Monday 5 January 2009

Lammergeier - Bone breaker of the Pyrenees

Out ski touring up towards the French border on Saturday when this majestic Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) circled above us on its regular patrol around these hills in the Hecho Valley.

This bird and its mate nest around the Acherito Valley and can nearly always be seen here if we are out walking or skiing. They have a massive 2.6 metre wingspan. Their main food is bones from dead animals which they break by dropping them on rocks from a height and then eating the pieces. Their Spanish name - Quebrantahuesos means bone breaker.

As you can see from the picture we had a magnificent day. No cloud and freezing temperatures. Snow is predicted for the next few days. So far it´s being one of the best winter seasons ever.

3 comments:

jarnaco said...

Hola Richard, Que tal amigo? no sé si te ha llegado mi anterior correo ya que soy algo torpe con los ratones....y ya sabes que lo mio es más cuestión de plumas.He añadido tu blog a mi lista de enlaces de mí página.Parace que nos hemos puesto de cuerdo en coloca foto de Quebrantahuesos en el blog. Un saludo desde Zaragoza, nos vemos por Embún

jarnaco said...

por cierto la tuya es maravillosa, enhorabuena amigo

Lammergeier Private Nature ReserveLammergeier Private Nature Reserve said...

Thanks a lot for this post. Lammergeier is one of the famous Nature Reserve in south africa. You can find varius birds ana animals in Lammergeier. Lammergeier Hide is a must visit for Bird enthusiasts. You can find numerous vulture species in Lammergeier. Bearded vulture is found in remote mountains of south africa. You can see Birding, Mountain biking, Horse riding trails, Table Mountain Trail, Pelion Valley Walk.