apom conference book of abstracts

International Conference on the Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) 25-27 September 2014 Košická Belá, Slovakia

Book of Abstracts

International Conference on the Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina)

1

Dear Participant, Welcome at Lesanka Gesthouse, in Eastern Slovakia on the occasion of the International Conference on the Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle.

The Conference is organized within a framework of the project LIFE09NAT/SK/000396 Conservation of Aquila pomarina in Slovakia, which is implemented by Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Východoslovenská energetika, a.s., Stredoslovenská energetika, a.s. and Stredoslovenská energetika - Distrubúcia, a.s. and is co-financed by LIFE - the EU's financial instrument supporting environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects and Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic.

Conference represents a follow up to the conference held in autumn 2013 in

Romania, in Bâlea Cascadă, Făgăraș Mountains as a part of the project LIFE08/NAT/RO/000501 „Conservation of Aquila pomarina in Romania”

The goal of this meeting is to share the latest data and information on the

status of the Lesser Spotted Eagle and, on this basis, formulate recommendations for the effective conservation measures – national, regional and international. This information will be integrated into the European Action Plan, that has been currently in the process of updating.

Thank you for your participation. We hope you enjoy the Conference.


2

Programme of the Conference WEDNESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2014

Arrival of Participants

19:00-20:30 Dinner

THURSDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2014

Arrival of Participants

08:45-09:45 Registration

Welcome and opening session

10:00-10:30 Opening addresses and organizational announcements

Jozef Chavko, Raptor Protection of Slovakia

Marián Mešter, VSE Holding

PRESENTATIONS

Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Slovakia

10:30-10:50 Guziova Z.: We protect the Lesser Spotted Eagle together. 10:50-11:10 Dravecký M., Maderič B., Topercer J., Kicko J., Danko Š., Karaska

D., Guziová Z. & Šotnár K.: Abundance, distribution and trend of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) breeding population in Slovakia.

11:10-11:30 Maderič B.: Conservation management of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) population in Slovakia.

Status and trend of the Lesser Spotted Eagle

11:30-11:50 Maniakowski M.: Protection of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in selected Natura 2000 areas.

11:50-12:10 Stoychev S.: Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Bulgaria in the frame of the project Preserve Key Forest Habitats of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) in Bulgaria.

12:10-12:30 Dombrovski V., Ivanovski V., Dmitrenok M. & Pakul P.: Population status and trends of Lesser Spotted Eagle in Belarus.

12:30-12:50 Melnikov V.N. & Mishchenko A.L.: The Lesser Spotted Eagle in Russia.


3

12:50-13:00 Group Photo

13:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-14:30 Press Conference

Management, research and monitoring of the Lesser Spotted Eagle

14:30-14:50 Meyburg, B.-U., Graszynski K., Langgemach T., Hinz A., Börner I., Simm-Schönholz I., Lehnigk I., Bergmanis U., Meyburg C. & Kraatz U.: Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) nestling management in Brandenburg (Germany) 2004-2014.

14:50-15:10 Treinys R.: Enhancement of Lesser Spotted Eagle nest site protection: does erection of artificial nest is a suitable measure?

15:10-15:30 Meyburg, B.-U. & Meyburg C.: Some highlights from 22 years of satellite telemetry with Lesser Spotted Eagles.

15:30-15:50 Peške L., Majko P., Vrlík P., Kacerová V. & Sedláková B.: Year round movements of an adult female LSE (Aquila pomarina) from Liptov (Slovakia) as revealed with GPS-GSM tag.

15:50-16:10 Bartoszuk K.: Scientific research support system and dataloggers by Aquila Company.

16:10-16:30 Sellis U. & Väli Ü.: Habitat utilization by the Lesser Spotted Eagle in agricultural landscape as revealed by satellite telemetry: preliminary results.

16:30-16:50 Coffee break 16:50-17:10 Meyburg, B.-U. & Meyburg C.: Lesser Spotted Eagles (Aquila

pomarina) and wind power. 17:10-17:30 Abel U., Väli Ü., Evestus T. & Volke V.: Changing habitat use of the

Lesser Spotted Eagle in Estonia in 1990–2010: Increasing tolerance to human activity.

17:30-17:50 Väli Ü., Sein G., Abel U. & Tuvi J.: Effects of agricultural land use patterns on the habitat selection, foraging behaviour and reproductive success of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Estonia.

17:50-18:10 Treinys R.: Should we consider intraspecific competition when selecting priority sites for Lesser Spotted Eagle conservation?

18:10-18:30 Meyburg, B.-U. & Meyburg C.: Mortal danger - do not fly to Istanbul during bird migration!

19:30 Dinner with cimbal music


4

POSTERS

Väli Ü.: Breeding phenology of the Lesser Spotted Eagle at the northern range limit: Is the disturbance sufficiently long banned?

Väli Ü., Bergmanis U., Evestus T., Nurmla A. & Sellis U.: Annual adult survival and turnover rates in the Baltic Lesser Spotted Eagle population.

Meyburg, B.-U., Heise G., Hinz A., Matthes J., Börner I., Matthes H. & Graszynski K.: Do not use plastic colour rings for Lesser Spotted Eagles Aquila pomarina.

Bergmanis U.: Impact assessment of farmland changes on the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) foraging areas in Latvia.

Domashevskyy S., Gavrilyuk M., Milobog Y. & Vetrov V.: Current status of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Ukraine.

Garbe U.: Improvement of the breeding and feeding habitats for the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina), as well as for the Corn Crake (crex crex) and the Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) in the SPA “Schorfheide-Chorin”.

FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2014

07:30-08:30 Breakfast 09:00-12:00 Working session on European Action Plan for the Lesser Spotted Eagle.

Facilitated by Umberto Gallo-Orsi 12:00-13:00 Lunch 13:00-14:15 Field visit to installation of console barriers on poles of powered 22 kV

lines. 14:15-16:30 Working session on European Action Plan for the Lesser Spotted Eagle.

Facilitated by Umberto Gallo-Orsi 16:30-17:00 Coffee break 17:00-18:00 General conclusions and closure of the Meeting 19:00 Dinner 20:00 Optional presentations and movies SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

07:30-08:30 Breakfast 09:00-13:00 Excursion to Lesser Spotted Eagle Habitats Departure of participants


5

Photo: M. Dravecký


6

Photo: E. Hrtan


7

Abstracts

WE PROTECT THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE TOGETHER

ZUZANA GUZIOVÁ Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Kuklovská 5, SK–841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia. [email protected] The Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) has suffered a major decline in many countries of Europe as well as in Slovakia. Major causes of this negative trend is loss of breeding and feeding habitats, disturbance during the breeding period as well as direct persecution of the species. Specific conservation measures needs to be implemented to reverse this trend. For this reason, Raptor Protection of Slovakia in cooperation with three energy companies - Stredoslovenska energetika, a.s., Stredslovenska energetika – Distribúcia, a.s. and Vychodo-slovenska energetika, a.s. decided to implement the project “Conservation of Aquila pomarina in Slovakia” and requested its cofinancing through LIFE+ - Financial Instrument for the Environment of the EU and from the Ministry of the Environmnet of the Slovak Republic.

