Feeding place CERM

The CERM Endangered Raptors Centre is located in Southern Tuscany (Italy) and managed by the CERM Association. The CERM was the core area of a Red kite reintroduction programme which was carried out in the framework of the LIFE Save the Flyers project between 2007 and 2014, based on the translocation of 105 young red kites from two donor countries (Corsica, France and Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland).
The programme was successful and led to the establishment of a self-sustaining Red kite population, which now is expanding in the surrounding areas.

The feeding place
The feeding platform located at the CERM is daily supplied with food. It played a very important role in the Red kite reintroduction programme both for supporting the released young red kites and for favouring the breeding success of the new pairs. Furthermore, it was very useful to monitor the new population. The platform is supplied with food a few hours before sunset around 5pm - 7pm in summer and around 3pm - 5pm in winter.

Species that you can see
The feeding place is mainly used by Red kite, Black kite and Buzzard. Sometimes can be spotted also Yellow legged Gull and Grey heron.
In Spring and Summer about 60-70 individuals can be spotted in the area while in winter up to 120 red kites can be sighted, some dozens of them coming from central Europe and wintering here.

CERM is located in an hilly area of Southern Tuscany with a sea view characterised by woods, pastures and cultivated fields.
At the CERM a captive breeding programme for the Egyptian vulture has also been ongoing since 2006, aiming at the reintroduction into the wild of captive-born young vultures (currently within the LIFE Egyptian vulture project).

LIFE EUROKITE
The installation of this webcam in Italy has been possible thanks to the LIFE EUROKITE project (LIFE18 NAT/AT/000048). In order to conserve the red kite throughout Europe, this transboundary conservation project for the red kite and other endangered species of raptors in Europe has started in 2020. This project will be carried out over the next seven years in 26 European countries with the support of numerous beneficiary and co-financing partners. The coordination of LIFE depends on the Austrian organization MEGEG (Mitteleuropäische Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung der Greifvögel, Central European Society for the Protection of Raptors) and the Technical Office for Biology Mag. Dr. Rainer Raab in Austria.

This webcam is part of one of the three cameras available in the LIFE EUROKITE project within its actions for public awareness and dissemination of results. The action has been carried out thanks to the support of CERM and the financial support of the Austrian Power Grid (APG).