Voorkomen van broedende roofvogels in en rond de stad Groningen in 2007

During 2007, the small city of Groningen with surrounding farmland (13,650 ha, of which 50.5% built-up, 48.4% farmland and 1.1% woodland) was surveyed for breeding raptors. Fourty-seven breeding pairs in five species were located; a sixth species, the Hobby, was seen but nests were not located. Buzzards were most abundant (22 pairs, of which 12 successful pairs raised 25 fledglings), followed by Sparrowhawk (10, of which 5 successful ones raising 17 chicks), Kestrel (7, of which 3 successful pairs raised 21 chicks). Goshawk (7, of which 3 successful and raising 10 chicks) and Marsh Harrier (1 pair raising 2 chicks). Raptor persecution was not in evidence (apart from the possible removal of some chicks), but disturbance by human activities (both leisure and criminal) was commonplace. The greatest threat to nesting raptors, however, is the expansion of the city, destroying breeding and foraging habitats. Apart from the Sparrowhawk, none of the raptor species adapted to city life to such an extent that breeding and feeding are entirely confined to the city itself. Instead, almost all pairs breed in farmland and woodlots bordering the city, and feed on birds and small mammals in farmland.