SECURING PREY SOURCES FOR ENDANGERED AQUILA HELIACA AND FALCO CHERRUG POPULATION IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN LIFE13 NAT/HU/000183 LIFE13 NAT/HU/000183 „A veszélyeztetett parlagi sas és kerecsensólyom populációk zsákmánybázisának biztosítása a Kárpát-medencében” Securing prey sources for endangered Aquila the project strives to reinforce the populations heliaca and Falco cherrug population in the of the aforementioned small mammals to help “Securing prey sources for endangered Falco cherrug and Carpathian basin the effective conservation of rare raptors. Aquila heliaca population in the Carpathian basin” The project, co-financed by the European Un- LIFE the European Union’s financing ion’s LIFE+ programme, aimed to increase the Published with the financial support of the European Union’s instrument for environmental programs LIFE program in 1500 copies in December 2018. populations of the (Aquila heliaca) and saker fal- con (Falco cherrug) both being globally threatened The LIFE (L’Instrument Financier pour l’En- vironment) program was established in 1992 to and playing a key role in a European context. Both support the environmental policy of the Europe- species are considered threatened bird species in an Union for which Hungary and Romania have EDITED BY:: Annex I of the EU’s Birds Directive and the LIFE+ been eligible since 1999. LIFE has been trans- Attila Németh Nature, and their largest populations in Europe formed several times since its launch. LIFE + of exist in the Carpathian Basin. Due to previous LIFE-Nature programs are designed to promote conservation efforts their populations have been WRITTEN BY: and fund the protection of Natura 2000 sites re- growing steadily in the Carpathian Basin. How- Attila Németh, Tamás Cserkész, Lajos Nagy, Vilmos Altbäcker, ever, populations of their important prey species quired by the Birds and Habitats Directives. Márton Horváth, Mátyás Prommer, R. Benedek Sallai, Olivér Váczi such as the European ground-squirrel (Spermo- Natura 2000, the European Union’s philus citellus), hamster (Cricetus cricetus) and ecological network European hare (Lepus europaeus) have decreased CONTRIBUTORS: The system of the Natura 2000 areas, a gradually due to the loss and degradation of nat- János Bagyura, Zoltán Balog, Zsolt Hegyeli, continuous ecological network established by ural grasslands. For these reasons, the popula- György Krnács, Endre Sós, Gábor Sramkó, Miklós Váczi the European Union aims to conserve biodi- tions of southern birch mouse (Sicista subtilis) and versity through the protection of natural hab- Vojvodina blind mole rat (Nannospalax montano- itats and wild, native plant and animal species. PROOFREAD BY: syrmiensis), which play an important ecological The network contains two types of areas; the Tatjána Kardos, Anna Fidlóczky and József Fidlóczky role in grassland ecosystems, have also decreased. Special Protection Areas are designated under These processes threaten the results of the con- the Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds MAPS AND FIGURES BY: servation work that had been done to protect the established in 1979, while Sites of Community Cserkész Tamás, Hegyeli Zsolt, Németh Attila, Prommer Mátyás, Sramkó Gábor eagles and falcons. The continuously declining pop- Importance are defined in the Habitat Directive ulations of the lesser blind mole rat and southern ratified in 1992. On Natura 2000 areas, differ- birch mouse represent exceptional nature conser- PHOTOS: ent economic, social and cultural activities can vation values on their own while the hamster and only be undertaken with a sustainable environ- Tamás Cserkész, Attila Bacskai, János Bagyura, Zoltán Balog, Márton Horváth, Viktória Koroknai, European hare are especially important key ele- mental approach, while giving priority to nature András Mészáros, Géza Molnár, Lajos Nagy, Attila Németh, László Novák, János Attila Pásztor, Mátyás Prommer, ments of the grassland food chain. In view of this, conservation interests. R. Benedek Sallai, Viktor Scneider, Harvančík Stanislav, Pál Simon, Tamás Szitta, Antal Széll, József Vers SUGGESTED CITATION: Németh A., Cserkész T., Nagy L., Altbäcker V., Horváth M., Prommer M., Váczi O. (2018): RaptorsPrey LIFE project (LIFE13 NAT/HU/000183) – Layman’s report (2014-2018). Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association, Túrkeve. 28 pp. ISBN 978-963-9977-21-1 Published by: Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association, Túrkeve. Created by: (Köménymag Grafika, Vác). 