Eerste geslaagde broedgeval van de Zwarte Wouw Milvus migrans in Nederland

After a failed breeding attempt in 1985 in De Wieden (Veldkamp 1985), a successful nest of Black Kites was located 2.5 km south of Twello (51°14’N, 6°07’E) in The Netherlands in 1996. Unfortunately, the nest was found after fledging. A single fledgling was seen from 5 August onwards, already perfectly capable of flying but still being fed on the nest. The nest was situated at a height of 16 m in a poplar of 24 m high. The nesting tree was part of a small (2 ha) woodlot in a recreation park with a swimming lake and many paths for biking, horse riding and walking. In early August, the nesting tree was apparently still being used as a roost by the fledgling. Both adult kites foraged on a rubbish dump (600 m from the nest), probably on traffic casualties along a highway (within 200 m from the nest), at a nearby (750 m) rookery and in the forelands of the river Ussel (5-6 km from the nest) After fledging, the following food remains were found on the nest: bream Abramus brama, pike Esox lucius, brown rat Rattus norvegicus, hare Lepus europaeus, rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, nestling rooks Corvus frugilegus, coot Fulica atra, lapwing Vanellus vanellus. black-headed gull Larus ridibundus en racing pigeon Columba livia Human waste on the nest included spare-ribs and soup bone, rags, plastic and tin foil. Adult Black Kites remained in the vicinity of the nest through 16 August; up till then, the fledgling was still being fed. The last observations of a juvenile Black Kite were on 28 August and 3 September, both times on the rubbish dump.