Cristina Hodgson
AFTER years on the brink of extinction, this rare bird has reached a new all-time record for chicks hatched, with 166 specimens born in Andalucia last season.
The 2021 census prepared by the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development identified 129 breeding pairs in the region last year, representing a growth of 4.8%.
This figure represents the highest historical record registered in the region, with the previous record set in 2019, a season which saw the birth of 144 chicks.
The majority of the nesting pairs in 2021 were found in three provinces: Jaen, with 53 nesting pairs, Cordoba, with 32, and Seville, with 29. Followed by Huelva and Cadiz, with six pairs each, and Granada, with three.
By nesting territories, the vast majority were located in Sierra Morena, where 107 breeding pairs were identified.
Meanwhile, the data collected in the census also shows that the area of distribution of the Iberian imperial eagle in Andalucia has increased with new territories in the province of Granada and Cadiz, as well as in Sierra Magina,
Likewise, an expansion towards the south of the territories of Jaen has been detected, as well as connectivity between the existing populations in Sierra Norte-Hornachuelos and Cardeña-Andujar.
Of the 166 chicks born in Andalucia last year, 154 successfully fledged, with ten mortality cases recorded.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s Andalucia considered ‘key’ territory in recovery of Iberian imperial eagle
- Spanish imperial eagle: the bird of prey that narrowly escaped extinction
