Already for the third year, JSC "Latvia's State Forests" (LVM) has been implementing the project "Birds and Animals in Marsh and Forest" (Putni un zvēri purvā un mežā), and also this year all interested have an opportunity to follow events taking place in the nature. Particularly interesting events are to be observed every year in nests of lesser spotted eagles (Clanga pomarina).
Thanks to modern cameras and high-speed internet connection, the things happening in the eagle nests can be observed through high-definition live video broadcast with top quality images and sound. The cameras are small, so they have been installed only about a metre away from the nests, thus not disturbing the birds.
This year, the life of lesser spotted eagles can be observed in two nests. The birds that had previously settled in the nest in an aspen tree axil have been named Trīne and Trīzelnieks, but the couple who have been living in an fir-tree are called the Betin's couple.
"Lesser spotted eagles arrive in their nesting places in Latvia already in the first days of April, yet more intensive arrival of birds is expected to take place around 10 April and the following week," says Uģis Bergmanis, LVM Senior Environmental Expert.
To watch the bird bustle after the arrival of the birds it is best to connect to the video cameras early in the morning. Before laying an egg, lesser spotted eagles stay in their nests only from twilight until early forenoon, but during the remainder of the day the birds feed in the nearby areas.
The lesser spotted eagle is among the most endangered species of birds of prey in the world, yet they are the most common species of eagles in Latvia. There is a population centre in Latvia with approximately 4 000 eagle couples. The identified nesting sites are protected through creation of micro-reserves and conservation of habitats.