Rare falcons raising chicks on Czech power plant chimneys
The site of a nuclear power plant is not a place where you would expect to see wildlife or conservation efforts. However both the Temelin and Dukovany power plants pride themselves in providing rare birds of prey with a safe nesting ground.
The ČEZ power utility, which operates the plants, launched a conservation effort focusing on rare birds of prey in 2011, installing nesting boxes on tall industrial structures.
Perched more than 100 metres above the ground, these nesting sites offer critically endangered birds something increasingly rare in the modern landscape: peace, safety and a commanding view of the surrounding countryside.
Falcons now breed at several of these energy facilities. The most successful is the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, where more than 200 chicks have hatched in total since the project begun.
The power utility ČEZ has just released photos of the latest brood of falcon chicks hatched at Dukovany in a nesting box fixed high on one of the site’s ventilation chimneys.
Ornithologists who regularly inspect all the nesting places, said all four chicks at the Dukovany site were in very good condition and being properly cared for by their parents. Each young bird has been fitted with two aluminium identification rings.
One marks it as originating in the Czech Republic, while the second allows researchers to monitor the birds from a distance with binoculars.
The chicks hatch in late April or early May and usually remain in the nest for around two months before taking flight. Falcons have been breeding at Dukovany since 2020 and have successfully raised 18 young there so far.
