During the last weeks and months I was very stressed and not able to organize a big event for International Vulture Awareness Day 2012. However I wanted to celebrate the most important day of the year.
Who else officially took part with special events you can find out on the website of the International Vulture Awareness Day 2012. In Germany there were just the world greatest birdpark "Weltvogelpark Walsrode" and me celebrating our beloved vultures. But, well, in Germany we don't really have wild vultures, I guess that's why noone really knows about the International Vulture Awareness Day.
But let's talk about my spontaneous event: Of course I wanted to share this special day with vultures, somewhere in a zoo. I decided to go to the Allwetter Zoo Münster (all weather zoo) where eight Eurasian Griffon Vultures, two Eurasian Black Vultures and two Secretary Birds are living together in a very huge enclosure.
The most important criterion was a bench infront of the enclosure, where you can comfortable sit and watch the vultures all day. And it's a good place to get into a conversation with other visitors, who stop to watch the vultures or take pictures.
My sis, my little niece and me tried to get in contact to the visitors and told them about International Vulture Awareness Day. NOONE ever heard about this important day! Educational work is badly necessary to get people aware of vultures and Vulture Day! Whenever we got into a conversation we asked the visitors to write down positive thoughts about vultures on my best vulture pics of the Croatian vulture rescue centre Eko-Centar Caput Insulae Beli, the South African vulture rescue centre VulPro and the Zoo of Duisburg.
Some visitors even wrote down different positive things and we talked for a while. In this conversations I did my best to make some good promotion for vultures and raise vulture's awareness. Well, I guess an exhibition stand close to the enclosure would be much better to attract more people... But what is sure is that when there is just one person at the end of the day who started thinking about vultures in a positive way and will pay more attention to them in the future, I achieved my main goal!!!
Whenever people took part in our Vulture Day event we gave a self-made vulture badge as a thank-you gift. The people really liked is and proudly presented our vulture badges by pinning it on their clothes ;-) Katja, thank you very, very much for your adorable portrait of "The Lady" we were allowed to use!!!
Hereinafter some impressions of our International Vulture Awareness Day 2012:
"Carrion go!"
"Vultures are super!!!" (Matilda, 1,5 years old, always tries to imitate their gait)
"Vultures are a health police. They eat left-overs."
"A very royal animal."
"Vultures are really awesome and very special animals." (Eva Romy, 5 years old)
"Very funny."
"Proud... Noble"
"Many vultures." (...were living in the zoos enclosure)
"Impressive wingspan."
"FREEDOM!"
"Gorgeous"
"Imposing."
"Vultures have a great wingspan."
"Vultures are very awesome animals."
"Very awesome."
"Are looking very funny... impressive."
"Vultures eat meat."
"Vultures clean up in Africa, America, Europe and Asia."
"Bearded Vultures eat bones."
All these beautiful pictures and compliments will be a wonderful vulture-collage.
Our thank-you vulture badges (photo topmodel "The Lady", Eurasian Black Vulture living in Belgium).
With this in mind: Triple "Carrion go!" to all vultures on this planet!!!
"Snowflake" was proudly sitting in her nest, 
while the "Sir" made himself comfortable on a perch.
The vultures started building their nest just few days before egg deposition, that's why they are still completing their nest. First of all the female vulture, who is collecting branches and clumps of grass whenever she leaves her nest heavy-hearted to let her partner sit on the egg. When collecting nesting material she seemed to be very stressed, running criss-cross through the enclosure her beak stuffed with branches and hastening back to her nest. Her partner tryed to impress her with nesting material, too, 
but he wasn't able to satisfy her. Branch too small, too big, wrong position... poor guy! 
But I am sure they both love each other very much, otherwise they would not have laid an egg after such a short relationship.
Watching these cute couple in love I sadly remembered the lonely Andean Condor at VulPro. I really would love to set him up with a lovely female Condor so he will not be lonely anymore. 
At lunchtime the vultures of Antwerp got some tasty spareribs and fat white rats. Carrion go!
Half an hour later the Andean Condors started copulating while many visitors were watching them. Before arriving at the Zoo of Antwerp I hoped to be able watching them copulating, 'cause at this time I did not know you can set your watch to this. There are special noises and situations that really make the Condors horny and they suddenly start making love ;-)
Compared to Old World Vultures (like Cape Vultures and Eurasian Black Vultures) the New World Vultures (like Andean Condors) don't have a glottis. When copulating they cannot make such funny donkey-like noises like the cute Cape Vultures of South Africa, but just can hiss. Well, but the Condors copulation took a much longer time!
They build their nest on a wooden platform with a mirror fixed above the nest. Our timing was perfect, 'cause we were able to take a look at the egg (thanks to the mirror), when the vultures changed their position. 
Hopefully a cute Hooded Vulture chick will hatch this year!!!
It's not surprising that the two of them are ignored all the time or even the visitors give a sniff at them :-( Their enclosure is just too small and uncomfortable, so noone can acknowledge the beauty of the residents. 
Most of the people might not like their red, naked head, but to me they awake my protective instinct! I like this sympathetic guys!!!
Next to the Eurasian Black Vultures enclosure there is a new wall chart of the wingspan of different birds. 
Nice to look at, but unfortunately some mistakes in translation and spelling. Next to this wall chart there is another sign with a stuffed Thanksgiving Turkey (in protest to this I will not put a picture on my blog). Very macabre, 'cause all the living birds in the enclosures around have to watch their grilled colleague now. There's no accounting for taste...
The Dating-enclosure is placed next to the parking area and at the moment you can go there for free, because it's not inside the zoo! There are four Eurasian Black Vultures and three Eurasian Griffon Vultures living on 870 m² with a maximum hight of 24 m to meet their life partners. 
Probably some more vultures will join this enclosure soon to bring together as many vulture couples as possible for breeding.
All chimneys and roofs of the zoo were populated by Storks, which were sometimes walking next to the visitors, too. Like the vultures they felt frisky... 
This raises the question: How will bring the baby Storks???
I guess noone would see the beautiful Secretary Birds, too, if you would not know they are living in Planckendael. Hiding somewhere behind the scenes, not possible to go close to their enclosure. And the couple of Secretary Birds, that was living in a "normal" enclosure last August, has moved somewhere we don't know.
But the television with information about vultures and the annoying song "I believe, I can flyyyyyyyyyy" is still working...