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

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.