Expected results:

  • release of 30 to 50 Lanner falcons in five breeding seasons, either young individuals born at the recovery centre of Lake Vico or purchased from specialised breeding centres;
  • installation of at least 50 GPS on animals that will be released with the technique of hacking, and the installation of 4 hacking boxes in the Lazio region;
  • monitoring of Lanner falcon populations in Lazio and Malta, including at 7 historic nests in Lazio, and the training of 15 people to supervise monitoring;
  • adjustment of existing structures and construction of new cages to realise a captive breeding centre at the Vico Reserve;
  • restoration of 144 ha of natural and semi-natural grasslands, such as hunting areas for young Lanner falcons;
  • restoration of 5 troughs for the pasture of cattle and horses for the maintenance of the prairies by grazing;
  • securing approximately 200 poles along 20 km of medium/low voltage power lines within a radius of 2 km from the hacking boxes;
  • reduction of vegetation on 8 rocky walls as possible future reproductive areas;
  • creation of the national genetic database at IZS of Lazio and Toscana and development of new genetic markers, and update of International Gene Bank with these markers;
  • creation of a recovery centre network for the study of Lanner and other falcons, involving 15 centres of recovery in central and southern Italy and in Malta;
  • preparation of an identification manual for the Lanner falcon, guidelines, and evaluation forms for recovery centres;
  • preparation and approval of the update to the National Action Plan for the Lanner falcon;
  • replication of hacking and other techniques in the Montagne della Duchessa Reserve, Greece and in Malta; and
  • 31 public events on the project, involving around 1790 people, and a national ornithological conference.