In autumn 2007 while we were driving on the way to Georgia I spotted an adult Imperial Eagle from the motorway in NW Turkey. At my earlier request Can Bilgin kindly sent me the available historical data for Turkey and from this particular place there had not been any observation about Imperial Eagles before.
We had some time to check the area in two groups and we observed three new pairs at some 40 and 60-km distances from two already known territories.
Since 2009 six expeditions have been organised with the lead of Márton Horváth, MME, in collaboration with Doga Dernegi, the RSPB and BSPB. Altogether 19 new territories were discovered and checked twice a year for their occupancy and breeding success.
In late June and early July I could also take part in the expedition, with Márton, Iván Demeter and Tibor Juhász of Hortobágy National Park.
It rained a lot in the region in early summer and even dry grasslands were green and blossomed and many songbirds sang even daytime.
We checked 20 Imperial Eagle territories, found new nests and I was fortunate enough to locate a completely new pair, the 21st and their nest with chicks in a mountain pine forest from a distance of 3 km with binoculars!
It was an extraordinary experience as the whole trip way really enjoyable!
Regards, Andras
