Author: Milvus Group

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Read more about the article The sad ending of a White-tailed Eagle from Poland
A rétisas, még fióka korban

The sad ending of a White-tailed Eagle from Poland

The White-tailed Eagle as a chick
The White-tailed Eagle as a chick (Photo: Eagle Conservation Committee)
Last year in the middle of December Paweł Mirski contacted us from the polish Eagle Conservation Committee (Komitet Ochrony Orłów). He asked us to search a White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) which was tagged with a satellite transmitter in Poland, and had, during winter wandering, flown to the western border of Romania. For three days the transmitter sent data from the same spot, near Dorobanți (Arad county), which suggested that the birds died or the transmitter had fallen of. (more…)

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Large number of Pygmy Owls observed in the Eastern Carpathians

TorpeIn the autumn period, beside other several ornithological surveys we started again the Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium passerinum) survey in order to gather information about the national population size, distribution and population density. Between 11th and 13th November 2014 members of the Milvus Group visited for census several places from Neamț and Suceava counties. (more…)

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Another adult female bear saved from poachers’ snare and collared

DSCF5760On the afternoon of September 24 (exactly one month after a similar intervention) we have managed to safely release yet another adult female bear from a snare set by poachers in our bear project’s hillside target area. We were announced by the local hunting association and we arrived on the scene a few hours later. The bear was caught very close to a village, on the bank of a small river. The rescue operation was carried out in cooperation with members of the local hunting association, while the veterinarian assistance was provided by Vets4Wild. (more…)

Continue ReadingAnother adult female bear saved from poachers’ snare and collared
Read more about the article No summer passes by without Milvus Forest School

No summer passes by without Milvus Forest School

10525921_822351377783851_3492864271408016248_nThis summer bought with it another Milvus Forest School in Rigmani. Over 4 weeks, more than 100 pupils from Brașov, Harghita, Mureș and Sibiu counties attended the camp and were accommodated in yurts. The traditional childrens camp was organised for the 8th time, drawing back many participants for whom the camp has become a yearly tradition. (more…)

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Read more about the article Red-footed Falcon conservation measures: counting roosting sites, tagging birds with satellite transmitters

Red-footed Falcon conservation measures: counting roosting sites, tagging birds with satellite transmitters

IMG_3665Following their long summer preparing, Red-footed Falcons start their migration in early autumn. On their way to south they roost in flocks of varying numbers (from a few individuals to even more than a thousand) on groups of trees. As they are faithful to their roosting sites, they arrive to these places each autumn. Milvus Group has been conducting Red-footed Falcon counts on roosting sites for several years now. Every week from mid-August until the first week of October synchronous observations are made in the Romanian, Hungarian and Serbian Red-footed Falcon roosting sites. Similarly to past years, this year observations have been made in 6 sites in western Romania (here we would like to thank all those helping us in these observations!). (more…)

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Read more about the article Two European Ground Squirrel colonies moved from soon to be destroyed habitats

Two European Ground Squirrel colonies moved from soon to be destroyed habitats

IMG_9049Individuals from two colonies of European Ground Squirrel (also known as Souslik), whose habitats were faced with imminent destruction, have been moved to safer pastures. For five days over the May Day holiday, members of Milvus Group camped out among ground squirrel populations in the Banat region of Western Romania. Here there were two colonies whose habitats are soon to disappear. (more…)

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Read more about the article Milvus Group organizes ringing camp at Chituc sandbank

Milvus Group organizes ringing camp at Chituc sandbank

_DSC6547Chituc sandbank, located at the eastern extremity of Romania between Lake Sinoe and the Black Sea, is acting as a funnel regarding the migration of songbirds. To study the intensity and dynamics of migration, Milvus Group organized two ringing camps here in 1996 and 1997. This year between the 5th of August and 1st of November, the third ringing camp takes place on Chituc, and it’s one of the largest ever organized ringing camps in Romania and the largest ornithological event of 2014 in our country, because the continuous ringing activity lasts over 13 weeks. (more…)

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Read more about the article Saving a Golden Eagle chick

Saving a Golden Eagle chick

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Each year, raptor specialists from Milvus Group check nests in the breeding period. The primary aims are to ascertain the breeding status of the birds, to ring the chicks and to determine the threats to successful breeding.  On the 25th of June the specialists visited the nest of a pair of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), where they found an unpleasant scene. The original nest in a scots pine had fallen from its position, most likely due to damage caused by a storm. Fortunately, the chick was still alive, living in a part of the nest that had caught on the lower branches. The specialists assessed that the remains of the nest will not survive another storm and, as the life of the chicks was in danger, they decided to help it. They took the Golden Eagle chick to the Rehabilitation Centre from Tîrgu Mureș, where the veterinarian examined it, finding that the chick was in good shape. The following day they took it back to the nesting area. The team mounted an artificial nest in the place of the original nest and, after ringing the chick, put it in the new nest. When the ornithologists left the parent Golden Eagles were already there and watching their chick. After a just a month the chick had already been spotted flying.

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