Red kite pair massively disturbed during the breeding season
Violation of special species protection - environmental agency asks for help
Following a massive disturbance to a red kite nest on Galgenberg during the breeding season, the City of Chemnitz's environmental agency is asking for help. Unknown persons climbed up there between mid-March and the end of May 2022 and installed a wildlife camera. They also scared the animals away from smaller alternative nests to which they could have moved. The animals then abandoned their brood and left three eggs behind.
The disturbance of the red kite during the breeding season, the targeted deterrence of nests and the direct disturbance of the nest constitute a criminal offence punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine. This offence will be reported to the police.
The Lower Nature Conservation Authority is asking for help: Who can provide information about the offence between mid-March and the end of May 2022? Who has seen conspicuous persons or vehicles (possibly licence plate numbers) in the woodland in question? Please contact the Lower Nature Conservation Authority on 0371-488 3602 or 0371-488 3603 or umweltamt.naturschutz(at)stadt-chemnitz.de.
As early as mid-March, ornithologists and species experts had observed mating flights over the so-called Hundewäldchen, a south-eastern, elongated offshoot of the Crimmitschau forest along the Chemnitz-Süd motorway junction. A short time later, ornithologists confirmed a red kite nest with a breeding pair. Other smaller replacement nests are located in the immediate vicinity.
However, in the period from mid-March to the end of May, unknown persons used tree-climbing techniques to reach the top. They attached a wildlife camera to a red kite nest at a height of around ten metres. It is assumed that the tree was repeatedly climbed over a longer period of time in order to read the data from the wildlife camera. The smaller replacement nests were also fitted with red and white warning tape to deter the red kite breeding pair and lure them to the location of the wildlife camera.
At the beginning of June - the kites no longer flew to the eyrie - the wildlife camera was removed and confiscated by order of the Lower Nature Conservation Authority. Due to the ongoing disturbance during the highly sensitive egg-laying and breeding period, the red kite breeding pair had abandoned their brood. Unfortunately, there were only three cold eggs left in the nest. A continuation of the brood and breeding success are therefore ruled out for this breeding season.
The red kite is a strictly protected species of bird of prey under the European Birds Directive and the EU Species Protection Ordinance. Germany has a special responsibility for the red kite, as more than half of the global population breeds here in Germany. In flight, the red kite is easily recognisable by its red, forked tail. As a habitat, it needs well-structured, open landscapes with meadows, fields, hedges and deciduous woodland.
What can everyone do to help our endangered flora and fauna?
Don't leave the official hiking trails, refrain from making noise and keep your dogs on a lead. Illegal motocross riding is also a massive disturbance for wildlife and a threat to sensitive nature conservation areas. In protected areas and biotopes, motocross riding is an offence.