3 Diet study of the eastern imperial eagle The Hungarian population showed a sig- nificant increase during the project period, thus the number of breeding pairs reached 247 in 2018 from 152 pairs in 2014. The HELICON and PannonEagle LIFE projects fighting against illegal poisoning have also largely contributed to this increase. With- THE EASTERN IMPERIAL EAGLE in the framework of our project two birds (Aquila heliaca) were tagged with a satellite transmitter in Hungary and another two in Romania in or- der to find their foraging habitats. We also deployed camera traps at six eagle nests which enabled us to collect data about their The eastern imperial eagle belongs to prey they feed their chicks with. In paral- the large eagles. The adults are dark-brown lel, a huge database of 36 years about the with golden nape and head and had white food composition of the species was also shoulder patches. Young individuals are processed. Diet studies proved a drastic de- yellowish acquiring adult plumage through cline of both ground-squirrel and hamster several intermediate ones. The majority populations since their presence among of the population exists in the Great Hun- prey were only 0.03% and 7.42%, respective- garian Plain, but a small proportion nest in ly, and their rate showed a continuous fall Transdanubia as well. It prefers to breed in the past 20 years. The eastern imperial within reach of grazed lands with high den- eagle has disappeared from certain areas Home range of eastern sity of ground-squirrels and usually builds imperial eagle in the project area due to the decrease of its formerly common its nest in tree alleys or on a lone tree be- preys, while in other parts other species be- tween agricultural parcels and grasslands. came its major food source. In many areas It used to feed primarily on ground-squir- the common hare and pheasant became the rels and hamsters, however, due to their most frequently hunted prey species cre- sharp decline, the common hare and corvid ating a source of conflict with gamekeep- species became its dominant food source. ers which resulted in the increase of illegal It occasionally also scavenges. The species poisoning. All this shows how important it has suffered a decline all over its distribu- would be to strengthen the populations of tion area, therefore its population increase the natural prey of the species. in Hungary is of great importance. Today, poisoning and electrocution are considered to be the most important threats to the species. In 2018, the Hungarian population reached around 247 pairs while the Roma- nian population consisted of only one or two pairs. It is strictly protected in Hunga- ry possessing a natural conservation value of one million forints (~3100 EUR) while in Romania it is also protected with a value of 2700 EUR. The target species and activities to conserve them The target species and activities to conserve 4 5 The diet of the Saker Falcon During the project duration, the popula- tion of the saker falcon showed a moderate decline in Hungary, but the Romanian popula- tion pleasingly increased in the same period. In order to learn more about the diet of the spe- cies, we deployed camera traps at 67 and 13 nests in Hungary and in Romania, respectively. SAKER Falcon Results made clear that the proportion of the European ground squirrel – the favoured prey Movement of satellite tracked saker falcons (Falco cherrug) of the saker falcon – significantly decreased in Hungary in the last years. This may be one of the reasons for the moderate decline of sak- er falcon population. In the Romanian areas The Saker falcon is the largest falcon species Home range of saker falcon however, the European ground squirrel was in Hungary. Its head and back are brown, breast in the project area presented in high proportion in the saker fal- is white with longitudinal drop-shaped marking cons’ diet. In frame of the project, loggers were and light brown spots can be found on the wing deployed on 16 falcons to learn about their and tail feathers. feeding grounds. In addition, earlier satellite The bulk of the population lives east of the tracking data from previous LIFE projects were river Danube in open lowland areas. In Transdan- processed. Results suggest that saker falcons ubia, Sakers live mostly in Fejér and Győr-Mo- need relatively large area to breed successful- son-Sopron counties. Recently, the species ly. They prefer to hunt for the European ground settled in West Romania, in Partium and Banat squirrels and if the species is present in their areas. Breeding pairs usually remain in their territory, they adjust their hunts to the sea- breeding ground all year round. They breed in sonal activities and life cycle of the European woods, alleys or solitary trees, if the habitat is ground squirrel. In case the density of a Euro- appropriate. They do not build nest but occupy pean ground squirrel colony falls under a crit- nests of other species. Nowadays the bulk of ical number, falcons do not target that colony, the Hungarian population nests in artificial nest even if it can be found relatively close boxes installed on pylons of high-voltage power to their nest. On the contrary, if lines. Their most preferred prey is the European a colony has a good density, ground squirrel, but they regularly hunt for ham- saker falcons are willing to ster (Cricetus cricetus), common vole (Microtus fly even 20-25 km (each arvalis), starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and feral pi- way) to catch the Euro- geon (Columba livia f.