On 7th-10th of September the Second International Conference "Eagles of Palearctic: Study and Conservation" took place in the Katun village of the Altai Region, Russia. Experts from around the world presented the status of selected raptor species in various regions, pointing out the conservation issues they face in their research.
Separate conference panels were dedicated to three threatened raptor species: the Steppe Eagles Aquila nipalensis, the Ospreys Pandion haliaetus and the Eastern Imperial Eagles Aquila heliaca. In particular the status of the former seems catastrophic. During the last 20 years the population decreased by up to 80% in certain regions and if the negative trend continues, the species will entirely disappear from the planet within the next 20 years. The main cause for the decrease seems to be, as usually in such cases, human beings and their activities. In particular an important factor seem ostensibly harmless unisolated power lines. Living in open areas eagles are very keen to use power line poles. Unisolated lines are thus cause of great mortality within the species. It is estimated that up to several hundred thousands eagles die annually due to electrocution. In addition threats on migration and wintering grounds play vital role, such as shooting or poaching. Birds are often being sold alive on local markets. However according to specialists all those factors are not able to contribute to such a high population decrease. Main causes remain unknown and it becomes a priority now to identify them as soon as possible.
Our company held a presentation on the latest datalogger models. On many occasions the use of them helped identifying the threats eagles have to cope with on the breeding grounds as well as during the migration and wintering.
After the conference various excursions through the wonderful landscapes of Altai were prepared by the organisers.
We would like to thank the Organisers for the fantastic time!