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Day 17

One square meter of meadow is protected for lesser spotted eagles in the Recknitz valley

Abandoned nests and dying eagles Abandoned nests and dying eagles

One square meter of meadow is protected for lesser spotted eagles in the Recknitz valley
Day 17
Meadows for the last lesser spotted eagles in Germany

Around 100 pairs of lesser spotted eagles still live in Germany. The number of pairs living and breeding here has been declining for decades. In 2000, over 130 pairs were breeding in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt. In Saxony-Anhalt, the little eagle is now considered extinct. It is also threatened in its last remaining refuges because its habitat is shrinking ever smaller: lesser spotted eagles need old, tall trees in natural, undisturbed forests for their nests. The commercial use of forests with the felling of trees in their prime means that the little eagle can hardly find suitable and quiet places to build its nest. And there is a second problem that means that fewer and fewer lesser spotted eagles are being seen in Germany every year: in order to feed themselves and their chicks, the rare birds of prey need meadows close to the nest with a variety of small prey such as mice, moles and frogs. It can only find sufficient food on extensively managed wet meadows that are free of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Conventional pesticides and fertilizers not only drive away pests, but also a large proportion of the prey that is so important to the lesser spotted eagle.

Meadows for the last lesser spotted eagles in Germany
need
Meadows rich in food for the endangered lesser spotted eagle.
activity
The NABU Foundation buys species-rich meadows near lesser spotted eagle nests in order to secure the food supply of the endangered eagles in the long term.
Measurable performance
Purchase of one square meter for each donation received.
Result
The permanent provision of extensive grassland managed in a way that is friendly to the lesser spotted eagle enables the successful breeding of the lesser spotted eagle.
Systemically relevant impact
The lesser spotted eagle should be able to hunt and breed successfully in the Recknitz Valley in the long term. Its extinction in Germany should be prevented.
background

The species-rich meadows full of life are becoming increasingly rare. To successfully raise their young, the lesser spotted eagles must find enough food within a radius of 3 km. The conversion of extensive meadows into farmland near lesser spotted eagle nests means that the sensitive birds of prey can no longer successfully raise their young and eventually leave their nest and never return.

The systematic conversion of fallow land and meadows into intensively managed fields or grassland is a major reason for the population decline in north-eastern Germany in recent years. In other regions, the lesser spotted eagle has not had adequate breeding and hunting conditions for a much longer time.

Recknitztal, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Day 17 Day 17
The good deed

There are still a few endangered pairs of lesser spotted eagles in the Recknitz Valley. To ensure that they can breed and hunt successfully here in the long term, we buy meadows in the immediate vicinity of the nests, which we maintain as species-rich extensive grassland. In our ownership, the meadows are permanently spared from intensification with its negative consequences for the lesser spotted eagle, and the lesser spotted eagles can continue to breed successfully here in the future.

AboutGermany
Berlin
Berlin
Capital city
81 413 100
81 413 100
Population
40 952 USD
40 952 USD
Gross domestic product per capita per year
6
6
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

Germany is very densely populated. Large, extensively managed and low-disturbance landscapes with grassland and old natural forest, such as those needed by the endangered lesser spotted eagle, are now rare.
About the organization and further information

organization

NABU Foundation National Nature Heritage

website

naturerbe.nabu.de/

Initiative for Transparent Civil Society

Further links

image
€ / Tag