Rare bearded vulture leaves UK for France after summer soaring over Peak District

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Back in July the unexpected arrival in the UK of a bearded vulture surprised and delighted bird spotters, many hundreds of whom immediately travelled to the hills of the Peak District - where it had apparently taken up residence - in a bid to catch a glimpse of the enormous creature. Steffen Oppel, senior conservation scientist at the RSPB told The Independent it is “extremely rare for a bearded vulture to be seen in the UK”. He said: “These birds occur naturally in mountains, at least 400 miles away in the Alps and only around 20 vagrant bearded vultures have roamed into northwest Europe in the past 35 years. “As populations in the Alps and southern Europe recover from persecution in previous centuries, it may become a slightly more frequent visitor in the future but unlikely to reach more than one to two birds a year.” According to the Vulture Conservation Foundation, which carried out the genetic tests, Vigo was born in a wild nest in the Haute-Savoie region in southeast France.