The project objective is to enhance conservation of A. pomarina in Slovakia by establishing favourable conditions for stabilisation of Slovak population as a part of the Central European population. This will be achieved through ensuring proper conservation of breeding and feeding habitats, eliminating forestry activities negatively affecting the status of population, improving breeding conditions, reducing main causes of disturbance and mortality, and increasing personnel and technical capacity to ensure appropriate protection of the species. The project started on 01/01/2011 and lasts 54 months until 30/06/2015. Total project budget is 1 045 265 € and is intended to support 28 actions.

This project facilitates interventions on national level in order to create sustainable framework for long term protection of the Lesser Spotted Eagle. It also supports direct conservation measures in 8 Special Protection Areas, namely Horná Orava, Tatry Mts., Nízke Tatry Mts. Slanské vrchy Mts., Volovské vrchy Mts., Slovenský kras Karst, Vihorlatské vrchy Mts. and Laborecká vrchovina Upland. Some 160 breeding pairs of the Lesser Spotted Eagle – e.g. cca 23 % of the average estimated breeding population - benefit from the project.


8

ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION AND TREND OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE (AQUILA POMARINA) BREEDING

POPULATION IN SLOVAKIA

MIROSLAV DRAVECKÝ1, BORIS MADERIČ1, JÁN TOPERCER2, JÁN KICKO3, ŠTEFAN DANKO1, DUŠAN KARASKA4, ZUZANA GUZIOVÁ1

& KAROL ŠOTNÁR5 1Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Kuklovská 5, SK–841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2Comenius University in Bratislava, Botanical Garden, Detached Unit, SK–038 15 Blatnica 315, Slovakia. [email protected] 3Podtureň 506, SK–033 01 Liptovský Hrádok, Slovakia. [email protected] 4Stodolisko 261, SK-027 41 Oravský Podzámok, Slovakia. karaska@vtáky.sk 5Školská 17/12, SK–972 17, Kanianka, Slovakia. [email protected] Several estimates of the breeding population size of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Slovakia were published in 1955–2002. In this study we estimate the breeding population size of the Lesser Spotted Eagle by 1997 and 2014. By 1997 the estimated size was 762 pairs. In 2002 an estimate of population size by 2000 was published at 800 -900 pairs. By 2014 we estimate the breeding population of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Slovakia at 600–800 pairs and the declining population trend in 2000–2013 at -23 %. Our size estimate is supported by the extrapolation from data obtained in 2011–2013 in eight selected special protection areas (SPAs) under the aegis of the project LIFE09 NAT/SK/000396 “Conservation of Aquila pomarina in Slovakia”. When analyzing abundance, density and trends in the species’ entire breeding range in Slovakia we first summarized the numbers of breeding pairs, their densities and trends within the selected SPAs and explored the differences among them using ANOVA and cluster analysis. For the 8 SPAs as a whole (n = 8) or partitioned by a grid of the Databank of Slovak Fauna (n = 119 quadrats) we calculated the interval estimates of the mean number of pairs (unweighted and weighted arithmetic means and medians). By summarizing these estimates and extrapolating to the species’ entire breeding range in Slovakia (c. 28,935 km2) while increasing sample size (n = 9, 11 and 12 SPAs) the size estimates stabilize at a level of 670 (mean with 95%LCL = 507 and 95%UCL = 834) or 765 (median with 95%LCL = 393 and 95%UCL = 841) breeding pairs. The most reliable estimate of the breeding population size of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Slovakia by 2014 is a median of 765 pairs with 95 % confidence interval from 393 to 841 pairs and interquartile range from 418 to 835 pairs.


9

We estimate a 23 % decrease in the breeding population during 2000–2013, i.e. a moderate decline -1 (20–49 %). Three methods of estimating were used: 1) comparing the numbers of pairs in the selected SPAs between 2000 and 2014 – indicates a decline of -26 %; 2) comparing the numbers of pairs from the long-term monitoring in five areas (geomorphic units Vihorlatské vrchy Mts, Laborecká vrchovina Mts, Volovské vrchy Mts and regions Orava and Horné Ponitrie) by the 1990s and 2014 – indicates a decline of -20 %; 3) comparing the numbers of pairs by 1997 in selected areas within the borders of the current SPAs to the number of pairs in the same SPAs by 2014 – indicates a decline of -23 %. In the 8 selected SPAs the estimated decline was even more pronounced, reaching a median trend of -35 % in the 95 % confidence interval from -54 % to +25 %. The estimate by 1997 fits in an increasing trend of published breeding population estimates in Slovakia during 1955–2002. The estimate by 2014 is lower than the estimate by 2000 and for the first time ever a declining trend is recorded. By 2014 the breeding grounds of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Slovakia embrace an area of c. 28 935 km2. Taking an estimate of 600–800 breeding pairs, the mean density varies between 2.1–2.8 pairs.100 km-2.


10

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT OF THE LESSER SPOTTED

EAGLE (AQUILA POMARINA) POPULATION IN SLOVAKIA

BORIS MADERIČ Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Kuklovská 5, SK–841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia. [email protected] Conservation management of the vulnerable raptor's species including Aquila pomarina has a long tradition in Slovakia. The Raptor Protection of Slovakia (before as the Group for the Research and Protection of Birds of Prey), has joined this effort already some 40 years ago and since then, implemented numerous conservation actions based on research and systematic monitoring of breeding populations of raptors. Conservation management of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) population, includes a broad range of complementary measures covering „in situ“, „ex situ“ and „other“ measures.

„In situ“ actions include establishment of buffer zones around the nests in breeding habitats, nest stabilization and installation of artificial nests, insulation of electric poles for low voltage power lines with consol barriers and other devices and promotion of bird friendly low voltage power lines construction in feeding habitats. „Ex situ“ measures mostly concerns rehabilitation of injured specimens in rescue/rehabilitation centres.

Group of „other“ measures covers National Species Management Plan and Special Protected Areas Management Plans, incentive schemes (e.g. compensation payments within a framework of the Nature and Landscape Conservation Act, Rural Development Program measures - Natura 2000 payments, forest and agri-environmental schemes) and other policy and legislation actions. This is complemented with educational and public awareness actions targeting different stakeholders. Besides, monitoring programs are used for measure effectiveness of conservation actions.

