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This text opening La Plume du Circaète n° 6 was written by Bernard Joubert and translated to English by Yves Forget. This view of birds studies can be interesting for Short-toed Eagle watchers and researchers in other countries:

If it is almost impossible for the observer who makes the effort to look at him simply, not to develop a certain shape of empathy (sorry Mister Lorenz!), this one can nevertheless keep a certain distance face to face of its subject of observation, a certain objectivity and so develop a speech which we can qualify as scientific.

For some, however, the bird never becomes a close friend. It is never the young-nervous-male-from-the-rocky-valley or just as well the dark-not-so-wild-female. It still remains an animal, a lower being to whom we are entitled to make everything undergo, in defiance of its identity, of its beauty and - who knows? - of its emotionality. And so much the worse for the sublime wanderer transformed in a bum by a piece of plastic.

And so much the worse for the dreamers, the aesthetes and the other visionaries who have an aggravated sensibility.
They are not serious.

Two neighboring breeding sites with eyries 2100 m apart (but more than an hour on foot) in the heart of the Allier gorges, one of the most scenic spots of the Massif Central with a great biodiversity an no measures of protection. The area is a border of the massif of La Margeride and the Velay’s hight plateaux, on the margeridian slope. Here, the valley is 400 m deep with slopes of 60%. Generaly, those birds avoid meeting but some hunting grounds are shared that can cause agonistic behavior.

Breeding site LM: Woods of firs and beeches with some pines. In a cool open concavity on the left slope of the Allier valley. The nest sits on a pine, 250 m from a path. 69% incline. On a granitic formation. Very little human activity.

Altitude: 890 m. Exposition: NE.

Breeding site SV: Because of the exposition, woods consist of oaks with some beeches and pines. Sometimes, gneissic outcrops cut through the forest. The nest is at the top of a pine, 75 m from a path. 55% incline. As the previous site, very few human activities (hunting in autumn and no regular forestry activities).

Altitude: 900 m. Exposition: ENE. Other interesting species: idem.

Nearest hunting ground: 100 ha of heath, growing after fires. No agricultural activities. Everywhere brooms, thick or sparse, with rocks in places, cliffs and bushes and few pines. The slopes are difficult of access for humans because of the vegetation, rocks and declivity, but very easy for snake eagles, with up-draughts (permitting hang-gliding and thermal soaring).

15 pairs are surveyed since 1996 in the west of department, on the slopes of the huge hercynian massif of Margeride. Very few human activities in valleys. None intensive agricultural practices on the boarding plateaux (cattle: cow, sheep). Birds nest in V-shaped valleys of the Allier and tributaries, between 700 and 950 m above sea level. Eyries generally on pines, sometimes on firs. Usually nest areas are quiet.
Diet is based on few species: Elaphe longissima (chiefly), Vipera aspis (often), Anguis fragilis (especially during cool and rainy periods), sometimes Coronella. Lizards: Lacerta viridis and Podarcis muralis.

Site 1. Breeding site: Nest on the left of the valley (yellow circle), on a pine. Other nests on the other side (green circle: fir now dead because of Ips and al.), and at the end of a valley’s branch (orange circle).
Altitude: 870 m. Exposition: SW. Breeding success rate: 0.66 (n=12).

Site 2. Breeding site: 2008’s is nest in yellow circle. On the border of an oakwood and a pinewood. Nest on a pine. Two other eyries are known, one of which in the green circle, in the concavity of the mountain.
Altitude: 760 m. Exposition: SSE. Breeding success rate: 0.45 (n=11). Bad rate because site at the crossroad of flight paths of other birds, for hunting areas.

Let us invite you to take part in common collection of short descriptions of Short-toed Eagles biotopes in different regions. This idea belongs to Bernard Joubert. The project aims to describe the whole area of the species distribution. It should be something like collection of photos of typical for Short-toed Eagles hunting and breeding territories with short notes about the authors, their comments, which will be connected with a map. The test version of it can be viewed here. Please, if you have some propositions, we would be glad to discuss them - info@hoveroverus.info; or as a comment to this post.

Bibliographical descriptions of Bernard Joubert’s articles on Short-toed Eagle in the Alauda magazine can be found on the Cat.inist with abstracts (En) :

• 1998 - Données préliminaires sur les Circaètes Jean-le-Blanc Circaetus gallicus de Haute-Loire [Preliminary study on the Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) in the Haute Loire Department /map/]

• 1999 - Trois comportements de circaètes Jean-le-Blanc mâles Circaetus gallicus en période de reproduction [Three behavior of Short-toed Eagle Circaëtus gallicus during breeding period]

• 2002 - Données éthologiques sur la formation du couple chez le Circaète Jean-le-Blanc Circaetus gallicus [Ethological data on pair forming in Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus]

• 2002 - L’aire du Circaète Jean-Le-Blanc Circaetus gallicus : Données éthologiques sur la collecte de matériaux. Place du nid dans la stratégie adaptative de l’espèce [Short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus nest: ethological data on nest material collection: Importance of nest size and position for the adaptative behaviour of the species]

• 2006 - Données sur la reproduction du circaète jean-le-blanc Circaetus gallicus dans la haute vallée de l’Allier (Haute-Loire, France) [Remarks on breeding Short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus in the upper allier valley (Haute-Loire, France /map/)]

In 2002 Jean-Pierre Malafosse /map/ and Bernard Joubert /map/ managed to unionize French Short-toed Eagle lovers. We would like to point to in a sense the composite work that is known by the name La Plume du Circaète - (Fr) and was realized in 2003 by the agency of the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (source - LPO Mission Rapaces page). Now the second pdf-file - La Plume du Circaète #4 - (Fr) is available there.

This is one more general information on the species (Fr), but…

Jean-Pierre Malafosse with group of researchers had traced more than 400 cases of Short-toed Eagles breeding just till 2000 in the so-called Massif Central /map/. And their researches are continuing. Just think about it…

Bernard Joubert /map/ is an author of the “Le Circaète Jean-le-Blanc” book; see an extract from it (Fr) about the youngs’ behaviour after leaving the nests.