The golden eagle monitoring programme, carried out by JSC “Latvijas valsts meži” in cooperation with experts from the Latvian Fund for Nature, has concluded. This year, successful eagle nesting was recorded in four nests, which is significantly more than in the previous year.

“Golden eagles are one of the rarest species of birds of prey in Latvia; about ten nesting territories are known, and their number is still increasing,” notes LVM senior environmental expert Uģis Bergmanis.

These eagles nest in large raised bogs on islands and peninsulas. The most important prey animals for golden eagles during the nesting period are birds nesting in and around bogs – cranes, black grouse, capercaillie, ducks and waders, as well as mammals – martens, hares and the young of roe deer, badgers and raccoon dogs. In winter, golden eagles feed on carrion.

To encourage nesting, artificial nests are built for golden eagles, which they readily occupy.

As part of the LVM environmental education and research project “Birds and Beasts in the Bog”, anyone interested can observe changes in nature online and follow the activities of birds and beasts in one of the bogs in Latvia's north-eastern region. This is the sixth year that any interested person and nature lover can follow exciting events in a golden eagle's nest via a live web camera, as well as observe the bog landscape in different seasons.