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Is this the end for the Hungarian Meadow Viper?

DSC_3410History has been hard on the Hungarian Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis). A subspecies of the grassland dwelling meadow viper (Vipera ursinii), it has been persecuted under the false fear that it may be dangerous, caught and sold as pets and poisoned by agricultural chemicals. Most devastatingly though, this once widespread subspecies has had its habitats increasingly destroyed as changes in land use have seen it’s native grasslands being ploughed for use as arable land, overgrazed and burned, forcing the viper into ever smaller pockets of protected land. (more…)

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The 8th trimonthly report of the Milvus Rehabilitation Centre (July-September 2013)

IMG_5683 Between July and September this year, more birds arrived at the Rehabilitation Centre than in any previous period. Most of the birds were young belonging to species which breed in Romania. These birds don`t have the experience of their parents, thus they are more exposed to natural risks (ex. unfavourable weather conditions for hunting) or anthropogenic dangers (ex. collisions with cars, wires, fences, buildings). 39 people came to us with injured birds they had found in this period. (more…)

Continue ReadingThe 8th trimonthly report of the Milvus Rehabilitation Centre (July-September 2013)

A Year with Transylvania’s Lesser Spotted Eagles

chick 1As autumn rolls around and the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) sets off on its yearly migration down to its winter quarters in Central and Southern Africa, we can look back on what has been a successful year for the Life Pomarina Conservation Project. Jointly implemented by Milvus Group, The Environmental Protection Agency Sibiu and the Romanian Ornithological Society, the project aims to ensure conditions to achieve and maintain favorable conservation status for the eagles across three Special Protection Areas (SPA) in Transylvania. Of these sites, Milvus Group is directly responsible for two: Dealurile Târnavelor – Valea Nirajului and Podișul Hârtibaciului. (more…)

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Snapshots of a Romanian Saker Falcon family’s life

Toro, the second Romanian Saker Falcon tagged with satellite transmitter ever
Toro, the second Romanian Saker Falcon tagged with satellite transmitter ever Photo: Luca Dehelean
At the end of May 2013 a Saker Falcon was caught and tagged with satellite transmitter. The data from this Saker’s transmitter named Toro gives information about the way Sakers use their hunting territory, their habitats preference, their various prey sources and the size of a Romanian Saker Falcon breeding territory. Not long before, these information could be gained only through direct observation made by ornithologists standing long hours in a certain place next to the nest, which despite of the huge effort offered only a small amount of the information which modern technology gives us nowadays. (more…)

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Romania’s first flight cage for bird rehabilitation

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA On August 4th, Milvus group completed the construction of a flight cage, the latest addition to the Bird Rehabilitation Centre we have been working on with the Vets4Wild Association in Sansimon, Mures County since Autumn 2012. At 4m high and 25 m long, it is the result of several months voluntary work, made possible by sponsorship from the “Conservation of Falco cherrug in NE Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia” LIFE project. (more…)

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Year Two of the Natura 2000 Promotion Camp

In tabara Following the success of last year’s camp near Jibert, Milvus Group held another camp this summer, between the 9th and 14th of July, for children interested in nature and conservation. This time the participants were selected from the “I also take part in Natura 2000” contest. From the 500 registered participants, 21 pupils from 4 schools finally were chosen and given the opportunity to expand their theoretical knowledge in the practical environment of the camp. Over the week we looked to enrich the children’s knowledge about nature and nature conservation and present the values and the importance of Natura 2000 sites. (more…)

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