German Wildlife Foundation calls for better protection of forest habitats on Forest Day.

While the first storks reached Germany in mid-February, lesser spotted eagles are not expected to return to their breeding grounds in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg until early April.

Brazen nest occupiers such as ravens, common buzzards or other birds of prey

However, since the bird of prey, also known as the "Pomeranian eagle", is one of the late returnees when it comes to migratory birds, many of its ancestral nests are then already occupied by brazen nest occupiers such as common ravens, common buzzards or other birds of prey. Lesser spotted eagles therefore usually have so-called alternating eyries in the vicinity of their previous year's eyrie, in which they can breed in an emergency. However: lesser spotted eagles are very choosy when choosing their nesting site and suitable quarters are becoming increasingly scarce.

Forest areas worthy of protection for lesser spotted eagles

On the Day of the Forest next Friday, the German Wildlife Foundation is calling for measures to protect the last lesser spotted eagle breeding forests. "The states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg currently have a great opportunity to set the course for lesser spotted eagle protection as part of the redesign of their funding policy," says Dr. Andreas Kinser from the German Wildlife Foundation. Forest areas worthy of protection for the lesser spotted eagle have already been designated as so-called forest protection areas in both countries. However, their protection status has so far been rather low and more and more of these areas are being lost as habitat for the Lesser Spotted Eagle due to overuse. "We demand that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg provide funds to protect the lesser spotted eagle's forest protection areas in the future," says Kinser.

Forest owners could thus receive compensation for restrictions on the forestry use of these areas. Since the lesser spotted eagle's demands on the forest habitat are similar to those of other demanding forest species such as the black stork, middle spotted woodpecker or barbarise bat, protective measures for the lesser spotted eagle would serve other species, some of which are severely threatened, in the same way.

As part of a project funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the German Wildlife Foundation has developed guidelines for lesser spotted eagle-friendly promotion of agricultural and forest-environmental measures.

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