Sharing Experience in Saker Falcon Conservation with Experts from Hungary

Pictures: Yana Andonova - Green Balkans

The team of the LIFE for Falcons project, led by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and Green Balkans, held an experience-sharing meeting with colleagues from MME/BirdLife Hungary. The Hungarian organisation is working to conserve the Saker Falcon in Hungary through the LIFE Saker Roads project.

During the visit, participants toured the Saker Falcon breeding aviary at the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora, as well as the site where birds are released into the wild. An important part of the programme was a visit to the hunting territory of one of the only four known Saker Falcon pairs in Bulgaria. Participants had the rare opportunity to observe a Saker Falcon hunting European ground squirrels, one of its characteristic natural prey species.

The programme also included visits to well-managed pigeon lofts. Through the LIFE for Falcons project, BSPB works with pigeon fanciers to test and develop methods to reduce losses caused by birds of prey. This approach is an important part of the effort to find practical solutions that balance the conservation of wild raptors with the interests of people who keep pigeons.

Exchanging experience with colleagues from Hungary provides an opportunity to share knowledge and practical conservation solutions, while strengthening efforts to support the long-term recovery of the Saker Falcon in Bulgaria and across Europe.