2017

Experts of State Forests Find a Golden Eagle Nest

In July, before the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) babies have accumulated enough strength to go on their first flight, Aigars Kalvāns, JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) Environmental Expert, heads for a bird monitoring. This July has brought him an unexpected surprise. “During the osprey monitoring, I found that one of the nests was taken by a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). And there was a baby in the nest. This is the first known case in Latvia when a golden eagle occupies a nest previously used by an osprey”, says Aigars Kalvāns.

Osprey monitoring was started in the 80's of the last century, when about 100 pairs of birds were residing in the territory of Latvia. The monitoring was terminated in the mid-90s and resumed after a considerable break in 2007. In 2016, about 200 eagle pairs had made their nests, indicating that over the years the population of these birds has increased about twofold. In the course of the osprey monitoring, the Environmental Expert counts, weighs and leg-bands a month old osprey babies.

In its turn, the golden eagle is an accipitridae, belonging to the genus of true eagles. The size of the bird's body is 66-90 cm, but as for all accipitridae, females are much bigger than males.  The eagle's feathering is dark brown, but it is a bit lighter or even golden brown on the neck and head. The golden shade can also be noticed in the upper feathering of the wings.

This bird of prey is well known because it inhabits almost the entire northern hemisphere. The largest share of eagles have a permanent place of residence. Eagles that live on the northern rocks are the only exception - they migrate to the south during winter. This bird is rare in Latvia, because it cannot find a suitable place for nesting here.