INCONVENIENCES IN THE BREEDING AREAS

It is a well-known fact that the excessive human inflow in the natural spaces can cause serious problems of conservation: increase of the risk of forest fires, favouring of the erosive processes and degradation of the existing forest tracks and appearance of inconveniences for the wild fauna. The latter fact is much more worrying when it takes place inside the nesting areas of species seriously threatened such as Bonelli's Eagle, especially during the breeding period.

As many other wild animals, Bonelli's Eagle is a fearful species that does not tolerate the human presence at short distance, since it associates it with a serious danger. That's why the proximity of the man provokes his immediate flight. This flight may imply the abandonment of a prey, frustrate an opportunity of hunting or disturb a moment of rest, but during the breeding period it can motivate the loss of the putting or the chicks, and if the inconveniences are repeated even the definitive abandonment of a breeding area.

For this reason, the activities most harmful to the calmness of the eagles are those that can happen in the breeding areas, such as climbing, hiking, the presence of flying devices (hang-glider, paragliding, light aircrafts, micro lights ...), mountain bikes, four-wheel drive vehicles and other practices of  free time.

The impact of these activities depends fundamentally on four factors:

 - The intensity of the activity.

 - The permanence or duration in the time.

 - The location in places sensitive for the wild fauna (breeding areas).

 - The season during which it is carried out (breeding season).

It may also have serious consequences the attitude of a minority of naturalists or photographers of nature, who unconsciously or in an ill-disposed way approach excessively and repeatedly to the nests, especially during the breeding season.

- The prohibition and regulation of the activities that disturb the eagles in all the breeding areas.

- The restriction of access to forest tracks close to the nesting areas with not authorized vehicles (cars, motorcycles, bicycles and horses).

- The specific prohibition of sports practices and free time practices in areas near to the nests (circuits of 4x4 vehicles, motorcycles, climbing,, activities of free time with flying devices). The proposal of specific areas to carry out these activities, so that they do not cause serious inconveniences to the fauna.

- The information and sensitization of persons and groups related to this type of activities.