Follow the Danish golden eagles

Current status (March 2024)

Spring is upon us and Tofte2015 has entered her 5^th breeding season in Hals Sønderskov. This will be the second breeding season with the male eagle that replaced Hostemark2015 after it passed away from unknown causes early 2023. Last year the breeding season was a success with one chick fledging. We hope the pair will be successful this year as well and we will share updates when we know.

But the breeding season also means that we will not be updating the map with new data before September, when the breeding season is over.

Map

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Tofte2015 - Map for 2023 + 2024

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About Project Golden Eagle

In 2015 two golden eagle chicks had GPS tags mounted on their backs. One was a male hatched in April in Høstemark Forest in Lille Vildmose, Denmark and the other was a female hatched in May in Tofte Forest also in Lille Vildmose.  The  eagles have been named by the location of their hatching: Hostemark  (navy blue) and Tofte (orange).

Since 2015 the GPS tags have sent data on the whereabouts of the two eagles, and on this site you can follow their journey. You can read more about the project  below the maps and watch a video on the mounting of the GPS tags in the right pane.

The maps are updated with GPS data every week and the "Current Status" is updated every or every second month.

If you observe a golden eagle with a GPS-tag or a leg-ring we would always like to hear from you. Please contact: aptottrup@snm.ku.dk 

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Golden eagles in Denmark

The golden eagle started breeding in Denmark in 1998 and the population now seems stable with three breeding pairs. Since 1998, a total of 37 juveniles have successfully fledged. Of these, 16 chicks have been ringed and three had GPS tags mounted. Except for the three GPS chicks the destiny of golden eagles hatched in Denmark remain unknown.

Why are we tracking them?

In a new Danish research project, we are tracking juvenile golden eagles with GPS technology to understand their movement patterns and use of non-breeding areas. The technology allows us to explore their habitat use and home ranges across the annual cycle. The information we gather will help determine the source population to the Danish breeding birds and investigate genetic relationship within the Danish population. The birds have already shown large individual variation in movement.

How do we do it?

We mounted a GPS/GSM transmitter on the juvenile golden eagles while they were still in the nest, using a near-adult size harness to ensure a proper fit. The transmitters are mounted with a body-harness following the same technique as has been used on golden eagles in e.g. North America and Sweden. The transmitters are charged by a solar panel and will in theory work throughout the lifetime of the bird. GPS-positions are stored in the transmitters and sent via GSM-network.

Contact person

If you observe an golden eagle with a GPS tag or have any questions, please contact Project Manager, Anders P. Tøttrup: aptottrup@snm.ku.dk

Collaborators

Jan Tøttrup Nielsen, Kasper Thorup and Cellular Tracking Technologies. The project is in collaboration with the Copenhagen Bird Ringing Centre at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. The project is funded by Aage V. Jensen Naturfond.

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History Maps

Toftehun21 - 2023 Map

Toftehun21  - 2022 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2022 Map

(no data during the breeding season)

Toftehun21 - 2021 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2021 Map

Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 - 2021 Map

Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 - 2020 Map

Toftehan19 - 2020 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2020 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2019 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2018 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2017 Map

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 - 2015-2018 Map

History

September 2023

The summer has brought both good and bad news for The Golden Eagle Project. Good news first:

Tofte2015 has had yet another successfull breeding season in Hals Sønderskov despite loosing its mate for the previous three years, Hostemark2015 earlier this year. A new male quickly replaced Hostemark2015 and the new pair raised one chick this season which successfully fledged. We hope that the new male and Tofte2015 will become a stable breeding pair for the years to come. We will continue to update GPS-data from Tofte2015.

End July we noticed Toftehun21 started to be less active, and in the beginning of August one of the project employees took to the field to investigate. Toftehun21 was discovered on the ground. The eagle was active and appeared to be in good condition - a nearby Roe Deer carcass revealed she had been eating recently. But the harness for the GPS-transmitter had become loose. Fortunately the eagle was caught and the transmitter taken off.

This means we no longer will be able to follow Toftehun21 by GPS in Project Golden Eagle. But most importantly the good condition of the juvenile eagle gives good hope for her future.

June 2023

A new study has just been published on the Golden Eagles in Denmark in Dansk Ornitologisk Tidsskrift. In the study we analyzed data from the nine Golden Eagles, that have had GPS-transmitters mounted. We analyzed data through their first year of life with focus on fledging and dispersal. Of the nine individuals from the GPS-project, three are alive, four have died and the fate of is unknown. The study is in English with a summary in Danish, and the full PDF-file is available here: Individual spatiotemporal histories of first year Golden Eagles in Denmark using GPS-tracking

Toftehun21 has been spending the last month in Jerup Hede and Råbjerg Mose. Both areas are protected and seems to be suitable habitats for Golden Eagles. Toftehun21 is actively exploring the area and has been doing so for the last month.

Tofte2015 is still in Hals Sønderskov where it has been breeding with a new male for the first time, and we will post an update and add new data to the map of Tofte2015, when the breeding season is over.

May 2023

Tofte2015 has found a new mate and is currently breeding in Hals Sønderskov, so we will not be adding data to the map before the breeding season has ended. The fact that a new mate showed up this fast, is great news and a good sign for the Golden Eagle population in Denmark. We have our fingers crossed that Tofte2015 and the new male will become a stable breeding pair in the years to come.

Toftehun21 explored Lille Vildmose and surroundings for the first four months of 2023. On the 3 of May it suddenly flew around 65 km North just southwest of Frederikshavn. The following day it continued around 20 km Northwest to Jerup Hede, where it since has been staying.Toftehun21 also spend some time in Jerup Hede in 2022, and in 2017 and 2018 Tofte2015 also frequently visited this area. Jerup Hede is part of a Natura-2000 area, and seems to be a suitable habitat for Golden Eagles in Denmark.

