Overvågning af kongeørne

Spring is upon us and Tofte2015 has entered her 5th breeding season in Hals Sønderskov. This will be the second breeding season with the male eagle that replaced Hostemark2015 after it passed away from unknown causes early 2023.

Last year the breeding season was a success with one chick fledging. We hope the pair will be successful this year as well and we will share updates when we know.

Tofte2015 has had yet another successfull breeding season in Hals Sønderskov despite loosing its mate for the previous three years, Hostemark2015 earlier this year. A new male quickly replaced Hostemark2015 and the new pair raised one chick this season which successfully fledged. We hope that the new male and Tofte2015 will become a stable breeding pair for the years to come. We will continue to update GPS-data from Tofte2015.

End July we noticed Toftehun21 started to be less active, and in the beginning of August one of the project employees took to the field to investigate. Toftehun21 was discovered on the ground. The eagle was active and appeared to be in good condition - a nearby Roe Deer carcass revealed she had been eating recently. But the harness for the GPS-transmitter had become loose. Fortunately the eagle was caught and the transmitter taken off.

This means we no longer will be able to follow Toftehun21 by GPS in Project Golden Eagle. But most importantly the good condition of the juvenile eagle gives good hope for her future.

A new study has just been published on the Golden Eagles in Denmark in Dansk Ornitologisk Tidsskrift. In the study we analyzed data from the nine Golden Eagles, that have had GPS-transmitters mounted. We analyzed data through their first year of life with focus on fledging and dispersal. Of the nine individuals from the GPS-project, three are alive, four have died and the fate of is unknown. The study is in English with a summary in Danish, and the full PDF-file is available here: Individual spatiotemporal histories of first year Golden Eagles in Denmark using GPS-tracking

Toftehun21 has been spending the last month in Jerup Hede and Råbjerg Mose. Both areas are protected and seems to be suitable habitats for Golden Eagles. Toftehun21 is actively exploring the area and has been doing so for the last month.

Tofte2015 is still in Hals Sønderskov where it has been breeding with a new male for the first time, and we will post an update and add new data to the map of Tofte2015, when the breeding season is over.

Tofte2015 has found a new mate and is currently breeding in Hals Sønderskov, so we will not be adding data to the map before the breeding season has ended. The fact that a new mate showed up this fast, is great news and a good sign for the Golden Eagle population in Denmark. We have our fingers crossed that Tofte2015 and the new male will become a stable breeding pair in the years to come.

Toftehun21 explored Lille Vildmose and surroundings for the first four months of 2023. On the 3 of May it suddenly flew around 65 km North just southwest of Frederikshavn. The following day it continued around 20 km Northwest to Jerup Hede, where it since has been staying.Toftehun21 also spend some time in Jerup Hede in 2022, and in 2017 and 2018 Tofte2015 also frequently visited this area. Jerup Hede is part of a Natura-2000 area, and seems to be a suitable habitat for Golden Eagles in Denmark.

New maps for Tofte and Toftehun21 have been added to the site. These are the two remaining Golden Eagles with GPS tags mounted in Denmark.

Tofte is still in Hals Sønderskov, where the eagle has been breeding since 2019. Sadly Tofte lost her most mate, Hostemark, in September 2022. Hostemark was found dead and send for necropsy to investigate the cause of death. Unfortunately this was not possible, so we do not know why Hostemark suddenly died. We hope Tofte will find or atract a new mate and continue to breed. As of now Tofte remain in Hals Sønderskov and the surrounding area.

Toftehun21 spent the last part of 2022 in Tofte Skov, and this is also the area the eagle has kept to for the first month of 2023. We have been experiencing unstable connection to the GPS-tag on Toftehun21 due to low voltage in the battery, but we hope the voltage will increase with the increasing daylight of spring.

After spending more than a year near its natal territory in Tofte Skov, Toftehun21 suddenly flew North to Paraplymosen at the end of June. By the end of July Toftehun21 continued north to Jerup Hede and Ålbæk Klit Plantage. and mid August it flew West to Tversted and Elbæk Plantage. We are very pleased to see Toftehun21 exploring new areas and would like to hear from you, if you make observations of Toftehun21 in the field.

The breeding season for Tofte- and Hostemark2015 was unsuccessful for unknown reasons. The breeding pair remain in Hals Sønderskov, and we hope next breeding season will be more successful. New data will be added to their map shortly.