Red-footed Falcon

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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Rescuing a Red-footed Falcon colony from disappearing

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Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)
The Red-footed Falcon is our only migratory raptor species which breeds in colonies. Over the previous decades, Red-footed Falcon populations across much of its European habitat range have suffered a decrease and, for this reason, it has become a priority species in the European Union. Red-footed Falcons are unable to make their own nest, instead occupying rooks nests. As such, the destiny of Red-footed Falcon’s population is strictly related to the conservation status of Rook. (more…)

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Counting of Red-footed Falcons at their roosting places in Western Romania

Roosting site in Arad County

The Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) is one of the main target species of the Milvus Group’s raptor conservation activities. We had several projects focusing on the protection of this small size falcon, the international LIFE program being one of them. Within this project we began to monitor the autumn roosting of Red-footed Falcons. This species breeds in colonies and it’s gregarious during migration as well. They form night roosts from the end of August to the end of September/first days of October, and several hundreds of birds (sometimes above one thousand) can gather at one single roosting site. These places are usually small tree patches or roadside trees. (more…)

Continue ReadingCounting of Red-footed Falcons at their roosting places in Western Romania

Spring maintenance works made on nestboxes for Red-footed Falcons

[singlepic id=601 w=250 h=200 float=left]Although the Hungarian-Romanian Red-footed Falcon LIFE project has ended in 2009, the Milvus Group has assumed to manage the so-called After LIFE activities (those are required to be continued after the end of the project). One of these activities is the maintenance of the artificial nests mounted within the LIFE project for the Red-footed Falcons. It’s a well-known fact that falcon species don’t build the nest of their own, instead raise their chicks in other birds’ nests. In our region the “Red-foots” choose mainly the nests of rooks, as they breed colonially as well. In the recent years we’ve established brand new colonies by putting artificial nests on trees in those areas where rookeries lack. (more…)

Continue ReadingSpring maintenance works made on nestboxes for Red-footed Falcons

The project “Valea Alceului and Lunca Barcăului, Natura 2000 sites designated for the conservation of the Red-footed Falcon”

[singlepic id=465 w=250 h=200 float=left]Our project called “Valea Alceului and Lunca Barcăului, Natura 2000 sites designated for the conservation of the Red-footed Falcon”, supported by the MOL Romania and the…

Continue ReadingThe project “Valea Alceului and Lunca Barcăului, Natura 2000 sites designated for the conservation of the Red-footed Falcon”
Read more about the article Red-footed Falcons tagged with satellite transmitters

Red-footed Falcons tagged with satellite transmitters

Anitacska
Photo: Luca Dehelean
On 15th July 2009 has come to us a satellite telemetry transmitter to be mounted on a Red-Footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus). The transmitter with only five grams is currently the smallest existing transmitter can be mounted on birds. In total purchased eight transmitters of which seven were mounted birds in Hungary and one in Romania. We believe that this event is a very important step in knowledge of the migration of this endangered species. (more…)

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Recently reabilited and released birds

kek vercse_DiamondIn the last month, the rehabilitation of birds from our center has seen a remarkable success. After the birds were kept under continuous observation for a sufficient period of time for total recovery, six birds has been released. The Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) was confiscated wit the help of Lucian Pârvulescu from an illegal owner, approximately one year ago. (more…)

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Life Nature Project Start-up Meeting

In the frame of our Red-footed Falcon conservation program and according to the involvement of the Milvus Group in the LIFE Nature project named ” Conservation of Falco vespertinus in the Pannonian Region ”, two members of our organization were invited to the Project Start-up Meeting, which took place at the Körösvölgy Visitor Center of the Körös-Maros National Parc Directorate, at Szarvas (Hungary) on 1 st of December. The meeting has begun with the presentation of the target species’ situation both in Hungary and Romania (presented by Mr. Péter Palatitz – MME/BirdLife Hungary, respectively by the Milvus Group’s specialists), recent information about the distribution of breeding pairs in 2005 and those about the gathering places used by Red-falcons as roosting sites in the period before migration being also included. Once Mr. Péter Bánfi, as the Manager of this project was introducing the main aspects of the project itself, the Start-up meeting of the Steering Committee took place, every partner organization nominating a candidate to this committee. The event was closed by a meeting of the scientific committee, by which the steps of elaboration of the future database was also discussed. (more…)

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