200 White-tailed Eagles Gather in the Peenetal – A Natural Wonder in a Short Film

Sea Eagle were as good as extinct here in the sixties. Only around 60 breeding pairs were still living here at the time. Like all birds of prey, they were systematically persecuted for decades and were also no longer able to reproduce sufficiently due to insecticides such as DDT.

The insecticide was banned and uur largest native bird of prey under strict protection. What follows is one of the greatest success stories in nature conservation.

Tip: By the way, I took the pictures with the camera "Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5SEG-K" (is available here*). The lens was the "Panasonic H-RS100400E9" (is available here*).

The white-tailed eagle is back in Germany

Today, white-tailed eagle populations have recovered significantly. It is currently estimated that there are over 700 breeding pairs nationwide. Almost 75 percent of them breed in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

I am of course very happy about this, as I mainly spend time filming in these two federal states. As a rule, they can only be seen from great distances. A sea eagle sitting in a tree is noticeable from several hundred meters away. With a wingspan of up to 2.50 m and such a powerful body, can these birds hide so easily?

Nevertheless, due to the very large territories, it is not a matter of course to encounter a white-tailed eagle. An encounter like this is and remains a real highlight every time. But what I experienced a few days ago in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern completely overshadowed all my previous experiences.

The Peene Valley - a land of milk and honey for white-tailed eagles

In the nature reserve "Peene valley river landscape" over 230 white-tailed eagles have gathered in the last few days. An event that is unparalleled. Nowhere else in Europe has such a gathering been observed.

One of the reasons for this is that the Peene Valley has the highest density of white-tailed eagle pairs in Europe. The high food supplyt ensures that one eyrie follows the next and the birds tolerate each other in their territories. But that alone does not explain this extreme congregation.

Sea Eagle usually lead a solitary life or in a permanent marriage. Smaller congregations have only been observed in the past near larger flocks of birds.

However, these congregations rarely consisted of more than half a dozen white-tailed eagles. So where did this phenomenon with several hundred sea eagles come from?

Drought ensures a covered fish buffet

The last few weeks and months have been extremely dry. The Record summer has also left its mark on many bodies of water. As a result, some raised bogs in the Peene Valley dried out completely last week.

Until then, the Water level so lowthat the fish were served to the herons, sea eagles and many other species on a silver platter. There was an abundance of food and I was able to observe behavior in some of the animals that you don't normally see.

Some great and gray herons were so fullthat they simply dropped the fish they caught. Some sea eagles instinctively took the fish from another, but then didn't know what to do with it either.

A real land of milk and honey, but unfortunately you also have to understand that not every animal species benefits from the drought to such an extent has.

White-tailed eagle in the Peene Valley - A lasting experience

However, that didn't matter once we were there. Seeing the many white-tailed eagles in the Peene valley was simply unique. I just tried to soak up the moment as best I could and realize itwhat a great event I'm actually witnessing there. I would never have dreamed of getting over 20 sea eagles in a single picture.

In addition, the aild boars, the flock of lapwings, the curlews flying by as well as the Hundreds of herons and cranes in the rising sun. It was a pure celebration of biodiversity and proof that Germany does indeed have exciting and impressive nature to offer.

I hope you like my little movie and you got a rough idea of it, how fascinating this event was. Of course, I am also happy if you continue to hear from me in the Wildlife Blog be surprised by our native nature.

Many greetings,

PS: By the way, here you can find my personal Nature film websitewhere you can learn more about me. I wish you continue to have fun in the CareElite Blog!