West

Inside Out West Editor, Roger Farrant, grew up in Cyprus and writes the following personal memories of seeing the birds in flight...    

Cyprus childhood

I was extremely lucky to grow up on a British Forces base on the island of Cyprus.

I have a vivid memory of scrambling around on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean and coming within a few feet of a nesting Griffon Vulture.

The 'flying barn door'

For a moment, we just stared at each other before I retreated behind an outcrop of rock, unwilling to risk getting in the way of a startled vulture.

It’s difficult to do justice to the griffon vulture. They are quite simply magnificent and nothing like the scraggy comical creatures portrayed in ‘The Jungle Book’.

They’ve been described as flying barn doors because of their sheer size.

Dramatic fall in numbers

It's now reckoned that there are no more than 20 of them left in the wild and Episkopi is their last stronghold.

There’s a very real danger they’ll become extinct on the island if nothing is done, so, quite a responsibility for the British Forces’ authorities.

From a distance, I’ve kept an eye on how the vultures have been doing.

So I was thrilled when I heard that a conservationist from Wiltshire had been appointed to try to protect them.

Ian Davidson-Watts, from Warminster, has a four year posting as an environmentalist on the British bases, looking after not just the vultures, but a range of other creatures including flamingos, fruit bats and turtles.

Work is underway to protect the species

Not an easy job

For a long time, the large hunting community on the island has had an attitude along the lines of 'if it flies it dies!'

The RSPB believes millions of song birds are shot every year, many of them illegally.

But the main threat for the vultures is not from the hunters.

The Cypriots have a habit of using poisons to kill unwanted animals like foxes and dogs.

The carcasses are dumped and vultures feed on the poisoned meat with fatal consequences.

Part of Ian’s role is to work with partners outside the British bases to try to educate local people about the threats facing the Griffon vultures.

Working for change

Already, he’s made contact with Cypriot environmentalists who are attempting to run a captive breeding programme to help the vultures.

He will advise them on the best way forward to protect the species.

Ian is also trying to instil a sense of pride in the local people about the remarkable range of birdlife they have on their doorstep.

Cypriot schoolchildren are able to visit a conservation centre that’s been set up overlooking the Akrotiri salt lake, where, during the winter months, greater flamingos create a spectacular smudge of pink across the horizon.

I really hope Ian is successful.

It would be such a shame if future generations weren’t able to experience that same joy that I felt seeing them circle upwards in the thermal currents along the Episkopi cliffs.