February 2023

New maps for Tofte and Toftehun21 have been added to the site. These are the two remaining Golden Eagles with GPS tags mounted in Denmark.

Tofte is still in Hals Sønderskov, where the eagle has been breeding since 2019. Sadly Tofte lost her most mate, Hostemark, in September 2022. Hostemark was found dead and send for necropsy to investigate the cause of death. Unfortunately this was not possible, so we do not know why Hostemark suddenly died. We hope Tofte will find or atract a new mate and continue to breed. As of now Tofte remain in Hals Sønderskov and the surrounding area.

Toftehun21 spent the last part of 2022 in Tofte Skov, and this is also the area the eagle has kept to for the first month of 2023. We have been experiencing unstable connection to the GPS-tag on Toftehun21 due to low voltage in the battery, but we hope the voltage will increase with the increasing daylight of spring.

August 2022

After spending more than a year near its natal territory in Tofte Skov, Toftehun21 suddenly flew North to Paraplymosen at the end of June. By the end of July Toftehun21 continued north to Jerup Hede and Ålbæk Klit Plantage. and mid August it flew West to Tversted and Elbæk Plantage. We are very pleased to see Toftehun21 exploring new areas and would like to hear from you, if you make observations of Toftehun21 in the field.

The breeding season for Tofte- and Hostemark2015 was unsuccessful for unknown reasons. The breeding pair remain in Hals Sønderskov, and we hope next breeding season will be more successful. New data will be added to their map shortly.

March 2022

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 have started their fifth breeding season in Hals Sønderskov. This means we will stop adding data to the map until the breeding season is over. We will keep you updated on the breeding season as we go along.

Toftehun21 is still exploring Lille Vildmose and so far she has kept within a 6 km radius of its nesting site. At this time of year Toftehun21's parents are occupied with a new breeding season, and will no longer take care of Toftehun21. At this age Toftehun21 is expected to take care of itself and hopefully will begin looking for a territory of its own.

January 2022

It is a new year and time for new maps for the three GPS-Golden Eagles in Denmark: Tofte2015, Hostemark2015 and Toftehun21.

To our surprise Toftehun21 did not leave the nesting area during autumn and winter 2021, and in the beginning of 2022 the eagle is still in the area. Toftehun21 flies actively around in Lille Vildmose, and has been observed in the field alongside its parents. Hopefully Toftehun21 will disperse during the first months of the year, when it is time for its parents to begin a new mating season.

Usually Golden Eagle chicks will disperse from the nesting area during their first winter. They typically spend their first years exploring and maturing before settling in a territory to mate when they have reached an age of four years or older.   

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 are still in Hals Sønderskov and hopefully we will see signs of them nesting within the next months.

December 2021

We have added a new map to the site: Toftehun21. As we have mentioned Toftehun21 had the GPS-transmitter mounted in 2021. At that point Toftehun21 was already a lively chick, and has been flying actively around exploring Lille Vildmose since fledging June 30 2021. Toftehun21 was recently spotted in the field and appeared to be in good shape. As usual, we will update the map of Toftehun21 on a weekly basis.

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 are still in Hals Sønderskov. Once again, a Golden Eagle chick fledged their nest this summer, and we are very pleased to be able to witness their breeding success the past two years. Currently a master student is doing a master’s thesis analyzing the movements and activity of Tofte- and Hostemark2015 during two full breeding seasons. Having a breeding pair both fitted with GPS-transmitters is quite a unique situation, and we hope to publish results from the master’s thesis.

October 2021

It is October and the breeding season of Tofte- and Hostemark2015 is over. This means we will update the map of Tofte- and Hostemark2015 again and as usual we will add new data every week. The map has not been updated since the beginning of February, so there will be a gap in data-points.

Soon we will also add a map of the newest GPS-golden eagle in Denmark: Toftehun21. This juvenile, female Golden Eagle had the GPS-tag mounted in June 2021 in Tofte Skov, Lille Vildmose. Toftehun21 was a lively chick when we mounted the tag, and so far data shows it is exploring Tofte Skov and Mose. Recently Toftehun21 was spotted near Tofte Mose alongside its parents. When Toftehun21 leaves its parents and flies off on its own, we will add a new map and share its journey.

June 2021

During the first week of June GPS-positions from Toftehan20_1 showed that the eagle had become more inactive, and we got worried - especially because of the fate of Toftehan20_2 just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately Toftehan20_1 was found dead by the end on Friday the 4th of June 2021. We are truly puzzled by the sudden death of these two young Golden Eagles and also the timing of them dying only two weeks apart.

Because of the GPS's we were able to locate both of the dead eagles in the field, and they are now sent off for autopsy, so the cause of death will be known. Without the GPS's the chances of finding the birds before they decay or are taken by predators are very slim.

Since 1999 almost 50 chicks have hatched in Denmark, but the breeding population remain unstable and barely rise. And this is the key point of Project Golden Eagle: to find out what happens to the Golden Eagle chicks born in Denmark. Where do they go? And what is their fate? Thanks to the GPS's we gather new, valuable knowledge of the Danish Golden Eagles - both the dead and the living.

We will continue to update the map of Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 when the breeding season is over.

May 2021

In general Toftehan20_2 has been the least active of the two male Golden Eagles, which had GPS-tags mounted in July 2020. During spring we noticed it only made short trips and stayed in more or less the same area, just West of Tofte Skov, where it hatched a year earlier. Mid May a volunteer sought out the last known location of Toftehan20_2, where it had been for a few days. Unfortunately Toftehan20_2 was found dead on May 21 2021. The eagle was carefully collected for autopsy and we are currently waiting for the result, so we hopefully will know the cause of death. This is very sad news, but thanks to the GPS-tag we have a chance to find out why the eagle died, and this is also a very important part of protecting and managing the Danish population of Golden Eagles.

