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 18th 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 27th 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 17th 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 20th of September 1989, when the eagle probably left the area to reach the wintering ground in Africa.
On the 16th 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.
