Life for Falcons

About the project

The project ‘Securing the recovery of the endangered Saker Falcon in Bulgaria and Southern Romania’ is dedicated to the restoration and conservation of the endangered species Falco Cherrug in 28 Natura 2000 areas.
Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds is the coordinating beneficiary of the project in partnership with Green Balkans, Romanian Ornithological Society, Union of Hunters and Anglers in Bulgaria, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian at Academy of Sciences, The Habitat Foundation, and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.
The project Securing the recovery of the endangered Saker Falcon in Bulgaria and Southern Romania (LIFE20 NAT/BG/001162) is of 5 years duration and has received funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Union.

Our news

Life for Falcons was a guest at an event of wildlife photographers

Sep. 28, 2022

Traditional Saker Falcon Festival was held in Malko Kadievo

Sep. 22, 2022

Presenting Life for Falcons project on the Medieval festival Bdin

Sep. 09, 2022

Fourteen juvenile Saker falcons fledged from their nests in Southern Romania and Bulgaria

Aug. 22, 2022

New observation of a Saker falcon by the Green Balkans project team

Aug. 11, 2022

IBER team mapped successfully Romanian hamster colonies in Bulgaria

Aug. 02, 2022

Help us save the souslik together!

Jul 29, 2022

Green Balkans presented the project at Uzana Poliana Fest 2022

Jul 27, 2022

The Saker Falcon

The Saker falcon is a large powerful falcon, slightly bigger in size in comparison with the Peregrine falcon. The body length is between 47-55 cm, the wingspan is 105-129 cm; the tail length is 16-26 cm; weight 730-1150g. Sexes have similar plumage but females are ca. 15% larger and 40% heavier than males.
The plumage is brown above and streaked below with a paler head and whitish supercilia (eyebrow). It has a relatively small head on broad-chested, though long and otherwise slender body with long wings and long tail. In flight the silhouette is similar to the Peregrine but is with rather broad wings with blunt tips.

Small mammals

The conservation of the Saker Falcon will rely on multi-sided holistic approach in which breeding and reintroducing small mammals, such as the European Souslik and Romanian Hamster which are key prey species for the falcon, has an important part.