The team is revising not only the know locations of the species but also potential new territories and historical sites. The aim of that activity is to determine the count of the occupied territories and pairs for the upcoming breeding season. Other raptor species are also observed as Imperial eagles, Peregrine falcons, Long-legged buzzards and Golden eagles.
Nest boxes installed for the species in previous years are also inspected. The expert are also selecting new sites for installation of more nest boxes for Saker falcons. This activity is important for the Saker falcon because that species is not building a nest but it uses old nests or occupies other species nests. There is a lack of suitable nesting habitats in some areas due to the cutting of the old trees which leads to high interspecific competition and consequently reduced breeding success.
In February during the field activities relatively early “awakening” of the Suslik colonies was observed.
On many locations the Susliks were out of their holes in search of food probably due to the high temperatures. The Suslik is a very important species in the trophic chains as it is a main source of food for endangered raptor species as the Imperial eagle and the Saker falcon.
The activities for the conservation of the Saker Falcon are carried out within the framework of the project "Life for Falcons" (LIFE20 NAT/BG/1162), which unites the efforts of 7 organizations from Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, and the Netherlands. The project was financed under the LIFE programme of the European Commission.
