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A record year for peregrine falcon and white-tailed eagle offspring in the Czech Republic... The peregrine falcon Falco peregrine and white-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla are making their successful comeback to the Czech Republic where they were extirpated in the 19th century. In the first half of 2021, both falcons and eagles have raised a record number of new offspring. Eleven new eagle nests, with one offspring per nest, were counted in May 2021 in the Třeboň region. In addition, researchers counted 41 falcon chicks in July 2021, froma total of 21 nesting pairs in the Jeseníky Mountains. This suc- cess is primarily attributed to intensive pro- tection of both species and their habitats by state environmental protection agencies. The white-tailed eagle is the flagship species of the Třeboňsko Protected Landscape area. In the 1980s, nine eagles were released in southern Bohemia, and in 1985 the first chicks after c. 100 years hatched in the Czech Republic. Sources: Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (2021)
ochranaprirody.cz/o- aopk-cr/aopk-cr-informuje/aktuality/sokoli- rok-letos-v-jesenikach-vyvedli-rekordnich- 41-mladat &
trebonsko.ochranaprirody.cz/ pro-navstevniky/aktuality/hnizdeni-orla- morskeho-na-trebonsku
.. . and osprey chicks in Kielder Forest A record number of ospreys, which were extirpated in England in the 20th cen- tury, were expected this year in Kielder Forest in Northumberland, UK. This was the first time in at least 200 years that chicks have been born to osprey fathers who them- selves fledged in the area. The milestone came 12 years after ospreys were first bred at Kielder, with the aim of re-establishing them in northern England. Experts visited their remote nesting site to ring one of these chicks, named Elsin after a nearby fell. Forestry England climbers gently low- ered the docile youngster to the ground from its nest where it was fitted with a unique identifying ring on one leg, which it will wear all its life, and a colour tag on the other to indicate it is an English osprey. The Kielder Osprey partnership were expecting a record number of ospreys to fledge in the for- est park,with at least 16 healthy youngsters on seven nests. KielderWater and Forest Park is now considered an osprey stronghold. Source: The Northern Echo (2021)
thenorhternecho.co.uk/news/19455702. kielder-forest-osprey-chicks-set-milestone- bird-prey
Experts fear Europe’s deadly floods are a glimpse into climate future Germany, Belgium and parts of the Netherlands and Luxembourg have been grappling with devastating floods from in- tense rainfall in July 2021. Although scien- tists are still investigating the factors that may have influenced this extreme weather event, they say it shows key characteristics of climate change, with higher temperatures resulting in larger amounts of rainfall for longer periods of time. For every 1 °C of warming, the atmosphere can hold c. 7% more moisture, meaning formations such as the low-pressure system over Europe or hurricanes in the Atlantic will produce more rainfall. Storms in general are ex- pected to become slower moving in sum- mer and autumn because of Arctic am- plification. The Arctic and Antarctica are warming at a rate 2–3 times faster than the rest of the planet, which is destabilizing the jet stream, the counter-clockwise current of air circling the northern hemisphere. The floods killed more than 220 people, and swept away buildings, roads and livelihoods. Source: National Geographic (2021)
nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and- conservation/2021/07/experts-fear-germanys- deadly-floods-are-a-glimpse-into-climate- future
Lack of control over supposedly local Luxembourg wood There are not enough controls in place to check whether so-called local wood from Luxembourg is actually local, despite it being sold with that label, a forest conserva- tion group has said. The government issues the Holz vun hei (local wood) label to pro- ducts that are made from sustainably sourced and locally processed wood, in a bid to promote the use of local wood. But the Luxembourg arm of the Forest Steward- ship Council, an international forest con- servation group, is questioning how tight the controls are. In an open letter to the State Planning Minister, the Environment Minister and the Minister for Agricuture, the conservation group said the origin of a given piece of wood cannot be ascertained. Luxembourg’s national wood processing industry has been decimated by growing wood exports, mainly to China, and now lacks the capacity to deal with more locally grown wood. The organization is calling for forests and processing plants to be certified by the state, so customers know where the wood comes from. Source: Luxembourg Times (2021) luxtimes. lu/en/luxembourg/wood-lack-of-control- over-local-luxembourg-wood- conservationists-61091774de135b9236ec81f9
Romania lets towns shoot encroaching bears
Romania has given town and city author- ities the power to shoot bears that break into yards and houses, angering environ- mental groups who called for other tech- niques to manage the protected animals. The government said the new order was a short-term measure to stem a rise in bear attacks and sightings of the wild animals in built-up areas. Romania has Europe’slar- gest population of brown bears (c. 6,000) outside Russia. Previously, local authorities needed the approval of the Environment Ministry if they wanted to dispose of a bear perceived as dangerous. Under the new rules, authorities are still encouraged to try chasing off the bear or tranquilizing and relocating it, and using guns only as a last resort. But environmental protection groups Agent Green and WWF worry that shooting may now become the rule, not the exception. Bear sightings have increased as the animals’ habitats are threatened by construction, logging and climate change. Many bears are also attracted by illegal rub- bish dumps on the outskirts of cities and by food left by tourists. Source: Reuters (2021)
reuters.com/ business/environment/romania-lets- towns-shoot-encroaching-bears-angering- green-groups-2021-07-22
First baby beaver born on Exmoor in 400 years The first baby beaver born on Exmoor National Park, UK, for 400 years has been captured on camera. The youngster, known as a kit, was spotted at the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate in Somerset, where the animals were reintroduced in
2020.The once-native mammals were hunted to ex- tinction for their fur, glands and meat in the 16th century. A ranger from the estate said the new family of beavers were thriv- ing. The footage shows the beavers have successfully bred, with images from a sta- tic camera revealing the 6-week-old kit swimming with itsmotherbacktothe family lodge, while she stops to nibble a branch. Beavers are seen as ecosystem engineers who restore wetland habitats through dam-building and felling trees, slowing, storing and filtering water in the landscape, which attracts other wild- life and reduces flooding downstream. The trust said the 2.7 ha enclosure the beavers were released into has since been transformed from unmanaged woodland to a more open wetland, attracting more wildlife, in just 18 months. Source: BBC (2021)
bbc.com/news/uk- england-somerset-57808517
Oryx, 2021, 55(6), 803–808 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605321001356
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