Infoboard

It was once a common resident of lowlands. In 1900, there were 2400 individuals living in Slovakia, after the Second World War there was more than a thousand of them, but today it nests only in the last locality in Slovakia and thus it belongs to our most endangered bird species.

The nesting season is slowly coming to an end and the time has come for looking back upon it. While owls, for example, have already nested in the spring months, red-footed falcons have finished caring for their chicks just recently. But the time has no mercy.

Info board: Long-term conservation of Great Bustard and Red-footed Falcon in border region of Hungary and Slovakia

After a long journey of more than 7,000 kilometres, they are back. The red-footed falcons arrived from their wintering sites to the only known nesting locality in Slovakia.

At the meeting of its municipal government, the capital city of Bratislava approved a contract which will ensure the long-term management on the lands in the city’s ownership with regard to the values of nature in the Sysľovské polia Special Protection Area (SPA) and will facilitate the restoration of the biotopes of the great bustard, the red-footed falcon, as well as other rare species, recognizing the social responsibility of the city.

The great bustard is the largest European flying bird species. In Slovakia, it was rather common in the past, however, it is now one of our most endangered species - it occurs regularly only in a single locality at the borders of Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary.