Greifvögel Vorarlberg

Greifvögel form a very broad group in the DACH region. The Accipitridae include the large eagles such as the golden and white-tailed eagle, the common buzzards led by the Mäusebussard as the characteristic raptor of farmed landscapes, goshawk and sparrowhawk as agile forest hunters, open-country harriers, and the two kite species, red kite and black kite. Falcons form a separate family and, according to current research, are not closely related to the hawk family. In Central Europe the kestrel, peregrine and hobby are the most widespread falcons. The osprey stands alone in its own family. Together they cover habitats from high mountains and forests to farmland, wetlands, lakes and urban fringes.

The decisive point in hunting law is the protection status. Every native bird-of-prey species in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is strictly protected under European and national law. In Germany several raptors are formally listed as game species in the Federal Hunting Act, yet without exception they are subject to a year-round closed season. In practice this means there is no open hunting season for any native Greifvogel. Catching, injuring or killing them is a criminal offence under the Federal Nature Conservation Act.

Many species declined dramatically during the twentieth century through persecution and pesticide loads, above all DDT. The white-tailed eagle and the peregrine almost disappeared and only returned through strict legal protection and dedicated recovery programmes. For hunters today the central duty is stewardship: birds of prey are fellow inhabitants of the hunting ground whose eyries must be safeguarded. Falconry has a special place in this tradition. It has been practised in Germany and Austria for centuries and was recognised by UNESCO in 2010 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is a strictly regulated form of hunting with trained raptors.