Ruler of the skies on a gentle descent: In January 2022, the Pannonian Eagle Census took place for the fifth time in a row in seven Central European countries in order to quantify the population and distribution of overwintering bird of prey species. Despite increasing breeding numbers, the results are declining after a record number in the previous year (628 imperial eagles, 2021: 763), reported BirdLife Austria.
This trend is also reflected in Austria (53 imperial eagles, 2021: 65). Taking into account the environmental conditions in the counting period, however, a stable to increasing imperial eagle population can be assumed. In January, at least 1,302 white-tailed eagles, 16 non-Alpine golden eagles and eight greater spotted eagles, as well as 13 other bird of prey species, were recorded throughout the Pannonian region.
“We are seeing slight declines in all recorded eagle species in the Pannonian region this year,” reported bird of prey expert Matthias Schmidt from BirdLife Austria. “However, such fluctuations are typical for winter populations and, in addition to the different annual food situation for the birds, are also caused by the weather during the surveys.” It is therefore necessary to consider supra-regional, multi-year time series. Despite the annual fluctuations, there is a clearly positive trend here, not least due to the protective efforts of many organizations.
In Austria, the bird of prey population was surveyed in the form of distance counts with a total length of over 1,100 km. Compared to previous years, not only fewer imperial eagles but also fewer white-tailed eagles (78, 2021: 105) were documented. “These fluctuations are initially no cause for concern,” emphasized Schmidt. Especially in the winter months, many birds of prey are highly mobile and react very quickly to environmental changes.
The imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) has had a poor standing in Central Europe for the past two centuries and has been rigorously persecuted. At the end of the 1980s, only a few dozen couples were still living in Hungary and Slovakia. Due to intensive protection efforts, the stocks recovered. At the end of the 1990s, the ruler of the skies returned to Austria as a breeding bird, where it was considered extinct for almost 200 years. In 2021, 30 pairs were breeding again in Austria.
(SERVICE : Flight routes of the equipped Imperial Eagles at: https://www.birdlife.at/page/telemetrie)