Diet of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina) in Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park, Greece

Abstract

The diet of the lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina) was studied in the area that is now the Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park during the Spring periods of 2000 and 2002 by analysis of pellets and prey remains found at two active nest sites, in two different territories. Among 155 prey items collected, in terms of biomass, the diet was 43% reptiles, 30% birds, 24% mammals, 3% amphibians and 1% arthropods. The most important prey taxa were brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) at 19%, water snakes (Natrix spp.) at 11% and moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) at 11% composition. Despite a wide availability of semi-natural and agricultural habitats around the immediate nesting areas, the species seems to have invested in foraging largely on water-dependent animals. The species maintained only one or a maximum of two pairs in the wider region during the study, this being at the southwestern margin of its global breeding range. Conservation insights and recommendations are presented.