Acrocephalus 24 (118): 85 – 86, 2003 So prerokbe v varstvu narave {e plod znanstvenih raziskav? Are the various nature conservationist predictions still the result of scientific research? Ko je Platonov u~enec vpra{al svojega velikega u~itelja, kak{en prakti~en pomen imajo {tudije in teoremi, ki jih predava, je Platon u~enca odpustil iz {ole, pred tem pa mu, kajpak prek su`nja, izro~il kovanec, da u~enec vendarle ne bi mislil, da je bilo njegovo pridobljeno znanje zaman. Podobno se je pred pribli`no 125 leti spra{eval T. A. Edison, in sicer, kako bi izkoristil »Edisonov efekt«, ki ga je odkril povsem po naklju~ju ob iskanju mo`nosti, da bi podalj{al `ivljenje bomba`ni nitki v vakuumski `arnici. ^eprav je ugotovil, da te~e tok le v eni smeri, prakti~nega pomena te ugotovitve ni videl in eksperiment je opustil. V naslednjih desetletjih je J. A. Fleming ugotovil, da gre pri tem za enosmerni tok elektronov v vakuumu – in rodil se je usmernik. Njegove ugotovitve je leta 1906 nadgradil L. De Forest in izumil elektronko oziroma tranzistor, brez katerega si radijskega aparata oziroma televizorja do nedavnega niti zamisliti nismo mogli. Edisonov efekt, ki ga je genialni izumitelj, podobno kot vse svoje izume, pridno patentiral in ozna~il za zanimivega, a neuporabnega, se je izkazal za klju~no dognanje v dolgi vrsti nadaljnjih izumov. [e ve~. Kdo bi si danes upal dvomiti o uporabnosti oziroma nenadomestljivosti matemati~nih aksiomov in teoremov, ~eprav so se v ~asu svojega nastajanja zdravorazumnim ljudem zdeli popolnoma nepotrebni in oddaljeni od vsega, kar jim zbuja interes in daje ob~utek uporabnosti. Kakorkoli, tragi~na usoda ve~ine, predvsem dana{njih znanstvenih raziskovalcev, je, da so nenehno obremenjeni s potrebo po odkrivanju ne~esa, kar ima prakti~en pomen, ali po{teno povedano – kar prina{a dobi~ek. Rezultat: inflacija ~lankov in objav brez zadevne znanstvene te`e. Sodobniki T. H. Huxleya so v nasprotju z njegovim tolma~enjem znanosti kot organizirane zdrave pameti trdili nasprotno in poudarjali, da mora znanost prodreti za videz zato, da spodnese »o~itno« interpretacijo pojava. Po drugi strani pa zdrava pamet recimo pravi, da se nam na primer svet ptic ka`e v obliki paketov, ki jim pravimo vrste. Tako opazovalci ptic dobro vedo, da lahko osebke, ki jih opazujejo na razli~nih obmo~jih, lo~ijo na enote, vpete v biolo{ki sistem in opremljene z binarno latinsko nomenklaturo, ki neposve~enim ustvarja zmedo. Ta k paket se ob~asno lahko odvije in celo zlije z drugimi, kar pa je prej izjema kot pravilo: pti~i [kocjanskega zatoka so nedvomno pripadniki vrst, ki jih vsi izku{eni opazovalci prepoznajo enako. V zadnjih desetletjih se je svet ob slab{anju bivalnih kvalitet in dobesednem izgubljanju `ivljenjskega prostora nenadoma za~el zavedati svoje umrljivosti. Pohlepnost lastne vrste nam je dokon~no onemogo~ila opazovati dodoja Rhaphus cucullatus, saj je moral biti »golob« puranje velikosti nekaj povsem bizarnega, naga~eni primerki, ki jih napada plesen, pa nikakor ne prepri~ajo. Mogo~e so tako kot dodoji Portugalcem Maorom teknile novozelandske nojem podobne moe Euryapteryx gravis. To ljudstvo je otoka poselilo v 14. stoletju in po kolonizaciji v dveh stoletjih v navalu na gigantsko perutnino ptice dobesedno pojedlo, da naslednikom preostane le {e »moa bone hunting«, ki je v zabavo paleontologom, zagotovo pa ne ljubiteljem ptic. Naravoslovci, ki 85 Uvodnik / Editorial u`ivajo v pestrosti narave in se u~ijo od vsakega `ivega bitja, so pripravljeni ozna~iti ~loveka za najve~jo naravno katastrofo od recimo zadnjega velikega izumrtja v Kredi pa do danes. Tudi desetletja postopnih »mehkih« sprememb v kulturni krajini vodijo v zmanj{evanje {tevil~nosti pti~jih populacij. Ornitologe, ki so spoznali, da je bolj smiselno varovati njihov `ivljenjski prostor kot pa ptice same, svet {ele v zadnjih desetletjih jemlje resno. Po~asi spoznava, da pomenijo ptice veliko ve~ kot le slegurje, podhujke in kotorne, ki dodatno bogatijo suha travi{~a, ali pa redke pobre`nike in penice, ki jih ljubitelj ptic odkljuka na svojem seznamu. Ptice so eden najbolj{ih kazalcev stanja na{ega okolja. Zaradi izredno hitrega presnavljanja in naglega tempa `ivljenja so veren odsev sprememb v pokrajini, {e preden je to opazno pri drugih bitjih. Zato ornitologi veljajo za neke vrste »prerokovalcev« – med prvimi zaznajo poru{eno ravnote`je v naravi. Vendar so te prerokbe plod poglobljenih znanstvenih raziskav, katerih cilj je bil zadostiti prvinski radovednosti. Rde~a nit te`av varstva narave, ki se vle~ejo skozi ~as, je bodisi pomanjkanje konkretnih znanstvenih podatkov, na podlagi katerih je mogo~e podati ustrezne smernice za upravljanje prostora, ali pa po drugi strani kopica tistih, ki so plod usmerjenih, kratkoro~nih in konkretnej{ih, se pravi ciljnih raziskav, in to na ra~un neusmerjenih, »~isto znanstvenih«. Pri tem so dobljeni rezultati po pravilu sicer visoko uporabni in mogo~e tudi kakovostni, a zelo specifi~ni in rabijo le dolo~enemu namenu. V ~asu postopoma izgubljajo svojo vrednost, niso elementarni in zato te`ko vklju~ljivi v {ir{e okvire, ki ne re{ujejo ozko zastavljenega problema. Varstvo narave se tako {e vedno sre~uje s slabim poznavanjem biologije, gnezditvene gostote posameznih vrst ptic in njihove ekologije, skratka, kvalitetnih podatkov, pridobljenih z raziskavami, ki nekako sku{ajo odgovoriti na prvinski kaj, zakaj, kako in kdaj. Oziroma: znanost je v svojem bistvu povsem samonikla in neodvisna, ima svoj jezik in svoja pravila, predvsem pa se ji ni treba nenehno spoprijemati z momentom aplikativnosti svojih rezultatov kot posledico iskanja odgovorov na vpra{anja, ki si jih zastavlja, kajti dana{nja bazi~na znanstvena dognanja lahko pomenijo odgovore in nove probleme za jutri. Bo{tjan Surina 86 Acrocephalus 24 (118): 87 – 96, 2003 Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population development and habitat selection at Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria Razvoj gnezde~e populacije kostanjevke Aythya nyroca in njen izbor habitatov na jezeru Durankulak, Bolgarija Nikolai Petkov Central Laboratory of General Ecology, 2 Gagarin St., BG-1113 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: nicky@ecolab.bas.bg & nicky.petkov@bspb.org Presented are the results of a study on the development of the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population, site / habitat fidelity and habitat selection by breeding pairs at the Durankulak Lake complex, Bulgaria, from 1995 to 2002. The lake is the most important breeding site for the species along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, holding up to 10% of the national breeding population of 125 – 230 pairs. Annual and seasonal variation in bird numbers, breeding success and habitat use are described in relation to human impact, wetland and habitat conditions. The Ferruginous Duck breeding pairs nest in the shallower and more vegetated marshy areas of the lake complex. Ferruginous Ducks preferred the south-east marshland, with annual breeding numbers varying in the northern part of the lake and the tail ends probably due to variation in water levels. There was some indication of slight avoidance of the Eagle Marsh area, caused presumably by disturbance and human pressure. During the period of the study the breeding population varied from 5 to 25 pairs depending on the wetland condition with no clear trend throughout the investigated period. Breeding success varies from year to year, but it has never exceeded 40% of broods per breeding pair. The early abandonment of the broods is thought to be a regular phenomena for the wetland and contributes to low survival of the ducklings. Currently the wetland is not sheltering moulting birds, possibly because of poor forage conditions and much human disturbance. The study reveals the need for increased protection from disturbance and zoning of its area, especially during the breeding season. Key words: Ferruginous Duck, Aythya nyroca, Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria, vegetation structure, breeding pairs, habitat selection, disturbance Klju~ne besede: kostanjevka, Aythya nyroca, jezero Durankulak, Bolgarija, struktura vegetacije, gnezditveni pari, izbor habitata, motnje 1. Introduction The Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca has been recently downlisted from globally threatened “Vulnerable” status (Collar et al. 1994) to low risk / near threatened (BirdLife International 2000). Nevertheless, many of the threats remain, especially for its European population, and overall population decline continues. In Bulgaria, the Ferruginous Duck is a breeding and migratory species listed in the Red Data Book. The breeding season for the species starts in the second half of April and continues until the end of July (Petkov 1997). During the breeding season, it is concentrated mainly along the Danube River with smaller numbers along the Black Sea coast and in inland areas (Petkov 1997 & 1998a). 87 N. Petkov: Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population development and habitat selection at Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria Recent studies on the Ferruginous Duck in Bulgaria revealed a national population of 125 to 230 breeding pairs, with marked year to year variation depending on wetland conditions (Petkov 2003). The studied Durankulak Lake is one of the most important breeding sites of Ferruginous Duck in Bulgaria, and of the few Bulgarian breeding sites for Greylag Goose Anser anser. Other breeding species include Mute Swan Cygnus olor, Garganey Anas querquedula, Mallard A. platyrhynchos, Pochard Aythya ferina (rarely), Gadwall Anas strepera (rarely), Common Coot Fulica atra, Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus and Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis (Georgiev 2002, Petkov unpubl.). The aim of the study was to investigate the Ferruginous Duck breeding population trends and status during the breeding season in the Durankulak Lake complex and to establish the habitat preferences and site selection by the breeding pairs. 