RiseThe falcon is strong and has a wingspan of more than one meter, making it one of the fastest birds in the world. They soar high in the sky and then dive at speeds of up to 200 mph to capture small mammals and birds.
These predators were abundant in the past, ranging from the grasslands and forest grasslands of Central and Eastern Europe to the semi-desert and mountain plateau regions of East Asia, but in the past few decades, human activities have reduced their numbers.Global population decline Nearly half Between 1993 and 2012, the Saker Falcon is now listed as Endangered Provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are only about 10,500 breeding pairs left in the wild.
As the threat to these birds has increased, so have efforts to save them-with some success.
In Bulgaria, a five-year protection plan consists of Green Balkan Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Center Published results In May, it was shown that a pair of captive birds released into the wild was breeding.
The falcon is considered an extinct breeding species Bulgaria For more than 20 years. A variety of factors contributed to their decline, including as Bulgarian agriculture became more intensive in the 1950s, habitat loss, electric shocks, pesticides in the food chain, and poaching to meet demand for falcons, especially In the middle east.
“By the end of this century, we actually didn’t have any paired breeding in this country,” said Yana Andonova of the Green Balkans.
For the past ten years, the green Balkan Peninsula in Staraza Gora, central Bulgaria, has been carrying out a breeding program aimed at restoring the saker falcon population. In 2015, it launched a five-year reintroduction project, importing birds from European countries such as Hungary and Poland to breed in aviaries.
The organization installed “hackers” high in the oak tree to provide shelter for the young falcons after they have grown to 30 days.These Specially remodeled aviaryIt is made of steel mesh and equipped with a camera, which allows young birds to flap their wings, adapt to the environment, and protect them from predators.
Use a pulley system to feed chickens twice a day to avoid contact with people. Gradually, the team lifted the top of the hacker and began to put food on the outside table to encourage birds to explore. Provide food for two to three months. “After a while, they started hunting by themselves,” Andonova said.
Between 2015 and 2020, the Green Balkan region plans to release 80 saker falcons into the wild. But tracking them to monitor survival and reproduction has been difficult. They did not install satellite trackers because previous experiments have shown that these are harmful to birds.
A breakthrough came in 2018 when it came from Bulgarian Bird Protection Association (BSPB) Monitoring the emperor eagle in the southeastern part of the country found an active saker falcon nest. These birds have identification tags from the breeding program of the Green Balkans. Andonova said that this discovery is very exciting. “This shows that all the hard work has paid off.”
The pair bred for two years, and then in 2020, Andonova’s team discovered that the pair was replaced by another female, also from a breeding program. “This is also very good news because it shows that even if something happens to a bird, there are other falcons in the country, so they can easily form a new pair of falcons,” she said. The new couple gave birth to chicks last year.
Andonova said that the green Balkan region is continuing the breeding program for another five years. The goal is to release 100 birds by 2024 and have 6 pairs of breeding birds in the wild. “This will be the beginning of a self-sufficient population in Bulgaria.”
The Falcon is a weather vane for the health of the wider ecosystem, Campbell Moon said Eagle Conservation Trust“If you have a healthy predator population, the ecosystem that usually supports them will also be healthy.”
He said this is why separate reintroduction plans, although they are positive, are unlikely to solve the problem of population decline. “We first need to deal with the threats that lead to the reduction or extinction of this species.”
In Bulgaria, they have been doing this. BSPB purchased 640 hectares (1,600 acres) of land to restore grassland habitat for birds. It also insulates more than 4,600 wires across Bulgaria to reduce the number of deaths from electrocution. “One of our main activities is to focus on habitat management and restoration,” said Svetoslav Spasov, BSPB project manager.
BSPB also cooperates with police and border agencies to try to prevent poaching. Fighting the illegal wildlife trade is crucial. “This may be one of the biggest threats facing Saker Falcons,” Moon said. In recent decades, the recovery of the falconry industry has led to an increase in demand for wild birds, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars in the illegal market.
In the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia, more than 3,000 miles from Bulgaria, researchers at the Altai Falcon Nursery are trying a new way to deter poachers.
Sergey Snigirev, a professor at Altai State University, said that saker falcons were once common in the area, but now only two to three pairs nest in the wild. For decades, the university has been carrying out a breeding and reintroduction program for saker falcons, but in May, they tried something new.Each of the 10 birds they released had letters SOS tattoo on their wax figure, The waxy skin above their beaks, and the number 22 on their legs. Snigirev said that tattooing takes only 5 to 10 minutes and is painless for birds.
Tattoos make falcons worthless to poachers who cherish unmarked wild birds. “This is the first time Russia has used the technology to exclude reintroduced birds from illegal commercial transactions,” Snigirev said. He added that if the plan is effective, it will be recommended for wider use.
At present, the global fate of the Saker Falcon is still up in the air. “This is an iconic species,” said Stoycho Stoychev, BSPB’s Director of Conservation. Saker falcon is not only an important part of the ecosystem, but also integrated into the national culture of many countries, including Bulgaria, and they are even immortal in poetry.
“We are losing one of our natural assets,” he said. “It would be a huge loss to lose the intrinsic value of such a beautiful bird.”
Find more The age of extinction is hereAnd follow Biodiversity Journalists Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield Get all the latest news and features on Twitter
