SmartBirds
© Márton Horváth
A total of 48 endangered Imperial Eagle chicks fledged in Bulgaria this year, marking the highest number recorded by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) in 25 years of monitoring the species in the country.
In 2024, a particularly successful breeding season saw 40 Imperial Eagle pairs occupy nesting territories in spring, with 31 pairs proceeding to breed. Notably, five pairs managed to raise three chicks each, an unusually high number for the species, which typically raises only two.
In the European part of Turkey, 55 occupied territories and 49 breeding pairs were registered. However, the average breeding success there was slightly lower than in Bulgaria, with 1.2 chicks per breeding pair compared to Bulgaria’s 1.55, a figure closer to success rates in countries like Hungary, where richer food resources support greater breeding success.
© Svetoslav Spasov
The high breeding success of the Imperial Eagle is attributed to long-standing conservation efforts in Bulgaria and Turkey, as well as favorable environmental factors, including an abundant food supply and suitable weather conditions.
The Thracian subpopulation, which includes all breeding pairs in Bulgaria and European Turkey, is slowly recovering with 95 known territories. However, the species continues to face significant threats from electrocution, poisoned bait, and habitat destruction, particularly of grasslands which are vital for their survival.
© Georgi Gerdzikov
Regular monitoring of nesting Imperial Eagles in Bulgaria is part of BSPB’s conservation work under the “From the Iron Curtain to the Green Belt” project. The project is funded by the Endangered Landscapes Programme (ELP) that is managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative – a collaboration between the Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge of The Old Schools and leading internationally-focused biodiversity conservation organizations. The University and the ELP are supported by Arcadia – a charitable fund of Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing.
In European Turkey, the monitoring of the species’ nesting population is part of the project ‘’Ancient Lands of the Flying Emperor,” funded by the European Green Belt initiative and implemented by BSPB and Doğa ve Kültür Derneği (DOKU).