Preliminary results of applied conservation management measures within the framework of the project LIFE 09 SK/NAT/000396 Conservation of Aquila pomarina in Slovakia are presented; e.g. during the period of 2011-2014 buffer zones around 150 nests were established, which secured 118 eagle breeding territories, what represents ca 17 % of the national LSE population; 44 artificial nests were installed; 3 900 electric poles representing 295 km of low voltage power lines and 650 electric poles representing ca 50 km of low voltage power lines were equipped with consol barriers and other devices in respectively the


11

Laborecka vrchovina upland SPA and the Horna Orava SPA. In addition, special type of consoles referred as “Antibird” were installed locally in the Horna Orava SPA. The LSE specimens were rehabilited in Zázrivá Rescue Station. Technical document was developed containing assessments of species conservation status and recommended conservation measures in 8 SPAs. National Species Management Plan and Eagle Friendly Habitat Management Guidelines are being drafted. The specific forest environmental scheme for the preservation of favourable forest habitats including raptor's species breeding habitats was developed and is beeing promoted into the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 draft. Frequent formal and informal stakeholders consultations and numerous educational activities complement overall effort to improve conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Slovakia in the project span. Experiences and obstacles are presented in the paper as well.


12

PROTECTION OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE IN SELECTED

NATURA 2000 AREAS

MICHAŁ MANIAKOWSKI

FPP Enviro sp. z o.o., ul. Wilcza 50/52, PL-00-679 Warsaw, Poland. [email protected] The project, LIFE08 NAT/PL/000510, was implemented in Knyszynska Forest (PLB200003) and Bialowieza Forest (PLC200004) - Natura 2000 and key Lesser Spotted Eagle (LSE) breeding sites in NE Poland. Three main types of actions were conducted to secure long-term conservation of the species at the both sites: (1) population monitoring was carried out and nest protection zones were established, (2) main hunting areas were identified, and recovered where needed, by shrub removal, mowing and grazing, (3) policy, legislation and public awareness was tackled.

In order to avoid disturbance due to forestry operations, tourism etc., nest protection zones were created around almost 100% of nests in the project area (over 100 breeding pairs of LSE altogether).

There were also activities aimed at improvement of habitat condition, such as re-naturalisation of the Narewka river course, water retention works in the forest, creation of some100 water ponds on meadows of Knyszynska and Bialowieza Forests, installation of 80 artificial perches at hunting grounds.

A demonstration management plan was created in order to deal with the eagles conservation specifically in Knyszynska Forest, and then at the national level – the national Species Action Plan was made, which plays a role as an official strategy for the species’ conservation in Poland. Additionally, the project activities promoted multilateral approach to the species’ conservation and protection of habitats, directed mainly to farmers, landowners and local communities.

The project was coordinated by the Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Bialystok, which conducted its task with cooperation and support of 10 forest districts and two project partners - the Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (PTOP), and two expert companies– the FPP Enviro from Poland, and Amphi Consult from Denmark.The project was financed by the EU LIFE+ programme, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, and partners’ own contribution.


13

CONSERVATION OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE IN BULGARIA

IN THE FRAME OF THE PROJECT PRESERVE KEY FOREST HABITATS OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE

(AQUILA POMARINA) IN BULGARIA

STOYCHO STOYCHEV Bulgarian society for the protection of birds, Haskovo 6300, "Bulgaria bld" 34, Bulgaria. [email protected] Overall objective of the project is to contribute to long-term preservation of the globally threatened Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) by securing the protection and sustainable management of the forest habitats crucial for its existence. The most priority actions within the project are: strengthening the strategic planning framework that guides the conservation of Lesser Spotted Eagle and its key breeding and hunting grounds, maintenance and enhancement of feeding, breeding and roosting habitats for the priority Lesser Spotted Eagle through developing and deploying a model for sustainable forest management, reducing detrimental effects of unintended disturbance and direct persecution on the Lesser Spotted Eagle and enhancing public understanding and support for the conservation of priority bird species, their habitats and the wider Natura 2000 sites. The project is being implemented on the territory of 16 SPAs in South-East Bulgaria. The project is being implemented also in the adjacent territories of the SPAs which are important as stepping stones and corridors for the Lesser Spotted Eagle.


14

POPULATION STATUS AND TRENDS OF LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE

IN BELARUS

VALERY DOMBROVSKI1, VLADIMIR IVANOVSKI2, MARINA DMITRENOK1 & PAVEL PAKUL1

1National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, The State Scientific and Production Amalgamation "Scientific and Practical center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for biological resourses", Akademichnaya 27, 220072 Minsk, Belarus. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2Educational Establishment "Vitebsk State University Named after P.M. Masherov", Moscow avenue 33, 210038 Vitebsk, Belarus. [email protected] Lesser Spotted Eagle is the most common among Belarus rare and protected birds of prey estimated number at 3200-3800 pairs according to the results of counts in 2000-2003. Distribution is very uneven. Average breeding density in different regions of Belarus ranged from 1.6 to 5.7 pairs / 100 km2 (Dombrovski, Ivanovski, 2005). The largest density (7.5 -10.9 pairs / 100 km²) was recorded in meliorated farmland bordered with old broadleaf or mixed forest. The maximum local breeding density was in the Bialowieza Forest (south-western Belarus): 11-12 pairs / 60 km² (Dombrovski et al. 2001). Data on population dynamics are few. State monitoring was held on 3 plots with an area of 100, 120 and 150 km2 in Polesie region during 2006-2010. About 20 pairs were observed. Breeding density was respectively 10, 3.3 and 4.7 pairs / 100 km2. Population of Lesser Spotted Eagle on these plots was stable during study period. Then, in 2011, due to lack of funding, monitoring was limited to one plot (Mid-Pripyat, 150 km2) with 6-8 breeding pairs. In Northern part of Belarus number of Lesser Spotted Eagle was stable during 1977 - 2009 (Ivanovski, 2012).

Thus, the available data suggest a relatively stability of breeding part of population of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in the last decade. However, less than 1% of the national population of this species was monitored; the available data were not representative enough to adequately evaluate trends in the number of species within whole country. It is necessary to initiate the monitoring of this species in different regions of Belarus, including information on breeding success, breeding habitats and negative factors affecting the population parameters.


15

THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE IN RUSSIA

VLADIMIR MELNIKOV1 & ALEXANDER MISHCHENKO2 1Ivanovo State University, Lenina 136, 153002 Ivanovo, Russia. [email protected] 2Severtsov’s Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Leninskiy pr. 33, 119071 Moscow, Russia. [email protected] In Russia the Lesser Spotted Eagle inhabits western areas. Several decades ago its eastern limit stretched until St. Petersburg, Novgorod and western parts of Moscow Region. In the last 10-20 years an active eastward spread is observed. The species has occupied eastern areas of Novgorod Region, the north-east of Moscow Region, is recorded in Ryazan Meshchera Lowlands, Vyksa District (Nizhny Novgorod Region), Muromsky Reserve (Vladimir Region), and near Kostroma. The breeding has been revealed in Ivanovo Region, Darwin Reserve, near Petushki (Vladimir Region), is supposed on Saratov/Volgograd region’s border.

