The six most endangered Imperial Eagle nests in Sakar, Western Strandja and near Sliven has been guarded by BSPB volunteers since mid-March. The aim is to help couples who are at greatest concern to survive and raise their offspring. Some of the nests are located near busy roads or at places with agricultural activities and this creates a number of risks. "The nests are guarded from morning till night and volunteers observe the behavior of couples", said Dimitar Demerdzhiev – Conservation officer for the Imperial Eagle in LIFE+ project for the protection of Imperial Eagle and Saker Falcon.
Couples in all six guarded nests incubate at the moment. Volunteers observed juvenile birds, which hatched last year to return to their home nest, but parents who have the instinct to protect their hunting territory, chased them. One of the juvenile birds, tagged with a satellite transmitter last year, visited her parent’s nest near Topolovgrad. The bird named Topola, was rescued last summer by the volunteer who guarded her nest. In the first attempt to fly the little Eagle fell into the bushes and could not return to the nest. The juvenile bird was facing the danger to spend the night on earth where she would become victims of predators, but thanks to the volunteer’s fast reaction the bird was placed on a tree and survive.
Two pairs of Imperial Eagles were recently forced to leave their nests as they were disturbed by forestry activities. Luckily the pairs were able to find new territory and to rebuild their nests that are well hidden presently. BSPB experts were able to locate the new nests and proceeds with the monitoring.