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Oriental Honey-buzzard Released on Bawean After Four Months of Rehabilitation

Oriental honey-buzzard in flight against a blue sky
Conservation · Management

An Oriental honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) that had been kept privately was released on Bawean Island, Indonesia, on 25 July 2026 after about four months of rehabilitation. BBKSDA East Java released the bird in the Gunung Besar block of the Bawean Island Wildlife Reserve.

The bird had been voluntarily handed over to conservation staff on 9 March. At the RKW 09 Gresik–Bawean research post it underwent health checks, physical recovery and flight training, while staff worked to restore natural responses to its surroundings.

Because the bird had been rescued, rehabilitated and released within the same landscape, the team used a hard release — direct release without an acclimatisation enclosure. BBKSDA considered the risk of disorientation relatively low because the individual was already familiar with Bawean. The release site also had good forest cover and natural food, including wild bee colonies and wasp nests. Honey-buzzards are specialised for feeding on social insects and have small scales and dense feathers around the face that help protect them from stings.

When the transport cage was opened, the bird flew into the surrounding canopy, moved between several trees while orienting itself and eventually disappeared into the forest. The team observed it until it was out of sight and reported no obvious problems with flight or behaviour.

Before release, the honey-buzzard was individually marked so later sightings can be recognised. BBKSDA deliberately released it before the main arrival of migratory raptors in September and October, giving the rehabilitated bird time to rebuild condition and use local food resources beforehand. The authority plans continued monitoring if the marked bird is seen again on Bawean.

Sources and image credit

  1. Musim Migrasi Belum Tiba, BBKSDA Jawa Timur Lepasliarkan Sikep Madu AsiaPrimary conservation authority report published 28 July 2026. One Oriental honey-buzzard voluntarily handed over on 9 March was released on 25 July in the Gunung Besar block of Bawean Island Wildlife Reserve after about four months of rehabilitation. The bird was hard-released, marked for post-release monitoring and flew into the surrounding canopy without observed behavioural or flight problems.

Image: Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) in flight at Mokila, Telangana, India, 18 October 2021. Photo: Hari K Patibanda / Wikimedia Commons (originally Flickr). CC BY 2.0. Representative species image; not the rehabilitated bird released on Bawean. · CC BY 2.0 · Source

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