Nine years of the Montagu’s Harrier Protection Project

Thanks to data obtained from ornithological monitoring we received information on the protection of two nests of this rare accipitridae species at the Modlikowice and Łukaszów Wind Farms in 2022. In July, these nests were left by 4 young birds. In the Kostomłoty Commune, the ornithologists safeguarded 3 Montagu’s harriers’ nests with a net. These nests have been already left by 8 adult birds. All young birds were leg-banded by the ornithologists to enable tracking their further life and migrations.

The Montagu’s harrier belongs to smaller predatory birds in Europe. It usually nests in the middle of cereal fields or other high-growing crops. This species is strictly protected and included into the red list of species with an indication that it requires active protection. Due to the nesting site, the Montagu’s harrier broods are particularly endangered. In the summer season, these birds are common throughout Europe, while their wintering sites are located in eastern Africa towards south from Sahara (North and East European population) as well as in east Africa and India. The Montagu’s harriers occur in the breeding sites in Poland in the second decade of April or first half of May and leave them between August and October.