Abstract Many studies have highlighted the potential negative effects of recreational hunting on wildlife species. In this study, we used a long-term (14 years) dataset to evaluate the effect of red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa call-lure hunting, a type of hunting that occurs from fixed places (hunters in blinds close to a live caged lure) in late winter, on the incubation behaviour and hatching success of Bonelli’s eagles Aquila fasciata in southeastern Spain. Call-lure hunting affected the incubation behaviour of Bonelli’s eagles, but this effect varied in relation to the distance between the hunter and the nest and whether a gunshot occurred during the hunting activity. Call-lure hunting only induced an eagle’s reaction behaviour leading to temporary interruption of incubation if close (< 600 m) to the nest. Our models showed that a combination of acoustic and visual stimuli caused a longer duration of the reaction, although the specific contribution of a gunshot was almost three times greater than that of a hunter´s presence alone. In territories where call-lure hunting occurred, we also found a positive relationship between hatching success and the altitudinal difference between the nest and a hunter´s blind; the probability of breeding failure increased with increasing nest exposure to hunting activity. Our results suggest that a buffer zone around Bonelli’s eagle nests of 600 m would eliminate all impact of these hunting activities on eagles, and that location of blinds should also be considered to minimize exposure of nests to hunting activity to reduce disturbances and potential reproductive failures. This behavioural study may contribute to a better understanding of the magnitude of the conflict and provides alternative solutions for reconciling conservation and hunting.
Martínez et al. (Wed,) studied this question.