An isolated population inhabits the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. It breeds in Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Daghestan republics. The range in the North Caucasus is probably expanding north-westward and westward, in Kuban Territory - northward, to the Sea of Azov.

The number (breeding pairs) is assessed only for some regions. At least 150 pairs are found in Kaliningrad Region, 200 –Pskov, 200 –Bryansk, 120-140 –Novgorod, 5- Ivanovo, at least 15-20 pairs –Moscow Region, 8-12 –the Nerussa-Desna woodland (Bryansk Region). 8 breeding sites are in Kaluzhskie Zaseki Reserve and nearby.

It is difficult to evaluate the total North Caucasian number due to the species uneven distribution. According to other estimates, only the foothills and lowlands among the rivers Laba, Kuban and Baksan (about 10,000 km2) hold at least 150 breeding pairs, and the total number in the North Caucasus is at least 200-250 pairs, this figure is relatively stable or increasing.

Basing on the recent publications, the former data of ca. 350-400 breeding pairs in the entire Russian population can be considered as a significant underestimation. The modern Lesser Spotted Eagle population in Russia, even according to most conservative estimates, amounts at least 600-800, more likely ca. 1,000 pairs.


16

LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE (AQUILA POMARINA) NESTLING MANAGEMENT IN BRANDENBURG (GERMANY) 2004-2014

BERND-ULRICH MEYBURG1, KAI GRASZYNSKI, TORSTEN LANGGEMACH, ARNO HINZ, INGO BÖRNER, I. SIMM-SCHÖNHOLZ, I. LEHNIGK, UĢIS

BERGMANIS, CHRISTIANE MEYBURG & U. KRAATZ 1World Working Group on Birds of Prey (WWGBP), Raptor Working Group of BirdLife Germany (NABU), POBox 33 04 51, 14199 Berlin, Germany. [email protected] The Lesser Spotted Eagle breeding population at the westerly edge of its distribution range in Germany has been declining for decades. Considerable efforts are being undertaken to help the species, such as habitat protection in the breeding area and an international convention to protect the birds on their migration routes. As an additional measure to all other conservation efforts, nestling management has been conducted in Brandenburg since 2004.

Shortly after hatching the second chick (named 'Abel') in broods of two young is removed from the eyrie, or the second egg shortly before incubation ends. The number of climbs to the eyrie is limited to a single occasion as, with the use of a special instrument, it can be determined within seconds if both embryos in the eggs are alive. No loss of breeding attempts has been recorded as a result of this one-off check. During this phase the females have an especially strong bond to the eyrie.

Altogether 80 Abels were released in Brandenburg and two more in Mecklenburg in 2004-2014. In the time frame 2007 to 2011, in addition to the second young birds from Brandenburg, 50 Abels were translocated from Latvia and some of them were fitted with satellite transmitters. A Latvian eagle with colour ring number KN, released into the wild in 2009, returned two years later to the hacking station, paired in the subsequent years with an unmarked adult female and, in 2014, finally raised a young eagle successfully only 2.7 km from the release station. A female from Latvia, fitted with a satellite transmitter (colour ring KZ), apparently bred for the first time in Masuria (NE Poland) in 2013. Breeding success in Brandenburg in 2009 was particularly poor with only four successful broods in the wild, while 13 Abels were released. This represents an increase of 325%.


17

ENHANCEMENT OF LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE NEST SITE PROTECTION: DOES ERECTION OF ARTIFICIAL NEST

IS A SUITABLE MEASURE?

RIMGAUDAS TREINYS1, 2

1Foundation for the Development of Nature Protection Projects, Savanoriu ave. 173, LT-03150 Vilnius, Lithuania. [email protected] 2Nature Research Center, Akademijos str. 2,LT-08412, Vilnius, Lithuania. Artificial nest structures (nests, nest-boxes) are widely used as a measure in scientific, conservation and non-professional bird related ground. Artificial nest structures provide possibility to control population, increase availability of safe nest sites, prevent brood loses in low quality sites, easy to access for bird ringing etc. On the other hand, decision makers readily accept this activity for funding and results are easily disseminated for society. Due to wide and multipurpose application in different grounds, however, it is difficult to evaluate critically costs and benefits of artificial nests in professional nature conservation ground.

During the project LIFE09 NAT/LT000235 „Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Lithuanian Forests“ we used this measure for enhancement of the low quality nest sites to reduce risk for brood loses and provide artificial nest sites within mapped and protected nest sites. We improved natural nests by artificial platforms (32 nest sites) or erected new artificial nests close to natural nests (37 nest sites). During 2011 - 2014 we improved altogether 69 nesting sites of the Lesser Spotted Eagle. 49% of improved nests sites were occupied at least once. During three seasons, occupation of improved nest sites ranged from 38% to 46%, but difference between years was not significant (P ≥ 0.09). Improved natural nests occupation rate (72%, n=32) was significantly larger compared to occupation by eagles of new erected artificial nests (30%, n=37) (P = 0.001). Two field work teams decided to improve natural nests or to erect new nests nearby natural nests nearly significantly differently (P=0.06), e.g., I team in 33% of nest sites improved natural nests by artificial platforms, while II team the same decision applied in 56% of nest sites. In spite, results in terms of eagle occupation was nearly identical: 50% and 49% of nest sites enhanced by I and II team respectively were occupied (P=0.9).

We conclude that enhancement of nest site is reasonable short-term measure, but it could be applied only as additional / optional measure to regular search / monitoring of target nest sites of the Lesser Spotted Eagle when surplus budged available.


18

SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM 22 YEARS OF SATELLITE TELEMETRY

WITH LESSER SPOTTED EAGLES

BERND-ULRICH MEYBURG1 & CHRISTIANE MEYBURG 1World Working Group on Birds of Prey (WWGBP), Raptor Working Group of BirdLife Germany (NABU), POBox 33 04 51, 14199 Berlin, Germany. [email protected] Since 1992 we have fitted more than 100 Lesser Spotted Eagles with satellite transmitters (PTTs), mostly adult birds. A great deal of new information has been acquired as a result, of which only a small part has been published to date. A few highlights only are presented here.

In northern Slovakia an adult male Lesser Spotted Eagle occupied the same nest site for 11 years running (1992–2002), where it was ringed and fitted with two satellite transmitters. In six of these years it successfully reared a single young bird. In 2001, it spent 43% of the year at its breeding site, 33% in its winter quarters, with the remaining 24% being spent on migration.

