Bavaria: "Bad Mouse Year": Conservationists only find eleven owls

Hilpoltstein (dpa / lby) - Not a good year for the young owls: Only eleven young owls were discovered by employees of the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) in Franconian Switzerland this summer.

Bavaria: "Bad Mouse Year": Conservationists only find eleven owls

Hilpoltstein (dpa / lby) - Not a good year for the young owls: Only eleven young owls were discovered by employees of the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) in Franconian Switzerland this summer. In 2021 there were a total of 64 young animals, according to a statement from the LBV on Thursday.

"The reason for the low reproductive success is probably the poor availability of prey such as mice during the breeding season," says LBV biologist Torben Langer. However, a "bad mouse year" is not unusual. "Next year it could look completely different again."

The peregrine falcons had a similar number of offspring as last year. The LBV counted at least 34 young animals. The eagle owl and the peregrine falcon fall under the species support program that the LBV is carrying out on behalf of the State Office for the Environment in Franconian Switzerland. Both bird species are rock breeders, which is why the rocky terrain in the region offers many breeding sites.