Reader’s mail (Turkish)….
From Dr. Damla Beton of Kuskor….
Kuşkor has been watching the last remaining eagle species of Cyprus, Tavşancıllar ( Bonelli’s eagle), since 2010. We are the institution that makes the most up-to-date and detailed scientific publication about Tavşancıl, which was thought to be extinct in our country 15 years ago. With each passing year, we are increasing our knowledge on this subject.
Despite being protected by European Union directives and local laws, These eagles die from human effects such as illegal hunting, poisoning, and hitting power lines. Because of similar threats, griffon vultures have already disappeared from our country. We must take species-specific measures as soon as possible so that eagles and other predators do not suffer the same fate.
When we started the first monitoring studies, this species was thought to have disappeared from our country. However, as of 2012, we were able to identify 10 nests that successfully bred along the Beşparmak Mountains. Afterwards, we determined that breeding occurred in a different mountain and hilly areas of our country, including Karpaz and Koruçam SEPAs. This year, we increased the scope of our work in order to obtain new information. Thus, we aim to develop species-specific measures. We aim to protect the Beşparmak Mountains, one of the important areas where these magnificent birds live.
KUŞKOR, in cooperation with the TRNC Environmental Protection Department, started the studies of ringing the eagles in 2022 in order to understand the eagle’s behaviour. In 2023, it expanded these efforts to identify living spaces by placing monitoring devices on individuals. This work is carried out with the support of OSME and Cyprus Environmental Fund.
We invite everyone who sees an eagle to contact KUŞKOR and thus support our work. By sharing this work with all your loved ones, you can invite them to become ‘eagle friends’ and help protect our eagles.
Every day that we see our eagles flying freely in the sky means there is hope for their mountain habitat. Together, let’s take care of our eagles and the Beşparmak Mountains, symbolic of our country.
Source (Turkish): Kuskor
KUŞKOR | Looking out for birds in North Cyprus (kuskor.org)
