The majestic White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is
the biggest bird of prey in the Danube region. It sits on the top of the food
chain and thus serves as flagship species: If the habitat is in good condition,
White-tailed Eagle numbers rise. For a long time, population numbers were
extremely low. Intensive efforts in North and East European countries enabled
the recovery of the population.
Flagship species for
the Danube River
The Danube is a lifeline for Europe and a retreat for
numerous threatened species. The habitats along the river and its tributaries
are also important for the White-tailed Eagle - both the native South-East
European population, and the Northern population that arrives for wintering in
our region. Protected Areas play a key role in the preservation of those
habitats.
Danube-wide census
DANUBEPARKS elaborated an Action Plan for the conservation
of the White-tailed Eagle along the Danube in 2009, which was adopted by the
Council of Europe. As a first step in implementation, better knowledge on
wintering areas is needed: Where are the best areas, what makes them
attractive, are special conservation actions necessary?
To answer these questions, the first synchronous Danube-wide
winter census was coordinated this year by DANUBEPARKS. Many countries are
organizing adjacent events to raise public awareness. In Austria, such an event
was jointly organized in 2014 by BirdLife, DANUBEPARKS, and WWF, and included
live contributions by counters from all Danube countries.
The result of this count – 750 White-tailed Eagles – proves
the success of common nature protection efforts across borders and underlines
the value of the Danube River as habitat of European importance!
The Hot Spots for
White-tailed Eagle
The cross-border region of Donau-Auen National Park, Morava
River, and neighbouring Slovak-Hungarian floodplains represents one of the hot
spots: More than 100 eagles were spotted there. Improved joint protection
measures should preserve this population in the long run.
The most important region for White-tailed Eagles along the
whole Danube lies in a border triangle too, covering regions in Hungary,
Croatia, and Serbia. 200 individuals were announced from there – the
conservation efforts of Duna-Dráva National Park, Kopački rit Nature Park, and
Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve are pivotal for this population. These
jewels of nature at “Europe’s Amazon” are soon also to be protected in a
multilateral UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The Lower Danube has big potential: At the Bulgarian and
Romanian section, eagles currently concentrate on few hot spots, especially the
Danube Delta. The total counted in these two countries was 360 eagles.
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You can find more information about topic in DANUBEPARKS's
„Action Plan for the conservation of the White-tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus
albicilla) along the Danube“.