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Several records of Short-toed Snake Eagle at the boundaries of the species range were reported this summer. Local birders informed about observation of an eagle again in the United Kingdom, at Ashdown Forest /map/ in East Sussex: it was seen several times since June 21^st. Unfortunately, the age of that bird has remained unknown. Four years earlier, a young Short-toed Eagle had been observed at Morden Bog /map/, near Wareham.

At the opposite side of the range’s northern boundary, not far from Barnaul /map/, the administrative centre of the Altai Krai, a Short-toed Eagle was recorded this year too. Photos of it are available on the Birds of Siberia website. This time it was an adult bird, as well as the previous one observed in 2016. Also, this summer has brought many encounters with ST Eagles to birders in Kazakhstan, just enjoy the pictures.

Currently, 7 nests of Short-toed Eagles are controlled in 3 Regions of Northern Ukraine. All those pairs have chicks this year. It is of great interest to know the final result of the reproduction season in this area. The gallery will be updated after the end of the season, however, now we can see some pictures of the old acquaintances again.

After a 100-year break, Short-toed Eagle breeding in Lithuania has been reported (Lt) again! The last time their nest had been found by Prof. Tadas Ivanauskas in Varėna District in 1915. Now, Eugenijuis Drobelis discovered the nest in the same district near Čepkeliai marsh /map/ on July 23, 2018. This return might mean the species’ spreading to the NW there.

Although, this paper is rather old, it can be considered as a good example of a report on Short-toed Eagle rehabilitation. If all similar cases were described in such a detailed way, our knowledge on sexing and ageing of Short-toed Eagles would be much deeper:

• Theo van de MORTEL, 2006 – Voor het eerst een Slangenarend Circaetus gallicus geringd in Nederland [Male Short-toed Eagle found emaciated in The Netherlands in May 2006] // De Takkeling, 14 (3): pp. 232-235. – (Nl).

The article is available on the Natuurtijdschriften site now.

Guilad Friedemann reports on observations of 3 Short-toed Eagles tagged with number colour rings in the Judean Foothills /map/ in 2011 and 2012 (Grey 62, Orange 3 and White 14). Those Short-toed Eagle males have been photographed by different observers this year at the age of 7 and 8 CY. Small photo galleries are represented on Guilad’s FB page with his brief explanations and comments (Iw):

For example, the male tagged as "Orange 3" is fully adult, although, his parents are still active, continue to hold the territory and breed. It is always a great pleasure for a researcher to know that chicks found and ringed in the past, in spite of many dangers, have become the magnificent adult snake eagles, to see them now as virtuosic fliers, ultraprecise spotters, looking like amazing semi-mythical creatures in the end.

The English (En) version of that article with links to more pictures:

• Konstantin PISMENNYI, 2018 – Le circaète dans le nord de l’Ukraine : état et avenir des populations, observations sur quelques couples et individus [The Short-toed Snake Eagle in Northern Ukraine, the population state and outlook, observations of certain pairs and individuals] // La Plume du Circaète n° 16-17: pp. 11-15.

La Plume du Circaète n° 16-17 – (Fr) {rough translation} has been recently published. As usual, various unusual events, observations, ideas are reported in it. The list of contents (En):

COMMUNICATIONS

MONITORING / CONSERVATION

INTERNATIONAL

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Thanks a lot to Bernard Joubert, Jean-Pierre Malafosse, Renaud Nadal and all the authors of the bulletin for sharing their materials!