly back to their breeding grounds alone. Most of the birds survive the journey, although on average two birds are lost each year, the majority of them killed by hunters.
One week after departing from Italy, Speedy managed to reunite with his mate, Laurel, when flying back south after losing his way. The pair was caught, ferried to their breeding grounds and reunited with the others.
Two days ago, Laurel laid her first egg.
When the ibises fly back to Italy in autumn, Fritz believes they will find their way by themselves, re-establishing sight connection with the proper migration route from the air.