Return of the Bone Breaker: A 19th century British naturalist’s lasting legacy on one of Spain’s rarest birds

Bearded vultures, also known as lammergeiers, could once again become a familiar sight in Andalucia.
PHOTO: J.M.Garg 

“Of all the great birds of prey there is none which appeals more to the popular imagination than does the bearded vulture or, to give it the imposing title which it still bears in mid-Europe, the lammergeyer.”

Those are the words of Willoughby Verner, a British colonel who served in the Boer War and spent several years posted in Gibraltar. It was during his time in the British enclave that the keen naturalist had the opportunity to indulge his passion for wildlife, in the sierras of Andalucia. Verner’s subsequent adventures are documented in his book, My Life Among The Wild Birds in Spain, which was published in 1909.

Besides writing, the author enjoyed the unusual distinction of having a compass named after him after being credited with its design. He was also recognised for his role in the discovery of ancient rock art at Cueva de la Pileta, near Ronda. But it was his detailed observations of the bearded vulture’s nesting locations that could arguably become his most enduring legacy.

More than 100 years after Verner first laid eyes on them, a Spanish researcher has used the Englishman’s sketches to trace the exact location of the nest sites. The findings could provide valuable information that leads to the reintroduction of the species to one of its old territories.

The bearded vulture is one of Europe’s rarest birds of prey and, with a wingspan of up to 2.8m, it’s also among the biggest. So named for the distinctive black bristles on its chin, it is famed for its habit of breaking bones by dropping them from a great height before eating the marrow. The vultures are typically found in remote, mountainous areas and it was in such a region - the sierras of Cadiz - that Verner observed them.


The amateur ornithologist was so enraptured by his subject that he dedicated two chapters of his book to his encounters with the huge birds. The descriptions focus mainly on the logistics of accessing the nests. This seems to have involved spending an unhealthy amount of time dangling on the end of a rope, hundreds of feet above the ground.

The explorer even takes time to lament the lack of nerve and skill of his ‘rope man’, who was stationed at the top of the cliff.

Willoughby Verner was a keen naturalist who dedicated his free time to studying
Andalucia's wildlife. PHOTO: Wiki Commons

While also revealing his habit of stuffing heather branches in his hat to protect against falling rocks.

But it’s his description of the nests themselves that give the most fascinating insight into the life of these enigmatic creatures. “The nest was a huge affair, built of big boughs, filling up the whole cavern, with a cup-shaped depression 24 inches across, lined with great lumps of black sheepswool, brown goat’s hair and fresh green mosses,” Verner says.

But despite the detailed descriptions of the nest itself and skilled sketches of the surrounding rock face, clues as to the general location of the site are scarce. There is a brief mention of “the gleaming waters of the Atlantic near Cape Trafalgar over 50 miles distant.” And Verner also alludes to “a small Moorish village” somewhere below the valley, but there is little else to go on.

His elusiveness may have been a deliberate ploy to conceal the exact location in an effort to stop rival egg collectors from raiding the nests. Now, Verner has finally met his match in Jose Manuel Amarillo Vargas, a natural history enthusiast who has successfully identified the anonymous valley.

After considering several possible locations, the breakthrough came when the researcher recognised a distinctive rock formation in one of Verner’s sketches. After cross-referencing the drawing against the clues given in the written description, Amarillo concluded that the valley lay above the village of Benaocaz, in Cadiz’s Sierra de Grazalema. The next step was to attempt to identify the limestone escarpment upon which the nests had been built using the sketches and grainy photographs in the book.

The results were as conclusive as Amarillo could have hoped for, even down to the two holm oak trees, the only living witnesses to Verner’s visits. The ecstatic Spaniard promptly dubbed the valley ‘El Tajo de Verner’ in place of its official name, Sierra del Caillo. “When we reached 1,150m we stopped to look up and after a few seconds of silence we all said, ‘This is the place!’”, Amarillo explained at a recent event in Seville. “We walked back down the mountain feeling happy and excited with our 'discovery'.”


One of the nest sites in 'El Tajo de Verner' photographed in 1906 and 2015.
PHOTO MONTAGE: Jose Manuel Amarillo Vargas

At the time of Verner’s exploits lammergeier - to use the species’ alternative name - were a common sight in the mountains of southern Spain. But the impact of hunting and poison had such a dramatic impact on the population that the species had been wiped out in Cadiz by the mid-20th century. In 1986, it was declared extinct in Andalucia.

However, in recent years an EU-funded reintroduction programme has seen the magnificent creatures return to parts of the region. The initiative centres around two former strongholds of the lammergeyer, the Sierra de Cazorla and the Sierra Nevada. Coordinated by the Junta de Andalucia and conservation group Fundacion Gypaetus (FG) the project began in 1996, followed by the first birds being released into the wild in 2006.

Since then 36 bearded vultures have been released as part of the programme, 22 of which are still alive, according to the FG. Only a small number of the fatalities have been from natural causes, with poisoning, poaching and collisions with electric power lines among the biggest killers. But the discovery of the nest sites in the Sierra de Grazalema is a significant step towards giving the species a new opportunity to thrive.

Besides providing evidence that the bearded vulture once lived in the area, the find gives some key indicators as to the region’s viability to support a restored population. By examining historical nest sites it is possible to gain clues as to the birds’ diet, the presence of contaminants and estimates of how long the nests were used for.

It also provides a clearer picture of what type of sites are favoured by the vulture, which in turn allows researchers to make informed decisions about the choice of new release points. They may have lived a century apart but Verner and Amarillo’s shared love of one of Spain’s most emblematic species could finally lead to the return of the bone breaker.


Researchers located the nest site using a detailed sketch of a limestone escarpment in Verner's book. 
PHOTO: Jose Manuel Amarillo Vargas

 

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