PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Sicily represents a key area for three species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive: Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus). It hosts 100% of the confirmed nesting population of Egyptian vulture, and 65% of the Italian population as a whole and 65% of the national lanner falcon population. Moreover, more than 60% of Sicilian nesting pairs of Bonelli’s eagle is found in the nine SPAs where the project will be implemented.
The three species are all endangered. The population of Egyptian vulture in Sicily has drastically decreased by 85-90% over the past 30 years, mainly due to changes in the agricultural practices and the reduction of extensive goat and sheep grazing. Bonelli’s eagle species is also suffering as a result of poaching of eggs and chicks, with threats of extinction in the region in the coming decades.
OBJECTIVES
The overall goal of the LIFE ConRaSi project was to improve the reproductive success of Bonelli's eagle, Egyptian vulture and Lanner falcon populations, by carrying out habitat improvement measures. The aim was to increase the number of nesting pairs and their area of distribution. Specifically, the project aimed to:
- halt nest predation by poachers in Sicily;
- improve the trophic (nutritional) capacity of the Sicilian territories the species inhabit, by setting up feeding sites and rabbit hutches;
- gain a detailed picture of the three species’ demography, mortality rates and survival rates, as well as their distribution in relation to the Natura 2000 network, proposing adjustments where necessary (i.e., new boundaries of current sites and inclusion of new sites);
- draw up a genetic map of the Bonelli's eagle population;
- set up guidelines for habitat management aimed at improving the status of the three species, through the development of models of habitat preference and related habitat suitability models;
- draw up the National Action Plan for Bonelli's eagle and its adoption by the national and regional institutions;
- raising awareness among stakeholders and general public in the areas the species inhabit.
RESULTS
The project lasted six years, from September 2015 to October 2021, and revolved around the protection and conservation of three target species of raptors: Bonelli’s eagle, Egyptian vulture and Lanner falcon in Sicily.
Notable results, specifically an increase in the population of the target species, have been achieved only for Bonelli's eagle, while for Egyptian vulture the population remained stable all over the project duration, and for Lanner falcon a worrying decrease of couples was registered.
Positive outcomes for Bonelli's eagle was due to the strict surveillance of the nesting sites during the nesting period, while the warrens (constructed to increase food availability for this species) did not influence increase in population because they started to be operational in the closing phase of the project. A specific threat (emerged during the tagging of the pulli) was the high incidence of the Trichomoniasis disease that impacts the reproductive success of the species.
As far as the Egyptian vulture species is concerned, the six supplementary feeding areas were not used by the target species, probably due very late supplying of meat. The monitoring on Lanner falcon highlighted a continuous decrease in the couples, without a clear reason underlying this trend, and the project did not implement any concrete conservation actions for this species.
A notable result was the approval by Regione Sicilia of the national action plan for Bonelli's eagle, that will subsequently be updated by ISPRA in the frame of the LIFE project LIFE16 NAT/ES/000235 AQUILA a-LIFE.
Thanks to surveillance and monitoring activities, the Bonelli’s Eagle increased the number of pairs and the extension of its distribution throughout Sicily, and notable results have been achieved in contrasting poaching, a well-known problem for the species. An unexpected result registered was the use of the collected data during surveillance and monitoring as documentary evidence for judicial inquiries carried out by the Carabinieri Forestali. Furthermore, thanks to tagging activities, evidence has been gathered on the impact of a disease affecting the pulli of Bonelli's eagle.
The awareness raising campaign among stakeholders did not yield positive results: the meetings with falconers and hunters were cancelled, while didactic activities with schools were performed only in 2017 and 2018.
