Hailstones the size of golf balls fell on Orleans on the night of June 19 to 20. Near Ingrannes, in the forest of Orléans (Loiret), a booted eagle was found the next day by a technician from the National Forestry Office (ONF), at the foot of its nest, the rump damaged.
“She was thrown out of the nest, leaving her brood, probably one or two chicks. She struggled and her male was prowling around. But we were able to transport her to a care centre, ”says Christine Benneton, of the NFB. For the moment, we do not know if this adult female will be able to survive and join her little family.
They build their nests at the top of the tallest trees.
Even if neither the ONF nor the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) carry out an inventory of damage to wildlife, by nature discreet, this is not an isolated case. “A volunteer picked up an injured booted eagle and a dead chick near Cheverny (Loir-et-Cher) last weekend. The adult was released the following day. And an injured osprey in the forest of Orléans during the previous storm”, list Didier Hacquemand, ONF technician and member of the avifauna network of the public institution.
These migrants arrive in European forests in the spring to breed. And, like their osprey cousins, these little black kite-like eagles position their nests atop the tallest trees. This exposes them to hail.
The population of these raptors formerly considered harmful, now protected, is progressing in the region: around sixty pairs of ospreys in France, including around twenty in the forest of Orléans, which also hosts around sixty pairs of booted eagles. “Eagles only have one to three chicks a year. And during migrations, one out of two does not return. The increase is extremely slow”, remarks Didier Hacquemand, worried about these close hail episodes.
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