2. Study area and methods 2.1. Study area Durankulak Lake is a natural wetland situated in northeastern Bulgaria close to the border with Romania (43°40’N, 28°33’E; Figure 1). The lake complex is a natural firth at about 0.5 m a.s.l. with a surface area of about 462 ha (Georgiev 2002). The lake comprises about 4% of the surface area of the natural wetlands in Bulgaria. It has a closed basin hydrology, the water level regime relying mostly on underground waters, as surface inflow is very low. The mean salinity is 0.2‰ (ranging from 0.2 – 0.4‰) due to infiltration of seawater. The average depth of the wetland is 1.4 m with a maximum depth of 6.0 m (Ivanov 1994). Figure 1: Geographical location of Durankulak Lake in Bulgaria Slika 1: Geografska lega jezera Durankulak v Bolgariji 88 Hydrological and hydrobiological studies in recent years define the wetland as eutrophic to hypereutrophic, caused largely by anthropogenic activities over the last 30 years, especially the inflow of polluted underground and surface water from surrounding agricultural fields and villages. The marsh vegetation at the site is composed of about 80% Common Reed Phragmites australis, either in monoculture or co-dominated with Reedmace Typha angustifolia (Georgiev 2002). Three more or less separate water bodies form the Durankulak wetland complex (Figure 2): Durankulak Lake (DL), Eagle Marsh (EM) and the marshland in the south-eastern part of the lake (SEM). Durankulak Lake, which covers most of the wetland complex, has steep banks and sparse lakeshore vegetation. The largest hygrophyte stands are in the lake tail ends (TE) with large stands of Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia. Eagle Marsh is separated from the lake by an old dike (now broken and allowing water exchange), where most mixed hygrophyte associations are present. Typical associations are Ph. australis-Bolboschoenus maritimus, Typha angustifolia-Ph. australis, B. maritimus-Schoenoplectus lacustris-Juncus gerardii and Schoenoplectus lacustris (one of the largest in the country) with Bolboschoenus maritimus and Butomus umbellatus (Georgiev 2002). Water depth in Eagle Marsh is 1.0 – 1.5 m and there are also some dry areas and floating reed beds. The third wetland body, SEM, is covered by Ph. australis-T. angustifolia, Ph. australis-Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, B. maritimus, and other mixed plant associations. It is very shallow – about 0.5 – 1.0 m deep. Hydrophytes are found mostly in Eagle Marsh, and include large stands of Utricularia vulgaris, Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllum spicatum, Ranunculus aquatilis, mixed and pure associations of Potamogeton natans, P. pectinatus and P. crispus. Past studies of the zoobenthos at Durankulak Lake found an overall biomass density of 23 g/m2 dominated by Chironomidae larvae – about 78% (Ivanov 1994). A more recent study reported a lower mean biomass density of 18.4 g/m2, with Chironomidae still dominating. The average biomass of the zoobenthic community in Eagle Marsh is much lower at 5.4 g/m2. The zoobenthic community is more diverse in shallower lake shore areas and in macrophytes stands which provide good feeding areas for birds and fish (Georgiev 2002). Durankulak Lake is a protected area declared as a Natural Monument (in 1980), Ramsar Site and ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): 87 — 96, 2OO3 Figure 2: Map of Durankulak Lake complex (EM – Eagle Marsh, NDL – northern part of Durankulak Lake, TE – tail ends of the Lake, SEM – south-east marsh); reedbeds and hygrophyte vegetation are given in dark grey Slika 2: Zemljevid kompleksa Durankula{kega jezera (EM – Eagle Marsh, NDL – severni del jezera, TE – skrajni deli jezera, SEM – jugovzhodno mo~virje); temno siva barva ponazarja jezerska trsti{~a in vodno vegetacijo $9 N. Petkov: Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population development and habitat selection at Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria Important Bird Area. Previous studies have identified it as the most important breeding site for the Ferruginous Duck along the Black Sea coast (Petkov 1998b). In 2002, a management plan was adopted for the lake and the Dobrudga project team of the Bulgarian Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme (BSBCP) and the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water is implementing various management activities. Currently only the water body and lakeshore is protected, with no protection of adjacent land. 2.2. Methods The data were collected during monthly surveys of 3 – 5 days each, from April to July, 1995 to 2001, using binoculars and telescopes. Most of the lake was surveyed by foot from the lakeshore, but Eagle Marsh was surveyed both by foot and from boats. All Ferruginous Ducks were recorded, identifying their sex and age (adult and juveniles), and the wetland section that they were observed in. Considering that there is a male-biased sex ratio (Johnson et al. 1992), breeding pair population estimates were expressed as the total number of females. This included both paired females and lone females seen in the second half of May, presumed to pair up subsequently, although the latter category only accounts for one or two pairs per year. Breeding success is described in terms of the number of observed broods. The number of breeding pairs was compared to an expected number of breeding pairs calculated according to the area of the four wetland sections. The expected number of pairs was calculated from the pooled total number of pairs for the wetland according to the proportional size of the wetland section area. For each year and each wetland section a Selection Index (SI) was calculated as the observed values divided by the expected value, following Green (1998). Statistical processing was done using Sigma Stat ver. 1.0 software package. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Breeding status Ferruginous Ducks were first recorded breeding at Durankulak in the 1950s (Petrov & Zlatanov 1955). Subsequent information is scarce – Donchev (1967) saw 20 birds on 10 Jun 1965, while Robel et al. (1978) noted the species’ presence. During the 1990s, Ferruginous Ducks were regularly registered at Durankulak, though there has been no confirmation of breeding for over 34 years (Ivanov 1994). Systematic studies on the species started in 1995 as part of the BSBCP Dobrudga project (formerly the Northern Coastal Wetlands Project). Further research conducted by BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria has led to a much better understanding of the status of Ferruginous Ducks at Durankulak. From 1995 to 1997, there was an increase in breeding pairs – from 3 – 5 in 1995 to 10 – 12 in 1996 and 25 pairs in 1997 25 20 15 I M L 10 'S I I nil 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Years / leto Figure 3: Population dynamics of the breeding population of Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca at Durankulak Lake, 1995 - 2002 Slika 3: Populacijska dinamika gnezde~ih kostanjevk Aythya nyroca na Durankula{kem jezeru v obdobju 1995 - 2002 9C ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): 87 — 96, 2OO3 100 > 90 o .* * in 0 S 5 5Ž IS S «I 5 3 S 1 40 .E 'S 30 k 0) i 20 z 10 MU fl JHVi IUh March Years / leta: April May Month / mesec June July 1995-97 D 1998 D 2000 2001 D 2002 Figure 4: Annual and seasonal variation in Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca numbers at Durankulak Lake in 1995 – 2002 Slika 4: Letna in mese~na nihanja {tevila kostanjevk Aythya nyroca na Durankula{kem jezeru v obdobju 1995 – 2002 (Petkov 1997). Only 5 – 7 pairs were present in 1998 (Petkov 2000), 10 pairs in 2000 (Mittev 2000) and 13 pairs in 2001. In 2002, there were 9 – 11 pairs registered during the breeding season. It therefore appears that 10 – 15 pairs of Ferruginous Duck currently breed at Durankulak Lake (Figure 3). The lack of a clear trend in numbers suggests that wetland conditions are probably responsible for the population fluctuations, rather than any population specific parameters. Ferruginous Ducks appeared at Durankulak Lake in March and numbers peak in April before gradually declining through June and July (Figure 4). The absence of large numbers in July probably means that the species does not moult here, although ducks are very secretive at this time of the year. Observations at other wetlands in Bulgaria show that moulting Ferruginous Ducks spend most of the day inactive, either in secluded pools surrounded by reeds, or in large flocks on open water. No such moulting concentrations have been recorded at Durankulak, probably due to the levels of human disturbance, as Ferruginous Ducks prefer undisturbed moulting sites (Schneider-Jacoby 2003). 3.2. Habitat selection Ferruginous Duck pairs at Durankulak Lake utilised only marshy areas during the breeding season (EM, NDL, SEM and TE). The SEM held the highest breeding density, averaging 1.2 pairs/10ha over the six-year period (Table 1). The TE area held an average of 0.8 pairs/10ha, with highest variation from 0.0 to 2.4 pairs/10ha. The EM and DNL held lower densities of 0.6 pairs/10ha and 0.5 pairs/10ha, respectively, although numbers fluctuated more in the EM (0.3 pairs/10ha to 1.2 pairs/10ha). Ferruginous Ducks at Durankulak appeared to prefer the SEM, while use of other lake sections varied from year to year (Table 2). The EM was used less than expected (with all selection indices <1), whilst use of the other two areas varied from year to year. Although a Chi-square test on these data was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), this was probably due to the small sample size, with as few as six breeding pairs in some years. Cues driving habitat selection in species include site fidelity, pressure from conspecifics, and physical features. Wetland-nesting birds can nest when the 91 N. Petkov: Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population development and habitat selection at Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria Table 1: Breeding density of Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca pairs (pairs/10 ha) in the four parts of the Durankulak wetland complex (main lake body excluded as no breeding pairs were there) Tabela 1: Gnezditvena gostota kostanjevke Aythya nyroca (pari/10 ha) v {tirih predelih mokri{~nega kompleksa Durankula{kega jezera z izvzetim osrednjim jezerskim delom, kjer gnezde~i pari niso bili zabele`eni Year/ Eagle North South- Tail leto Marsh Durankulak Lake east Marsh Ends 1996 0.5 0.6 1.3 0.5 1997 1.2 0.8 1.3 2.4 1998 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.0 2000 0.4 0.4 1.3 0.5 2001 0.5 0.4 1.3 0.8 2002 0.4 0.6 1.3 0.5 Mean / povp. 0.6 0.5 1.2 0.8 SD 0.33 0.16 0.24 0.83 Surface/ 113.1 ha 50.9 ha 15.2 ha 20.8 ha povr{ina physical environment is suitable. Thus differences in water level and vegetation growth can influence suitability and determine the timing of nesting (Cody 1985). Factors affecting nest site selection include concealment, protection of the nest, clutch and young from flooding, heat stress, predators etc. The variable physiognomy of the environment of Durankulak Lake complex forces the Ferruginous Duck to vary its use of the wetland complex from year to year. The marshland areas of the Durankulak Lake complex hold a diverse mosaic of microhabitats, including vegetated water bodies with mixed hygrophyte vegetation, open water, dry reed beds, dense reedbeds with patches of shallow or deep open water, shallow banks with vegetated mudflats, and shallow waters with floating and submerged vegetation. Despite the fact that the SI suggested an overall avoidance of the Eagle Marsh, this area appears to offer the most appropriate conditions for nesting, especially the thick mixed or monoculture reed beds along the old dike. Suitable nesting vegetation is also present along the eastern bank, in the north of the marsh, and in patches in the west and north-west. The lower than expected numbers of breeding Ferruginous Duck in the EM may be due to the high levels of human disturbance it suffers from local people entering the reedbeds to poach fish. The SEM includes only a small nesting area suitable for 1 – 3 pairs at most. It is extremely exposed to disturbance from anglers and grazing cattle, due to its small size and shallowness. Nevertheless, the SI clearly shows that Ferruginous Duck prefer to breed in this area. In 1996 – 1998, it was a favoured area for feeding and courtship activity for up to half of the Ferruginous Ducks present in the wetland. However, by 2002 the SEM was almost entirely covered by vegetation and therefore no longer attracted such large numbers of birds. This increased vegetation growth into previously open water areas occurred because of a long dry period with reduced water levels. Table 2: Distribution of Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca pairs and selection index (SI) for wetland parts of Durankulak Lake complex (Exp – expected number of pairs; Obs – observed number of pairs; SI – selection index (Observed number of pairs/ Expected number of pairs; SI > 1 relative selection, SI < 1 relative avoidance, SI = 1 used to the extent of its availability) Table 2: Raz{irjenost kostanjevke Aythya nyroca (v parih) in selekcijski indeks (SI) za mo~virne predele kompleksa Durankula{kega jezera (Exp – pri~akovano {tevilo parov; Obs – opazovano {tevilo parov; SI – selekcijski indeks (opazovano {tevilo parov / pri~akovano {tevilo parov; SI > 1 relativna selekcija SI < 1 relativno izogibanje, SI = 