It was previously believed that females rearing young, as with the females of other raptor species, remain within a radius of only a few kilometres of their eyrie. We were able to disprove this prevailing hypothesis. A satellite-tracked female flew over 50 km away from her eyrie (D) in at least two different directions and visited at least one other occupied eyrie (T). It was also established that at least two strange females arrived at her eyrie, which contained young, from as far away as 57 km, and probably remained there for some considerable time. It can therefore be assumed that males only exhibit territorial behaviour towards their own sex and not towards strange females and that females do not exhibit territorial behaviour towards other females.

Nothing was known previously about the behaviour of young eagles in the period between leaving the breeding site until settling a site as an adult. A male was fitted with a transmitter in Germany and settled as an adult at five years of age. The behaviour by Lesser Spotted Eagles during the first years of their lives is described for the first time.


19

YEAR ROUND MOVEMENTS OF AN ADULT FEMALE LSE

(AQUILA POMARINA) FROM LIPTOV (SLOVAKIA) AS REVEALED WITH GPS-GSM TAG

LUBOMÍR PEŠKE1, PAVOL MAJKO2, PETER VRLÍK2, VIERA KACEROVÁ2 & BLAŽENA SEDLÁKOVÁ2

1 Praha 10, Moskevská 61, 10100, Czech Republic. [email protected] 2 Správa TanapTatranská Štrba 75, PO Box 21, 05 941, Slovakia. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] An adult breeding female LSE was tagged on 14.8.13 with an Ecotone GPS-GSM solar transmitter (27g) backpack style. Despite a few data gaps in Africa caused by a lack of the GSM coverage we collected numerous data (one GPS location every 3 hours) and that tag is operating to date. The dataset covers the period of post-fledging care in 2013 when this female raised one chick, migration south, movements in African winter grounds, the return migration, pre-breeding, breeding and post-breeding care (again one chick was raised 2014) till her departure and beginning of new migration cycle.

Migration started in both years on a similar date: 19.9.13 and 18.9.14. The bird used the typical SE migratory route known for LSE via Turkey, Egypt and Sudan up to South Africa. Southward migration lasted 33 days when the bird reached the first main staging area in N Zambia on 21.10.13. From here she moved irregularly through SE Congo and western Zambia to what we regard as this bird’s main wintering grounds. It is an area of about 650 x 550 km covering parts of Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa where she spent over 3 months.

Return migration started on 5.3.14 in Botswana with flights of about 100-200 km per day and speed up later. We identified some delays including some southwards movements especially in N Kenya delaying her arrival at the breeding site by about 10 days in comparison with LSEs tagged in Germany and Poland. Despite this delay, and the fact that she had to regain her previous breeding territory from what was probably a young female, she started breeding, build a new nest and raised a chick that fledged. The total southward flight path (as connecting line between midnight GPS points except movements in staging areas identified) was about 7690 km to the first southern staging area and 9140 km on the northward flight.

Home range in the breeding area was very similar in both years and the main preferred hunting areas and perches were also almost identical in both years. Breeding was monitored via a nest camera thus many details about behaviour could also be collected including fledging date (17.8.14) and last visits to the nest etc.


20

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SUPPORT SYSTEM AND DATALOGGERS

BY AQUILA COMPANY

KORDIAN BARTOSZUK "Aquila" Kordian Bartoszuk, os. Przyjazni 18/172, 61-689 Poznan, Poland. [email protected] Since 2010 the "Aquila" company offers a range of tools for supporting scientific research. The company's concept, called AquilaSystem, assumes to provide scientists with as much technical help as possible and therefore relieve them of arduous and time-consuming efforts connected with the preparation and analysis of collected data. Together with modern technology devices, the AquilaSystem forms a complete package for data analysis and visualization.

Aquila GPS/GSM dataloggers are one example of those devices. Ranging from 22g units and charged with solar power, the loggers are capable of registering the coordinates together with the speed and altitude every 15 minutes. Packed in an sms, the data can then be sent by means of GSM network to the server, where it is stored and, which is new on the market, processed by AquilaSystem-GPS module. As the result the researcher obtains not only the pure data, but also customizable maps, statistics and charts. Various aspects such as covered distance, average and top values or distance from nest can be analysed in real-time mode, displayed in a form of numeric values or charts and then exported to common formats for presentation or publication. This year's new feature offers calculation and visualisation of the spacial utilisation by means of minimum convex polygon method. The multilingual environment of the portal facilitates the work in international projects.


21

HABITAT UTILIZATION BY THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE AS REVEALED BY SATELLITE

TELEMETRY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

URMAS SELLIS1 & ÜLO VÄLI1, 2

1Eagle Club, Hauka, Valgjärve, Põlvamaa 63406, Estonia. [email protected] 2Department of Zoology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014 Tartu, Estonia. [email protected] The Lesser Spotted Eagle (LSE) is adapted to breed in forest and to forage over managed landscapes, particularly the agricultural ones. To study the actual use and preferences of habitats by the LSE we have tagged 10 breeding individuals with gps-transmitters and followed their movements; we have also mapped all open areas around the nests of tracked eagles. Our aim is to understand the selection of foraging sites by the LSE, starting of wide scale landscape level and get closer up to dependence of timing of certain agricultural activities and, eventually, to develop suggestions for management of LSE foraging areas.

Our preliminary results from 2011-2013 demonstrate preferences to certain field types, but also changes within the season, depending on agricultural management and vegetation growth. In case of availability the LSEs seem to prefer pastures, semi-natural grasslands, but if those not available, also other open fields are used. With favorable fields around the nest site the home range tends to be smaller. We have noticed remarkable individual variation but there tend to be differences between successfully and unsuccessfully breeding birds. The study is still continuing and more data is expected in next years.


22

LESSER SPOTTED EAGLES (AQUILA POMARINA)

AND WIND POWER

BERND-ULRICH MEYBURG1 & CHRISTIANE MEYBURG 1World Working Group on Birds of Prey (WWGBP), Raptor Working Group of BirdLife Germany (NABU), POBox 33 04 51, 14199 Berlin, Germany. [email protected] The German Government's concept of the development plans for renewable energy sources envisages an expansion of the use of wind energy to contribute a significant share to achieving its renewable energy goals. Wind turbines present, in both its structures and operation, a considerable threat potential for numerous endangered, and by law strictly protected, bat and bird species. For the Lesser Spotted Eagle (LSE) in particular, Germany's most endangered woodland-breeding bird of prey species, huge gaps still exist in the knowledge of the species' space use patterns in connection with wind turbines.

The first proven LSE to fall victim to a wind turbine was found on 12 September 2008 in Brandenburg. The location was 32 km from the place where the bird was ringed as a nestling eight years before and some 3 km distant from a long term breeding site. On 4 August 2013 the last known of wind turbine victims to date was found in Mecklenburg. The nearest known breeding site is 6-8 km distant from the wind farm and, after a first successful breeding attempt in 2013, remained finally without success. The victim was a male, the main food provider for a LSE family.

