Nestbouw door Zwarte Wouw Milvus migrans langs het Hollandsch Diep

Between 19 April and 22 May 2007, 1-2 Black Kites were frequently recorded in farmland in the western Netherlands (Ambachtsheerlijkheid Cromstrijen) where rows of poplars Populus sp. and small woodlots provided suitable breeding habitat. Transportation of nesting material was noticed on 5 May, and a large stick nests was found in a poplar (some 15 m high) on 18 May. Observed from the ground the nest showed fresh greeneries and a piece of plastic. Whereas the observers failed to locate any Black Kites near the nest after 22 May, it is thought that the birds did not commence egg laying (nesting tree was not climbed, though). This record fits the recent trend of occacional nesting attempts in The Netherlands, starting in 1984 (1, failed) and 1996 (1, successful) and continuing in 2000 (1, failed), 2005 (1, failed) and 2006 (2, failed).