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First breeding golden eagles in Orkney in almost 40 years.. . Golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos have started breeding again in Orkney, Scotland, for the first time in almost 40 years. The birds of prey were once a common sight across the is- lands but just a single pair was left by 1848. Orkney had towait until 1966 to see the return of breeding golden eagles, but one of those adults died in 1982. Staff from RSPB Scotland spotted a pair nesting at the organization’s nature reserve in Hoy, and have been able to confirm that they have chicks. The number of chicks is not known; those watching the nest have been keeping a safe distance from it because golden eagles are extremely sensitive to disturbance.The species typically has one or two chicks at a time. Themost recent national survey in 2015 estimated there are.500 pairs of golden eagles in the UK. The uninhabited areas in Orkney are well-suited for eagles. Source:BBC(2021) bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- north-east-orkney-shetland-57200983


.. .and after 20 years, the saker falcon breeds again in Bulgaria The saker falcon Falco cherrug is an Endangered bird of prey whose global pop- ulation is estimated to be 6,100–14,900 breeding pairs. In Bulgaria the species was considered locally extinct since the early 2000s, but rediscovered in 2018 when an ac- tive nest was found, built by two birds that were reintroduced in 2015 as part of the first saker falcon reintroduction programme. Many anthropogenic factors contributed to the decline of the saker falcon in Bulgaria and globally. Even after European legislation for the protection of wildlife was implemen- ted, and regulationswere issued on the use of pesticides in Bulgaria, the saker falcon popu- lation did not stabilize. As a result, a reintro- duction programme for the saker falcon in Bulgaria was initiated in 2015,aiming to re- lease birds using adaptation aviaries, also known as hacks. During 2015–2020, a total of 80 saker Falcons—27 females and 53 males—were released via the hacking meth- od from four aviaries near the town of Stara Zagora.Observation records from2018 con- firmed that at least one pair of the falcons re- leased in 2015 was breeding in the wild in Bulgaria. This demonstrates that with the help of hacking, saker falcons can survive in the wild until maturity, return to the re- gion of their release and breed successfully. Sources: Biodiversity Data Journal (2021) dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e63729 & Phys.org (2021) phys.org/news/2021-05-years-saker- falcon-bulgaria.html


More bison to be released in southern Carpathians InMay 2021, 13more European bison arrived from Germany to Bison Hillock rewilding area, in Romania’s southern Carpathians. Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania have been reintroducing European bison into the area since 2014. Bison Hillock hosts the largest free-roaming bison herd in the country, with c. 80 individuals. The LIFE-Bison rewilding project aims to create a viable population that breeds in the wild and supports the area’s biodiversity; numer- ous animal and plant species benefit from the bison’s grazing. Each bison is carefully chosen by specialists to ensure genetic diver- sity of the herd. The animals in the latest release came from nine different European reservations. Rangers monitor the newco- mers for at least 21 days in an acclimatization enclosure before releasing them into the wild. The largest subpopulations are now found in Poland, Belarus and Russia, but only eight of these herds are large enough to be genetically viable in the long run. The species therefore remains dependent on on- going conservation measures. Source: Romania Insider (2021) romania- insider.com/13-bison-armenis-may-2021


New tool to help boost water vole conservation Genetics could be used as a new tool to help boost conservation of thewater vole Arvicola amphibius in the UK, after scientists ana- lysed the DNA of one of the country’s most threatened mammals.Water voles are semi-aquatic rodents, threatened in the UK by habitat loss and predation by the American mink. Their population declined from 7.3 million in 1990 to an estimated 132,000 in 2018. In collaboration with con- servation charity the Wildwood Trust, re- searchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute have sequenced the species’ genome, using blood from a live male water vole. Details have been published through Wellcome Open Research and are available to research- ers and conservationists looking to better manage reintroduction efforts. Researchers suspect that some water vole populations have become inbred in recent decades be- cause of shrinking numbers and the frag- mentation of populations through habitat loss. The high-quality reference genome will help support ongoing conservation ef- forts to preserve existing populations and reintroduce new ones in a way that ensures these populations are genetically robust. Source: The Irish News (2021) irishnews. com/magazine/science/2021/06/24/news/ genetics-a-new-tool-to-help-boost-water- vole-conservation--2366124


Electricity supplier in Spain sued over electrocution of birds In a landmark case, a Spanish electricity company is being prosecuted over the deaths of hundreds of birds electrocuted on pylons and overhead cables and for failing to com- ply with regulations to protect wildlife. After a 3-year investigation, Antoni Pelegrín, the attorney general for the environment in Barcelona, has brought a case for ecologi- cal crimes against the electricity company Endesa and six of its senior executives for allegedly failing to meet safety requirements. The lawsuit claims that during 2018–2020, 255 birds were electrocuted on pylons near Osona in northern Catalonia. Most were storks, eagles, peregrine falcons and vultures. The company has not formally responded to the charge, but claims that this year itwill in- vest EUR 4.6 million in bird protection and that in 2020 it made safe 659 pylons at a cost of EUR 2.2 million. There is hope that the case against Endesa will increase pressure on companies to comply with environmen- tal regulations. Source: The Guardian (2021) theguardian. com/environment/2021/apr/16/spains-power- company-endesa-sued-over- electrocution-of-birds


EU needs legally binding targets to protect nature The European Union needs legally binding measures to protect nature and biodiversity, as previous voluntary plans have failed to deliver. In 2020 the EU’s Executive Commission published a plan to protect biodiversity, and has set out goals to halve the use of chemical pesticides, cut fertilizer use by 20% and expand protected areas of land and sea by 2030. In June the European Parliament approved a report calling for the targets to be fixed in law and backed up by measures to enforce them. The EU has put its climate change targets in law, but not yet those to protect nature. Previous plans have failed to stop unsustainable farming, forestry and the sprawl of urbanization from degrading nat- ural habitats. Most of Europe’s protected habitats and species have a poor conserva- tion status. Fixing the targets in law could be difficult. The EU has rallied behind scientists’ recommendations that to halt the decline of nature, 30% of the planet should be safeguarded through protected areas and conservation. Parliament said the EU should push to make that pledge legally binding. Source: Reuters (2021) reuters.com/ business/environment/eu-needs-legally- binding-targets-protect-nature-lawmakers- say-2021-06-09


Oryx, 2021, 55(5), 643–648 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605321000958


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