Litvínov, 3 May 2011 – In cooperation with the ALKA Wildlife organisation, Unipetrol is installing three special nesting boxes for the protected peregrine falcon at their Chempark Záluží plant. Two of them are already hung in place and fully functional, the last will be ready to use during the summer. Installation of the boxes increases the chances of this rare bird of prey nesting.
“We believe that this project can contribute to the protection of this rare bird of prey which is so typical for our central European environment,” commented Martin Pavlíček, Director of Communications at Unipetrol Group.
A pair of peregrine falcons was found to be living in the surroundings of the Chempark Záluží plant last year. To be able to nest, special conditions must be created and this is just what the boxes offer. For this reason Unipetrol has offered its space and sponsored the installation of the nesting boxes which are located on the Chempark Záluží premises. Two of them are located on the second highest service catwalk on the T700 thermal power station chimney and on the Ethylene plant chimney; the third shall be on the cooling tower in the “Benešák” compound.
“The falcon lead a territorial way of life which means that only one pair will nest on these premises. We are hanging several boxes so that the falcons can choose the place which satisfies their needs and suits them best,” says Václav Beran, ornithologist from ALKA Wildlife.
The peregrine falcon is very rare in the Czech Republic, classified as a critically endangered species and its numbers do not exceed fifty pairs. This species of raptor mainly nests on cliffs, but with the expansion of people into its natural habitat, it must adapt quickly to human activity. So a new phenomenon is spreading from neighbouring Germany – nesting on man-made structures.
“When nesting on man-made structures they often find it difficult to choose a suitable place and often make the wrong choice; nesting is then unsuccessful or complicates operation of the building. In order to help the falcons and the operators of the buildings where the falcon is nesting, we have hung special boxes on the structures concerned,” Václav Beranadds.
These nesting boxes measure 60x60x60 cm and are made of two-millimetre aluminium sheet metal, enhancing their durability and not requiring regular maintenance. The installed boxes will be regularly monitored throughout the nesting period (March-June) to confirm nesting. The project will be implemented over the course of the year 2011.
UNIPETROL, a.s . is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 UNIPETROL became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the UNIPETROL Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people.
Contact:
Bořek Konečný
Communication Specialist
Telephone: +420 225 001 670, +420 736 502 600
E-mail: borek.konecny@unipetrol.cz