For many in Bahrain, the sight of flamingos on the mudflats or ospreys circling over the sea is a gentle reminder of the kingdom’s place on the global map of bird migration.
As a critical stopover for species navigating the Central Asian Flyway, Bahrain is a sanctuary for countless migratory and endangered birds. Which is why a remarkable conservation story unfolding over Europe and Spain, involving a bird once thought lost to the ages, may resonate deeply with resident birdwatchers and environmental advocates in the country.
The protagonist? The northern bald ibis, or Geronticus eremita, also affectionately known as the Waldrapp. This quirky, long-beaked, featherless-headed bird once graced the skies from Europe to North Africa and into the Arabian Peninsula.
Today, it teeters on the brink of extinction in the wild, its populations decimated by centuries of hunting, habitat destruction and, now, the climate crisis. It has long vanished from the wilds of central Europe, or at least it had.
Enter Austria’s Waldrappteam, a pioneering conservation initiative founded in 2004, which has spent the past two decades doing what few dared dream: teaching captive-bred ibis how to migrate. Yes, teaching them. These birds had no parents or elders to show them the way south. So their human foster parents have taken the responsibility quite literally under their wing.
Each year, the birds are raised by hand from chicks by conservationists like Barbara Steininger, known affectionately as a ‘bird mum’. These human ‘parents’ establish strong bonds with their feathered charges using a method known as imprinting, ensuring the birds recognise them as trusted guides.
The culmination of this intensive preparation is an extraordinary annual journey; one where a flock of ibis follows a microlight aircraft piloted by their foster parents, winging their way toward their wintering grounds.
“It’s a special time,” says Ms Steininger. “You’re not flying alone, you’re flying with the birds. And, not any birds: they’re the birds you raised by hand. We know each of them individually. It’s very cool.”
This isn’t just a feel-good wildlife tale. It’s a high-stakes conservation campaign with scientific precision.
Originally, the birds were guided from their breeding sites north of the Alps to Tuscany. But as climate change has made that path increasingly perilous, biologist and microlight pilot Johannes Fritz and his team have charted a safer, albeit longer, route to Andalusia, Spain. It’s a 2,600km trek, completed over 50 days, fraught with weather challenges and terrain.
The end of the journey is emotionally charged.
After so much time raising and flying with the birds, separation is inevitable.
It takes three years before the ibis reach maturity and can attempt the journey home unaided.
“You’re not responsible for them any longer. You can’t hang out with them any more,” Ms Steininger reflects. “It’s sad to leave them, but it’s also the moment you’ve been working towards all summer.”
While the northern bald ibis has no known history of nesting in Bahrain, its story underscores something that Bahrainis know well; the fragility of migratory life and the human role in protecting it. Like the Socotra cormorant, which nests in vast numbers on Bahrain’s Hawar Islands, or the flamingos that gather in Tubli Bay.
&uuid=(email))