The rarest Falcon has returned after 40 years!
Unbelievable. A Red-footed Falcon nest has been found near Trnava (Western Slovakia) after 40 years. This species is endangered by extinction in the country. These pair is one of only three known pairs in the whole territory of Slovakia. All of the three pairs are being visited regularly and guarded. The last evidence of nesting of the species from this region dates up to 1970s.
„Our colleague, operating in the region, has reported an observation of the pair. We have visited the site and after two days of searching we found a pair of these beautiful bird using an abandoned Magpie nest. I was very happy to observe the male bringing food to the female on the nest. I have been doing the monitoring of the species over 30 years and remember the nesting of more than 60 pairs in our country about 20 years ago. However the species has fade away from our countryside, especially due to the intensive agriculture, connected with significant changes of habitats and loss of biodiversity, resulting in decrease of prey offer. Therefore, to see these birds at this new site was something very strong and unbelievable.“ – says Jozef Chavko, who found the nest (Raptor Specialist in Red-footed Falcon LIFE project).