Record breeding season for Bonelli’s Eagles in France
A provisional total of 44 young Bonelli’s Eagles have fledged or are expected to leave their nests in France this year, surpassing the previous national record.
According to Ornithomedia, Bonelli’s Eagles have recorded their most productive breeding season in France since national monitoring began, with 44 young raised by the country’s small population.
Some of the juveniles have already made their first flights, while the remainder were expected to fledge shortly. The provisional total exceeds the previous record of 40 young set in 2020.
Of this year’s young, 21 were produced in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, 18 in Occitanie and five in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Conservationists reported particularly strong productivity in Occitanie, where an unusually high number of pairs raised two chicks.
The breeding population remained stable at 51 territorial pairs, with no additional pairs discovered during 2026. France passed the symbolic threshold of 50 breeding pairs for the first time last year.
Almost all of this year’s juveniles were ringed in their nests, the only exceptions being two young at a site where access was prohibited. Each ring carries a unique number that allows individual birds to be identified if they are subsequently observed or recovered.
The long-running ringing programme is used to assess survival, dispersal, recruitment into the breeding population and causes of mortality. Young Bonelli’s Eagles typically leave their parents’ territory several weeks after fledging and spend around two years ranging through areas with plentiful prey before attempting to establish a territory of their own.
The result continues a gradual recovery from the species’ low point in France. The population was estimated at about 80 pairs in 1960 but fell to only 22 in 2002, following losses linked to habitat change, electrocution and collisions with power infrastructure.
Bonelli’s Eagle, remains one of France’s most threatened breeding raptors. Its national population is restricted to Mediterranean landscapes, where pairs generally nest on cliffs and hunt over open garrigue, scrub and farmland.
A complete assessment of the 2026 breeding season, including the final number of successfully fledged young, is expected to be published in the autumn.
July 2026
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