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Български
Română
Unlike the 2022–2024 period, during which nesting pairs managed to raise more than thirteen fledglings each year, this year only six Saker Falcon chicks took flight in southern Romania and Dobrogea.
The five specialists, members of the Life for Falcons team, visited 146 known natural nests, as well as 128 artificial nests installed in the five special avifauna protection areas where the project takes place. In addition, they discovered 83 natural nests.
During their field visits, biologists observed that seven pairs occupied nests in Dobrogea, as in previous years. However, this year's breeding season was marked by several failures. Two pairs abandoned nests with unhatched eggs, either because the eggs were not fertilized from the start, were affected by the cold snap in early April, or the chicks failed to hatch for other reasons. After abandoning the nests, both pairs remained in the territory. Another two pairs did not lay eggs, even though they stayed near the nest for most of the breeding season.
Thus, in 2025 only three pairs of Sakers nested successfully. One pair raised three chicks, which developed well and fledged successfully; another pair raised one chick, which also fledged at the right time. A third pair raised four chicks in a natural nest, but heavy rains and a cold wave at the end of May were difficult for the chicks to endure, as their plumage had not fully developed by that time. Unfortunately, only two of the four chicks survived and left the nest two weeks later.
The monitoring of Saker Falcon during the breeding season took place from March 25 to June 1, with team members covering over 3,800 kilometres in which they identified or confirmed the presence of 151 natural nests with potential for occupation or already used for nesting by Saker Falcons and other birds of prey. In Bărăgan, a pair of Saker Falcons was observed near one of the nest boxes installed last year, and in Oltenia, a pair was found on a nest, but neither of them was seen again during subsequent checks. A solitary individual was also seen near a recently installed artificial nest in Dobrogea, but it too was not spotted again later. Still, the fact that the Sakers are inspecting the new nestboxes gives hope that these could be occupied in the coming years. This behaviour further confirms that the decision to install artificial nests was correct, as it was based on studies of the habitat preferences of the Saker Falcon population in southeastern Romania.
The project " Securing the recovery of the endangered Saker Falcon in Bulgaria and Southern Romania ", LIFE20 NAT/BG/001162, is a regional initiative coordinated by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), co-financed by the LIFE Programme of the European Union, and is being carried out from 2021 to 2026.
This project is developed around four pillars: protecting against poaching, poisoning, and electrocution; improving food resources; protecting nesting areas; and supporting local communities. Through this strategy, the project team aims to achieve concrete results in the conservation of the Saker Falcon.
