Saker Falcon in Croatia

The support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2009 allowed us to continue our work on monitoring the Saker falcon in Croatia. We succeeded in implementing a plan and created a map of the power transmission lines with accompanying electric poles that will facilitate our future work.

During the 2009 nesting season, we found two pairs of Saker falcons on the examined power transmission lines. Another pair was observed on a power transmission line on the Serbian side, just opposite the state border. The majority of the territory of that pair, though, is found on the Croatian side. In addition to these confirmed nests on the power transmission lines, one Saker falcon was observed on two occasions near the City of Vukovar, in the same locations as in 2008. It is very likely that this falcon nests in the vicinity of where it was spotted. There are historical data on the nesting of Saker falcons near Vukovar to support this, in addition to the free areas not covered by the territories of other recorded Saker falcon pairs.

On photo: Map of the study area

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In 2007, with the support of the IWC, we continued our research on the Saker falcon in the areas of Podravina, Posavina, Slavonia and Srijem (Syrmia). We examined about 3000 electric power poles and more than 1000 km of power transmission lines. We examined 468 active nests (different bird species), and found two Saker falcon nests in eastern Croatia.

Typically, there are three young per nest. However, often before leaving the nest on their own, the young are thrown from the nest by the strong winds that commonly blow in this region in the spring. Parents usually continue to feed the young under the nest. If they are not injured, they often successfully grow and fly. The young falcons leave the nest at the start of June. They remain close to the nest for three to four weeks, and the parents teach them to hunt prey.

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The Saker falcon is spotted in part of Croatia year round, meaning that some birds winter here. Croatia lies along the migration path of the Saker falcon, and there is data for the region of Ravni Kotari, lying along the migratory path and as a possible wintering ground. The newest finding in this region is a male found at Dikla near Zadar. Recent satellite monitoring of Saker falcons confirm that birds nesting to the north often pass through this region. Further research was conducted during 2007–2009, confirming that the Saker falcon regularly nests in eastern Croatia.

On picture: Distribution range of Saker Falcon

Number of nesting pairs by country

On picture: Distribution range of Saker Falcon in Europe

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