Geslaagd broedgeval van Wespendief Pernis apivorus in Zuidelijk Flevoland in 2006

Breeding of Honey Buzzards in Flevoland has been suspected from the mid-1970s onwards, with confirmed breeding from 1990 onwards (mainly in the Noordoostpolder, the oldest polder of the three, reclaimed in 1942). Of the three polders in Flevoland, Zuidelijk Flevoland was the last to be reclaimed, i.e. in 1968. In Zuidelijk Flevoland behaviour associated with breeding has been recorded from the mid-1990s onwards, and the first confirmed case of breeding was obtained in 2006. This pair used an abandoned Buzzard nest Buteo buteo in a poplar, started egg laying on 22 May (backcalculated from measurements of the nestling) and produced two eggs, of which one hatched. The nestling was successfully raised. The fledgling was recorded till mid-September, but the adult birds had already left the breeding site by late August. Prey remains collected during three nest visits (when the chick was 11, 20 and 27 days old, respectively) included 4 wasp combs, legs of a frog Rana sp. and a young Song Thrush Turdus philomelos.