2023-07-22 04:00:17
One month of training left. Then the 35 young northern bald ibises have to fly from southern Germany to southern Spain – a distance of 2,300 kilometers. They don’t know how to get there, because their parents have never flown that route either.
The task of training the young birds is taken on by their human foster mothers, Helena Wehner and Barbara Steininger. At the beginning of July, at eight in the morning, they sit at a table in a blue tent near Binningen Airport. They live here in caravans and tents near Singen, together with camp manager Laura Pahnke, intern Gina Gerecke and dog Bonny.
The two Waldrapp surrogate mothers can be recognized by their yellow shirts. The black-feathered birds with the bare head decorated with crested feathers and the long curved beak were imprinted with this color a few days following hatching. The choice of color has no fashionable reasons. The bright yellow can be seen from afar. An advantage that will pay off today.
Cautious and idiosyncratic young bald ibis
On the table in front of the four young women: freshly brewed coffee, strawberries, jam, bread, mineral water, binoculars, radios and cameras. A chain of lights under the tent roof exudes a touch of coziness. The next flight training session is due to begin shortly, one of three that take place each week.
Today’s training plan says: “Fly into an unknown meadow and overcome structures such as a road or a piece of forest,” says foster mother Helena Wehner, who has been with us since 2017 and raised northern bald ibis for the first time four years ago. Helena Wehner has accompanied more than 100 young birds as they grow up.
The practice of flying to a meadow sounds easy. After all, the northern bald ibis are already three months old, well fed, healthy and have fledged since the end of May. But not only do they each have their own mind, they are also very careful. At their tender age, they follow their foster mothers everywhere.
Recently, however, the foster mothers have boarded an ultralight aircraft on the grass runway and flew away in the hope that the northern bald ibis will follow them. Because this is how the birds are led on their 30- to 40-day journey from Baden-Württemberg to Andalusia in August, depending on the weather conditions, up to 300 kilometers per stage and a five to six-hour flight.
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