Fortunately Toftehan20_1 is still flying around and seems to have settled in a area south of Mariager Fjord. From a recent field visit we know that the eagle appears to be in good condition.

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 are still in Hals Sønderskov and we hope they will have a successful breeding season. 

April 2021

Finally we solved the issue and have added new data to the map of Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2. In the meantime we have been following the two juvenile eagles closely, and there has been an interesting development during the first months of spring. On March 18 Toftehan20_1 made the longest flight away from the nesting site so far: it flew south of Als Odde at Mariager Fjord. Toftehan20_1 has since been spending most of the time in this area of farmland.

Toftehan20_2 remain near Lille Vildmose and Tofte Skov and have yet not made any longer flights.

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 have begun their third breeding season in Hals Sønderskov, and therefore we will not be adding new data to the map, before the breeding season is well over. Both eagles looks to be taking turn at brooding, and we hope there also will be chicks in the nest this year.

February 2021

We are currently experiencing errors when adding new data to our 2021 maps. We are working on the issue and hope to be able to update the maps soon.

Meanwhile we can share these extraordinary pictures of a Danish Golden Eagle. The juvenile Golden Eagle found the bait placed out side a photo blind in Lille Vildmose. Because the pictures were taken at close range, we were able to read the ring on the eagles left leg (6Q4K), which identified it as Toftehan20_1. It is very nice to see the Toftehan20_1 in good shape and that the GPS is perfectly in position on its back (third photo). The photos were shot by Jan Skriver in the beginning of February 2021, and we are very excited to be able to share them here.

January 2021

New maps have been added to the homepage: one for Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 and one for Tofte- and Hostemark2015. Unfortunately we still have no signal from the tag on Toftehan19, but we hope to regain contact in spring when the days become longer and amount of sunlight increase.

In the beginning of the new year Toftehan20_1 has begun to explore more of the sorounding areas and has flown to Marienhøj Plantage near Hadsund and rested in a small forest south of Møldrup. Toftehan20_2 remain on the westside of Tofte Mose, where Toftehan20_1 also keeps returning to.

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 remain in Hals Sønderskov. Soon they should begin to repair and prepare their nest for the coming breeding season. Golden Eagles usually lay one or two eggs in March/April and we hope Tofte- and Hostemark2015 will have a succesfull breeding season in 2021 as well.

December 2020

2020 comes to an end and on Monday December 21 we will update the maps of the four GPS-Golden Eagles for the last time this year. We will be back early January to update and add new maps for 2021.

We will however be keeping an eye on data from the GPS-Golden Eagles during the Holidays. A few weeks back a White Tailed Sea Eagle which also was carrying a GPS-tag was found dead. Because of the GPS-tag it was possible to locate the dead eagle before it had started to decay, so the eagle was sent for a autopsy. The autopsy found the eagle to be in good shape, and the cause of death proved to be the contagious bird flu, H5N8, which currently is causing the death of wild birds several places in Denmark. Read the full press release here.

H5N8 often spread through waterfowl which are on the menu for both White Tailed Sea Eagles and Golden Eagles. We have our fingers crossed that all of the GPS-Eagles will avoid infections, so we can continue to follow their journeys and conserve the species.

As of latelyToftehan20_1 has been exploring the northern part of Tofte Mose, but in general both Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 spend most of the time on the western edge of Tofte Mose.

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 remain in Hals Sønderskov.

December 2020

The maps of Tofte, Hostemark, Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 have been updated with the latest data.

Recently we have had several reports of sightings of the two male juveniles Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 and their parents as well. As the maps show both eagles are still near the western edge of Tofte Mose in Lille Vildmose, and this seems to be their current home range. In the end of October Toftehan20_2 was caught on film. It is not often that we have footage of Golden Eagles in Denmark, but it is even more unusual to get footage of this quality of one of the GPS-tagged Golden Eagles. The video shows Toftehan20_2 flying gracefully around and the GPS can be seen on its back. We are very excited to have this footage and also to see, that the GPS is sitting perfectly in place on the eagle. The video can be seen just right of here.

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 are still in and around Hals Sønderskov.

November 2020

A new video has been added to our homepage. It is not often that we have video of this quality of Danish Golden Eagles, and it is even more rare of Golden Eagles with a GPS-tag mounted. The video was shot on October 28. near Lille Vildmose, and in it we see one of the two new GPS-Golden Eagles, Toftehan20_2, flying gracefully around. We are very excited about this great video, and very pleased to see that the GPS-tag is perfectly in place. Find the video in the right pane: Golden Eagle in flight (video)

Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2 still spend most of their time near Tofte Mose and Tofte Skov in Lille Vildmose, often flying around with their parrents, the breeding pair from Tofte Skov.

Tofte- and Hostemark2015 are still in and near Hals Sønderskov.

October 2020

The map of Tofte2015 and Høstemark2015 is back online. The two eagles had a successful breeding season and one of the adults was recently seen flying alongside the juvenile. This is great news, and we are super excited on the successful breeding season.

The GPS-tag on Toftehan19 is still unstable, and we still have not had new positions. But Toftehan19 was recently seen near Pajhede Skov. Knowing the eagle is alive is great and we hope that the tag will resume sending new positions.

Last but not least: Please welcome the two new GPS-Golden Eagles to the homepage, Toftehan20_1 and Toftehan20_2. They are brothers, hatched in Tofte Skov and had their GPS-tags mounted in the beginning of July 2020. The mounting went very well, and we have been keeping a close eye on the data transmitted from the two young eagles. They both left the nest mid August and have since been following each other around Lille Vildmose. We are excited to follow their journey.

August 2020

The GPS-tag of Toftehan19 has been a little unstable in the beginning of August. So we are lacking new positions of the eagles whereabouts. During July Toftehan19 continues to fly around in northern Jutland, revisiting the a few familiar locations: Pajhede Skov and Ålbæk Plantage / Råbjerg Mose. The battery level seems to be stable on the GPS of Toftehan19 and we expect it will start logging positions again soon.

June 2020

The map of Toftehan19 has been updated with data from May 22 till June 19, and new data will be added every week from now on.

In the last few weeks Toftehan19 continues to fly between Pajhede Skov and Ålbæk Plantage / Råbjerg Mose. As always we will like to hear from you, if you see an Golden Eagle. Contact project manager Anders P. Tøttrup on mail: aptottrup@snm.ku.dk

May 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are working from home, at the current system is not set up for updating the maps with data.

But we are receiving data from all three eagles: Toftehan19, Tofte2015 and Høstemark2015. Here is a written update:

Toftehan19 is flying around in Northern Jutland and has visited several locations during spring time. The battery in the GPS-tag has recharged and we are very pleased that it now seems to transmit data on a steady basis. In mid April Toftehan19 was visiting Uggerby Plantage (East of Hanstholm). Besides this Toftehan19 has made several flights between Ålbæk Klitplantage and Pajhede Skov, where it was seen with another Golden Eagle in the beginning of the year. Below is a picture of the whereabouts of Toftehan19 from March 25 - May 22.

Tofte2015 and Høstemark2015 have kept mostly to Hals Sønderskov. Judging from the data-points, we expect that they have been brooding. Tofte2015 is the female and data shows, that she mostly has been keeping to the same area in Hals Sønderskov. This could be a sign of brooding. Høstemark2015 has been very active and flying short trips in and around Hals Sønderskov, This could be a sign, that Høstemark2015 has been busy hunting and gathering food - not only for himself and Tofte2015, but potentially also for chicks in the nest. We will keep you updated on the situation in Hals Sønderskov.

February 2020

As we previously have mentioned Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 started to breed in 2019. Unfortunately they did not succeed the first year. Golden eagles are extremely sensitive to disturbances and especially in the breeding season, which typically starts in February for pairs at our altitude. For this reason we have decided to remove the map for Tofte- and Hostemark2015 until the breeding season is over.

We have a local expert in the area who will keep a eye on the activities of the pair from a safe distance. Any news will be reported here.

As to Toftehan19 we are still getting new data and the eagle appears to have settled near Pajhede Skov. We will continue to add data to the Toftehan19 2020-Map once a week.

Hopefully this summer we will be mounting GPS-tags on one or maybe two new chicks. We will keep you updated..

January 2020

We have just addad a new map for Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015. Hals Sønderskov is still the primary habitat of the two Golden Eagles from 2015. The battery on the GPS-tag of Tofte2015 has been low in power, which means it has send fewer positions in the beginning of the new year. We have adjusted the duty cycle of both tags to conserve battery. This means we will recieve fewer positions from the birds. We will likely increase data transmitions in line with the increasing daylight.

As mentioned the GPS-tag on the juvenile Toftehan19 (tagged in June 2019) stopped transmitting data in the end of October 2019. After more than two months the GPS-tag seems to have regained power and has send a few positions from Toftehan19. The juvenile Golden Eagle is still alive and is currently staying in Northern Denmark. If we continue to recieve data, we will shortly add a new map with the whereabouts of the third GPS-Golden Eagle in Denmark, Toftehan19.

The map for Toftehan19 is now online and new data will be added weekly. Please notice that we have no data for December 2019.

November 2019

Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 are still spending most of their time in Hals Sønderskov, where they have at least one nest. They still take trips to Høstemark- and Tofte Skov, where they hatched in 2015. But both eagles never leave their territory at the same time. So the trips to Lille Vildmose are made separately. Both GPS-tags are now in “winter mode” to preserve batteries.

As mentioned in last update the eagle named Hals2015 was found in poor condition suffering from severe lead positioning. Fortunately Hals2015 made a full recovery and has been released. We recovered the GPS-tag, which had not been transmitting data since 2015. The tag has been shipped back to the manufacturer for diagnostics. This will reveal whether the tag has logged data from Hals2015’s whereabouts, but simply has not been able to transmit it. This would indeed be exciting and we have our fingers crossed.

During summer and fall the new GPS-eagle Toftehan19 continued to make more and longer flights from its nest in Tofte Skov. The chick had the tag mounted on June 10^th 2019 and it has transmitted data as scheduled. But suddenly the battery in the tag discharged and stopped transmitting data. We have set the tag in energy saving mode, and we hope it will start transmitting data again. From the data it transmitted it appears that Toftehan19 fledged between the 15^th and 19^th of October - almost the exact same time when Tofte2015 and Hostemark2015 fledged in 2015, on the 14^th of October.

August 2019

In the month of July and the beginning of August, both Tofte and Hostemark have stayed in Hals Sønderskov only interrupted by Hostemark who took a round trip to Tofte Sø from the 8^th to the 9^th of July.

In the last update we reported a sighting of the Golden Eagle Hals that has been flying with a defect tag since 2015. By the end of July Hals was found in an enclosure used for raising pheasants, unable to find its way out. Hals appeared weakened and was taken for examination. This revealed that Hals was suffering from severe lead poisoning but otherwise in good condition. The source of the lead poisoning is still unknown, and Hals has been recovering in an animal shelter, and the defect GPS-tag has been removed. If Hals’ condition continues to improve, it is scheduled for release within a few weeks.

Last time we also reported that two chicks (one female and one male) of the breeding pair of Golden Eagles in Tofte Skov had GPS-tags mounted in the beginning of June 2019. In the following time GPS-data showed that both chicks began to fly around in the area of the nest. But sadly the female was found dead underneath the nest in July.

The male is beginning to make longer flights but still within a 200 meter radius of the nest. We keep a close eye on the data we get from Toftehan19, and have great hopes that it shortly will leave the nest.

June 2019

Quite some time has passed since our last update. However, we return with great news:  Tofte and Hostemark has found new partners, a new sighting of a well know Golden Eagle and two new Golden Eagles in Denmark now send GPS-data.

In March, we noticed Tofte spent more time in Hals Sønderskov than previously observed. Hals Sønderskov is the forest where Hostemark has been nesting with an older female for the past two years. The GPS-data in March indicated that Tofte and Hostemark were interacting and we decided to find out what was going on. This lead to the conclusion that the old female was no longer in Hals Sønderskov. Besides, Tofte was seen flying of a nest in the forest. This indicated that Tofte and Hostemark could be  breeding. Golden Eagles are very sensitive to disturbances in the breeding season, so we decided to hold off from updating the webpage for a while. It is with great excitement that we now confirm that Tofte and Hostemark make up a new pair of Golden Eagles in Denmark.

The fact these two GPS-tagged Golden Eagles in Denmark now make up a pair is quite the coincidence. All though Tofte and Hostemark did not succeed in breeding this year, we have our fingers crossed that they will succeed next year. If this happens, the GPS-tags on Tofte and Hostemark will provide us with interesting and valuable data on the movements of parenting Golden Eagles in Denmark.

In other news the Golden Eagle from Hals, GPS-tagged in 2015, was spotted on June 6 2019, in Råbjerg Mose, Ålbæk. Hals has been spotted a few times since it fledged in 2015. Unfortunately, its GPS-tag stopped working shortly hereafter, so we do not receive data from Hals. Reports from the occasionally sightings of Hals all agree, that it seems to be in good condition.

On June 10, two new Golden Eagle chicks had GPS-tags mounted in Tofte Skov, Lille Vildmose. The chicks were siblings and around 60 days old at the time of mounting. One was male and the other female and both in good condition, all though the male was a bit smaller. Both GPS-tags now send data and when they leave the nest, we will be updating the page with a new map of the two new GPS-Golden Eagles in Denmark.

March 2019

By end January Tofte was in Tofte Skov. From there it flew to Melholt Rimmer west of Smalby on the 31^st of January. In February we didn't get data from Tofte before the 5^th, where it appeared in Hals Sønderskov, the home range and nesting site of Hostemark. Tofte stayed in Hals Sønderskov for a few days. On the 8^th Tofte reappears in Melholt Rimmer. The next day Tofte flies to Gettrup Skov, but it quickly returns to Melholt Rimmer and stays here until the 14^th. On the 15^th it flies south to Tofte Skov and Mose via. Hals Mose and Høstemark Skov. The next day Tofte makes a round trip west to Volsted Plantage, Gerding, and East of Fræer via. Lyngby, Ravnborg Skov and Møgelholt and then returns to Tofte Skov and Mose on the 22^nd. Tofte stays in this area for 5 days. On the 28^th Tofte makes a quick revisit in Volsted Plantage and then flies north to Hals Sønderskov, where it stays for the first three days of March.

Hostemark has spent the entire month of February in Hals Sønderskov.

Hals Sønderskov measures roughly 5 km², and with Tofte spending at least 6 days in the forest in the month of February, the two eagles, Tofte and Hostemark, must have been interacting.  Golden Eagles are known to be aggressive towards intruders in their home range. Usually, they scare the intruder off by making downward aggressive flights towards them. Direct physical fights between Golden Eagles is rarely seen, but when they occur they can be fatal.

January 2019

The map for 2019 is now online and the 2018 map has been updated with data for the last weeks of December.

The GPS tag of Tofte is struggling to maintain battery voltage. This means we get less and more sporadic data from Tofte. In January 2019 Tofte is still very active. In the beginning of the month it was near Try north of Limfjorden. It then flew south past Hals Sønderskov to Vester Lovnkær, just north of Mariager Fjord. On the 21st of January Tofte was east of Håls near Refsnæs Skov.

The GPS tag of Hostemark is more stable and we are receiving good data on it's whereabouts. But like the most of last year, Hostemark has spends most of it's time in Hals Sønderskov.

December 2018

In the beginning of November Tofte spent some days in the area between Komdrup, Håls and Gudum. On the 13^th it flew east to Tofte Skov, where it stayed until the 19^th. Between the 19^th and 30^th of November we only have 23 GPS-fixes from Tofte. But some of these fixes show Tofte in a new area east of Madum Sø on the 24^th of November. The last GPS-fixes from Tofte in November are on the 30^th where it is west of Høstemark Skov.

Hostemark is still in Hals Sønderskov. The GPS-unit on Hostemark has kept a stable battery voltage and is recording GPS-fixes every 30 minutes.

November 2018

Tofte started the month of October just north of Dronninglund Storskov. On the 2^nd it flew south to Gettrup Skov where it stayed for some days. On the 7^th it continued south to Toftesø in Lille Vildmose. On the 10^th Tofte flew past Portlandsmosen to Refsnæs Skov. On the 19^th Tofte flew south and for the next 10 days it visited several forests in the same area: Viffertsholm Dyrehave, Hovskov, Eendelen and Ravnborg Skov. On the 30^th Tofte was back in Refsnæs skov.

