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Description
Montagu’s Harrier is very rare bird of prey in the Polish lowlands. It used to nest in wetlands. As a result of degradation of this type of habitat, it started (in the 80s) breeding in cereal crops and grassland. This gives the species a chance to survive in an increasingly human-transformed landscape, but at the same time creates new threats. Harriers start breeding late and the chicks leaving the nests (from mid-July) may fall at harvest time. The total size of the Polish population in the years 2018-2019 was estimated to be 2800 BP, which still constitutes ca. 19% of the birds breeding in the EU.
During the last decade, the population is declining at the average rate of -4.8% annually. Therefore, based on the IUCN A2 criterion, the Polish population of the Montagu’s harrier should be classified as “Vulnerable”.
Substantiation of the project implementation in the context of EU and national strategic documents:
- Directive 2009/147 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds "Birds Directive".
- The National Action Plan for the Protection of Montagu’s harrier approved by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection
- Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of December 16, 2016 regarding the protection of animal species.
- The project is a continuation of activities implemented by our Society continuously since 2005. In previous years, the protection of the Montagu''s harrier was co-financed from various sources, including
Conservation measures will be implemented in regions of key importance for the species, i.e. those in which the Montagu''s harrier reaches high densities (source populations). High productivity is key to maintaining the national population of the species and the population in neighboring countries. Active protection is not only of regional importance, but positively affects the state of conservation of the species throughout its occurrence.
Summary of project results
The implementation of the project enabled the continuation of activities carried out in 2013-2020 under EU projects, including those included in the National Action Plan for the Protection of the Montagu''s Harrier, which was approved by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection in 2015. Activities were implemented in 16 counties in 5 provinces, thanks to which more than 300 nests were protected, clearly improving the breeding success of the species.
Project results:
- Detection of 1,100 breeding pairs, monitoring of almost 590 nests and active protection of more than 390 Montagu''s n harrier nests in 2021-2023 on the territory of 16 counties in Mazowieckie, Lubelskie, Podlaskie, Łódzkie and Opolskie provinces;
- Publication and distribution among active protection contractors, farmers, institutions of the second revised version of the folder “Montagu''s harrier - an ally of farmers (5000 copies);
- Preparation and publication on the YouTube channel of a short informational and promotional spot with the meadow harrier as the main character. The clip has been viewed more than 23,000 times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZPmXVdxwi4;
- Promotion of active protection of the Montagu''s harrier in social media (Facebook, X, YouTube);
- Organization of two online conferences on the protection and research of the Montagu''s harrier. The meetings were attended by 200 people;
- Purchase of 4 drones with accessories for monitoring and active protection of nests of the Montagu''s harrier.
- The number of people covered by the information and promotion campaign implemented under the project is more than 50,000 people
The implementation of the project also contributed to the further development of the “harrier network”, i.e. a group of people who are involved in the protection of the Montagu''s harrier. The project activities inspired individuals and institutions (the Wielkopolska Landscape Parks Complex) to start conservation activities in districts of Wielkopolska province, where Montagu''s harrier protection had not been implemented before. More than 200 people participated in the two conferences organized online. A large group of volunteers (20 people) participated in the project activities, which is an extremely valuable result of the project.
Activities related to the implementation of the Montagu''s harrier breeding protection (both active breeding protection and information and education activities) must be continued in subsequent years. The experience gained during the implementation of project MFEOG.07.02.03-50-0030/21-00 in the years 2021-2024 was used to prepare the next application for funding (FEniKS Funds https://www.feniks.gov.pl). The project has received funding and will be implemented in 2025-2027 and co-financed with EU funds https://www.bocian.org.pl/blotniak/fenix