1 uporabljeno glede na razpolo`ljivost) Eagle Marsh North Durankulak Lake South-east Marsh Lake Tail Ends Year / leto Exp Obs SI Exp Obs SI Exp Obs SI Exp Obs SI 1996 6.8 6 0.9 2.9 3 1.0 0.9 2 2.2 1.4 1 0.7 1997 14.1 14 1.0 6.1 4 0.6 1.9 2 1.0 2.8 5 1.7 1998 3.4 3 0.9 1.5 2 0.9 0.5 1 2.2 0.7 0 0.0 2000 5.6 5 0.9 2.4 2 0.8 0.8 2 2.6 1.1 1 0.9 2001 7.3 6 0.8 3.2 3 0.9 1.0 2 2.0 1.5 2 1.3 2002 6.2 5 0.8 2.7 3 1.1 0.8 2 2.4 1.2 1 0.8 92 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): 87 — 96, 2OO3 Nevertheless, the persistent high density of breeding Ferruginous Ducks suggests that the SEM offers ideal conditions for foraging and nest concealment. The Ferruginous Duck was the only duck that selected the SEM for nesting, with only a few pairs of Common Coot and Little Grebe nesting in the same area. The NDL south of the Old Dike, dominated by reedbeds providing secure nesting conditions, contained similar habitat to Eagle Marsh and regularly held small numbers of breeding Ferruginous Duck. The TEs of Durankulak Lake are heavily vegetated with Phragmites and Typha but offer only small pools of open water. The TE at Vaklino village, which has three open water patches, held one pair of Ferruginous Ducks in 1997 and 1999, but numbers declined after this area became overpopulated with Nutria Myocastor coypus (Petkov unpubl.). The TE at Durankulak village held 1 – 2 pairs of the Ferruginous Duck, despite the fact that cows grazed in the shallows. However, the area is now unsuitable for nesting as it is overgrown by Scirpus and Carex vegetation. The distribution of breeding Ferruginous Duck at Durankulak suggests that breeding site selection is based on the physiognomy and structure of the vegetation rather than on the plant species themselves. In general, areas containing a complex of emergent vegetation, open water and shallow water with sparse reed are preferred. Reed covered areas in the southern part of the EM were rarely utilised by Ferruginous Ducks. However, these areas were immediately occupied by breeding Ferruginous Duck after they were burnt in spring 2002 forming areas of sparse reed vegetation and open water. Patterson (1976) postulated that breeding ducks are evenly distributed in available waters due to intraspecific aggression, while other studies such as Elmberg et al. (1993) reported a significant relationship between duck numbers and vegetation structural diversity. In the different sections of Durankulak Lake, there is only slight variation in zoobenthic biomass and vegetation physiognomy (Georgiev 2002) although there are differences in vegetation species composition and structure. That is why we consider that the distribution in the wetland complex is mostly driven by the availability of the proper nesting and forage habitat in the different wetland sections, but heavily influenced by the human pressure. But even so, the species is mostly found in the more luxurious sections of the lake complex. 3.3. Breeding success We conducted very little nest searching at Durankulak due to time constraints and fears of the effect of additional disturbance. Since 1995, no more than 4 – 5 broods have been observed at the site, even in 1997 when 22 – 25 pairs were present. In 2000, a detailed field study of Ferruginous Ducks found no broods or juveniles at the lake, which was attributed to a lack of suitable nest sites (Mittev 2000). However, the results of this study suggest this is not the case. It is likely that many broods remain concealed in small pools in the reed beds, due to disturbance from humans. Despite of a conservation scheme in the area, and the fact that access to the lake Table 3: Breeding pairs, broods and ducklings of the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca in Durankulak Lake complex (– no data) Tabela 3: Gnezde~i pari, zarodi in mladi~i kostanjevke Aythya nyroca v kompleksu Durankula{kega jezera (– ni podatka) Year/ No. of pairs/ No. of broods/ No. of ducklings/ Ducklings per pair/ Ducklings per brood/ leto {t. parov {t. zarodov {t. mladi~ev {t. mladi~ev na par {t. mladi~ev na zarod (min – max) 1995 5 - - - - 1996 12 4 12 (2—5) 1.0 3.0 1997 23 7 26 (2—6) i.i 3.7 1998 6 i 4 0.7 4.0 1999 9 3 IO (2—5) i.i 3.3 2000 IO 0 0 0.0 0.0 2001 13 5 13 (3—4) 1.0 2.6 2002 u 5 16 (2—5) 1.4 3.3 Mean / povp. (± SD) u.i (± 5.54) 3.57 (± 2.44) 11.6 (± 8.40) 0.9 (± 0.45) 2.84 (± 1.33) 93 N. Petkov: Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population development and habitat selection at Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria is prohibited, poachers still enter the wetland in late evening between April and June, especially when fish are spawning. In addition, a public road surrounding the lake means that people have direct access to these areas. The main disturbance is caused by the fish poachers entering the EM, mainly late at night, to set their nets. Such disturbance may result in poor physical condition in females so that they do not breed, or may cause direct nest abandonment (Korschgen & Dahlgen 1992). There is a positive correlation between the number of pairs established during the years and the number of ducklings. Though this result could be expected, it has to have been noted that in 2000 there were 10 pairs and no broods or ducklings (Table 3). The correlation between observed pairs and registered broods is 0.79 with p < 0.05 and, between breeding pairs and registered ducklings, 0.85 with p < 0.05. The correlation between number of broods and number of ducklings was highly significant, with correlation coefficient 0.97 and p < 0.001. In 2001, surveys resulted in only one Ferruginous Duck nest being found. This was located in a reed bed in Eagle Marsh and contained eight eggs. From an estimated 13 breeding pairs, only five broods were recorded. This result may not be unexpected, taking into account that over 10% of diving duck pairs may not breed (Johnson et al. 1992), that mortality in the first week may approach 60% (Street 1977), and that 20 – 50% of broods may be lost entirely before fledging (Ringelman 1992). Low food availability of benthic invertebrates in Eagle Marsh (biomass 5.4 g/m2) may have contributed to the low breeding success in 2001. This may be supported by the fact that Ferruginous Ducks unusually choose to feed on water fleas Daphnia spp. and Bosmina spp. in June and July. Low water levels in 2001, especially in the Tail Ends and the SEM, caused by the lack of rainfall from late May to the end of July 2001, meant that suitable nesting habitat was limited to EM and the NDL south of the old dike. Despite similar dry conditions in 2002, resulting in low water level and poor wetland conditions, 11 pairs of Ferruginous Ducks were present at the lake in June to July, producing a total of five broods. These consisted of two broods of five ducklings (7 – 10 days old), and three almost full-grown broods of 1 – 3 ducklings, thus suggesting a low fledging success. The total number of young produced in 2002 was slightly higher than in 2001, despite the fact that fewer pairs bred. There have been a number of observations of very young ducklings (6 – 7 days old) not accompanied by females. If these broods have been deserted by their 94 mothers, this would contribute to the Ferruginous Ducks’ low breeding success at Durankulak. Other studies have shown that in poor wetland conditions, Ferruginous Duck hens abandon their ducklings at quite an early stage (for example at Srebarna Lake in June to July 2002; Petkov unpubl.). At the same time, observations at Srebarna Lake in 2001, when the species had a flourishing population, the hens accompanied the juveniles almost till fledging. Ferruginous Duck ducklings at Durankulak fledge by the end of July or early August and most leave the area. The earliest fledglings at Durankulak have been observed in mid June but most are still not feathered by mid July. In general the Ferruginous Duck is one of the latest breeders among duck species in Bulgaria. Other waterfowl species at Durankulak Lake also suffered low breeding success during this study. Greylag Goose and Mallard were the most successful, though in very low numbers. Mute Swan and Garganey had varying breeding success, in some years rearing almost no young. Common Coot and Great Crested Grebe usually have better success, raising 2 – 3 chicks to fledging. 4. Conclusions The Ferruginous Duck is a regular nesting species at Durankulak Lake complex with an annual population of 6 to 25 pairs. The number of breeding pairs is determined mainly by the condition of the wetland complex and disturbance pressure. In very dry years, or when disturbance is high, only a small number of ducks breed. However, in good years the site can hold up to 10% of the national breeding population in Bulgaria and up to 60% of the breeding pairs along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Ferruginous Ducks are thought not to moult at Durankulak, as most birds leave the site in July. The lack of moulting flocks in late summer suggests that the wetland does not provide suitable conditions. I attribute this to the combined effect of the suppressed zoobenthic community and human disturbance by poachers and holidaymakers. Breeding pairs nested only in the shallower and more vegetated marshy areas of the wetland complex. Breeding pair density and the Selection Index show that the SEM is the most favoured area, while EM is relatively avoided, most probably due to human pressure in the early and mid-breeding season. The other two habitat areas, the TE and NDL, are utilized variably from year to year, perhaps due mostly to wetland conditions and their water regime. Breeding success varies from year to year, but it has ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): 87 — 96, 2OO3 never exceeded 40% of broods per breeding pair. Brood abandonment probably contributes to a lack of recruitment for Ferruginous Ducks at Durankulak. The generally low breeding success in all waterfowl species in the wetland indicates that this is not solely a problem for the Ferruginous Duck, though it is most notable for it. Though a conservation scheme has reduced disturbance from holidaymakers and anglers, the area still faces significant disturbance from local fish poachers, despite the fact that the lake is protected and any entry or fishing is forbidden within the marshy areas of the wetland complex – EM, NDL, SEM and TEs. Improvement/restoration of wetland conditions, as outlined in the Durankulak Lake management plan, could stabilise or increase the Ferruginous Duck population. Restoration and management activities should focus both on the vegetation structure and benthic community. Cattle grazing needs to be restricted, especially in the small marsh areas, so as not to increase disturbance levels. In addition, reed cutting or controlled burning should be considered. This however should be applied in a way not to destroy breeding habitat for other species, such as Bittern Botaurus stellaris and Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus. Efforts should continue to provide areas with less disturbance during the breeding season. The need of a buffer zone is urgent due to the vulnerability of the area, and every effort should be made to secure the Eagle Marsh area as a non-disturbance zone to provide the necessary conditions for the breeding of waterfowl in this key area. The small pods in the tail end of Vaklino village should be broadened and new ones should be made, connected by canals to the main Lake area in order to make them more attractive for nesting. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank the BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria and the BSBCP Dobrudga Project that have provided funding for these studies, field equipment and additional data about the Durankulak wetland. Special thanks to Stanislav Stoyanov, Christo Gurdov, Dimitar Georgiev, Temenuga Racheva for assistance during fieldwork. I am grateful to Baz Hughes for his continuous help in my paper work and ever ready to improve my English. Thanks also to Andy Green and Elena Tasheva-Terzieva for their assistance during the preparation of this paper and in my PhD study. 5. Povzetek Predstavljeni so rezultati preu~evanja razvoja gnezde~e populacije kostanjevke Aythya nyroca, zvestobe gnezdi{~u/habitatu in izbor habitata v kompleksu Durankula{kega jezera v Bolgariji v obdobju med letoma 1995 in 2002. Jezero je najpomembnej{e gnezdi{~e vrste vzdol` bolgarskega dela ^rnega morja, saj vklju~uje do 10% bolgarske gnezde~e populacije, ki {teje od 125 do 230 parov. Opisane so letne in mese~ne razlike v {tevilu ptic, njihov gnezditveni uspeh in izbor habitata glede na ~lovekov vpliv in razmere, ki vladajo v mokri{~ih in habitatih jezerskega kompleksa. Pari kostanjevk gnezdijo v plitkej{ih in vegetacijsko bogatej{ih mo~virnih predelih jezera. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da se kostanjevke najraje zadr`ujejo v jugovzhodnem mo~virju in da se {tevilo gnezde~ih parov v severnem predelu jezera in v njegovih skrajnih delih najbr` spreminja zaradi nenehnega nihanja vodne gladine. Poleg tega je bilo ugotovljeno, da se kostanjevke do neke mere izogibajo predelu, imenovanem Eagle Marsh, br`kone zaradi nemira in pritiskov, ki jih v ta prostor vna{a ~lovek. V preu~evanem obdobju se je {tevilo gnezde~e populacije sukalo med 6 in 25 pari, odvisno od mokri{~nih razmer, a brez jasnega trenda v celotnem obdobju. Gnezditveni uspeh se spreminja iz leta v leto, vendar ni nikoli presegel 40% zaroda na gnezde~i par. Ugotovitev, da star{a zgodaj zapustita svoje mladi~e, danes velja kot obi~ajen pojav za mokri{~a, kar seveda prispeva k njihovi visoki smrtnosti. Mokri{~e trenutno ne daje zavetja gole~im se pticam, najbr` zaradi pomanjkanja hrane in precej{njega nemira, ki ga v kompleksu povzro~a ~lovek. Pri~ujo~a {tudija opozarja na potrebo po pove~anem varstvu pred motnjami in tudi po zonaciji obmo~ja, {e posebno v gnezditvenem obdobju. 6. References BirdLife International (2000): Threatened birds of the world. – Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge. Cody, M.L. (1985): Habitat selection in Birds. – Academic Press Inc., London. Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J. & Stattersfield, A.J. (1994): Birds to Watch 2 – The World List of Threatened Birds. – BirdLife Conservation Series No 4., BirdLife International, Cambridge. Donchev, S. (1967): Contribution to knowledge on waterfowl in Bulgaria. – Papers of Zoological Institute with Museum - BAS, Sofia. (in Bulgarian) Elmberg, J., Nummi, P. , Poysa, H. & Sjoberg, K. (1993): Factors affecting species number and density of dabbling duck guilds in North Europe. – Ecography 16: 251–260. 95 N. Petkov: Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca breeding population development and habitat selection at Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria Georgiev, D. (2002): Management Plan for Durankulak Lake Complex. – BSBCP and MoEW, Sofia. Green, A.J. (1998): Habitat selection by the Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and other ducks in the Goksu delta, Turkey in summer. – Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 53: 225–243. Ivanov, B. (1994): Shabla Complex - Durankulak Lake. pp. 24–26 In: Michev, T. (ed.): National Plan for Priority Conservation Actions for Wetlands in Bulgaria. – Bulvest 2000 Publishing House, Sofia. (in Bulgarian) Johnson, D.H., Nichols, J.D. & Schwartz, D. (1992): Population dynamics of breeding waterfowl. pp. 446–485 In: Batt, B.D.J., Afton, A.D., Anderson, M.G., Ankney, C.D., Johnson, D.H., Kadlec, J.A. & Krapu, G.L. (eds.): Ecology and Management of Breeding Waterfowl. – University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. Korschgen, C.E & Dahlgren, R.B. (1992): Human Disturbances of Waterfowl: Causes, Effects and Management. pp. 8 In: Fredrickson, L.H. & Reid, F.A. (eds.): Waterfowl Management Handbook. – Fish and Wildlife Leaflet 13.2.15, USFWS, Washington. Mittev, D. (2000): Evaluation of the Ferruginous Duck Population (Aythya nyroca) at Durankulak Lake and Shabla Lake Complex in year 2000. – BSBCP Dobrudga Project annual report, internal project report. Patterson, J.H. (1976): The role of environmental heterogeneity in the regulation of duck populations. – Journal of Wildlife Management 40: 22–32. Petkov, N. (1997): Current status of the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) in Bulgaria. – MSc thesis, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University "St. Kl. Ochridski", Sofia. Petkov, N. (1998a): Current Status of the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) in Bulgaria. – Partimadar 1997–1998, MME/BirdLife Hungary. Petkov (1998b): Studies on the Ferruginous Duck in Bulgaria. – TWSG News 11: 14–19. Petkov, N. (2000): Population Trends of Breeding Ferruginous Duck in Bulgaria. – TWSG News 12: 44–48. Petkov, N. (2003): Status and Distribution of Breeding Ferruginous Duck in Bulgaria. pp. 22–27 In: Petkov, N., Hughes, B. & Gallo-Orsi, U. (eds.): Ferruginous Duck: From Research to Conservation. – BSPB Conservation Series No 6, BirdLife International-BSPB-TWSG, Sofia. Petrov, B.M. & Zlatanov, S.I. (1955): Materials on the Fauna of Dobrudga. – Magazine of the Research Institute at the Ministry of Agriculture 1: 93–113. Ringelman, J. (1992): Identifying the factors that Limit the Duck Production. pp. 8 In: Fredrickson, L.H. & Reid, F.A. (eds.) Waterfowl Management Handbook. – Fish and Wildlife Leaflet 13.2.7, USFWS, Washington. Robel, D., Konigstedt, D. & Muller, H. (1978): Zur Kenntnis der Avifauna Bulgariens. – Beitr. Vogelkd. 24 (4): 193–225. Schneider-Jacoby, M. (2003): Ferruginous Duck in Germany - distrinution and protection of Germany's rarest breeding bird. pp. 62–65 In: Petkov, N., Hughes, B. & Gallo-Orsi, U. (eds.): Ferruginous Duck: From Research to Conservation. – BSPB 96 Conservation Series No 6, BirdLife International-BSPB-TWSG, Sofia. Street, M. (1977): The food of Mallard ducklings in a wet gravel quarry, and its relation to duckling survival. – Wildfowl 28: 113–125. Arrived / Prispelo: 9.6.2003 Accepted / Sprejeto: 9.2.2004 Acrocephalus 24 (118): 97 – 102, 2003 Upad populacije in sprememba rabe tal v lovnem habitatu rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v [turmovcih (SV Slovenija) Population decline and land-use changes in hunting habitat of the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio at [turmovci (NE Slovenia) Damijan Denac Gorki~eva 14, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: damijan.denac@dopps-drustvo.si In 1997 and 2003, pairs of Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio were censused in the [turmovci area, primarily alluvial floodplain forest that was eventually transformed into pastures and meadows with numerous trees, solitary shrubs and hedges. It is located 7 km SE of Ptuj (UTM WM73, NE Slovenia). The »area count« method, a simplified mapping method, was applied. The mapped area covered 4.4 km2. In both years, data on Red-backed Shrike’s hunting habitats were gathered, while in 2003 data on perching site types and their heights were also collected. In 1997, 89 pairs were counted (density 20.5 pairs/km2), while in 2003, 53 pairs were recorded (density 12.2 pairs/km2). Between 1992, when the first census was carried out by [tumberger et al. (1993), and 2003 the breeding pair population declined by 69%. In 2003, the highest breeding density in 1 km2 square was 23.3 pairs. Most Red-backed Shrikes hunted in meadows, 88% in 1997 and 60% in 2003. Most of those that hunted in meadows, did so in mown meadows: 72% in 1997 and 57% in 2003. The highest perching site was 10 m, the lowest 0.5 m from the ground. Average height of perching sites was 2.6 ± 1.8 m. The highest perching sites were found in overgrowing habitat. Disappearance of meadows due to intensive farming and cessation of mowing are the main causes for the Red-backed Shrike’s population decline at [turmovci. Key words: Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, census, [turmovci, hunting habitats, perching sites, agricultural intensification, Slovenia Klju~ne besede: rjavi srakoper, Lanius collurio, popis, [turmovci, lovni habitat, pre`a, intenzifikacija kmetijstva, Slovenija 1. Uvod Rjavi srakoper Lanius collurio je palearkti~na vrsta. Njegov areal se razteza po vsej Evropi z izjemo Britanskega oto~ja, Skandinavije in Iberskega polotoka. Na vzhodu dose`e zahodno sibirsko ni`avje, na jugu pa Transkavkazijo z Iranom in Tur~ijo. Vrsta je prvotno naseljevala stepe in ekotone med gozdovi in travi{~i ter za~etne stadije razvoja gozda (Glutz von Blotzheim & Bauer 1993). Zaradi intenzivnih ~lovekovih posegov v okolje od neolitika naprej, predvsem kr~enja gozdov, je vrsta poselila tudi sekundarno nastala odprta negozdnata obmo~ja. Je dober indikator strukturirane kulturne krajine (Pfister & Naef-Denzer 1987, Flade 1994). Gnezdi na gozdnih robovih, travnikih s {tevilnim grmovjem in `ivimi mejami ter v ekstenzivnih sadovnjakih. Ustreza mu nizka travi{~na vegetacija, saj svoj glavni plen, velike `u`elke, lovi ve~inoma na tleh (Flade 1994). V 20. stoletju je za~el rjavi srakoper postopno izginjati iz agrarnih obmo~ij zaradi posledic intenzivnega kmetijstva (komasacije, se~nje `ivih mej, uporabe sila`e namesto sena, nadome{~anja visokodebelnih sadovnjakov s planta`nimi, vnosa pesticidov). V Evropi se je med letoma 1970 in 1990 {tevil~nost gnezditvene populacije zmanj{ala za 50% (Glutz von Blotzheim & Bauer 1993, Tucker & Heath 1994). 97 D. Denac: Upad populacije in sprememba rabe tal v lovnem (SV Slovenija) V Sloveniji je rjavi srakoper zelo raz{irjena gnezdilka. Gnezditvena populacija je ocenjena na 20.000 – 30.000 parov (Geister 1995). Na voljo so podrobnej{i podatki o gnezditvenih gostotah iz Jovsov (Trontelj & Vogrin 1993), z Ljubljanskega barja (Trontelj 1994), Vol~e{kih travnikov pri Celju ([tumberger 1994), s sedaj `e preplavljenih mo~virnih travnikov zadr`evalnika Medvedce (Vogrin 1996) in iz Kozjanskega regijskega parka (Jan~ar & Trebu{ak 2000). Podatke o raz{irjenosti in gnezditvenih gostotah vrste na obmo~ju re~ne loke med Mariborom in Ptujem je objavil Bra~ko (1997). Leta 1992 so gnezde~e pare rjavih srakoperjev v [turmovcih popisali [tumberger et al. (1993). Spremljanja {tevil~nosti rjavih srakoperjev v dalj{em ~asovnem obdobju in podrobnej{ih avtekolo{kih raziskav vrste v Sloveniji do sedaj ni bilo. V raziskavi smo `eleli ugotoviti, ali se je {tevil~nost gnezde~ih rjavih srakoperjev na obmo~ju [turmovcev spremenila v zadnjih 11 letih, med leti 1992, 1997 in 2003. Preu~ili smo razli~ne tipe lovnih habitatov in pre` (lovnih mest) rjavega srakoperja v [turmovcih. 2. Opis raziskovanega obmo~ja in metoda 2.1. Opis raziskovanega obmo~ja [turmovci so obmo~je re~ne loke med Dravinjo in Dravo v subpanonski zoogeografski regiji Slovenije (Mr{i} 1997). Imajo naravovarstveni status krajinskega parka. [ir{e zavarovano obmo~je je veliko 125 ha. Z ju`ne strani ga omejujejo Haloze, s severne pa Ptujsko jezero. Povpre~na nadmorska vi{ina je 223 m. Podnebje je zmerno celinsko, subpanonsko (Fridl et al. 1998). Tla sestavljajo pe{~eno-prodnati nanosi obeh rek, ki sta v preteklosti to obmo~je redno poplavljali in ga spreminjali. Posebnost [turmovcev so kr~i. To so obmo~ja nekdanjega poplavnega gozda, topolovega loga, ki so po poplavah ostajala suha. Doma~ini so jih o~istili visokih steblik, mladega drevja in grmovja ter za~eli kositi travo. Jeseni so vse listje pograbili za steljo ([tumberger et al. 1993). Zaradi ~lovekovega vpliva je nastala kulturna krajina s {tevilnimi negnojenimi travniki, bogato prepredena z belimi topoli Populus alba, bresti Ulmus sp. in pasovi grmovja kot ostanki loke. Po zajezitvi Drave v Markovcih in nastanku Ptujskega jezera za potrebe hidroelektrarne Formin leta 1979 rednih poplav ni bilo ve~ ([tumberger 2000). V ostankih loke so se drevesa, odvisna od nihajo~ega vodnega re`ima, za~ela su{iti. V zadnjih desetih letih se je raba tal na obmo~ju bistveno spremenila. Do leta 1992 so v [turmovcih kosili 80 – 90% travni{kih povr{in. Kasneje so del travnikov preorali in jih 98 habitatu rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v [turmovcih spremenili v njive. Tak{en trend je bil stalnica minulega desetletja, zato danes tu prevladujejo posevki koruze, precej{en del obmo~ja pa se zara{~a (B. Trafela & P. Pribo`i~ pisno). 