Hostemark spent the month of October within, and in the nearest vicinities of, Hals Sønderskov.

October 2018

Hostemark started the month of September by flying back and forth between Hals Sønderskov and Tofte Skov in Lille Vildmose. Between the 7^th and the 30^th Hostemark stayed in Hals Sønderskov, only interrupted by a short trip to Høstemark Skov on the 24^th.

Tofte departed from Måstrup Mose, west of Hvims, on the 4^th of September to an area north of Vester Aslund Plantage. On the way it made stops in Nørgård Plantage and Børglumkloster Skov and the trip lasted for a full day. On the 13^th Tofte flew to Melholt Rimmer west of Smalby where it stayed until the 16^th. Tofte then flew south, and between the 17^th and 27^th it frequented Tofte Sø, Tofte Skov, Portlandsmosen and Refnæs Skov south of Gudumlund. On the 28^th of September Tofte flew north to the outskirts of Dronninglund Storskov, southeast of Dorf.

September 2018

After staying south of Try for a day Tofte once again flew north to the area between Hvims, Jerup and Bindslev. On the 7^th it flew south back to the area south of Try where it stayed until the 24^th. Between the 25^th and 30^th Tofte first flew to Lille Vildmose, more accurately to Tofte Mose, just west of Tofte Skov, where it hatched more than 3 years ago. Tofte then flew to the area between Nørre Kongerslev, Komdrup, Stærhøj and Gudumlund. On the 27^th Tofte flew by Hals Sønderskov and stayed near for a few days. It then returned back north back to the area between Hvims, Jerup and Bindslev.

On the 17^th of August Hostemark made its first longer flight in months and flew to Hostemark Skov in Lille Vildmose, where it hatched more than 3 years ago. It then returned to Hals Sønderskov and stayed until the 25^th, where it took a short trip to Hals Mose. Hostemark returned and stayed in Hals Sønderskov for the rest of August.

Quite the co-incidence that both Tofte and Hostemark visited the places they hatched with only 8 days in between. In the few days Tofte is in Hals Sønderskov, the GPS-points suggest that Tofte and Hostemark must have been within close proximity of each other. Usually Golden Eagles are quite territorial, so there might have been a fight between Tofte and Hostemark or its mate. If you have any observations we would like to hear from you. You can write to: aptottrup@snm.ku.dk

July 2018

In the month of July Tofte stayed in the area between Try and Øster Hassing, west of Gettrup Skov for the first two weeks. On the 12^th Tofte flew to the area between Nørre Kongerslev, Håls and Gudumlund. Two days later it flew approximately 50km north to Børgumkloster Skov. Here it stayed until the 27^th and then returned to the area between Try and Øster Hassing.

Hostemark spent the entire month of July in Hals Sønderskov, where it made regular trips to its hunting grounds west of Hals Sønderskov, presumably to find sufficient amounts of prey to feed its very first chick in its nest in Hals Sønderskov.

Hostemark has hereby become one half of a new breeding pair of Golden Eagles in Denmark. With this new addition we now have a total of 5 breeding pairs of Golden Eagles in Denmark.

June 2018

Besides a trip to the area south of Hvims with a few stops in Børgumkloster Skov between the 20th of May and 11th of June, Tofte has been spending the rest of June and beginning of July in an area West of Gettrup Skov.

Hostemark remains in Hals Sønderskov.

May 2018

Spring is here and we have changed the duty cycle of the GPS-tags to summer mode. This means we will get data points every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day.

In April Tofte spent the days between the 2^nd and 10^th in Northern Jutland in the area between Hvims, Jerup, Dvergetved and Bindslev. It then flew south to the area between Try, Øster Hassing and Grindsted, where it stayed for the rest of April.

Hostemark is still in Hals Sønderskov. We hope that the nest Hostemark has built has eggs in it by now.

April 2018

Hostemark remain stationary in Hals Sønderskov with occasional trips to its “hunting ground” west of Hals Sønderskov. Hostemark has attracted a mate and they have built a nest. We have our fingers crossed that the two eagles will become a new breeding pair in Denmark.

Tofte is still on the move. From the 1st - 18th it flew back and forth between the area between Try and Langholt and an area north of Nørre Kongerslev, making stops in Hals Sønderskov. On the 19th it flew west south of Vegger and then continued south all the way to Sunds just north of Herning. Hereby it easily travelled more than 100 km in a single day. From the 20th - 28th it stayed in the plantations north of Grønhøj. In the last days of March Tofte flew northeast with the first stop in Lindum Skov, before reaching Tofte Skov on the 31st.

March 2018

In the month of February Hostemark and Tofte meet two times.

From Hals Sønderskov Hostemark still makes regular trips to an open area south of Holtet. As mentioned last month the frequency of the visits and habitat type, could indicate that this area is used as hunting grounds by Hostemark. On the 12th of February Hostemark flew east to Koldkær and Hals Østermark and on the 24th if visited Egense Klosterskov south of Limfjorden.

Between the 1st and the 19th of February Tofte stayed in the area between Try, Vester Aslund Plantage and Uggerhalne. On the 21st if flew east to Mel Holtgård Skov, Smalby and Østerled and from here it flew south. On the 22nd Tofte made the first visit to Hals Sønderskov and judging from the data the two eagles appears to have been interacting. Tofte continued south on the same day to its birthplace (Tofte Skov) where it stayed for a few days. On the 25th Tofte flew to Solbjerg Enge, before flying north to its second visit in Hals Sønderskov on the 28th. The data indicate that the two eagles also interacted during the second visit.

