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Eagle owl 

 

The eagle owl is an endangered bird species in Estonia. Its numbers have steadily declined during the last quarter of century. As an estimate, only about 50 pairs of eagle owls currently reside in Estonia. Several factors are behind the declining number of eagle owls, such as small predators robbing the nests, disturbances during the breeding season and the decrease of food. A significant threat factor is also the deaths of eagle owls in power lines as well as on roads.

 
Since more than half of the habitats of the Estonian eagle owl population are not known, a thorough inventory is planned within the frame of the action plan in order to get a more accurate overview of the state and habitats of eagle owls. In addition, the programme also covers monitoring the vole, an important prey for eagle owls, as its numbers also have decreased.
 
The short-time goal for the conservation measures (in a perspective of the next 5 years) is ensuring the conservation of the species in the Estonian landscape at least at its present level. The long-term protection goal (in a 15 year perspective) is enabling a recovery of the eagle owl population and the preservation of the species as at least a population of 150 pairs.
 
The development of the action programme was funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

 

The action programmes for endangered species can be read here: LINK