Dead and moribund raptors

The Eagle Conservation Committee keeps a file on dead, exhausted, injured or stuffed birds of prey reported by observers. They provide evidence of losses suffered by the populations of raptors despite the legal regulations which ensure full protection of these species.

Tabela 1. Number of dead and exhausted birds recorded in the KOO files in 1994-2001. Detailed data available in the KOO Bulletins.

Gatunek	1995		1996		1997		1998		1999		2000		2001
	M	O	M	O	M	O	M	O	M	O	M	O	M	O
White-tailed Eagle	6	1	2	5	6	1	6	5	19	6	12	8	13	16
Osprey	2		2		3						1		4
Golden Eaglei	2		2		3									1
Lesser Spotted Eagle	2		2				2						3
Black Kite							1
Red Kite	1							1					1
Common Buzzard	1	2	7	4	5		12	6	2	4	15	9	23	47
Rough-legged Buzzard			1									1
Honey Buzzard				1				1	1				1	2
Marsh Harrier	1	1				1		1	1	1	1	1	2	7
Goshawk			1				3		3		2	1	26	15
Sparrowhawk			2		1		5		1		16	2	7	13
Kestrel	1		1	2				11		16	3	60	9	77
Hobby	1						1		1					2
Peregrine							1							3
Barn Owl							1				1	2		7
Tawny Owl								1	2	1	1	2	2	24
Long-eared Owl								1	1			4	4	25
Short-eared Owl											1			1
Griffon Vulture													1
Merlin													1
Saker Falcon														1
Hen Harrier														1
Ural Owl														1
Eagle Owl														1
Little Owl														2
Total	17	4	20	12	18	2	32	27	31	28	53	90	97	246

M – birds found dead or individuals which died in spite of saving efforts;

O – exhausted birds which have been saved or ones whose fate is unknown.

Birds of prey die or get contused on account of many different reasons, both natural and ones of anthropogenic character. The latter include obvious violation of nature preservation regulations (shooting, setting snares).

Table 2. Causes of death or exhaustion of raptors

Cause	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	Total
Falling out of the nest		1	2	14	19	52	18	106
Getting shot	3	3		2	2	1	1	16
Collision with a power-line	4	1	3	4	3	6	9	35
Collision with a vehicle	1		1	3	1	3	11	21
Collision with other objects	2				1	4	10	17
Nesting tree felling					2			2
Forest activities		1						1
Nest falling down						2		2
Getting snared/trapped					1	2		3
Getting entangled in a shrub					1			1
Collecting	1							1
Captivity		1			1		8	10
Predation	1	1		2		4	8	17
Getting soaked		1					2	3
Poisoning/diseases				2		1	20	23
Wing spraining						1	27	28

All birdwatchers and lovers of nature are requested to send us information for this file. Please, include the following data:

• species and, if possible, age (e.g. pull., juv., imm., subad., ad.) and sex of the bird;
• the site where the bird was seen;
• precise (or approximate) date of observation;
• circumstances of the event, i.e. death or exhaustion, as detailed as possible;
• a note about the bird's fate (cured, set free, died, transferred to the ZOO, etc.).

In cases when a dead bird is found, please make a rough estimation of the date of death ("fresh" individual, in advanced decay, fragments of feathers). To the best of your ability, please determine the cause of death (e.g. found under a power-line, by a road).

Dead raptors and owls are valuable material for various studies. Feathers can be used for compiling identification guides. Plucked corpses of birds constitute a source of tissue samples for the research on the level of contamination with pesticides or heavy metals, or they can be used to acquire skeletons.

Remember that the pertinent law in force forbids stuffing of any protected species of animals or keeping them captive.