In 2025, the breeding population of the Saker falcon on the western lowlands of Romania reached a new record: out of 48 pairs occupying nests, 43 bred successfully – an outstanding result compared to previous years. The number of failed breeding attempts was significantly lower than in previous years.

This achievement is especially important, as one of the long-term goals of the LIFE project titled “Conservation of the Falco Cherrug in NE Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia” (carried out between 2010 and 2014) was to increase the population of the species.

Thanks to the artificial nest boxes installed in western Romania – specifically in Timiș, Arad, Bihor and Satu Mare counties – the number of breeding pairs has grown slowly but steadily. In the year following the end of the project, only 8 nest boxes were occupied, but now, ten years later, this number has increased six times compared to the 2015 data.

Of the successfully breeding pairs, only one chose a natural nest built on a high-voltage electricity pole, while all others nested in aluminium nest boxes.

The number of nestlings close to fledging also reached a new peak: while 101 falcons chicks were recorded last year, this year that number rose to 140 – another record.

The population growth of the Saker falcon is detailed in a study by Mátyás Prommer and Milvus Group experts Zsolt Hegyeli and Attila Nagy, titled “Population growth and the influence of spatial factors on the occurrence and breeding success of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug)”.

The article was published in Ornis Hungarica, the scientific journal of the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society, and can be accessed here.