Fundamental information is lacking in order to accurately assess the threat. For this reason we used the most modern telemetry technology to analyse space use patterns of adult LSEs. We first started to use a large number of solar Argos/GPS PTTS in 2004. Since 2012 we used five experimental solar-powered GSM/GPS transmitters weighing 25g with data transmission via GPRS data protocol. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications and is a standard for fully digital mobile radio networks.

At the present stage the analysis underlines the demand of keeping a circle of six km around the nest sites unfragmented and without additional human infrastructure.


23

CHANGING HABITAT USE OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE IN ESTONIA IN 1990–2010: INCREASING TOLERANCE TO

HUMAN ACTIVITY

URMAS ABEL1,2, ÜLO VÄLI1,2, TARMO EVESTUS2 & VELJO VOLKE2

1Department of Zoology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014 Tartu, Estonia. [email protected], [email protected] 2Eagle Club, Hauka, Valgjärve, 63406, Põlvamaa, Estonia. [email protected] Avian habitat use is a dynamic process and the future existence of species strongly depends on the ability to cope with the growing anthropogenic pressure. In the current study we analyse temporal changes in habitat use by the threatened Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina in Estonia in 1990–2010 by comparing three temporally distinct samples. Out of 14 studied micro-habitat variables and 15 macro-habitat variables, only four, nest location on the nest-tree, distance between nest and forest edge, forest area within 2 km and total foraging area within 2 km, have significantly changed over time. Additionally, twelve habitat variables showed unidirectional, though non-significant trends. Although distance between nest and clearcut may have decreased opportunistically, other changes seem to be based on changing habitat selection. In general it was noted that the Lesser Spotted Eagle has during past twenty years started to nest closer to foraging areas and man-made objects. So it could be concluded that the Lesser Spotted Eagle is now more using anthropogenic landscapes and less sensitive towards human activity. This may be the continuation of long-term habitat (re-)colonisation process due to the stopped persecution and switched habitat use.


24

EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE PATTERNS ON THE HABITAT SELECTION, FORAGING BEHAVIOUR AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE

IN ESTONIA

ÜLO VÄLI1,2 , GUNNAR SEIN2,3, URMAS ABEL1,2 & JOOSEP TUVI2

1Department of Zoology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014 Tartu, Estonia. [email protected], [email protected] 2Eagle Club, Hauka, Valgjärve, 63406Põlvamaa, Estonia. [email protected] 3 Environmental Board, Roheline 64, 80010 Pärnu, Estonia. [email protected] Intensification of agricultural practices threatens many wildlife species. We have studied the effects of agriculture on the various life history traits of the Lesser Spotted Eagle and attempted to establish guidelines for the eagle-friendly agricultural management in Estonia, northern Europe. We mapped open agricultural biotopes at the foraging grounds and recorded visually hunting activities of eagles in order to estimate the impact of different agricultural management practices on the maintenance of breeding territories, behaviour and productivity of the species. Eagle territories contained more grasslands and other agricultural open biotopes (arable lands and rotational crops and grasslands) than expected by random. Lesser Spotted Eagles preferred to hunt on managed grasslands while unmanaged grasslands were used opportunistically and arable fields were avoided. We detected a slight positive effect of managed natural grasslands and negative impact of rape fields on reproductive success, but these were not constant over the years and we were not able to designate management threshold for grasslands. Our results confirm that the species is indeed threatened by the intensification of agricultural practices and particularly by the increasing growth of cultures, such as rape, where the prey is absent or hard to access. Sustainable agriculture, favourable for the Lesser Spotted Eagle, should rather support the maintenance of various grassland types and set-a-sides, cultivation of various crops in small fields and retaining of various landscape elements and non-agricultural habitat patches within agricultural landscape.


25

SHOULD WE CONSIDER INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION WHEN SELECTING PRIORITY SITES FOR LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE

CONSERVATION?

RIMGAUDAS TREINYS1, 2, ÜLO VÄLI3 & UĢIS BERGMANIS4

1Foundation for the Development of Nature Protection Projects, Savanoriu ave. 173, LT-03150 Vilnius, Lithuania. [email protected] 2Nature Research Center, Akademijos str. 2,LT-08412, Vilnius, Lithuania 3Department of Zoology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014 Tartu, Estonia. [email protected] 4 Joint Stock Company Latvia’s State Forests. [email protected]

Compression of territories by increasing density affect reproduction and had fitness costs for territorial animals. Some populations of territorial long-lived raptors are regulated by density dependence (e.g., common buzzard, bearded vulture), while other are not (e.g., osprey, booted eagle). Relationship between conspecific density and reproduction was unscreened in Lesser Spotted Eagle (LSE) until now. In present study we analyze reproduction, conspecific density and their relationship in LSE at north western part of the distribution range.

Reproduction output of LSE varied significantly across years and three countries. Annual reproduction in central area (Latvia) was significantly related with breeding output in neighboring Estonia and Lithuania (P<0.05). However, reproduction in more distinct populations was weakly related (Lithuania vs. Estonia, P> 0.05). Nearest neighbor distance between occupied eagle nests ranged between 0.19 and 5.74 km, mean 2.04 ± 1.09 km (n = 546). Eagles within two kilometers radius of their nests had from 0 up to nine, in average 1.4 ± 1.8 (n = 546) nests occupied by conspecific pairs. We found limited temporal and strong spatial variation in the Lesser Spotted Eagle breeding densities. Largest density was in Latvia, intermediate for Lithuania and smallest in Estonia. We found limited support for the effect of conspecific density on Lesser Spotted Eagle population regulation through reproduction: NND and conspecific nest number within 2 km radius were included in best models, but not significant. Our data support spatial synchrony in breeding success at nearest neighbor scale at least during poor years: breeding success of the nearest neighbor pair entered into models as significant explanatory variable. In general, we did not find evidence encouraging to omit high density plots from conservation point of view. We also speculate to take into consideration mean inter annual breeding success of the target plots when selecting priority areas for conservation.


26

MORTAL DANGER - DO NOT FLY TO ISTANBUL DURING BIRD MIGRATION!

BERND-ULRICH MEYBURG1 & CHRISTIANE MEYBURG 1World Working Group on Birds of Prey (WWGBP), Raptor Working Group of BirdLife Germany (NABU), POBox 33 04 51, 14199 Berlin, Germany. [email protected] To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in 2023 the country aims at becoming one of the ten largest economies in the world. To achieve this aim President Erdogan is driving forward gigantic infrastructure projects in Istanbul. One of the most ambitious is the construction of a new airport in the north of the million-strong metropolis. The airport is planned to be enormous. To date it has apparently gone unnoticed by the planners that the site of the airport lies directly on one of the most important Eurasian migration flyways on the west coast of the Black Sea which, twice a year, millions of migrating birds, including large species such as the Lesser Spotted Eagle, use on passage.