February 2018

In the first month of 2018 Hostemark still stays most of the time in Hals Sønderskov from where it makes trips to nearby locations: Egensekloster Skov and the northern part Høstemark Skov (on the 1st and 28th of January) and to what could be hunting grounds: an open rural area between Gåser, Holtet and Mølholtvej, where Hostemark went more than 10 times during the month of January.

Between the 1st and 11th of January Tofte stays in the area between Vester Aslund Plantage, Holtegård Plantage and Gettrup skov. On the 12th it flies east to Meltholt rimmer where it spends a few days, before continuing north to an area between Dorf, Agersted and Skarpholt Plantage, where it stays until the 27th. From here Tofte flies south to an area between Try and Vester Aslund Plantage and stays for the last 4 days of January.

January 2018

Hostemark has as usual spent most of December in Hals Sønderskov. But on the 5th of December if flew north to Hals Mose, where Tofte also was. This marks the first meeting between the two eagles for almost exactly one year. The last time they met was on the 17th of December 2016, where Hostemark also flew to Hals Mose to meet with Tofte.

After the meeting, Hostemark flew past Gettrup Skov and Vester Aslund Plantage, before it returned to Hals Sønderskov on the 11th of December, where it stayed for the rest of the month.

During December Tofte has been lying back and forth from Vester Aslund Plantage, Gettrup Skov, Melholt, Smalby and Hals Mose. After the two eagles met Tofte stayed in Hals Mose until the 25th of December where it took off east to Gettrup Skov and Vester Aslund Plantage.

December 2017

Winter is here and so are shorter days with less sunlight. Therefore we have to conserve battery power, to make sure the GPS-tags does not run dry of battery. This means that now the tags only transmit data three times per week and only log the Eagles’ positions every 30 minutes and so there will be less new data to add each week.

In the case of Hostemark the fewer positions seem to have made little difference since it has spent the entire month of November within Hals Sønderskov.

Tofte has flown between Vester Aslund Plantage, Gettrup Skov and Melholt Rimmer west of Smalby. On the 29th of November Tofte flew to Hals Mose and with Hostemark in Hals Sønderskov, the Eagles were only 5 km apart!

November 2017

In the last month, Hostemark has spent the most of the time in Hals Sønderskov and in the nearest proximity. One of those places is an area of farmland between Mølholt and Holtetgård where it has been on the 1st, 4th, 12th and 14th of October.  We are guessing that Hostemark could be using the area for hunting. Besides these shorter trips, Hostemark flew to Tofte Skov on the 27th of October. This marks it’s fourth trip to Tofte Skov in 2017 (once in April and two times in August).

For the month of October Tofte has stayed in the area west of Smalby where it flies between different locations: Melholt Rimmer, Melholtgård Skov, Gettrup Skov and the area between Vester Aslund Plantage and Gettrup Skov.

October 2017

Apart from a trip to Hals Mose on the 15th of September and two trips to Høstemark Skov on the 18th and 30th, Hostemark has remained in its primary habitat: Hals Sønderskov.

Tofte, on the other hand, has been on the move during September. On the 10th of September Tofte flew south with the first stop in Kragskov Hede on the 12th. It then continued south with a stop East of Nejsum Hede and Pajhede Skov on the 15th. On the 17th it reached Gettrup Skov and Smalby, where it stayed for the rest of September.

With Hostemark in Hals Sønderskov and Tofte in Smalby the two eagles are only 8km apart.

September 2017

In the month of August Hostemark has been on the move: on the 16th it flew to the southern part of Tofte Skov, on the 19th it flew north of Smalby and on the 27th it flew revisited Tofte Skov, with a stopover in Høstemark Skov. This is the most south the eagle has been since the 22nd of April 2017, where it also flew to Tofte Skov and the most north since May 2016, where it made its overall longitudinal peak in Dyrheden Skov. By the 2nd of September Hostemark is back in Hals Sønderskov.

Tofte still mainly resides in Råbjerg Mose and during the last month, it has made one longer trip south of Kragskov Hede at the 10th of August, before returning to the central part of Råbjerg Mose again on the 20th of August.

August 2017

In the latest period Hostemark still has Hals Sønderskov as its main habitat, all though it has made a few trips to other areas: on the 17th of July, it flew to Limfjorden. It then made three trips to an area northwest of Hals Sønderskov on the 23rd, 25th and 27th of July. This area is farmland and the data show that Hostemark has been flying at low altitudes, indicating that the eagle has been hunting here. If anyone has seen an Golden Eagle in this area we would like to hear from you. Also, we would also highly appreciate any ground-photos of the area between Aalborgvej, Sønderskovvej and Mølholtvej (9370 Hals). Contact info can be found at the bottom of this page.

On the 6th of July Tofte departed from the southern part of Råbjerg Mose, and flew back to the northern part - the area between Lyngshede and Jerup Hede. Here it stayed for the rest of July with except on the 22nd and the 23rd of July where it flew to Ålbæk Klitplantage and Jerup Hede. Tofte has now spent the most of two months in Råbjerg Mose.

July 2017

Since the last status update, both Golden Eagles have been rather stationary.

Tofte has moved south from the area between Lyngshede and Jerup Hede, and has spent the most of the last month in the most southern part of Råbjerg Mose.

Hostemark remains in Hals Sønderskov.

Because of the summer holidays, the next update of the GPS-tracks will be in the beginning of August.

June 2017

Except for a recent trip Høstemark Skov between the 1st and 5th of June, Hostemark has remained in Hals Sønderskov in the latest period.

Tofte is still on the move. From Nejsum Hede it flew north and stayed just south of Lendum and in Børglumkloster Forest between the 6th and 20th of May. The signal then disappeared for a day. The 22nd of May Tofte reappeared in the area between Jerup Hede and Lyngshede (some 20 km north-east of Lemdum), where it since has stayed.

