The Spanish imperial eagle is the most threatened bird of prey in Europe. The population is currently slightly more than at 400 pairs. Almost the entire reproductive population in the world can be found in Spain, however in 1995 a pair successfully nested in Morocco and another in 2006 in Portugal. In 2013 at least 407 pairs, 396 in Spain and 11 in Portugal were censused.
It is classified as an “endangered bird” in the Red Book of nesting birds of Spain and it is protected by an Action Plan of the European Commission (1996), a National Plan (2001), as well as three Regional Recovery Plans (for Extremadura, Castilla La Mancha and Castilla y León).
The main threat to the species is electrocution. This happens mainly when young specimens touch high voltage cables when landing or taking flight. This problem caused the death of 65% of the younger birds between the years 1989 and 1994. Fortunately its incidence rate has fallen in recent years thanks to corrections in highly hazardous power lines. The next major cause of death is poisoning, an increasingly common practice, and direct pursuit using shots, traps and snares.
Another associated problem is the absence of its main prey: the rabbit. Myxomatosis (since the end of the 50s), and digestive haemorrhage disease (since the end of the 80s) were major hurdles for the rabbit population to overcome. Nowadays action is being taken against the mortality of young birds due to the absence of food. This is reducing the occurrence of fratricidal violence, which involves the death of the smallest fledgling due to competitiveness between siblings. Supplementary food is also obtained for pairs during the nesting period.
There is also a clear destruction of its habitat, mainly due to the rise in pine and eucalyptus afforestation in recent decades, reducing the Mediterranean forest areas where it lives. To try to overcome this, at the start of the 21st century the European Union launched the Natura 2000 Network, which encompasses SCIs (Sites of Community Importance) and SPAs (Special Protection Areas).
The Spanish imperial eagle is also affected by environmental pollution, as the consumption of prey with high levels of organochlorides and lead causes infertility in the eggs. This is the main cause of the low productivity of the species in some areas.
Deaths in the nest also occur due to the disturbance of human presence, which often provokes the temporary or definitive abandonment of the nest by the adults. In many cases this results in the death of fledglings due to starvation and the lack of protection from weather conditions or falls from the nest.
The measures developed by the plans mentioned above include surveillance patrols and monitoring of the population. There is also a supplementary feeding programme and financing of some nests to avoid them falling due to strong winds or deterioration over time. These actions have managed to achieve a stabilisation in the species.
Finally we would like to highlight the importance of the awareness-raising and educational work which has been carried out in recent years. We at Birding140 hope that we have done our bit by raising awareness on the problems suffered by the Spanish imperial eagle population.
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