Circaetus gallicus information navigator

A story of life and death of one Short-toed Eagle ringed by Francesco Petretti in Western Central Italy /map/ in 1989 is represented below:

The eagle was born on the 18^th of May 1989 in Tolfa Hills, 40 km north of Rome. The parental pair built the nest on a very large deciduous oak tree covered with ivy on the north facing slope of the hill, at 400 metres of altitude.

On the 27^th of June 1989 P0845 reached the maximum weight of 1,800 grams, then the weight decreased, as it is usual among fledging eagles in the study area, and on the 17^th of July, when the eagle left the nest, she weighed 1,680 grams. She was fitted with a backpack radio for ground telemetry and moved within the home range for a couple of months. Contact with her was lost on the 20^th of September 1989, when the eagle probably left the area to reach the wintering ground in Africa.

On the 16^th of September 2012 the body of P0845 was found dead at a distance of only 9 km from the ringing site. The body was brought to the Raptor Center in Vico Lake Nature Reserve, but death causes are unknown. P0845 was at least 23 years and 4 months old and I suppose this is a longevity record for the species.

This is the next annual report on results of a long-term study of Short-toed Eagle in Cévennes National Park /map/:

• Jean-Pierre et Isabelle MALAFOSSE, 2012 – Le Circaète Jean-le-Blanc, résultats pour 2012. Suivi des Rapaces forestiers en Lozère et dans le Parc National des Cévennes [Short-toed Eagle, results for 2012. Monitoring of Raptors in Lozère and in the Cévennes National Park], rapport interne C.R.B.P.O./ P.N.C.: 12 p. – (Fr) {rough translation}.

This video made by Guilad Friedemann illustrates well fieldwork of Israeli researchers. Guilad studies interspecific relationships between Short-toed Eagles and Long-legged Buzzards in the Judean Foothills /map/. For this purpose several buzzards and eagles were tagged with special GPS loggers which provide an unique methodology of the tracking.

A new paper on autumn migration of Short-toed Eagle in Italy /map/ is placed on Guido Premuda‘s Sunbird.it under the Bibliography section:

• BAGHINO L., PREMUDA G. & GIRAUDO L., 2012 – Nuove analisi sulla migrazione post-riproduttiva del biancone Circaetus gallicus nell’Italia nord-occidentale [New analysis on post-breeding migration of Short-toed Eagle in north-western Italy] // Avocetta 36: 107-111. – (It) {rough translation}.

This year Short-toed Eagles’ breeding was observed in southwestern Switzerland /map/ for the first time. On the Oiseaux.ch website you can find the report on this written by Lionel Maumary:

• Lionel Maumary, 2012 – Le Circaète Jean-le-Blanc a niché en Suisse ! [Short-toed Eagle has bred in Switzerland] // Oiseaux.ch (Fr) {rough translation} – the text contains excellent pictures and video. Also photos of this pair of Short-toed Eagles taken by Thomas Nierle in April 2012 can be viewed here. The juvenile Eagle has left the nest succesfully!

The HoverOverUs • Short-toed-Eagle site started 7 years ago. Now it is a collection of various materials dedicated to Short-toed Eagle with various navigation tools which help to find quickly (as we hope) what you exactly need. Here is a short review of the content:

This article, which was first published in Alauda journal in 1996, can now be found on the faune-vendee.org website:

• MEYBURG B.-U., MEYBURG Chr., PACTEAU Chr., 2000 – Migration automnale d’un Circaète Jean-le-Blanc Circaetus gallicus suivi par satellite [Autumn migration of a Short-toed Eagle tracked with satellite] // La Gorgebleue, 16 : P. 7-11. – (Fr).