2.2. Metoda Popise smo opravili v obdobjih od 5. do 11.7.1997 ter od 28. do 30.6.2003 med 7. in 12. uro zjutraj. Meje raziskovanega obmo~ja so bile enake, kot so jih pri prvem popisu rjavih srakoperjev v [turmovcih leta 1992 zarisali [tumberger et al. (1993). Raziskovano obmo~je povr{ine 4,4 km2 smo razdelili na {est manj{ih obmo~ij, velikih med 0,3 in 1,3 km2 (slika 1). Vsako izmed njih smo popisali v enem dopoldnevu. Uporabili smo poenostavljeno kartirno metodo, znano tudi kot »area count« (Bibby et al. 2000). Kot kartografsko osnovo pri popisovanju smo leta 1997 uporabljali karto TTN 1:5000, leta 2003 pa digitalni ortofoto posnetek istega merila. Vsako obmo~je smo v celoti prehodili po linijah. Razdalje med linijami so na travnikih in kmetijskih povr{inah merile pribli`no 100 – 150 m, v presvetljenih gozdovih ali zara{~ajo~ih se obmo~jih pa pribli`no 30 – 50 m. Med obhodom linije smo popisovali spol in aktivnost srakoperjev, pri love~ih osebkih pa {e tip lovnega habitata ter tip in vi{ino pre`e. Srakoperja razli~nih spolov, opa`ena blizu skupaj, za katera je obstajala verjetnost, da tvorita par, smo obravnavali kot en par. Sicer smo kot par {teli posamezne odrasle osebke in speljane mladi~e. Na raziskovanem obmo~ju smo opredelili {tiri habitatne tipe: poko{eni travnik, nepoko{eni travnik, zara{~ajo~i se travnik in njiva. Kot poko{eni travnik smo obravnavali travnik, ki je bil v ~asu popisa poko{en, kot nepoko{eni travnik tisti, ki v ~asu popisa ni bil poko{en, vendar smo na podlagi vegetacije sklepali, da je bil poko{en prej{nje leto. Kot zara{~ajo~i se travnik smo opredelili tistega, ki `e ve~ let ni bil poko{en in se je zara{~al z lesno vegetacijo. Na tem tipu travnikov so v ~asu popisa med rastlinami prevladovale zlata rozga Solidago sp., rudbekija Rudbeckia sp., vrba Salix sp. in robinija Robinia pseudacacia. Vegetacija je bila tu vi{ja od 50 cm. Pre`e so bila mesta, s katerih so rjavi srakoperji lovili plen. Njihove vi{ine smo ocenjevali na 0,2 m natan~no. Za mero variabilnosti smo izra~unali standardno deviacijo (SD). Vsa opazovanja smo opravili z daljnogledi in teleskopi. 3. Rezultati [tevilo parov rjavih srakoperjev na raziskanem obmo~ju se je v letu 2003 v primerjavi z letom 1997 zmanj{alo za AcROCEPHALUS 24 (118): 97 — I02, 2OO3 1997 2003 Slika 1: Pari rjavih srakoperjev Lanius collurio v [turmovcih v letih 1997 in 2003 (kvadrat pomeni par). Podlaga: DOF5, © Geodetska uprava Republike Slovenije, 2002 Figure 1: Red-backed Shrike pairs Lanius collurio at [turmovci in 1997 and 2003 (square delineating a pair). Map source: DOF5, © Geodetska uprava Republike Slovenije, 2002 99 D. Denac: Upad populacije in sprememba rabe tal v lovnem habitatu rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v [turmovcih (SV Slovenija) 40%, v primerjavi z letom 1992 pa za 69% (tabela 1, slika 1). Leta 2003 je bila najve~ja gnezditvena gostota glede na posamezna popisna obmo~ja v [turmovcih 23,3 para/km2, najmanj{a pa 5,9 para/km2. Tabela 1: [tevil~nost parov in gnezditvena gostota rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v [turmovcih v letih 1992 ([TUMBERGER et al. 1993), 1997 in 2003 Table 1: Number of pairs and breeding densities of Red-backed Shrikes Lanius collurio at [turmovci in 1992 ([TUMBERGER et al. 1993), 1997 and 2003 Leto/ Št. parov/ Gnezditvena gostota Year No. of pairs (pari/km2)/ Breeding density (pairs/km2) 1992 172 39>3 1997 89 20,5 2003 53 12,2 Najve~ srakoperjev je lovilo plen na poko{enih in nepoko{enih travnikih, 88% leta 1997 in 60% leta 2003. Upo{tevaje le srakoperje, ki so lovili v teh dveh habitatnih tipih, jih je v obeh letih najve~ lovilo na poko{enih travnikih, 72% leta 1997 in 57% leta 2003 (tabela 2). Izbor lovnih habitatov se je med letoma 1997 in 2003 statisti~no zna~ilno razlikoval (?22 = 8,18, p = 0,017). Ugotovili smo, da je 26 od 35 srakoperjev (74%) lovilo plen z zelenih dreves ali grmovja, 8 (23%) jih je lovilo s popolnoma suhih vej (su{ic), eden (3%) je imel pre`o na je~menovi njivi. Najvi{ja pre`a je bila visoka 10 m, najni`ja pa 0,5 m. Povpre~na vi{ina pre` je bila 2,6 ± 1,8 m. Z najvi{jih pre` so lovili srakoperji na zara{~ajo~ih se travnikih (slika 2). Srakoperji so z ni`jih pre` (do 4 m) lovili plen na tleh, z vi{ji pre` (nad 4 m) pa v zraku. 4. Diskusija Gnezditvena populacija rjavega srakoperja je bila leta 2003 v [turmovcih bistveno ni`ja kot v letih 1992 in 1997. Gnezditvena gostota leta 1992 je bila med najvi{jimi, ugotovljenimi v Sloveniji (tabela 3), leta 2003 pa je bila od te vrednosti manj{a za ve~ kot trikrat. V [turmovcih je bila najvi{ja gostota leta 2003 na ploskvi 1 km2 23,3 para, kar je malce manj kot najve~ja gostota (24 parov), ki jo je na enako veliki ploskvi na Ljubljanskem barju ugotovil Trontelj (1994). Zmanj{anje {tevila gnezde~ih rjavih srakoperjev v [turmovcih je br`kone posledica sprememb, ki so v kulturni krajini nastale v minulih desetih letih. Klju~na sprememba v [turmovcih je manj{a povr{ina optimalnih habitatov vrste (lovnih in gnezditvenih). V za~etku devetdesetih let prej{njega stoletja so v [turmovcih prevladovali travniki oziroma steljniki, ki so jih tradicionalno kosili enkrat letno (B. Trafela & Tabela 2: Lovni habitat rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v [turmovcih v letih 1997 in 2003 (n – {tevilo opazovanih srakoperjev med lovom) Table 2: Hunting habitat of Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio in [turmovci in 1997 and 2003 (n – number of observed hunting shrikes) Lovni habitat/ 1997 2003 Hunting habitat n % n % Pokošen travnik/ 26 63,4 12 34,3 Mown meadow Nepokošen travnik/ 10 24,4 9 25,7 Unmown meadow Zarašèajoèi se travnik/ 5 12,2 13 37,1 Overgrowing habitat Njiva / Field 0 0,0 1 2,9 Skupaj / Total 41 100,0 35 100,0 !! pkt(n=12) nkt(n=9) zrt(n=13) nji(n=l) Slika 2: Povpre~ne vi{ine pre` rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v lovnih habitatih v [turmovcih leta 2003 (pkt – poko{eni travnik, nkt – nepoko{eni travnik, zrt – zara{~ajo~i se travnik, nji – njiva, navpi~ne ~rte – SD) Figure 2: Average heights of Red-backed Shrike’s Lanius collurio perching sites in [turmovci hunting habitats in 2003 (pkt – mown meadow, nkt – unmown meadow, zrt – overgrowing habitat, nji – field, vertical bars – SD) ioc ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): 97 — I02, 2OO3 Tabela 3: Gnezditvene gostote rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio na razli~nih obmo~jih Slovenije (SI) in Avstrije (AT) Table 3: Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio breeding densities in different areas of Slovenia (SI) and Austria (AT) Obmo~je/ parov/10 ha Vir/ Area pairs/10 ha Source P. Pribo`i~ pisno). V raziskavi smo ugotovili, da so travniki najpomembnej{i lovni habitat rjavega srakoperja, kar potrjujejo tudi drugi avtorji (Cramp 1994, Flade 1994). Na povr{inah z redko in nizko vegetacijo je za srakoperja plen opaznej{i in dostopnej{i kot na gosteje zara{~enih obmo~jih z vi{jo vegetacijo (Flade et al. 2003). Leta 2003 smo ugotovili ve~ji odstotek srakoperjev (37,1%) love~ih na zara{~ajo~ih se predelih, kot leta 1997 (12,2%). Domnevamo, da je to posledica spreminjanja krajine, predvsem zaradi opu{~anja tradicionalne ko{nje (zara{~anja) in pove~anja dele`a njivskih povr{in v zadnjem desetletju. Ustrezne pre`e so pomemben element v srakoperjevem habitatu (Flade 1994). Omogo~ajo mu uspe{en lov in hkrati rabijo kot mesto, kjer plen poje (Cramp 1994). Povpre~na ugotovljena vi{ina lovnih mest je bila podobna vi{inam v zahodni (2 m) in vzhodni Nem~iji (2,1 m; Cramp 1994). Sklepamo, da so na zara{~ajo~ih se travnikih osebki izbirali vi{je pre`e zaradi bolj{ega pregleda nad lete~imi `u`elkami, saj je plen na tleh te`je dostopen. Potrdili smo literaturne podatke (Cramp 1994), da srakoper izbira vi{ja lovna mesta, ~e lovi v zraku. Navpi~ne strukture – omejki, gozdni robovi in grmovje – so v habitatu rjavega srakoperja klju~na mesta za gnezdenje (Flade et al. 2003), in posledi~no je razporeditveni vzorec srakoperjev v arealu odvisen od tak{nih strukturnih elementov (Semrad 2002). V [turmovcih je izginjanje grmovja na travnikih in omejkov posledica intenzivnega kmetijstva in v ve~ini primerov ni osamljen dejavnik, ki bi mu lahko pripisali krivdo za zmanj{anje {tevila gnezde~ih srakoperjev. Indikatorske vrste nam ponazarjajo dogodke v celotnem ekosistemu, njegovo stanje in trende ter so ob~utljive za vrsto negativnih dejavnikov, ki ogro`ajo lokalno biodiverziteto (Kry{tufek 1999). Rjavi srakoper je indikatorska vrsta ekstenzivne kulturne krajine (Flade 1994). Populacijski upad v [turmovcih izkazuje tudi splo{no siroma{enje biodiverzitete tega obmo~ja. V [turmovcih je zakonsko dovoljeno le krajevno obi~ajno gospodarjenje, tako da se ohrani estetska podoba krajine (Uradni vestnik ob~in Ormo` in Ptuj 1979). Tukaj{nja intenzifikacija kmetijstva, ki negativno vpliva na {tevil~nost rjavega srakoperja in celotno biodiverziteto [turmovcev, je dokaz, da so predpisani varstveni ukrepi za to obmo~je v resnici ostali le na papirju. Zahvala: Zahvaljujem se Marku Bunderli, Luki Koro{cu, Tadeju Pipanu, Petri Radoli~, Jakobu Smoletu, Ale{u Toma`i~u in Mitji Vraneti~u, ki so v okviru ornitolo{kih raziskovalnih taborov DOPPS – BirdLife Slovenia sodelovali pri popisovanju. Za podatke o rabi tal v [turmovcih se zahvaljujem Petru Pribo`i~u in Bernardi Trafela iz Kmetijsko gozdarskega zavoda Ptuj. 5. Povzetek Na obmo~ju [turmovcev (UTM WM73, SV Slovenija) smo v letih 1997 in 2003 opravili popis parov rjavih srakoperjev Lanius collurio. Meje raziskovanega obmo~ja so bile enake kot v delu [tumberger et al. (1993). Raziskovano obmo~je povr{ine 4,4 km2 smo popisali s poenostavljeno kartirno metodo, znano kot »area count«. Popisovali smo tudi tipe lovnih habitatov srakoperjev in tipe ter vi{ino pre` (lovnih mest). Leta 1997 smo popisali 89 parov rjavih srakoperjev (gostota 20,5 parov/km2), leta 2003 pa 53 parov (gostota 12,2 parov/km2). V primerjavi z letom 1992, ko je bil opravljen prvi popis rjavih srakoperjev v [turmovcih ([tumberger et al. 1993), je leta 2003 101 Ljubljansko barje, SI 3,6 (140 km2) Kozjanska krajina, SI (62,8 km2) [turmovci 1992, SI (4,4 km2) [turmovci 1997, SI (4,4 km2) [turmovci 2003, SI (4,4 km2) Vol~e{ki travniki, SI (0,65 km2) Medvedce, SI (1,55 km2) Jovsi, SI (4,6 km2) Münichstal, AT (4,7 km2) 2,2 3,9 2,1 1,2 0,8 o»7 0,2 1,3 Trontelj (1994) Jan~ar & Trebu{ak (2000) [tumberger et al. (1993) to delo / this work to delo / this work [tumberger (1994) Vogrin (1996) Trontelj & Vogrin (1993) Semrad (2002) D. Denac: Upad populacije in sprememba rabe tal v lovnem (SV Slovenija) gnezdilo 69% parov manj. Leta 2003 je bila najvi{ja gnezditvena gostota na ploskvi 1 km2 23,3 para. Najve~ srakoperjev je lovilo plen na poko{enih in nepoko{enih travnikih, 88% leta 1997 in 60% leta 2003. Med srakoperji, ki so lovili plen na travnikih, jih je najve~ lovilo na poko{enih travnikih: 72% leta 1997 in 57% leta 2003. Leta 2003 je ve~ srakoperjev (37,1%) lovilo na zara{~ajo~ih se predelih kot leta 1997 (12,2%), kar je najverjetneje posledica spreminjanja krajine, predvsem zaradi opu{~anja tradicionalne ko{nje (zara{~anja) in pove~anja dele`a njivskih povr{in v zadnjem desetletju. Srakoperji so imeli najvi{je pre`e na zara{~ajo~ih se travnikih, s povpre~no vi{ino 2,6 ± 1,8 m. Izginjanje travnikov zaradi intenzivnega kmetijstva in zara{~anja, kot posledica opu{~anja tradicionalne ko{nje, sta glavna vzroka zmanj{anja populacije rjavega srakoperja v [turmovcih. Ker je rjavi srakoper indikatorska vrsta kulturne krajine, pomeni zmanj{anje njegove populacije splo{no siroma{enje biodiverzitete v [turmovcih. 