Magnificent return: In ten years, the population of cruciferous eagles in Serbia increased from one nesting pair to over 30

Ten years ago, there was only one breeding pair in Serbia – Bor and Eržika. In the meantime, new generations arrived victoriously: Nada, Duško, Lilika, Joca, Duda, the adventurous Felix, who has been a real media star in recent months…

Although it is of course not possible to name them all, in Serbia today we have as many as 30 breeding pairs of cruciferous eagles, according to new data from the Society for the Protection and Study of Birds (DZPPS).

Success did not come overnight, but it did include round-the-clock care for the last crusaders who settled near Srpski Krstur.

From the camp at a safe distance, the volunteers continuously watched over Bor and Eržik during the critical period, from March to July, more precisely during the nesting season, until the young take flight.

And so for three years until the population began to increase!

This sacrifice bore fruit: Bora and Eržika continued the lineage and the crusaders gradually returned to the sky above Serbia – in 2022, their population increased to five breeding pairs, and last year it reached a figure of 20, and this one went to over 30.

We started to lose crucians back in the 90s of the 20th century, primarily due to the loss of habitat in their homeland of Vojvodina. The decline culminated in 2017 when the book of these eagles fell to two letters – B and E.

“From one to more than 30 breeding pairs is a great success”, underlines our interlocutor Mirjana Rankov, ornithologist from DZPPS. “I believe that after that the population will stabilize and we won’t have to worry about the survival of this species.”

The activities of the DZPPS, which contributed to the magnificent return of the crucifers to Serbia, did not stop at taking care of the once only breeding pair.

They make artificial nests for them, follow the birds with GPS devices, raise awareness of their ecosystem importance, work in the field to reduce cases of poisoning, mow overgrown pastures to ensure the survival of the birds – favorites on the menu of the cruciferous eagles…

Read the entire text about the triumphant return of the crusaders to Serbia at klima101.rs!

Photo: DZPPS (Szilard Morvai)