Some good news about our lanner falcons!

Ambra has now been living in the wild for a year and a half, and she continues to surprise us with her adventures! We managed to meet her again, and the emotion of seeing her in her adult plumage was indescribable.

Regarding the 2024 releases, five months after her first flights, Carlotta is now autonomous and, completely detached from the operators, has fully realized her potential in flight and hunting. Her journey has been as challenging as it has been interesting and satisfying!

The first departure, which the other individuals undertake after about 25/30 days of flying around the hacking box, saw her embark on a long journey that took her to an area near Cerignola (FG). Although her condition was good, it was necessary to retrieve her to replace the GPS with one of the new 4G devices integrated with VHF, also powered by a solar panel, which no longer requires battery replacements, giving the transmitter the same lifespan as the GPS: an innovative choice in the reintroduction of captive-bred specimens. She was then returned to the release point with her siblings, where she could still benefit from the food support she needed, given her overall inexperience.

During the hot days of August, the lanner falcons spent a lot of time refreshing themselves in the water tanks provided and sheltering in the shade of the trees in the hacking area, making small movements to nearby locations, being absent for a few days, and then returning to the box. Towards the end of August, they began to make increasingly larger movements until they no longer returned and each chose their own territory.

Carlotta first frequented several areas north of Rome and has now settled in a safe area in the Roman Coast Natural Reserve, in habitats similar to those frequented by our Ambra!

We have reached Carlotta several times since her final departure, observing her in excellent hunting actions, then resting, and flying in the company of other birds of prey, such as the peregrine falcon. She lives in environments with a fair presence of human activities that, however, do not seem to compromise the animal’s tranquility. This behavior, also adopted by Ambra following her release, is probably due to their growth path and makes the lanner falcon a species adaptable to changes, which could make it more tolerant of disturbance over time, distancing itself from the elusive and vulnerable animal we have known so far: a change that, in the Anthropocene era, is representing the survival of many other species as well.

All this has been possible only thanks to our release method, never before used in Italy and other countries in the context of LIFE projects for the reintroduction of birds of prey: social imprinting breeding has allowed operators to follow every single phase of the falcons, effectively representing what their parents would have done in nature.

Being able to make young lanner falcons independent in nature is a great achievement that makes us proud of our work and gives us the right spirit to continue our mission, despite the adversities!