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.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The presence of the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina) in Schorfheide-Chorin, northeast Germany, is of great significance. The species can be found 25 km away from the project area, but it has very complex habitat requirements. As a result its numbers are in decline in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, where there is increasing loss of grasslands, drainage of wetland areas and intensification of forestry. Apart from a breeding pair in Saxony-Anhalt, these two German federal states are the only ones that still have considerable numbers of territories where the lesser spotted eagle can be found; nine are included in project area (four of which are currently occupied). The corncrake (Crex crex) and the black stork (Ciconia nigra) have also suffered the same downward trend as a result of loss of large, continuous, richly structured grassland and open areas of sedge marshland. Hunting on the migration routes and in the wintering grounds are further causes for their declining numbers.

OBJECTIVES

The project aims to stop the negative population trends of the lesser spotted eagle and corncrake in eastern Germany and to contribute to the recovery of the endangered aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) population. Further endangered bird species will also benefit from the planned measures, such as the black stork and the spotted crake (Porzana porzana). The measures of the project aim to improve and safeguard the habitats of these species.

The following areas will be targeted:

Forest reserve – improving breeding grounds for the lesser spotted eagle;

Feeding habitats – bringing them closer together for the lesser spotted eagle;

Open sedge marshland and reed beds – extending the feeding habitat for the lesser spotted eagle, the breeding habitat for the corncrake and the potential breeding habitat for the aquatic warbler; and

Moist grasslands rich in species and structures – extending the feeding habitat for the lesser spotted eagle and the feeding habitat for the corncrake.

Expected results: The main result will be the development and protection of the habitats of the three target species. Specific results will include:

Securing 600 ha of forest, grassland and peatland;

Development of at least 50 ha of forest reserves in four occupied and five currently unoccupied lesser spotted eagle territories;

Safeguarding at least 60 ha of grassland in the immediate surroundings of the nine forest reserves;

Expansion of suitable corncrake breeding habitats from 400 ha to 600 ha;

Development and restoration of at least 200 ha of open alkaline and calcerous fens as an aquatic warbler habitat;

Increasing the total reservation area by some 150 ha;

Recreating 300 ha of waterlogged spring marshland;

Recreating the near-natural water supply and the corresponding water dynamic of an 11 km-long stretch of the Sernitz; and

Recreating at least seven internal drainage areas.

The results and knowledge gained by the project – in particular, the safeguarding and development of breeding and feeding habitats – will be valuable for the protection of the lesser spotted eagle, corncrake and aquatic warbler throughout Europe. Furthermore, the large-scale use of several processes to re-establish open alkaline and calcareous fens as the best habitat for the aquatic warbler is of particular significance. The measures are designed to result in open sedge marshland that does not require maintenance and can be readily repopulated.