Status of the eastern imperial eagle in Hungary between 2009 and 2013
Márton Horváth, Imre Fatér, Gábor Firmánszky, Tibor Juhász, Antal Klébert, Ádám Pongrácz, Balázs Szelényi and Miklós Váczi Photo: Péter Csonka
7th International Conference on the Conservation of the Eastern Imperial Eagle, 3 October 2013, Bratislava, Slovakia
Imperial eagles in Hungary • 1974: MME initiates national raptor survey and conservation programme • 1985: all potential habitats surveyed • 15-25 pairs in remote mountain forests • Slow, but continuous population increase started
Methods Intensive field survey by Hungarian Imperial Eagle Working Group, including National Park Directorates and NGOs (> 100 people) • mapping of nests • breeding success • analyses of collected: – carcasses (mortality) – feathers (DNA fingerprints) – prey remains (diet)
1989: First breeding in lowland agricultural habitats
Rapid changes in: • Breeding distribution • Population size • Diet • Breeding success • Mortality rate
Long-term changes in diet composition Prey species Souslik Hamster Hare Pheasant Other
Chernel 1899 main
Vasvári Haraszthy 1938 1996 main 7% important 51% occasional 12% 12% 18%
Horváth 2010 * < 1% 21% 30% 15% 33%
* Horváth et al. (2010) Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 56: 187-200.
Increased conflicts with hunters!
↓↓ ↓ ↑↑ ↑
Age structure of the breeding population
Higher frequency of non-adult breeders in lowlands indicates higher mortality
Turnover rate of breeding female imperial eagles
Individual DNA profiles (9 microsats) Estimation of adult turnover
Turnover rate of breeding female imperial eagles Sampled nest Total years
Change
Lowland
Mountain
Total
Lowland
Mountain
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
2000-2001
13
34%
8
38%
5
29%
3
23%
3
38%
0
0%
2001-2002
16
37%
11
46%
5
26%
1
6%
1
9%
0
0%
2002-2003
26
57%
19
61%
7
47%
6
23%
5
26%
1
14%
2003-2004
23
42%
18
45%
5
33%
7
30%
6
33%
1
20%
2004-2005
19
31%
13
27%
6
46%
6
32%
5
38%
1
17%
Total
97
40%
69
42%
28
35%
23
24%
20
29%
3
11%
Extremely high annual adult turnover rate (mortality) in lowlands Something must happen behind the scenesâ&#x20AC;Ś
Changes in population size
Changes in distribution
2008 2013
No changes in productivity
Changes in colour ringing
• 60-80% of chicks are ringed annually • Almost 500 chicks ringed (2009-2013) • Plastic + aluminium rings (2002-2011) – ca. 40 recoveries • New type of single aluminium ring with large codes (2012-) – ca. 10 recoveries in one year
19 March 2005: Two poisoned imperial eagles were found
Changes in mortality causes Hungary
Eagle poisoning cases
Golden eagle
White-tailed eagle
Imperial eagle
Poisoned protected and strictly protected bird species in Hungary
Poisoning noticed and spread
Anti-poisoning campaign
Initiation to controll raptors
Effects of poisoning • Intensive illegal poisoning activity surprisingly did not cause the decrease of the imperial eagle population in short term BUT: • The level of poisoning clearly affected population growth • The non-breeders can compensate the loss of breeding birds in raptor populations for a while • If the non-breeders are consumed from the population, it would cause sudden collapse of the breeding population • Illegal poisoning activity must be significantly and urgently decreased • The voluntary contribution of stakeholders had some effect, but it is already not enough (Anti-Poisoning Round Table)
Conservation of imperial eagles by managing human-eagle conflicts in Hungary 2012-2016 (Helicon, LIFE10 NAT/HU/019) Coordinating beneficiary: 1. MME BirdLife Hungary Associated beneficiaries: 2. Hortobágy National Park Directorate (HNPD) 3. Bükk National Park Directorate (BNPD) 4. Körös-Maros National Park Directorate (KMNPD) 5. Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden 6. Zoological Park and Botanical Garden of Jászberény 7. Hungarian Hunters’ National Chamber (HHNC) 8. Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (HNBI) 9. Filmjungle.eu Society
33 actions in order to: 1. Decrease the direct adverse effects of persecution incidents on the Hungarian imperial eagle population 2. Increase the chance of detecting illegal activities and imposing precedent judgments in the case of bird persecution incidents 3. Increase stakeholder awareness about the overestimated effect of raptor species on game populations and about alternative eagle-friendly game management methods 4. Increase public awareness about the conservational importance of imperial eagles and about the possible consequences of persecution incidents
www.imperialeagle.hu
Veterinarian network and protocol â&#x20AC;˘ 20 vets are trained
Satellite tagging 30 birds to be tagged (see afternoon)
Nest guarding â&#x20AC;˘ 2012: 3 nests (46 volunteers, 317 days) â&#x20AC;˘ 2013: 3 nests (78 volunteers, , 651 days)
Winter feeding Jรกszsรกg SPA online camera
Artificial nests â&#x20AC;˘ 100 nests to SPAs
Field survey with dog unit â&#x20AC;˘ Together with rangers and police â&#x20AC;˘ 4 months training of a dog and trainer by Police Headquarters
Field survey with dog unit
Field survey with dog unit • 2012: • 34 poisoning case • 93 protected birds • 15 imperial eagles (1 satellite tagged) • 2013: • 21 poisoning case • 73 protected birds (15 by dog in one month!) • 4 imperial eagles (3 satellite tagged!)
Hidden camera
Imperial eagle!
Cooperation with hunters • • • •
Workshops Educational materials Traps and trapping course Game and predator study in a 1600 ha area
Habitat development • Purchase abandoned house yards • Jászság SPA Management Plan • Changing the Agri-environmental Schemes (game management)
Public Relations • • • • •
Visitor Centre (2014) Exhibitions in Zoos (2014) Media work Webpage, Facebook Educational materials
Acknowledgement • LIFE Nature Programme: Conservation of imperial eagles by managing human-eagle conflicts in Hungary (LIFE02NAT/H/8627, LIFE10 NAT/HU/019) • Hungarian Imperial Eagle Working Group, especially János Bagyura, Iván Demeter, András Kovács, Tamás Szitta • BirdLife International & Lush Retail Ltd. • Alcoa Foundation • Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Ethology • Szent István University, Biological Institute
Thank you for your attention!