In the past, so-called bird strike has repeatedly led to at times disastrous aircraft crashes. On 3 October 1960 for example, 62 passengers died following a crash after take-off in Boston, USA.

There is unfortunately no reliable information available on bird migration in the vicinity of the planned Istanbul airport.

In 2003 we were able to use a prototype of a GSM transmitter powered by solar energy. This, fitted to a 20-year-old male Lesser Spotted Eagle in Germany, was programmed to provide as many data as possible depending on the state of the battery. This enabled fixes every 3-5 minutes. To date five Bosporus crossings by this eagle have been recorded. Four other transmitters, also fitted to adult Lesser Spotted Eagles in July 2013, can transmit a GPS fix even every 2-3 minutes - several hundred a day.

In this study the passage of five adult Lesser Spotted Eagles in the area where the airport is under construction are precisely analysed using GSM transmitters, and an attempt is made to estimate the degree of threat to humans, aircraft and Lesser Spotted Eagles.


27

Posters

BREEDING PHENOLOGY OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE AT THE NORTHERN RANGE LIMIT: IS THE DISTURBANCE

SUFFICIENTLY LONG BANNED?

ÜLO VÄLI Department of Zoology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014 Tartu, Estonia, [email protected] Eagle Club, Hauka, Valgjärve, Põlvamaa 63406, Estonia; [email protected] All registered nest sites of the Lesser Spotted Eagle are protected in Estonia, at the northern limit of the species’ range. Every nest site has a protection zone, with the radius of 100 m, where disturbance is prohibited between 15/03 and 31/08. Additionally, logging is avoided in state forests between 15/04 and 15/06; this should support breeding of birds at unknown nest sites. How well do these periods correspond with the presence of Lesser Spotted Eagles at their nests, as well as other phases of their breeding phenology? To answer to these questions, 15-20 camera traps were mounted annually near the nests of eagles in 2011–2014, each year the additional data from the two web-cameras and up to five satellite-tracked birds were obtained. The Lesser Spotted Eagles arrived to their nest sites on 09/04 – 02/05 (min–max; median = 18/04) and between-year variation of mean arrival dates was rather low. The first egg was laid on 26/04–09/05 (01/05) and the second one on 01/05 – 07/05 (03/05). The first chick hatched on 03 – 13/06 (09/06) and fledged on 31/07 – 15/08 (6/08). The eagles visited their nests up to 08/08–17/09 and started migration on 7–22/09 (17/09). Hence, the regime at registered Estonian nest sites protects Lesser Spotted Eagles rather well but the logging break in state forests should be prolonged to secure breeding at unregistered nest sites.


28

ANNUAL ADULT SURVIVAL AND TURNOVER RATES IN THE

BALTIC LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE POPULATION

ÜLO VÄLI1,2 , UĢIS BERGMANIS3, TARMO EVESTUS2, AIN NURMLA2 & URMAS SELLIS2

1Department of Zoology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014 Tartu, Estonia. [email protected] 2Eagle Club, Hauka, Valgjärve, Põlvamaa 63406, Estonia. [email protected] 3Joint Stock Company “Latvia’s State Forests”. [email protected] Rates of adult survival and turnover (replacement of individuals) are important parameters shaping demography and viability of populations. Since 2003 we have marked 50 adult birds with wing-tags and colour rings in the Estonian and Latvian Lesser Spotted Eagle populations and studied their survival and replacement. The total mean annual survival rate in 2006–2014 was 89.4% and the rates were nearly identical in Latvia (88.3% in 2006–2011) and in Estonia (87.1% in 2009–2014). These figures correspond well with the survival rate of satellite-tracked birds (91%). The annual rates fluctuated remarkably over the years. Higher survival was found among females than that among males; colour rings suggested higher survival rate than wing-tags. Loss of birds occurred nearly always during migration or wintering and all perished birds were replaced by new individuals within the next breeding season.


29

DO NOT USE PLASTIC COLOUR RINGS FOR LESSER SPOTTED EAGLES AQUILA POMARINA

BERND-ULRICH MEYBURG1, GÜNTER HEISE, ARNO HINZ, JOACHIM MATTHES, INGO BÖRNER, HINRICH MATTHES & KAI GRASZYNSKI

1World Working Group on Birds of Prey (WWGBP), Raptor Working Group of BirdLife Germany (NABU), POBox 33 04 51, 14199 Berlin, Germany. [email protected]

A colour ringing programme for A. pomarina in Slovakia was put into practice in the year 2000. A readable plastic yellow ring with a black alpha-numerical two-digit code (combination of two letters, numbers or letter and number) was used.

In Germany rings from Slovakia were subsequently used on adult LSEs trapped and fitted with satellite transmitters by B.-U. Meyburg.

After an adult male was subsequently seen to be still wearing the satellite transmitter and the metal ringing centre ring, but not the plastic colour ring, we thought about metal readable rings. A second hatched young (“Abel”) reared in captivity in Latvia, translocated to Germany and released there was observed to have already removed its orange colour ring from Latvia during the post-fledging dependence period.

An adult female, marked in 2000 as a nestling with a ringing centre metal ring, was trapped in 2004 during the rearing phase of its young and fitted additionally with a satellite transmitter and a yellow plastic ring from Slovakia. In 2013 it was identified at its old breeding site on an automatic wildlife camera. It wore the still active satellite transmitter and the metal ring, but not however the plastic ring.

In the time frame 2004-2014 a total of 80 second hatched young eagles (“Abels”) were released into the wild in Brandenburg, and two more in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. As most of them were marked with yellow and orange readable plastic rings from Slovakia and Latvia, it can no longer be definitely established how many of them have resettled. In subsequent years a few eagles were recorded by automatic wildlife cameras in Brandenburg.

As a result of these experiences, metal readable rings for young birds began to be used in Germany from 2007. Subsequently we used only these metal rings for adults starting in 2013. We are prepared to give free of charge a large number of these rings to LSE specialists in other countries.


30

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF FARMLAND CHANGES ON THE LESSER

SPOTTED EAGLE AQUILA POMARINA FORAGING AREAS IN LATVIA

UĢIS BERGMANIS1 & PĒTERIS LAKOVSKIS2

1Joint Stock Company “Latvia’s State Forests”. [email protected] 2Latvian State Institute of Agrarian Economics. [email protected] Given the preference of the prey species for open, agriculturally cultivated areas it can be concluded that the quality of those habitats and its capacity to generate a sufficient quantity and variety of prey species is one of the most important - if not the single most important determining factor for the population of the Lesser Spotted Eagle. In other words: The population size of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in an area is significantly influenced by the ecological condition of the agricultural land, by its type of use as well as its intensity of use. Within the European Union the types of exploitation of agricultural land is regulated by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and by the respective administrative provisions such as the Rural Development Programme.