6. Literatura Bibby, J.C., Burgess, N.D., Hill, D.A. & Mustoe, S. (2000): Bird Census Techniques. – Academic Press, London. Bra~ko, F. (1997): Ornitolo{ki atlas Drave od Maribora do Ptuja (1989–1992). – Acrocephalus 18 (82): 57–97. Cramp, S., ed. (1994): Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Vol. 1. – 9. – Oxford University Press, Oxford. Flade, M. (1994): Die Brutvogelgemeinschaften Mittel-und Norddeutschlands. – IHW–Verlag, Eching. Flade, M., Plachter, H., Henne, E. & Anders, K. (2003): Naturschutz in der Agrarlandschaft. – Ergebnisse des Schorfheide-Chorin-Projektes, Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim. Fridl, J., Kladnik, D., Oro`en Adami~, M. & Perko, D., eds. (1998): Geografski atlas Slovenije: Dr`ava v prostoru in ~asu. – DZS, Ljubljana. Geister, I. (1995): Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. – DZS, Ljubljana. Glutz von Blotzheim, U.N. & Bauer, K.M. (1993): Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Band 13/II, Passeriformes (4. Teil). – AULA-Verlag, Wiesbaden. Jan~ar, T. & Trebu{ak, M. (2000): Ptice Kozjanskega regijskega parka. – Acrocephalus 21 (100): 107–134. Kry{tufek, B. (1999): Osnove varstvene biologije. – Tehni{ka zalo`ba Slovenije, Ljubljana. Mr{i}, N. (1997): Biotska raznovrstnost v Sloveniji. – Ministrstvo za okolje in prostor, Uprava RS za varstvo narave, Ljubljana. Pfister, H.P. & Naef-Denzer, B. (1987): Der Neuntöter und andere Heckenbrüter in der modern Agrarlandschaft. – Beih. Veröff. Naturschutz Landschaftspflege Baden–Württemberg 48: 147–157. habitatu rjavega srakoperja Lanius collurio v [turmovcih Semrad, J. (2002): Besidelung agrarökologisch bedeutsamer Landschaftselemente durch Goldammer und Neuntöter in Münichstal. – Egretta 45: 59–90. [tumberger, B. (1994): Popis ptic vol~e{kih travnikov (Celje) in njihovo naravovarstveno ovrednotenje. – Acrocephalus 15 (65–66): 123–134. [tumberger, B. (2000): Reka Drava. pp. 149–159 V: Polak, S. (ed.): Mednarodno pomembna obmo~ja za ptice v Sloveniji, Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Slovenia. – DOPPS, Monografija DOPPS {t. 1, Ljubljana. [tumberger, B., Kaligari~, M. & Geister, I. (1993): Krajinski park [turmovci. – Ob~ina Ptuj, Ptuj. Trontelj, P. (1994): Ptice kot indikator ekolo{kega pomena Ljubljanskega barja (Slovenija). – Scopolia 32: 1–61. Trontelj, P. & Vogrin, M. (1993): Ptice Jovsov in predlogi za njihovo varstvo. – Acrocephalus 14 (61): 200–209. Tucker, G.M. & Heath, M.F. (1994): Birds in Europe: their conservation status. – BirdLife International, Cambridge. Uradni vestnik ob~in Ormo` in Ptuj (1979): Odlok o razglasitvi in zavarovanju naravnih obmo~ij in spomenikov narave v ob~ini Ptuj, 2.8.1979. Vogrin, M. (1996): Gnezdilke mo~virnih travnikov v zadr`evalniku Medvedce na Dravskem polju. – Acrocephalus 17 (75-76): 61–71. Prispelo / Arrived: 15.10.2003 Sprejeto / Accepted: 9.2.2004 102 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO3 — IO7, 2OO3 Pegasta sova Tyto alba in lesna sova Strix aluco v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih SV Slovenije Barn Owl Tyto alba and Tawny Owl Strix aluco in castles and some other buildings in NE Slovenia r{a Koce1, Tilen Basle2, Matja` Premzl3, Rok Rozman4 & Gregor [alamun5 1 Zavrti 18, SI-1234 Menge{, Slovenija, e-mail: ursa.koce@kiss.si 2 Koro{ka cesta 178a, SI-2351 Kamnica, Slovenija 3 Zrkovci 52, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija 4 Poljska pot 7, SI-4240 Radovljica, Slovenija 5 Bi{ 61, SI-2254 Trnovska vas, Slovenija 1. Uvod Med sovami, ki `ivijo v okolici naselij, sta v Sloveniji gotovo najpogostej{i pegasta Tyto alba in lesna sova Strix aluco (Geister 1995). Prva je od vseh evropskih vrst sov najtesneje vezana na ~love{ka bivali{~a, saj si po~ivali{~e in gnezdi{~e najve~krat izbere v senikih, gospodarskih poslopjih, zapu{~enih hi{ah, cerkvenih stolpih in gradovih (Mikkola 1983). Lesna sova naseljuje predvsem listnate in me{ane gozdove, dokaj pogosta pa je tudi v naseljih. Gnezdi v drevesnih duplih ali gnezdilnicah in tudi v stavbah (Mikkola 1983). O zadr`evanju oziroma gnezdenju lesne sove v stavbah na obmo~ju Slovenije pri~a ve~ objav (npr. Peru{ek 1990, Majcen 2000, [egula 2000, Vre{ 2000). O bivanju pegaste sove v stavbah so pisali npr. Jan`ekovi~ (1992), Vrezec (1997), Jan`ekovi~ & Ficko (2000), Katalini~ (2000), Ker~ek (2000), Kunst (2000) in Sedmak (2000). Tome (1986) je preu~eval pojavljanje pegaste sove v cerkvah na obmo~ju Ljubljanskega barja, Leskov{ek (1988) pa na obmo~ju Posavskega hribovja v okolici Lisce. Denac et al. (2002) so opravili obse`no raziskavo o pojavljanju pegaste in lesne sove ter ~uka v cerkvah, gradovih in drugih objektih na obmo~ju Vipavske doline in Krasa. V SV Sloveniji je pojavljanje pegaste in lesne sove v gradovih raziskoval [orgo (1992). Namen na{e raziskave je bil ponoviti popis sov v gradovih SV Slovenije, poleg tega pa popis raz{iriti {e na druge objekte in tako zbrati ~im ve~ podatkov o sovah v stavbah na obmo~ju SV Slovenije. 2. Opis obravnavanega obmo~ja in metoda Sledi sov smo iskali v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih v SV Sloveniji, in sicer na obmo~ju Slovenskih goric, Dravske ravni in Murske ravni. Obmo~je le`i v predpanonski biogeografski regiji (Mr{i} 1997). Nadmorska vi{ina na obmo~ju raziskave nikjer ne presega 500 m. V Slovenskih goricah je 75% negozdnih povr{in, ve~ino sestavljajo njive, travniki, sadovnjaki in vinogradi. Poselitev je strnjena le v ve~jih dolinah. Na obmo~ju Dravske in Murske ravni je 80% negozdnih povr{in, s prevladujo~imi njivami in travniki. Med njimi so obmo~ja razli~no velikih strnjenih naselij. (Perko & Oro`en Adami~ 2001) Med 28.6. in 4.7.2003 smo pregledali objekte na 14 lokacijah: podstre{ja in/ali pripadajo~e objekte 11 gradov, skladi{~e `ita, opu{~eno stanovanjsko poslopje ter opu{~ena poslopja kmetijske zadruge. Ob nekaterih objektih smo v ve~ernem ~asu preverili prisotnost pegaste sove {e s predvajanjem posnetka njenega ogla{anja (playback method; glej npr. Zuberogoitia & Campos 1998), in sicer v Kungoti – Ravnem polju, Ormo`u, Turni{~u pri Ptuju, Ra~ah in Dornavi. V objektih smo iskali izbljuvke in druge sledi bivanja sov, kot so iztrebki in perje. Ocenili smo {tevilo in starost izbljuvkov. Iskali smo tudi sledi bivanja kune belice Martes foina, ki lahko pleni zarod pegaste sove (Baudvin & Jouaire 2001). Bele`ili smo mo`nost dostopa za sove v objekt prek podstre{nih lin ali drugih primernih odprtin. 3. Rezultati in diskusija V objektih smo na {estih od 14 obiskanih lokacij na{li sledi pegaste sove, na {tirih lokacijah pa sledi lesne sove (slika 1). V {tirih primerih bivanja pegaste sove smo na{li po ve~ deset izbljuvkov, v dveh primerih pa le po enega (tabela 1). V vseh primerih bivanja lesne sove smo na{li le po en ali nekaj izbljuvkov (tabela 1). 103 U. Koce et al.: Pegasta sova Tyto alba in lesna sova Strix aluco v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih SV Slovenije Tabela 1: Pojavljanje pegaste Tyto alba (TA) in lesne sove Strix aluco (SA) v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih SV Slovenije, opis najdbe, odprtost lin v objektu ter sledi bivanja kune belice Martes foina Table 1: Presence of Barn Owl Tyto alba (TA) and Tawny Owl Strix aluco (SA) in castles and some other buildings in NE Slovenia, description of the find, state of openings in the building, and traces of Stone Marten Martes foina Lokacija/ Location Objekt/ Vrsta sove/ Building Owl species Sledi sov/ Traces of owls Odprtost lin v objektu in dostopnost / State of openings in the building and accessibility Kuna belica Martes foina/ Stone Marten Martes foina Beltinci Grajsko podstre{je/ Castle loft TA 30 leto{njih izbljuvkov, peresa, iztrebki/ 30 this year’s pellets, feathers, excrements Line podstre{ja delno zamre`ene, dostop prek lin v stolpu/ Openings of the loft partially screened, access through openings in the tower Iztrebki/ Excrements Beltinci Skladi{~e `ita/ Cereal storehouse SA 1 star izbljuvek/ 1 old pellet Line odprte/ Openings opened Borl Grajsko podstre{je/ Castle loft SA 1 star izbljuvek/ 1 old pellet Line odprte/ Openings opened Iztrebki/ Excrements Dornava Grajsko podstre{je/ Castle loft Zamre`ene line/ Openings screened Iztrebki/ Excrements Kungota – Ravno polje Grajski hlev/ Castle barn TA 1 leto{nji izbljuvek/ 1 this year’s pellet Line odprte/ Openings opened Iztrebki/ Excrements Lendava Opu{~eni objekti TA kmetijske zadruge/ Abandoned agricultural cooperative’s facilities 100 leto{njih in starih izbljuvkov/ 100 this year’s and old pellets Line odprte/ Openings opened Iztrebki in 4 kadavri/ Excrements and 4 cadavers Ormo` Grajsko podstre{je/ Castle loft TA 70 leto{njih izbljuvkov, peresa, iztrebki/ 70 this year’s pellets, feathers, excrements Line podstre{ja zamre`ene, dostop prek ve~je line v stolpu / Openings of the loft screened access through larger opening in the tower Podova Opu{~ena stanovanjska hi{a / Abandoned dwelling house SA 1 star izbljuvek/ 1 old pellet Line odprte/ Openings opened Iztrebki/ Excrements Pragersko Podstre{je dvorca/ Manor loft - Ni ve~jih lin/ No larger openings Iztrebki/ Excrements Ra~e Grajski stolp/ Castle tower TA 1 star izbljuvek (sova pred kratkim opazovana)/ 1 old pellet (owl recently observed) Line odprte/ Openings opened Raki~an Podstre{je gradu in grajskega hleva/ Castle loft and castle barn loft Line odprte/ Openings opened 104 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO3 — IO7, 2OO3 Lokacija/ Objekt/ Location Building [tatenberg Grajski hlev/ Castle barn Turni{~e Grajsko pri Ptuju podstre{je/ Castle loft Velika Grajsko podstre{je Nedelja in stolpi / Castle loft and towers (nadaljevanje tabele 1 / continuation of Table 1) Vrsta sove/ Sledi sov/ Odprtost lin v objektu Kuna belica Owl species Traces of owls in dostopnost / State of openings Martes foina/ in the building and accessibility Stone Marten Martes foina SA 5 starih izbljuvkov, peresa, iztrebki/ 5 old pellets, feathers, excrements TA 40 leto{njih izbljuvkov (sova pred kratkim opazovana) / 40 this year’s pellets (owl recently observed) Line odprte/ Openings opened Line odprte/ Openings opened Line zamre`ene/ Openings screened Iztrebki/ Excrements Sova navadno izvr`e vsaj en izbljuvek na dan (Tome 2003), iz ~esar sklepamo, da gre v objektih, kjer je bil en sam izbljuvek, za naklju~ne in kratkotrajne obiske posameznih osebkov. Objekte, kjer je bilo po nekaj deset izbljuvkov pegaste sove, opredeljujemo kot mo`na gnezdi{~a za to vrsto. [orgo (1991) je sledi lesne sove iskal v treh gradovih, Veliki Nedelji, [tatenbergu in Kungoti – Ravnem polju. V Veliki Nedelji sledi tokrat ni bilo (line na podstre{ju so bile zamre`ene). V [tatenbergu, kjer smo na{li nekaj izbljuvkov in peresa lesne sove, in v Kungoti – Ravnem polju, kjer smo na{li en sam izbljuvek pegaste sove, smo pregledali le grajska hleva. Pegasta sova je bila leta 1991 potrjena v gradovih Ra~e, Ormo` in Dornava ([orgo 1991). Tokrat smo sledi njenega bivanja na{li v Ra~ah in Ormo`u. V grajskem stolpu v Ra~ah smo sicer na{li en sam izbljuvek, vendar nam je oskrbnik gradu povedal, da je nedavno opazoval sovo, ki se je spu{~ala s stolpa in se nanj tudi vra~ala. V tem gradu je gnezdenje pegaste sove znano `e iz prej{njih let (D. Denac ustno). V Dornavi, kjer je bilo podstre{je pred kratkim obnovljeno, line pa zamre`ene, sledi sov ni bilo. V Turni{~u pri Ptuju, kjer [orgo (1991) ni na{el sovjih