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Artificial Nests - White-tailed Eagles (1 Viewer)

C

CornwallDavid

New member
Hi

Am looking for info about artificial nests (and siting them) for White-tailed Eagles.

e.g.:
- where to build them, how high etc
- on which trees
- how to build them

any info welcome.

Thanks
 
Hi,
Would it be fair to ask you why?

Another Avenue might be to request this from those recognised authorities such as Natural England, R.S.P.B. or the B.T.O.
 
The last uni research to surface on BF was to do with Brunei tourism. Now artificial nests for White-tailed Eagles!

Some better questions than those revealed so far:

- have White-tailed Eagles ever used artificial nests?

- have White-tailed Eagles ever rejected artificial nests?

- has nest site availability ever been found to be a significant factor in reintroducing or attracting wild White-tailed Eagles?

- was the Scottish reintroduction scheme subject to a post-project evaluation and what were the lessons learned?

- given that a reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to Southern England is so imminent as to make any kind of research project too late to aid it, what is the point of this research?

- what should a White-tailed Eagle artificial nest look like?

- what are the recorded nesting-tree preferences of White-tailed Eagles?

- what is the relative success of tree-nesting White-tailed Eagles in each of the recorded tree species used?

John
 
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Farnboro John said:
- given that a reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to Southern England is so imminent as to make any kind of research project too late to aid it, what is the point of this research?
Click to expand...

John, all good questions thank you.

With regard to the above questions I could look into the likelihood of provision of artificial nest sites significantly aiding recolonisation.
 
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Must be plenty of published info about Bald Eagles in North America which is likely to be relevant as they are so closely related.
 
Hi John,

Farnboro John said:
- have White-tailed Eagles ever used artificial nests?

- have White-tailed Eagles ever rejected artificial nests?

- has nest site availability ever been found to be a significant factor in reintroducing or attracting wild White-tailed Eagles?
Click to expand...

I just happened to come across what I think is an artificial nest for White-tailed Eagles.

P1350715s.jpg

It's located south of Kiel in a region that was one of the last refuges of the White-tailed Eagle in West Germany when the population almost died out.

There are signs "Eagle Refuge - No Access" in a forest nearby, but that tree is close to a track open to the public, at the bank of a lake, outside the actual nature reserve.

The artificial nest looks like just the kind of nest also used for kestrels and peregrines, only much bigger. It seems to rest on wooden rails fixed to the branches of the tree.

P1350714s.jpg

I might not have spotted this nest, hadn't I been looking for a perched White-tailed Eagle I had observed across a bay of the lake.

Regards,

Henning
 
Looks to be constructed out of something like woodcrete and not in a conifer (spruce), perhaps an oak, rather a deciduous species.
 
Contact Eagle Protection Commitee in Poland. Their site is in Polish but they speak English.
http://www.koo.org.pl/kontakt-top

They put artificial nests and improved existing ones for WTE for two decades or longer. The current population in Poland ca. 1000 bp. I am not sure what is your objective. If it is attracting wandering WTE to Cornwall, more successful might be hooking young birds by carrion restaurant.
 
Hi Jurek,

jurek said:
Contact Eagle Protection Commitee in Poland. Their site is in Polish but they speak English.
http://www.koo.org.pl/kontakt-top

They put artificial nests and improved existing ones for WTE for two decades or longer. The current population in Poland ca. 1000 bp.
Click to expand...

Interesting site, thanks a lot for the link! I found the page on artificial nests, sounds (from the automatic translation) like their experience closely matches what I've read about the German eagles.

Apparently, the lack of suitable old trees protuding above the average level of the forest canopy is a problem for White-tailed Eagles, and in Germany, they are more likely to pick trees at the edge of a forest, or even isolated trees, and often they choose trees that are not strong enough.

I've found two or three mentions in the German press of platforms being built off-season or in nearby (more solid) trees, without an artificial nest. In one article, it was mentioned that "starting" a nest was often successful in enticing the eagles to "take over" the beginnings and make the nest their own.

In other cases, it seems that the eagles didn't like the man-made improvements and instead built their own nest in a less stable position - in one case, right next to the artificial platform.

It seems that in one case, eagles newly settled on an island in the Elbe river, and only found a willow to build their nest in. The nest apparently came down at least three times, though in one case the young survived and was raised by the parents on the ground. (The island is off-limits for humans.) The provision of a an artificial nest is under consideration now.

Regards,

Henning
 
Yes. Focus in Poland is on finding and setting protection of existing nests. Artificial nests are build in areas with presence of eagles but no old-growth trees, or in areas where WTE compete for one nest with other large birds, or an existing nest fell down or is visibly shaky and unstable. Often the existing nest is stabilized instead. There is some knowledge about making an artificial nest, e.g. setting it in a place with easy flight access.
 
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