2nd Meeting of Signatories to the Raptors MoU (MoS2)

MoS2 to the CMS Raptors MoU continued its third day in the field, with delegates convening in the morning to join an all-day excursion, coordinated by the Government of Norway. They traveled from the host city Trondheim to several Norwegian raptor and cultural sites. Delegates took a bus eastward, traveling to Hell, Tydal and onward to Brekken near the Swedish border. They then stopped at Røros, a former cooper-smelting site, to learn about its historic importance and technical functioning, as well as its former polluted state and later restoration efforts. Delegates returned to Trondheim, via the Støren Valley, offering opportunities to take in the landscape and to search for raptors and other migratory bird species.

Along the way, delegates visited several raptor habitats. In the lower coastal boreal zone dominated by spruce forests, delegates searched for the two most common raptors in the region: the Goshawk and the Sea Eagle, while passing a breeding site for the Eagle Owl. MoS2 Chair Øystein Størkersen, Norway, narrated along the way, pointing out that in denser Norwegian forests, the Tengmalm’s Owl and Pygmy Owl are the most typical species. In the higher areas, the typical raptor species are the Kestrel, Merlin and the Rough-legged Buzzard; however the delegates did not witness these. At elevations above 800 meters, Chair Størkersen pointed out that the terrain supports largely Grouse and Gyr Falcons (or Golden Eagles).

In the evening, delegates attended a cocktail reception, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands, on behalf of the EU Presidency.