White-tailed Eagles in Germany
Hello Chris,
Here is the entry for the WTE in the species section of the Atlas of German
Breeding Birds due to be finished in 2008 (I am assisting with translating
extracts into English):
"With a wingspan of up to 2.4 m, the WTE is Germany's largest indigenous
raptor. The species settles in wide-ranging, unfragmented, and undisturbed
countryside with large tracts of woodland and stretches of water rich in
fish and bird life. These habitat requirements are met above all in the
North and East of Germany. After the species had almost become extinct in
the country, selective protective measures and the decline of mortality due
to poisonous substances in the environment have accounted for a marked
increase in the WTE population. At present former breeding territories in
the West and South of Germany are also being resettled. Breeding has also
occurred in the immediate vicinity of major cities (e.g. Berlin).
The WTE can be observed year-round in Germany as a resident or visiting
species. In winter the birds prefer to stay in the neighbourhood of lakes
and the valleys of large rivers. The enormous nests are built or improved in
February in old trees (above all in pines and beeches). Exceptionally, as
with the Osprey, the WTE will build their nests on power line masts. From
the end of February/early March two matt-white eggs are laid and brooded for
some 36-42 days. The fledglings leave the nest between mid-June and the
beginning of July and, depending on food availability, can disperse over
great distances.
The German WTE population has now recovered to reach some 320 breeding
pairs. Nevertheless the species is still in the "endangered" category of the
German Red List."
Some more general information (translated) from our monitoring website
http://www.vogelmonitoring.de/:
"
Distribution:
The WTE is irregularly distributed across the whole of the Northern
Palaearctic and with a population on Greenland, also the Eastern part of the
Nearctic. The palaearctic distribution range presently extends from NW
Iceland, Scandinavia Scotland (successful reintroduction)and NE Germany to
the Bering Straits in the Far East and Kamchatka and Japan. The northern
extent in Siberia is the 70th parallel of latitude. In the South the
distribution range extends from Croatia to the Caspian Sea and between the
latitudes 30° and 40° N to the Pacific Ocean (HELANDER & MIZERA in
HAGEMEIJER & BLAIR 1997). The WTE has currently settled in Germany a
continuous area along the Schleswig-Holstein coast to Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania and southwards through Brandenburg to the Upper Lusatia region of
Saxony. The limit of the south-western German range coincides with the
course of the Elbe valley in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. The main centres of
population lie in the Mecklenburg Lake District and the pond complexes of
Upper Lusatia (HAUFF 1998, MEYBURG, HAUFF & SCHELLER in KOSTRZEWA & SPEER
2001).
Ecology and migration strategy:
The WTE's irregular distribution results from its dependence on a feeding
habitat of eutrophic inland and coastal waters rich in bird and fish life.
The eagle settles varied types of countryside, mostly in the lowlands
throughout its range. In Central Europe it is a tree breeder and builds its
nest in or on the edge of undisturbed stands of old woodland (mainly in
pines, beeches, oaks and poplars) close to water. On Iceland, Greenland and
(mostly) in Norway it nests on cliffs on the coast or on coastal islands
(BAUER & BERTHOLD 1997, GLUTZ VON BLOTZHEIM et al. 1989). The North-eastern European and North Asian populations are migratory. In Fennoscandia and the Baltic region only the young birds usually migrate, the distance and
direction determined by the availability of food. Only some of the young
North-western and Central European juveniles migrate(BEZZEL 1985). The
preferred wintering areas in Germany are the valleys of the middle Elbe and
lower Oder, the Mecklenburg Lake District and the Baltic coast (MEYBURG,
HAUFF & SCHELLER in KOSTRZEWA & SPEER 2001).
Population development:
At the beginning of the 19th Century the WTE was widely distributed
throughout Western Europe and Germany. From 1850 onwards a decline set in
due to massive human persecution which led to its extinction in large parts
of the European distribution range. The full protection of the species since
the 1930s accounted for marked population increases so that in 1950 some 120 pairs once again bred in Germany. Due to the introduction of pesticides, and above all the use of the insecticide DDT in the former East Germany(GDR),
the population stagnated into the second half of the 1970s. Then began an
exponential increase from 119 BPs in 1976 to 343 BPs in 1999. The breeding
success of all German WTEs rose from 25% in 1980 to 57 % in 1997. Since
1990, in addition to an increase in population density in the main
population centres, the distribution range expanded in a northerly, westerly
and south-westerly direction (HAUFF 1998, MEYBURG, HAUFF & SCHELLER in
KOSTRZEWA & SPEER 2001). Population increases have been recorded in almost all Central and North European populations; only in the smaller populations in Southern Europe is stagnation or decline evident (BAUER & BERTHOLD 1997,HELANDER & MIZERA in HAGEMEIJER & BLAIR 1997).
Threat and conservation measures:
The existence of the WTE is and was principally threatened by human
persecution and environmental chemicals (HAUFF 1998). DDT in particular,
through its main metabolite DDE leads to eggshell changes which result in
breakages or disturbance of the embryonic gas exchange (OEHME 1987). In
addition, other toxic and persistent compounds such as PCBs and organically
bonded heavy metals (especially methyl mercury used in seed treatment) are
equally damaging (OEHME 1981, HÖLZINGER 1987 u. a.). The species is also
endangered by habitat degradation such as destruction of old stands of
woodland and wetland, unsecured power lines, disturbance by forestry work
and leisure activities as well as vehicular and rail traffic (collision
dangers: BAUER & BERTHOLD 1997, TUCKER & HEATH 1994).
The species can be best protected by banning its hunting and the creation of
nest site protection zones. Simultaneously all important breeding and
feeding habitats should be protected. Continual monitoring of populations
and harmful substances should be promoted (BAUER & BERTHOLD 1997, HAUFF
1998, LANGGEMACH & SÖMMER 1996)."
Hope this is what you want. I can let you have a copy of the draft
distribution map from the atlas if this will help.
David
--
David Conlin
