Status of the eastern imperial eagle population in Slovakia between 1977 and 2013

Abstract Between 1 977 and 201 3 nesting of 72 different pairs of imperial eagle was recorded in Slovakia. The nesting population in Slovakia is concentrated in two subpopulations with the nesting area distant about 200 km. In Eastern Slovakia nesting of 42 pairs was recorded whilst in Western Slovakia 30 pairs were nesting. Authors present results of 37 years period of survey focused on distribution and trend of nesting population, as well as habitat preferences of the species. The paper compares results from Western and Eastern Slovakia. From Western Slovakia further data are evaluated, such as threats negatively influencing the population, period of hatching and other aspects of nesting biology. During the survey period the number of known nesting pairs in Slovakia has increased from five in 1 977 to 53 in 201 3. In total, 908 nesting events have been recorded during this period with 642 successful nesting events and 1 ,080 fledglings. In Western Slovakia the pairs prefer foothills, whilst in Eastern Slovakia most of the pairs nest in lowlands. Strong anthropic pressure is significantly influencing the distribution and size of the population as well as the habitat preferences of the species.