PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The GSELIFEAboveBorders project is dedicated to protecting the rarest eagle in the Western Palearctic, the Greater Spotted Eagle (GSE), known by its scientific name as the Clanga clanga (former Aquila clanga). The GSE is classified worldwide as vulnerable, and its population is declining as noted in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. It is described as critically endangered by the European Red List of Birds. The species is also listed in Annex 1 of the EU Birds Directive and the Community Species Action Plan (SAP) to protect biodiversity.
The GSE is found in Asia and Europe and the entire global population is currently estimated at less than 3 000 pairs. The European population of the GSE is believed to make up be around 770 to 1 000 breeding pairs. The GSE has been spotted in slightly altered wetlands, mainly low and transitional bogs located in river valleys. Degradation of this type of habitat has led to the almost complete disappearance of the GSE in the EU, where the species has survived in just a few places on the remaining large-scale marshes.
The disappearance of the last large-scale marshes in the EU, essential breeding grounds for the GSE have had a detrimental effect on the species conservation status. The result is that there are very low numbers of reared young eagles and population losses due to migration in the winter months are common.
Over 90 % of the population of the GSE detected in the EU is bred in the areas covered by the project, including in Poland as per Natura 2000 Ostoja Biebrzańska (PLB200006). Some 14 to 17 pairs of the GSE, including between four and five mixed pairs are in Estonia.
Among other main migration routes and wintering areas covered by the project lies Bulgaria, where there are at least 400 migrating GSE and between 20 and 50 overwintering ones. Turkey hosts around 400 migrating GSE and 300 wintering birds while Greece has about 200 wintering birds.
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the project are:
- To improve the breeding conditions of the GSE and increase its population size in the EU;
- To reduce the threats on key sites of the GSE staging and wintering sites along the flyway.
Specific project objectives are:
- To increase the area of feeding grounds by purchasing land located in the GSE hunting sites threatened by degradation and securing their protected status by the construction of breeding reservoirs for amphibians, an important component of the food of the GSE;
- To determine the food preferences for the subsequent modelling of habitat conditions;
- To increase the breeding success of the GSE population and the survival of fledglings by protecting breeding forests and nests including via the introduction of artificial nests and the improvement of natural nests;
- To protect of the GSE nests and broods from the destructive influence of martens by installing artificial platforms that make it difficult for martens to access the nest, using a deterrent, installing protective collars, or, eliminating hunting martens;
- To increase the number of fledglings by rescuing chicks of the Abel line and ensuring that younger chicks are not killed by older offspring in a phenomenon called cainism;
- To monitor effects of protection of the GSE by telemetry transmitters, the creation of an interactive safety monitoring map and the establishment of a European conservation network;
- To protect the largest migration routes of the GSE in the EU and part of the wintering sites through the construction of feeding stations and by the elimination of threats in their vicinity;
- To detect and phase out sources of threats on migration and wintering grounds such as illegal shooting, the laying of poisoned carcasses and electrocution by introducing the latest field observation technologies including tracking birds by global system for mobile communications (GSM) transmitters;
- To identify about 90 % of existing and potential breeding, feeding, staging, and wintering sites of the GSE in the project areas;
- To improve the legal and effective conservation of the species at EU and national level. The European Species Action Plan (SAPs) for the GSE and two national plans will be revised based on the information gathered by the project and sent to the relevant EU and national authorities;
- To promote the conservation of the GSE and its habitats during breeding, migratory and wintering periods and to create a positive attitude among stakeholders while building an effective social media network awareness campaign showing their active involvement in the implementation of the activities proposed.
RESULTS
The project will improve nesting, foraging and migration conditions for the GSEs by:
- Increasing the protection of the GSE breeding forests. At least 15 new protection zones and 500 hectares (ha) of forest, including 10 new zones in Poland, five in Estonia and 20 existing zones in these countries will be available.
- Constructing artificial nesting platforms to stabilise site locations with 30 platforms built in Poland and 10 in Estonia;
- Improving environmental conditions including access to food in the feeding grounds through the construction of amphibian breeding reservoirs and the purchase and protection of feeding grounds. The target is to set up 10 reservoirs in Poland and four in Estonia across 70 ha of feeding grounds;
- Opening areas of feeding grounds near breeding forests made available for hunting by installation of artificial viewing points for the GSE. Some 65 units are planned including 30 in Poland, 10 in Estonia, five in Bulgaria and 20 in Turkey;
- Increasing the number of fledglings in the main EU breeding refuge of the GSE through the construction of a centre for rescue and rearing. As a result, a number of chicks leaving Polish breeding grounds increased by at least eight over the project period and the number of breeding pairs stabilised and in the long term increased by 10 to 25 %. A hike in the number of individuals in the EU population from about 40 at the start of the project to 50 at the end and about 60 in the three to five years after the project;
- Breeding success of the species in the main EU refuge up by at least 60 % as a result of the active protection of nests from marten predation;
- The zone protection of old marsh forests and oak-hornbeam forests as well as the conservation of feeding grounds and the construction of ponds will contribute to the stabilisation and increase the population size by up to 10 %. This jump in numbers will include at least 11 other rare animal species such as the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos); the red-breasted flycatcher (Ficedula parva); the black stork (Ciconia nigra); the lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina); the honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus); the eagle owl (Bubo bubo); the lapwing (Vanellus vanellus); the corncrake (Crex crex); the aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola); the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) and the moor frog (Rana arvalis;
- As a result of the zonal protection of the GSE, the area of strictly protected Natura 2000 habitats will increase by a minimum of 100 ha of the following forest habitats: downy birch (Betula pubescens), marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris), alder (Fraxino-Alnetum) and the oak-hornbeam (Galio-Carpinetum);
- The purchase of endangered open areas in the GSE feeding grounds will enable a minimum of 50 ha of sedge meadows and Natura 2000 meadows (Caricion lasiocarpae, Caricetum appropinquatae, Caricetum rostratae) to be protected from destruction by unsustainable agricultural techniques;
- The main European GSE wintering grounds secured and stabilised through the creation of five feeding stations including four winter feeding sites in Turkey and one in Greece. At least 100 birds will use these sites, including other rare species of birds of prey, e.g., the imperial eagle, red and black kites, the lesser spotted eagle and the griffon vulture;
- An international network for the protection of the GSE will be created with birds permanently monitored by telemetry;
- In Bulgaria, at least three new key roosting sites will be identified, and protection measures applied to study soaring migratory birds in the most critical bottleneck in Turkey;
- New patrol schemes for anti-poaching will be designed and implemented in eastern Bulgaria along the migration route covering at least three project SPAs. The patrols in Turkey will be supported by volunteers and drones;
- At least 40 electric poles will be isolated in the selected wintering grounds in Turkey, in order to decrease the risk of electrocution;
- In Turkey, a dog unit will be set up to detect poisoned animals in the selected key sites;
- The project will also explore the possibility of monitoring bird safety in the largest Greek wintering grounds for the species, found in western Greece to scale up conservation.