May 2017

Hostemark har been spending most of its time in Hals Sønderskov, which has remained its primary habitat since Septmber 2016. Hostemark still makes regular visits to Lille Vildmose, and at the 18th of April it made a one-day visit to Portlandsmosen. From the 22nd – 24th of April it flew South to the Southern part of Tofte Skov, before returning to Hals Sønderskov where is has stayed from the 25th of April – 3rd of May.

Tofte remained stationary in the Try Enge area until the 22nd of April, where it flew East to Smalby and Melholt. From the 25th – 29th of April it stayed in Melholtgård Skov and at the 30th of April it flew North via. Dronninglund Storskov towards Pajhede Skov and Nymølle Plantage. Tofte then continued East and from the 1st – 3rd of May it has stayed in an area between Nejsum Skov and Voers Å. An area with only smaller patches of forest (3 – 6 ha) surrounded by farmland.

April 2017

In the last month, Hostemark has remained quite steady in Hals Sønderskov. Between the 20th and 23rd of March it made a short round-trip; first to Hals Nørreskov, Hals Mose and Vesterhede, then onwards to Høstermark Skov and Tofte Sø before returning to Hals Sønderskov. Since then it has made a few visits to Egense, Mou and Høstemark Skov, but Hals Sønderskov remains its primary habitat. 

Tofte reappeared in Ormholt Skov near Thorshøj at the 8th of March. From here it has flew south passing Dronninglund Storskov to Try Enge and the area between Vester Aslund Plantage and Gettrup Skov, where it stayed until the 23rd of March. It then flew east and stayed just North of Hals Mose for a couple of days. With Hostemark in Hals Sønderskov, the two eagles were only 7km apart at that point. Tofte then returned to Try Enge via. Mel Holtgård Skov.

March 2017

Hostemark still spends most of its time in Hals Sønderskov, though it has made a few trips to Høstemark skov, Hals Nørreskov and Koldkær. The tag sent a full dataset except the days between the 5th and 9th of February. Tofte has been flying north. From Gettrup Skov it flew northwest to Holtegård Plantage. From there it continued north to Dronninglund Storskov and Skarpholt Plantage, and by end February it reached the area between Ørnedalen, west of Sæby, and Skrolhøj, south of Karup. We did not receive data from Tofte between the 1st and 7th of March.

January 2017

The two young eagles met each other briefly in the area North of Hals Mose on the 17 December. Subsequently, they went in different directions and Hostemark flew back to stay in Hals Sønderskov, interrupted by a trip down to Mariager Fjord. Tofte flew to the eastern part of Bolle enge and Gettrup Skov, but due to low battery level we are now only receiving irregular transmissions from Tofte.

December 2016

Hostemark has left Hals Sønderskov and is now just north of Hals Mose. Tofte is still in the farmland north of Hals Mose, and the two birds are now only three kilometres apart.

November 2016

Hostemark is still in Hals Sønderskov, where it has been for 3 months now, only interrupted by a few short trips to Tofte Skov, Høstemark Skov and Store Vildmose. Tofte left the farmland area south of Bolle Enge, and moved to Hals Mose and farmland north of here. 

October 2016

Hostemark stayed in Hals Sønderskov, only interrupted by two short trips to Tofte Skov and Store Vildmose. Tofte left the area around Råbjerg Mose after 1½ month here. Since the end of September it has been in a farmland area south of Bolle Enge, still in northern Jutland.

September 2016

Hostemark left Lille Vildmose and moved to Hals Sønderskov where it has stayed for four weeks now. Tofte left the Skagen Peninsula after three months, but it only moved a short distance south and has been staying in an area just west of Råbjerg Mose.

August 2016

Hostemark has returned to Lille Vildmose once again. Tofte is still in the same very small area at Skagen Peninsula.

July 2016

Hostemark left Lille Vildmose again and stayed in an area south of Grindsted that it also visited in both early and mid May. After a month it moved to northern Djursland, where it currently is. Tofte stayed at Skagen Peninsula, all the time within a very small area at Hulsig Hede.

May 2016

Hostemark left Lille Vildmose to tour around central and northwestern Jutland only to go back to Lille Vildmose. Tofte went quickly through all of Jutland to reach the Skagen Peninsula. It was seen by birdwatchers at “Flagbakken” near the tip of the peninsula, before it moved a little further south and stopped.

May 2016

After coming back to Denmark Hostemark took a trip around most of Funen before going back to Jutland and in a quick pace back to its origin in Lille Vildmose. Tofte is also back in Denmark now, crossing Flensborg Fjord in almost the exact same place as Hostemark followed by a swift migration up through Jutland. 

April 2016

Hostemark has started moving north and crossed the border into Denmark after nearly six months in Germany. It crossed Flensborg Fjord and is currently stationary east of Christiansfeld. After five months near Wittensee, Tofte has moved 20 km north and might also be on its way back to Denmark.

March 2016

Both birds are in northern Germany. Hostemark has started exploring a new area east of Kiel near the lake Selenter See. Tofte has remained near lake Wittensee.

February 2016

Tofte is spending her time near lake Wittensee, while Hostemark is further north in the areas of Winnemark og Waabs. The gps signals have picked up and are now sending data back more frequently. The last couple of weeks of more sporadic data,  was most likely due to insufficient solar panel recharging

October-November 2015
The birds fly south through Jutland to Germany in different pace and along seperate routes. They seemed to join up in the same area between Sleswig and Rendsburg.

October 14th 2015
Both birds leave their home territory. Hostemark may have attracted Tofte to leave as the birds flew together for the first 5 km.

June-October 2015
The eagles stay almost exclusively within the forest in their home territory.

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