Since 2004, BirdLife Hungary (MME) has been organizing the National Eagle Census in collaboration with national park directorates and other nature conservation NGOs, in order to monitor the wintering population of birds of prey species in Hungary. Besides eagles, all raptor bird species as well as great bustards are taken into account. In 2023, the Eagle Census took part between 13rd and 15th of January and the data submission deadline was on 17th of January.
Common Buzzard pullus (Photo: Sihelnik József)
MME and its partners have been carrying out this census by using unified methods simultaneously nationwide, a so called “synchronized” monitoring. In the scope of the PannonEagle LIFE project, funded by the European Union, colleagues from the surrounding countries have been also participating in the census since 2018. This year, the Eagle Census took part in the most important wintering locations of birds of prey in the whole Carpathian basin (Pannon region).
Ornithologists from Arcus Ecological Association joined the Eagle Census in 2022. This year, the activities took part on 14th of January. The area northern from Bačka Topola was observed, which includes the Lake Zobnatica (also known as the Lake Bačka Topola) and the part of the Krivaja creek till Đurđin and Stari Žednik.
In the mentioned region, important for the Eagle Census the next species were observed: Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) 26 individuals, Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) 7 individuals, Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) 3 individuals, Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) 2 individuals, Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) 2 individuals and White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) 1 individual. Totally 41 birds belonging to 6 species were observed.