Abstract
In 2023, the mean nesting density of the European Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) was found to be 15.5 pair/100 km² within a studied area of 200 km² in the central part of the Náchod district, Hradec Králové region , which is the same value as in 1978 in the same area. In the farmland of the southern part of the study area with a small proportion of forests and a sparse network of small human settlements, the density was 8 pairs/100 km², in the northern part of the study area with double forest cover and a denser network of small human settlements, the density was 23 pairs/100 km², locally up to 33.1 pair/100 km², in forest habitats up to 113 pairs/100 km² of woodland. The mean distance between the two nearest occupied nests was 1348 m, in woodland habitats it was 848 m. The habitat preference for younger coniferous forest stands and mixed stands with a predominance of conifers, and the tendency to place nests on conifers (spruce Picea sp., pine Pinus sp., larch Larix sp.) was confirmed. A comparison with older data revealed a retreat from the intensively managed farmland, probably due to a lack of suitable food, and from small localities under predation pressure of the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo).