Lesser Spotted Eagle Nest Camera – Estonia

Lesser Spotted Eagle nest camera in Estonia.

Forum in English: https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1157

The Lesser Spotted Eagle nest camera is situated near military training ground. Therefore military training noise is possible to hear quite often. As usual, nest sites of that species are situated in common economic forest and surrounded with protection zone (species protection site). Close by is a village with railway. The purpose of this camera is to detect the reaction of breeding eagles to the noise disturbance heard. We invite volunteers to participate in virtual Lesser Spotted Eagle observations and record them in the appropriate forum (link above). The forum has instructions on how to become a member of the forum and how to post your observations there. This is also possible with pictures or videos proving the event. At the end of the season, we summarise observations and analyse if and to what extent the particular Lesser Spotted Eagle pair is affected by noise disturbances in the breeding area. Expenses of this webcam are covered by Centre for Defence Investments of Estonian Republic.

There in the same nest was one chick fledged in 2024, but before long time the nest was not occupied. Male in nest is currently without of rings. Female has transmitter (Milda on migration map), hatched in western Latvia (2016). But this nest can also be inhabited by other individuals. Camera was installed in 14th of April, but needed remote justification and testing.

This live nest camera offers a rare window into the breeding biology and behaviour of Estonia's Lesser Spotted Eagle population. Watch for nesting activity, courtship, egg incubation, chick rearing, and fledging events. The site's proximity to military operations provides unique opportunities to document how these sensitive raptors respond to anthropogenic disturbance during the critical breeding season. Citizen science observations contribute directly to conservation research.