The female peregrine in Záluží first laid one egg and then added three more. Three chicks were born several days ago. They will be ringed shortly so that the wildlife experts can have the necessary information to track the origin of the birds in the Czech territory. When looking into the nest, they will also see the gender of the new-born chicks. “It is the male who provides food during the first 14 days, and his partner tears the food apart. The chicks remain in the nest for more than a month before leaving it,” says ornithologist Václav Beran of the ALKA Wildlife association. He will climb the 100-metre chimney in Litvínov together with the local firefighters in May. The whole peregrine falcon family usually leaves the nest in July.

 

Peregrine falcons are among the few species that became completely extinct in the Czech landscape in the past century but were able to come back. Each new addition is therefore highly valued. Besides Litvínov, the nest boxes are installed on the chimneys of Unipetrol plants in Kralupy nad Vltavou and Neratovice. It is because these birds need calm and peace for their nesting, which is why even industrial sites have recently become their popular nesting places besides nature.

 

The peregrine can live up to 20 years and returns to its favourite nesting grounds for life. With a maximum dive speed exceeding 350 km/h, it is probably the fastest animal on Earth. The peregrine is a bird species that has traditionally been found in the Czech Republic. The population of this predator that hunts pigeons, ducks, other smaller birds and bats was the highest in the 1940s and 1950s when at least 60 breeding pairs were present in the territory of what was then Czechoslovakia. Peregrines disappeared from the Czech landscape in the 1970s as a result of the excessive use of agricultural pesticides. They started reappearing at the end of the 1980s. At the turn of the millennium, about 20 pairs were breeding in the Czech Republic. Today, thanks to strict protection, some 100 pairs of peregrines live in our country.

 

The Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude-oil processing and on the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. In all these areas, it belongs among the important players on the Czech and Central European market. The Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo with its Mogul brand in Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 416 filling stations, Benzina is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in terms of turnover in the Czech Republic. It earned over CZK 129 billion last year and employs more than 4,800 persons. In addition to its business development, Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays an equal amount of attention to initiatives which focus on the cultivation and support of sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment. In 2005, Unipetrol became a member of the PKN Orlen Group, the largest crude-oil processor in Central Europe.

 

 

Contact information: Pavel Kaidl, spokesman, telephone: +420 225 001 407, +420 736 502 520, e-mail: pavel.kaidl@unipetrol.cz