White-tailed eagle  (Haliaeetus albicilla)

Numbers of white-tailed eagles dropped sharply during the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century, and the European range contracted. This trend has been in reverse in the northwest of the range since the 1970s, but it is still in decline in southeast Europe. The continued loss is due to the degradation of wetlands, increasing human disturbance, accidental poisoning, deforestation, and collision with wind generators. It is also susceptible to pollution, accumulating mercury, organochlorine and other pesticides in fatty tissues, which can reduce the breeding success of the white-tailed eagle (8).

A long-term research and nest protection project is underway for the white-tailed eagle, details of which will be kept guarded to prevent disturbance of their habitat. In Hungary, a Species Action Plan has also been published, and the white-tailed eagle is monitored. Many of the white-tailed eagle’s breeding grounds are found in protected areas, particularly in Poland, where a large proportion of the population goes to breed. Several countries feed the birds during the winter, and nest guarding is becoming more common. In Latvia, the white-tailed eagle is a protected species, in Israel its habitat in the Hula wetland is being restored, and in Slovakia, artificial nests are being installed (11).