Greater Spotted Eagle, an endangered symbol of disappearing wetlands

The Greater Spotted Eagle is one of the rarest and least known eagle species inhabiting Europe and Asia. Its range extends from the Pacific coast, Manchuria, Siberia, much of Russia, eastern and central Europe to eastern Poland and the Kaliningrad district. Isolated populations have been found in northern Iran, India and Kazakhstan. The breeding areas extend in a wide band from the taiga border in the north to the edge of the forest-steppe in the south. In Poland, its range is limited to the Biebrza valley. Single pairs of Greater Spotted Eagles and closely related Lesser Spotted Eagles also occur in several locations along the eastern border.
The European population numbers 810-1100 pairs and accounts for 25-49% of the global population. It currently nests in seven eastern European countries. Estimates of breeding pairs from each country are known:
– European part of Russia 600-800,
– Belarus 150-200,
– Ukraine 30-45,
– Estonia 15-30,
– Poland 15-17,
– Lithuania 7,
– Romania 0-2.

An inhabitant of two biotopes.
In Europe, it is a bird of extensive marshes – complexes of low and transitional bogs, where it can hunt numerous species of wetland birds, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, or, in exceptional cases, collect fish in areas of river floodplains. However, for nesting it needs a quiet patch of forest that is well away from human settlements and difficult to access.
Threats
The rarity of the species is primarily related to its marked preference for extensive wetlands, which are increasingly scarce in Central Europe. The main threat to the population stability of this species is the disappearance and conversion of wetlands. Drainage of wetland ecosystems is causing changes in the vegetation cover as hay use is intensified and wetlands become overgrown with light tree species. The drained grassland is also being converted into arable land, e.g. large-scale maize cultivation. Other threats include hybridisation with the lesser spotted eagle, logging of private nest stands, disturbance of birds at nests, but also poaching and poisoning on wintering grounds in southern Europe.

Conservation status
The Greater Spotted Eagle is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as a globally vulnerable species. The reason for this assessment is its low abundance with a significant decline (mainly in the European part of its range) and loss of biotopes. In the European Union, it is classified as a species of special concern with the SPEC1 category – highest concern. The Greater Spotted Eagle is listed in Annex I of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ EU L.2010.20.7) – the so-called Birds Directive, and is protected under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, the so-called Bern Convention – Annex II and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the so-called Bonn Convention – Annex II).

Spring activity
Greater Spotted Eagles nesting in eastern Poland arrive between 1 and around 20 April, although some birds appear on the breeding grounds as early as the end of March. The birds arrive singly and meet in the breeding territories. Depending on the prevailing weather conditions, they proceed, with more or less time lag, to mating, copulation and nest building. Turning takes the form of a series of aerial acrobatics performed most often over the nest stand and involves a spectacular alternating descent and ascent, performed at high altitude, combined with shouts from both birds. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)