Golden Eagles are still heavily persecuted in many parts of Scotland. This keeps the bird from recolonizing areas where it has already been extirpated. According to the RSPB and a recently published report about Golden Eagle conservation in Scotland persecution is still the major threat to the species.
In 2003, there were 440 breeding pairs of Golden Eagles in Great Britain. All of those pairs are in Scotland. In England, where there is suitable habitat, there is currently only one single male.
The biggest problem is in the central and eastern Highlands of Scotland, where many suitable Golden Eagle territories are not occupied by the eagles and where the population is currently declining.
Golden Eagles are often killed because they are seen as competition grouse hunters. Often, poisoned baits are used to kill raptors and mammals like foxes. The Golden Eagle regularly feeds on carrion, especially during winter. Young and immature birds also feed often on carrion. That behavior makes them very vulnerable to poisoning.
In order to keep the current population stable and help it increase in the coming years (including spreading to new territories in currently unoccupied areas in Scotland and also in England and Wales), it’s very important to stop the illegal killing of Golden Eagles.
Stopping that threat would also help other raptors who suffer from illegal shooting and poisoning like Hen Harries, Common Buzzards, Northern Goshawks, Red Kites or White-tailed Eagles.
The Monfragüe National Park in Extremadura (Spain, about 250km south-west of Madrid) is one of the best birding destinations in Western Europa. It’s especially popular because if it’s high number of raptors.
There you can see 3 species of vultures (Cinereous, Griffon and Egyption vulture) and 5 species of Eagles (Booted, Short-toed, Golden, Bonelli’s and Spanish Imperial Eagle). All those species are very popular among birders and are some of the most sought-after species in Europe. Other interesting species are Black Stork, Eagle Owl, Blue Rock-Thrush or Cetti’s Warbler.
In the plains south of Monfragüe you can see Great and Little Bustards, Red Kites, Montagu’s Harrier or Southern Grey Shrike.
In the city of Trujillo, you can see nesting Lesser Kestrels.
The park offers good birding all year, but during the summer (especially July and August), it’s very hot. A very good time is early April, when most migrants are already back, but the temperatures are still not too high.
If you live in Europa or plan a birding trip there, Monfragüe and it’s surroundings are definitely worth a trip. If you want to see raptors, Monfragüe is a MUST.
According to this report by Birdlife International , the situation for Indian Vultures is dramatic and three species could face extinction in the wild within ten years. The population of the White-rumped Vultures Gyps bengalensis has dropped 99.9 percent since 1992. Indian Vulture Gyps indicus and Slender-billed Vultures Gyps tenuirostris have lost about 97 percent of their population. The reason is the veterinary drug diclofenac which is used to treat livestock, but kills the vultures once they feed on dead animals which where treated with the drug.
The drug is now officially banned in India, but still widely available. Sadly, the drug now also seems to be available in Africa.
The Spanish Imperial Eagle is one of the most endangered birds in Europa. In the 1960s the population was below 50 pairs. Due to a lot conservation work in Spain, the population has reached 234 reproductive pairs in 2007 (2 in Portugal, the rest in Spain) according to this report (in Spanish).
The population increase was 17 pairs in 2007 compared to the year before. In 2006 there were 11 new pairs, in 2005 10 and in 2004 9 new pairs.
The highest number of pairs (73) are in Castilla La Mancha. In Extremadura there 49. Other regions with a significant number of pairs are Andalusia and Castilla y Leon.
One of the reasons for the increase in Castilla La Mancha is a reduced mortality through electrocution. During the 1990s the power lines and pylons where modified to reduce raptor mortality. But there are still some cases of eagles getting killed through electrocution every year. Illegal poisoning is also still a threat.
The number of young eagles fledged in 2007 were 242 compared to 294 in 2006 and 221 in 2005.
Despite the increase, the Spanish Imperial Eagle is still a very threatened species that will need a lot of conservation work in the future.
The Harpy Eagle is one of the most spectacular birds in the world. It has talons the size of a Grizzly Bear and is the largest and most powerful raptor in Central and South America.
I have collected interesting websites and documents about that amazing bird (English or Spanish):
Lead poisoning is still killing many birds, especially raptors who feed on carrion. When an animal is shot with lead ammunition and is later consumed by an eagle or other bird, the bird will also swallow the lead. That can either kill the bird or dramatically compromise it’s health through loss of balance, tremors or and impaired ability to fly. Such a bird will almost always end up as a dead bird. Sometimes, when found by humans, the bird can recover, but most of the time it’s too late.
According to a recent press release by the Peregrine Fund, Ravens in the Greater Yellowstone area show high lead levels during the hunting season. Hunters, after shooting elk and deer, left behind the gut piles which where consumed by the Ravens, of which many later had high levels of lead in their blood. Of course, the lead would not only affect Ravens, but all birds who feed on the gut piles like Golden Eagles or Bald Eagles. Grizzly Bears also are known to feed on the gut piles regularly.
Another problem are lead fishing weights which threaten loons and probably other birds with a similar biology than loons. See here for more information about this.
The best way to avoid future deaths of birds or other animals is to ban lead ammunition and fishing weights and replace it with something saver. Alternatives exist. It’s time that those unnecessary deaths of (often endangered) species come to an end.
The Global Raptor Information Network is a wonderful website by the Peregrine Fund about the raptors of the world. It has detailed species accounts for all raptor species covering distribution, taxonony, movements, feeding, conservation and more. Below the species accounts are important references and a list of researchers working with the species.
The species can be grouped and searched by different criteria like continents where they live, conservation status or population trend.
If you want to learn more about a certain raptor species or all the raptors on the continent you live, then a visit to the Global Raptor Information Network will give you a lot of information. A must read website for both professionals working for the conservationi of the various species and for every birder serious about raptors.
The African Crowned Eagle ( Stephanoaetus coronatus ) is one of the most powerful raptors in Africa. Like most woodland raptors it has relatively short and broad wings, similar to a Goshawk. But the eagle is much bigger and more powerful than the Goshawk. Some consider it the African equivalent to the Harpy Eagle ( Harpia harpyja ) of Central and South America. But those two species are not closely related.
Here is an amazing video from National Geographic showing the (unsuccessful) attempt of an African Crowned Eagle to catch a Water Chevrotain ( Hyemoschus aquaticus ).
The White-tailed Eagle has a wingspan up to 245cm (the females) and is even a little bigger than the Golden Eagle. Once close to extinction in many European countries, the White-tailed Ealge has made a phenomenal comeback and populations have increased in many countries including Norway, Germany or Poland.
It’s a website dedicated to the Short-toed Eagle, a very interesting bird of prey of Europe, Asia and Africa who feeds mostly on snakes and other reptiles.
I saw my first Short-toed Eagle in March 2006 in Monfragüe, Spain. Once I saw one swallowing a snake. That was an amazing experience. It is a very beautiful eagle with a huge head compared to the size of it’s body. It’s huge eyes almost give the bird an owl like appearance.
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