The impact of different forms of utilization of agricultural areas as well as the impact of additional structural elements in the landscape (e.g. solitary trees) on the foraging of the Lesser Spotted Eagle were analyzed by conventional telemetry. This research was part of the German-Latvian research project, conducted in the years 1994-1997. In the course of this project four breeding Lesser Spotted Eagles were caught in the research area “Murmanstiene” and neighbouring areas and fitted with conventional transmitters.

For assessment of the influence of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2011 on the population of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in Latvia the breeding density and the breeding success in five research areas were compared to the ratio of agricultural areas in the respective research areas. Grasslands and fallows were summarized in the category of agricultural areas with extensive utilization (LIZ_EXTENS).

Given the functional sharing between male and female Lesser Spotted Eagles in the breeding season (the female spends most of the time in the aerie or in the immediate vicinity of the nest while the male provides the vast majority of food – 71 percent of all prey brought to the nest) and the amount of time dedicated for hunting (male Lesser Spotted Eagles hunt during 70,8 percent of the daylight period), the paramount importance of the foraging habitats is evident.


31

Hunting from perches as well as hunting in flight end on the ground of the respective foraging area, with grassland (48-78%, average 64%) und fallows (2-40%, average 22%) as extrensively used agricultural areas (80-95%, average 86%) being of paramount importance. After the mowing mowed areas are prefered foraging areas.

As hunting from perches is the favorite hunting method of Lesser Spotted Eagles the structuring elements of the landscape are of particular importance. Preferred perches are edges of forests (average 60,64%), groups of trees (average 9,14%) as well as other vertical structures in the landscape, such as solitary trees, powerlines, hayballs, wooden poles, lines of trees (average 30,21%).

To judge the influence of the Rural Development Programme on the population of the Lesser Spotted Eagle the following parameters were compared: 1) Annually population density - Proportion of annually use of extensively used agricultural areas (LIZ_EXTENS); 2) Average proportion of extensively used agricultural areas – Average breeding density, average breeding success; 3) Proportion of agriculturally used land - Breeding density.

Visible correlation between the annually breeding density and annually proportion of LIZ_EXTENS could be determined only in two of the research plots. A visible correlation between the average breeding density and the average proportion of LIZ_EXTENS could be determined - the higher the proportion of LIZ_EXTENS in a research plot was, the higher also was the breeding density. An additional correlation was found: In areas with a high breeding density the breeding success was lower. This explains why the breeding success (measured by juv./pair present) is lower in research plots with a high proportion of LIZ_EXTENS, however population-parts form areas with higher breeding denisty produce more young eagles, in relation to the surface (juv./100km2).

There could be no correlation determined between breeding density and proportion of the agriculturally used land in general.


32

CURRENT STATUS OF THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE IN UKRAINE.

SERGEY DOMASHEVSKYY1, MAXIM GAVRILYUK1, YURI MILOBOG1 & VITALIY VETROV1

1Ukrainian Birds of Prey Research Centre. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) is classified as belonging to rare

species in the Red Book of Ukraine (2009). It is a breeding and migratory bird. The main breeding population of the species inhabits the forest zone of Ukraine with the highest concentrations of birds in its western and central parts. In eastern Ukraine, this species is rare. The birds nest in the Russia bordering areas (Kharkiv region). Fewer birds inhabit the forest-steppe zone, and only solitary pairs nest in the northern part of the Steppe zone. This species is common to the Carpathian Mountains where the birds rise to an altitude of 700 m above sea level. Lesser Spotted Eagle breeding population in Ukraine numbers 1100-1300 pairs.

Powerful flyways pass through the territory of Ukraine (through the Crimean peninsula in the south, Khmelnytskyy region in the west and Odessa region in the south).

The main threats are melioration, degradation of hunting areas as the result of changes in the structure of agriculture, the destruction of old forest areas (including illegal logging), destruction of the places where the birds hunt, illegal shooting of the birds on migration routes and in breeding habitats. Cases of poisoning and deaths of birds on electrical wires are not known.

As of 2014 a fragmentary monitoring of the population of the Lesser Spotted Eagle species is conducted in Ukraine.

To make protection of birds in Ukraine more effective it is necessary to create the buffer zones around nests, set up a large-scale monitoring in breeding time, and to improve agricultural management and ecological education.


33

IMPROVEMENT OF THE BREEDING AND FEEDING HABITATS FOR THE LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE (AQUILA POMARINA),

AS WELL AS FOR THE CORN CRAKE (CREX CREX) AND THE AQUATIC WARBLER (ACROCEPHALUS PALUDICOLA)

IN THE SPA “SCHORFHEIDE-CHORIN”.

ULRIKE GARBE

Landesamt für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz, Biosphärenreservat Schorfheide Chorin, LIFE 10/Nat/De/012, Hoher Steinweg 5/6, 16278 Angermünde, Germany. [email protected] The project is designed to help stop the negative trend in the population of Lesser Spotted Eagles and Corn Crakes in Germany and to make a contribution to the recovery of the endangered Aquatic Warbler population in Germany. Further endangered bird species will profit from the planned measures, such as the Black Stork and the Spotted Crake.

The measures in the project are aimed above all at improving and safeguarding the habitats of these species, whereby the focus is on the Lesser Spotted Eagle. As a species, it has very complex requirements for its habitat and is acutely endangered. 9 breading territories are known of within the project area (2 of which are currently occupied). Within the project there are the following 4 main target areas:

1) Forest reserve (breeding ground) for Lesser Spotted Eagles 2) Feeding habitat closer together for the Lesser Spotted Eagle 3) Extended feeding habitat for the Lesser Spotted Eagle / breeding habitat for

the Corn Crake / potential breeding habitat for the Aquatic Warbler 4) Extended feeding habitat for the Lesser Spotted Eagle / feeding habitat for

the Corn Crake


34

Book of Abstracts International Conference on the Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) Košická Belá, SLOVAKIA, 25–27 September 2014 Edited by: Miroslav Dravecký & Zuzana Guziová Published by: Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Bratislava, © 2014 Photo by: Miroslav Dravecký, Ervín Hrtan Printed: CopyCenter Košice The Conference is organized within a framework of the project LIFE09NAT/SK/000396 Conservation of Aquila pomarina in Slovakia, which is implemented by Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Východoslovenská energetika, a.s., Stredoslovenská energetika, a.s. and Stredoslovenská energetika - Distrubúcia, .a.s. and is co-financed by LIFE - the EU's financial instrument supporting environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects and Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic. Recommended citation: Sellis U. & Väli Ü. 2014: Habitat utilization by the Lesser Spotted Eagle in agricultural landscape as revealed by satellite telemetry: preliminary results, 21. In: Dravecký M. & Guziová Z. (eds), Book of abstract of the International Conference on the Conservation of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina), September 25–27, 2014, Košická Belá, Slovakia. Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Bratislava, 33.

apom conference book of abstracts

Documents