Birdwatchers delighted in the sight of a young bearded vulture in free-fall flight in the Swiss Alps on 31 August.

The huge bird is seen tumbling in a controlled drop, in slow-motion footage.

Bearded vultures have a wingspan of up to 2.8 meters (9.1 feet).

This majestic bird was born free in this area earlier in 2021 and has been flying since mid-August.

The beautiful bearded vultures had been extinct for centuries in the Alps but a few decades ago a complex re-introduction program was started, to bring them back to the Alps. Now you can occasionally see some of them flying there.

More are being released and quite a few are born free now too.

For birdwatchers and nature lovers it is a very emotional moment to see a bearded vulture fly, especially one that was born free.

A HUGE bird, a young bearded vulture ( wingspan up to 2.8 meters ! ) is seen flying and tumbling in circles in a controlled free-fall flight...
filmed in slowmotion.
this majestic bird was born free in this area this year 2021 and flies since mid-august only. Here he/she is seen enjoying an acrobatic freefall, tumbling down and catching up at last moment.
The beautiful bearded vultures had been extinct for centuries in the Alps but a few decades ago a group of good people set up a complex re-introduction program to bring them back to the Alps. Now you can occasionnally see some of them , even in Switzerland. More and more are being released free and quite a few are born free now. This one was born free . For birdwatchers and nature lovers it is a very emotional moment to see a bearded vulture fly... especially when he was born free. The young bearded vultures are black and brown. Later when they get older they get a stunning yellow body and head.