sledi, smo na{li izbljuvke, peresa in iztrebke pegaste sove. V ve~ernem ~asu smo njeno pojavljanje v tem gradu potrdili tudi s predvajanjem posnetka njenega ogla{anja, na katerega se je odzvala. Nekaj deset leto{njih izbljuvkov, peresa in iztrebke pegaste sove smo na{li tudi na podstre{ju gradu v Beltincih. Pegasta in lesna sova nista sobivali v nobenem od pregledanih objektov. Enako je ugotovil [orgo (1991), ki dopu{~a, da gre za medvrstno tekmovanje med pegasto in lesno sovo. Med sovami, ki gnezdijo v duplih in votlinah, vlada tem ve~ja konkurenca, ~im bolj so si podobne po velikosti in izbiri gnezdi{~a. Lesna sova je agresivnej{a kot pegasta sova in je tako v odprti krajini kot tudi v naseljih po ekolo{ki hierarhiji dominantnej{a (Mebs & Scherzinger 2000). Vendar pa Hartung (2002) navaja ve~ primerov iz Nem~ije, ko je pegasta sova napadla lesno sovo ali njen zarod v gnezdilnici oziroma jo v ~asu valjenja iz gnezdilnice izrinila. Pegasta sova se izogiba objektom, kjer biva kuna belica (Mikkola 1983). Denac et al. (2002) navajajo podatke, ki potrjujejo, da se pojavljanje teh dveh vrst na istem prostoru v istem ~asu izklju~uje. Prostorskega izklju~evanja z na{imi podatki ne moremo potrditi, saj smo sledi kune belice na{li v dveh od petih prostorov, kjer se je pegasta sova zadr`evala dalj{e obdobje (tabela 1). V kmetijski zadrugi v Lendavi, kjer je `e pred leti v opu{~enih hlevih izbljuvke pegaste sove na{el Katalini~ (2000), smo v dveh betonskih silosih poleg {tevilnih leto{njih in starih izbljuvkov pegaste sove na{li {tiri kadavre kun belic, na podstre{ju gradu v Beltincih pa nekaj deset leto{njih izbljuvkov pegaste sove in ve~ iztrebkov kune belice. Pegasta sova sodi v Sloveniji med redke gnezdilke (Geister 1995). Boudvin & Jouaire (2001) sta ugotovila, da je en izmed glavnih razlogov za upad {tevil~nosti pegaste sove v Burgundiji izguba primernih gnezdi{~. Ve~ avtorjev (Tome 1986, Peru{ek 1990, Richarz et al. 2001, Denac et al. 2002) opozarja na negativne posledice zamre`enja ve~jih odprtin na za gnezdenje sov ustreznih stavbah. Sledi sov nismo na{li na nobenem od zamre`enih podstre{ij (tabela 1). Zamre`enje lin v gradu Dornava IO5 U. Koce et al.: Pegasta sova Tyto alba in lesna sova Strix aluco v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih SV Slovenije Slika 1: Pojavljanje pegaste sove Tyto alba in lesne sove Strix aluco v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih SV Slovenije. Lokacije / Localities: 1 – Ra~e (grad / castle), 2 – Podova (opu{~ena hi{a / abandoned dwelling house), 3 – Kungota – Ravno polje (grajski hlev / castle barn), 4 – Pragersko (dvorec / manor), 5 – [tatenberg (grajski hlev / castle barn), 6 – Turni{~e pri Ptuju (grad / castle), 7– Dornava (grad / castle), 8 – Borl (grad / castle), 9 – Velika Nedelja (grad / castle), 10 – Ormo` (grad / castle), 11 – Raki~an (grad in grajski hlev / castle and castle barn), 12 – Beltinci (skladi{~e `ita / cereal storehouse), 13 – Beltinci (grad / castle), 14 – Lendava (kmetijska zadruga / agricultural cooperative building) Figure 1: Presence of Barn Owl Tyto alba and Tawny Owl Strix aluco in castles and some other buildings in NE Slovenia ob njegovi prenovi je verjetno glavni razlog, da pegaste sove, katere sve`e sledi je na podstre{ju pred leti na{el [orgo (1991), zdaj ni. Izgubo primernih prostorov za gnezdenje pegaste sove bi bilo zato treba nadomestiti. Kot primerno nadomestilo razli~ni avtorji (Marti{ko 1995, Baudvin & Jouaire 2001, Richarz et al. 2001) predlagajo name{~anje gnezdilnic. Zahvala: Zahvaljujemo se upravam gradov, KZ Lendava in KZ Beltinci, ki so nam omogo~ili ogled objektov. Prav tako hvala mentorjem Mladinskega ornitolo{kega tabora »Trnovska Vas 2003« za {tevilne nasvete, pomo~ in vzpodbudo pri na{em raziskovalnem delu. 106 Povzetek Sledi bivanja sov smo iskali v gradovih in nekaterih drugih objektih SV Slovenije, in sicer na obmo~ju Slovenskih goric, Dravske ravni in Murske ravni. Pregledali smo podstre{ja in/ali pripadajo~e objekte 11 gradov, skladi{~e `ita, opu{~eno stanovanjsko poslopje ter opu{~ena poslopja kmetijske zadruge. V objektih na {estih od 14 pregledanih lokacij smo na{li sledi pegaste sove Tyto alba, na {tirih pa sledi lesne sove Strix aluco. Pegasta sova se je dalj{e obdobje zadr`evala v opu{~enih objektih KZ Lendava ter v gradovih Ormo`, Ra~e, Beltinci in Turni{~e pri Ptuju. ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO3 — IO7, 2OO3 V slednjih dveh gradovih je prej niso opazili. Lesna sova je objekte, kjer smo na{li njene sledi, verjetno obiskala le za kratek ~as. Sovi nikjer nista sobivali. Prostorskega izklju~evanja pegaste sove in kune belice Martes foina nismo potrdili. V objektih, kjer so bile vse line zamre`ene, sledi bivanja sov ni bilo. Zamre`evanje gradov Dornava in Velika Nedelja je verjetno glavni razlog, da pegaste in lesne sove, katerih sledi je na podstre{jih pred leti na{el [orgo (1991), danes tam ni. Izgubo gnezditvenega prostora, predvsem za pegasto sovo, bi bilo treba nadomestiti z gnezdilnicami. Summary Traces of owls were searched for in castles and some other buildings in NE Slovenia in the areas of Slovenske gorice, Dravska ravan and Murska ravan. Lofts and/or buildings of 11 castles, cereal storehouse, abandoned dwelling house and abandoned facilities of an agricultural cooperative were examined. In six of the 14 examined localities, traces of Barn Owl Tyto alba were found, while in four localities traces of Tawny Owl Strix aluco were recorded. Barn Owl resided for a fairly long period of time in the abandoned buildings of the agricultural cooperative in Lendava as well as in castles at Ormo`, Ra~e, Beltinci and Turni{~e pri Ptuju. In the latter two castles, the Barn Owl had not been recorded prior to our investigations. Tawny Owl had probably visited the buildings, where its traces were found, only for a short period of time. The two owl species did not coexist in any of the dealt with localities. A spatial exclusion of Barn Owl and Stone Marten Martes foina was not confirmed. No owl traces were found in the buildings with screened openings. Screens on the castles at Dornava and Velika Nedelja could be the main reason for the present absence of Barn Owl and Tawny Owl, whose traces had been earlier found in the castle lofts by [orgo (1991). The loss of Barn Owl’s nest sites could be compensated with nestboxes. Literatura Baudvin, H. & Jouaire, S. (2001): Breeding biology of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in Burgundy (France): a 25 year study (1971-1995). – Buteo 12: 5–12. Denac, D., Mar~i~, M., Radoli~, P. & Toma`i~, A. (2002): Sove v cerkvah, gradovih in drugih objektih na obmo~ju Vipavske doline in Krasa v JZ Sloveniji. – Acrocephalus 23 (112): 91–95. Geister, I. (1995): Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. – DZS, Ljubljana. Hartung, B. (2002): Waldkauz – Terrorist oder Opfer? – Ornitologische Mitteilungen 3 (54): 98–100. Jan`ekovi~, F. (1992): Prehrana pegaste sove Tyto alba na Murskem polju. – Acrocephalus 13 (54): 137–138. Jan`ekovi~, F. & Ficko, M. (2000): Prehrana pegaste sove o alba na Gori~kem. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 27–29. Katalini~, D. (2000): Pegasta sova Tyto alba v JV delu Prekmurja. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 83. Ker~ek, M. (2000): Pegasta sova Tyto alba. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 84. Kunst, A. (2000): Pegasta sova Tyto alba. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 84. Leskov{ek, J. (1988): [e o cerkvenih zvonikih kot gnezdi{~ih za sove. – Acrocephalus 9 (35–36): 23. Majcen, D. (2000): Lesna sova Strix aluco. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 92. Marti{ko, J. (1995): Ohrana ptáku I. Sova pálena, sý~ek obecný. – Ekocentrum Brno, Stredisko ekologických informací, Brno. Mebs, T. & Scherzinger, W. (2000): Die Eulen Europas. – Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co., Stuttgart. Mikkola, H. (1983): Owls of Europe. – T & AD Poyser, London. Mr{i}, N. (1997): Biotska raznovrstnost v Sloveniji. – Ministrstvo za okolje in prostor, Uprava RS za varstvo narave, Ljubljana. Perko, D. & Oro`en Adami~, M. (2001): Slovenija – pokrajine in ljudje. – Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana. Peru{ek, M. (1990): Sove na ribni{ko-ko~evskem obmo~ju. – Acrocephalus 11 (45): 77–78. Richarz, K., Bezzel, E. & Hormann, M. (2001): Taschenbuch für Vogelschutz. – AULA-Verlag, Verlag für Wissenschaft und Forschung, Wiebelsheim. Sedmak, K. (2000): Prispevek k poznavanju prehrane pegaste sove Tyto alba na Ljubljanskem barju in v Se~oveljskih solinah. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 31–34. [egula, B. (2000): Lesna sova Strix aluco. – Acrocephalus 21 (102–103): 280–281. [ere, D. (1992): Pegasta sova Tyto alba gnezdi na Ljubljanskem barju. – Acrocephalus 13 (52): 90–91. [orgo, A. (1991): Pegasta sova Tyto alba in lesna sova Strix aluco v gradovih severovzhodne Slovenije. – Acrocephalus 12 (49): 139–140. Tome, D. (1986): Cerkev – pribe`ali{~e za sove? – Acrocephalus 7 (30): 53–55. Tome, D. (2003): Izbljuvki. – Svet ptic 9 (1): 33–35. Vre{, I. (2000): Lesna sova Strix aluco. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 91. Vrezec, A. (1997): Pegasta sova Tyto alba. – Acrocephalus 18 (80–81): 43–44. Zuberogoitia, I. & Campos, L. F. (1998): Censusing owls in large areas: a comparison between methods. – Ardeola 45 (1): 47–53. Prispelo / Arrived: 17.10.2003 Sprejeto / Accepted: 9.2.2004 IO7 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO9 — II9, 2OO3 Iz ORNITOLOŠKE BELEZNICE From the ornithological notebook Slovenija / Slovenia Rumenokljuni slapnik Gavia adamsii Yellow-billed Loon – 1 juvenile feeding on Common Cuttlefish Sepia officinalis in Strunjan Bay (UTM UL84, Adriatic Sea, SW Slovenia) on 12 Jan 2003. Third record for Slovenia. Kot vsako leto sva tudi v letu 2003 popisovala ptice na delu Obale v okviru zimskega {tetja vodnih ptic, tokrat 12.1.2003 v dru`bi Tine Rabzelj. Popis smo zaklju~ili v Strunjanu, kjer nas je v zalivu med {kolj~i{~nimi bojami ~akala redkost brez primere – mladostni rumenokljuni slapnik. Ob prvem pogledu na slapnika so vsa tolikoletna premi{ljevanja o morebitni te`avnosti pri dolo~itvi vrste v primeru bli`njega sre~anja hipoma izpuhtela. Slapnik je bil ogromen! Vse na njem je bilo v prese`nikih – izjemno debel, belkasto rumen mo~no navzgor zavihan kljun, ki je bil ob bazi zelenkast, izrazita grba na ~elu in velik trup svetlo rjave barve z izrazitim luskastim vzorcem. Glede na izrazito luskavost ali to~neje bele obrobe krovnih peres na hrbtu smo ugotovili, da je bil slapnik mladosten. Intenzivno se je potapljal in iskal hrano. Zadnji potop je bil uspe{en, saj se je na povr{ju prikazal z veliko sipo Sepia officinalis v kljunu, prizadevajo~ si, da bi sicer `e pokon~anega glavono`ca spravil po grlu navzdol. To pa ni ostalo skrito o~em enemu izmed rumenonogih galebov Larus michahellis, ki so po~ivali na bli`njih bojah. Galeb je za~el slapnika br` obletavati in napadati, ta pa se je s plenom vred ponovno potopil. Po dalj{em ~asu se je spet prikazal na povr{ju, brez sipe, a vidno sit. Svoj beli trebuh je izpostavil soncu in med dreme`em po~asi odveslal proti sredini zaliva. Gre za tretje opazovanje rumenokljunega slapnika v Sloveniji [Bo`i~, L. (2001): Seznam ugotovljenih vrst ptic Slovenije s pregledom redkih vrst. – Acrocephalus 22 (106–107): 115–120]. Na Obali je bil nazadnje opazovan novembra 1982 v Se~oveljskih solinah [[kornik, I. (1983): Rumenokljuni slapnik Gavia adamsii. – Acrocephalus 4 (15): 15]. Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Borut Rubini~, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: rubinic@siol.net Bobnarica Botaurus stellaris Great Bittern – three observations in the winter of 2001/2002: (1) on 25 Dec 2001 on frozen Fijesa lake (UTM UL84, SW Slovenia), (2) on 28 Dec 2001 in the ^rnec stream near Kapca (UTM XM06, Prekmurje, NE Slovenia), and (3) on 5 Jan 2002 at Turni{ka studen~nica (springwater) near Pobre`je (UTM WM63, [tajerska, NE Slovenia) V zimi 2001/02 sem imel prilo`nost kar trikrat opazovati to redko vrsto. Prvi~ sem jo videl 25.12.2001, ko sem jo presenetil na ledeni ploskvi v celoti zamrznjene vodne povr{ine manj{ega jezerca pri Fijesi. Bobnarica je po nekaj sekund trajajo~em {oku odletela v trsti~je ve~jega jezerca. Dne 28.12.2001 sem bobnarico opazoval sredi potoka ^rnec, nekaj sto metrov pred soto~jem s ^rnim potokom severno od Kapce. Opazoval in fotografiral sem jo z razdalje nekaj metrov, bobnarica pa se, zaverovana v svojo zna~ilno svarilno dr`o, ni niti premaknila, ~eprav v potoku ni bilo nobenega kritja. Sicer pa je bila bobnarica v neposredni bli`ini opazovana `e dve leti prej [Vajndorfer, B. & Kolenko, J. (1999): Bobnarica Botaurus stellaris. – Acrocephalus 20 (97): 194]. Zadnji~ sem jo videl 5.1.2002, ko sem jo med zimskim {tetjem moko`ev spla{il iz Turni{ke studen~nice pri naselju Pobre`je blizu Vidma pri Ptuju. Omeniti velja {e to, da je bila ta zima v ~asu opisanih opazovanj zelo mrzla, vse stoje~e vode so bile pod ledom. Zanimivo je, da je bilo to zimo med {tetjem vodnih ptic (IWC, januar 2002) ugotovljeno najve~je {tevilo bobnaric v zadnjih {estih letih [[tumberger, B. (2002): Rezultati {tetja vodnih ptic v januarju 2002 v Sloveniji. – Acrocephalus 23 (110–111): 43–47]. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si Duplinska kozarka Tadorna tadorna Common Shelduck – two individuals observed on Po`eg reservoir within Ra~e Landscape Park (UTM WM54) on 21 Dec 2002. Rare winter record in NE Slovenia. Dne 21.12.2002 sem se med sprehodom po Krajinskem parku Ra~e namenil {e na akumulacijo Po`eg. Ta je bila sicer pove~ini zaledenela, pa vendar z dvema majhnima nezaledenelima zaplatama, kjer se je drenjalo veliko {tevilo rac. Tam sem na{tel 465 mlakaric Anas platyrhynchos in devet (9) kreheljcev Anas crecca. Med vso to mno`ico pa sta resni~no bodli v o~i dve duplinski kozarki. Opazovanje se 109 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook mi zdi zanimivo, saj iz SV Slovenije ni veliko podatkov o zimskem opazovanju teh ptic. Zimski ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije [Sovinc, A. (1994): Zimski ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. – Tehni{ka zalo`ba Slovenije, Ljubljana] jih omenja samo za Obalo, tudi med zimskim {tetjem vodnih ptic so bile v ve~ini primerov opa`ene samo na Obali, le v letu 1998 tudi na Dravi in na zgornji Savi [[tumberger, B. (1998): Rezultati {tetja vodnih ptic v januarju 1998 v Sloveniji. – Acrocephalus 19 (87–88): 36]. Dejan Bordjan, Ulica 8. februarja 50, SI-2204 Milklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: dejanonih@email.si Gosja raca Chenonetta jubata Maned Duck – first record for Slovenia: a male observed on 19 Mar 2003 on the Sava river dam in Kranj (UTM VM42, N Slovenia). The bird was probably an escapee, and in contrast to other ducks, predominantly Goosanders Mergus merganser, it did not seem timid at all. (Colour appendix – Figures 1 & 2) Na gumijastih valjastih balonih, ki zadr`ujejo in usmerjajo vodo reke Save proti elektrarni v Savskem logu v Kranju, se je nekaj dni od 19.3.2003 do konca maja 2003 naprej zadr`evala med tam obi~ajnimi velikimi `agarji Mergus merganser meni {e nepoznana vrsta race. @e od dale~ ni bila podobna nobeni evropski vrsti. Tudi pla{na ni bila, saj se ni umaknila skupaj z velikimi `agarji, ampak mi je dovolila, da sem se ji pribli`al na nekaj deset metrov. Ob za~etku vegetacijske sezone se je najraje pasla in ve~ji del dneva pre`dela na prodi{~u pod jezom. Redkeje sem jo opazil v vodi. Bila je zaupljiva in domnevam, da je {lo za ube`nico, ~eprav na nogi ni imela obro~ka. Posre~ilo se mi jo je tudi fotografirati, tako da sem lahko kmalu ugotovil, da gre za vrsto Chenonetta jubata (barvna priloga – sliki 1 & 2). Podatek je kot prvo opazovanje v Sloveniji potrdila tudi Nacionalna komisija za redkosti. Raca sicer izvira iz Avstralije in je edina predstavnica svojega rodu [Madge, S. & Burn. S. (1988): Wassergeflügel. – Verlag Paul Parey, Hamburg, Berlin]. V sloven{~ini vrsta {e ni bila poimenovana. Angle{ki imeni Wood Duck in Maned Duck nista primerni za prevod v sloven{~ino. Prvo ime `e uporabljajo za nevestico Aix sponsa, drugo ime pa pomeni grivasta raca. Predlagam ime gosja raca, saj gre za raco srednje velikosti, podobno gosem na visokih nogah. Opazovani primerek je bil samec. V Avstraliji je splo{no raz{irjena, kar velja tudi za sosednjo Tasmanijo. Biva v redkih drevesnih sestojih ob sladkih vodah, kjer je vsaj malo trave ali drugih zeli. Zadr`uje se tudi v braki~nih in slanih vodah (Madge & Burn 1988). Zna~ilna zanjo je majhna glava, kakr{no imajo pritlikave gosi tropske Avstralije. Samec je po glavi in vratu obarvan rjavo, drugod sivo in belo-~rno. Samica je bolj enovitih barv, prepoznamo jo po dveh belih o~esnih progah. Gosjo raco sem na reki Savi nazadnje opazoval 5.8.2003. Tone Trebar, Pestotnikova 17, SI-4000 Kranj, Slovenija, e-mail: tonetrebar@volja.net 110 Kostanjevka Aythya nyroca Ferruginous Duck – 1 individual observed on 27 Oct 2003 on the Sava river near Zidani most (UTM WM10, central Slovenia) Dne 27.10.2003 sem se s potni{kim vlakom peljala iz Maribora v Ljubljano in skozi okno opazovala okolico. Na Savi sem videla kar nekaj sivih Ardea cinerea in velikih belih ~apelj Egretta alba, kormoranov Phalacrocorax carbo, mlakaric Anas platyrhynchos, sivk Aythya ferina in ~opastih ponirkov Podiceps cristatus. Blizu Zidanega mosta, kjer se `elezni{ka proga mo~no pribli`a re~ni strugi, je mojo pozornost pritegnila rjava raca, stoje~a na skali ob bregu. Proti meni je bila obrnjena z bokom, in ker je breg nezara{~en, sem jo lahko zelo dobro opazovala. Imela je belo podrepno perje in belo obrobljeno oko ter siv kljun. Potem ko sem vzela v roke {e priro~nik, dvoma ni bilo ve~: videla sem kostanjevko. Nada Labus, Korbunova 31a, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: nada_labus@hotmail.com Planinski orel Aquila chrysaetos Golden Eagle – a subadult observed on 10 Oct 2003 at lake Jezero near Pesek (UTM WM24, Pohorje Mts., NE Slovenia), accompanied by male Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, female Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis, and Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Z Ano Vidmar sva se 10.8.2003 odpravila na sprehod k Jezeru pri Pesku na Pohorju, kjer sva lahko opazovala nad gozdovi kro`e~ega subadultnega planinskega orla, sicer redko vrsto na Pohorju [Bra~ko, F. (1998): Pojavljanje planinskega orla Aquila chrysaetos na Pohorju. – Acrocephalus 19 (87–88): 60–63]. Kro`il je le kak{nih 50 metrov nad tlemi in se po~asi dvigal. Ob tem so se mu nekoliko vi{e pridru`ili {e samec skobca Accipiter nisus, samica kragulja Accipiter gentilis in kanja Buteo buteo. Dejan Bordjan, Ulica 8. februarja 50, SI-2204 Milklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: dejanonih@email.si Postovka Falco tinnunculus & veliki srakoper Lanius excubitor Common Kestrel & Great Grey Shrike – a case of bird kleptoparasitism observed on 5 Dec 2003 near Dornava (UTM WM74, Ptujsko polje, NE Slovenia): Common Kestrel stealing a small mammal just caught by Great Grey Shrike Kleptoparazitizem je med pti~i dokaj raz{irjen pojav. Znani so primeri prisvajanja plena med ujedami [npr. Braun, B. & Lederer, E. (1996): Kleptoparasitismus eines Würgfalken (Falco cherrug) an Rohrweihen (Circus aeruginosus). – Egretta 39: 116]. Opa`eni pa so bili `e primeri, ko je moral ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO9 — II9, 2OO3 veliki srakoper prepustiti plen {krjan~arju, kanji in celo sivi ~aplji [Glutz von Blotzheim, U.N. & Bauer, K.M. (1993): Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Bd.13. – Aula-Verlag GmbH, Wiesbaden]. Dne 5.12.2003 sem popisoval velike srakoperje na Ptujskem polju. Bilo je megleno petkovo jutro, ko me je pot zanesla proti Dornavi. Nekje na polovici popisovanja sem se `e tretji~ razveselil velikega srakoperja. Vpisal sem ga v obrazec. Srakoper je bil razmeroma blizu, od mene oddaljen dobrih 10 m. @del je na elektri~nem vodniku ob `elezni{ki progi, obra~al glavo in budno opazoval preorano polje. ^ez nekaj trenutkov se je spustil na tla. Usedel se je na polje, in sicer vrh brazde, kakih 10 cm od tal. Takrat pa se je kar po tleh pognal za malim sesalcem in ga onesposobil z enim samim udarcem s kljunom v glavo. Sklonil se je proti plenu in ga zgrabil z nogo in s kljunom. Ko sem `e mislil, da ga bo naposled odnesel, je plen izpustil in v nizkem letu odfr~al nad polji v kritje. V tistem trenutku se je namre~ pribli`ala postovka, kar v letu pobrala srakoperjev plen, se usedla na drog in po`rla ukradeno voluharico. Dominik Bombek, Pre{ernova 1, SI-2250 Ptuj, Slovenija, e-mail: dominik.bombek@guest.arnes.si Jerebica Perdix perdix Grey Partridge – rare record for Dravinja valley (NE Slovenia): a male observed on 9 Jun 2003 between Zgornje and Spodnje Polj~ane (UTM WM43) Dravinjska dolina kot novo predlagano obmo~je SPA v Sloveniji [Bo`i~, L. (2003): Mednarodno pomembna obmo~ja za ptice v Sloveniji 2. – Monografija DOPPS 2, DOPPS, Ljubljana] je dele`na posebne ornitolo{ke pozornosti. Podatka o pojavljanju jerebice v teh krajih v literturi nisem na{el in tudi sam se z njo tod poprej {e nisem sre~al [Vrezec, A. (1994): Pti~i Dravinjske doline od Polj~an do [tatenberga. – Raziskovalna naloga, Gimnazija [entvid, Ljubljana]. Zato sem bil {e toliko bolj presene~en, ko mi je 9.6.2003 na stranski cesti med Zgornjimi in Spodnjimi Polj~anami (UTM WM43), vijugajo~i med travniki in njivami, na cesto prikorakal samec jerebice. Prepla{en jo je kmalu pobrisal nazaj med travne bilke, sam pa sem zadovoljen dodal {e eno vrsto na seznam ptic Dravinjske doline. Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Mala tukalica Porzana parva Little Crake – a female, probably on migration, resting on 15 Apr 2001 in Norway Spruce Picea abies on the edge of small forest in cultural landscape at Loke pri Planini near Sevnica (UTM WM30, Posavsko hribovje, E Slovenia) Med organiziranim popisom ptic na raz{iritvenem obmo~ju Kozjanskega regijskega parka sva se dne 15.4.2001 zgodaj zjutraj lotila to~kovnega popisa v prevladujo~i ekstenzivni kulturni krajini blizu naselja Loke pri Planini pri Sevnici na vzhodnem delu Posavskega hribovja. Med potjo ~ez travnik od prve popisne to~ke proti drugi sva nekaj minut ~ez {esto uro na smreki Picea abies na robu manj{ega gozdi~ka zagledala neznanega pti~a. Pribli`no dva metra nad tlemi je na veji smreke ~epela samica male tukalice. Ko sva se ji pribli`ala na razdaljo nekaj metrov, se je za~ela `iv~no pomikati po veji sem ter tja, nato pa je sko~ila na vejo bli`njega hrasta. O~itno je mala tukalica varno zavetje smreke, v zanjo povsem netipi~ni pokrajini, uporabila za po~itek na svoji selitveni poti. Med selitvijo lahko mala tukalica izbira tudi habitate, v katerih sicer ne gnezdi, na primer poplavljeno grmovje [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. – DZS, Ljubljana], vendar pa zunaj vodnih prebivali{~ {e ni bila opazovana [Snow, D.W. & Perrins, C.M. (1998): The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1 – Oxford University Press, Oxford]. Ale{ Toma`i~, Cesta ob lipi 1, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si @erjav Grus grus Common Crane – observation of a flock of 83 individuals on 8 Nov 2003 at Medvedce reservoir (UTM WM53, NE Slovenia) V soboto 8.11.2003 smo se odpravili opazovat ptice na Dravsko polje. Najprej smo se ustavili na Medvedcah in se napotili okoli vodnega zadr`evalnika. Prvih nekaj sto metrov ni bilo presene~enj, nato pa smo na nebu opazili jato velikih ptic. Po natan~nej{em opazovanju smo ugotovili, da zremo v jato 83 `erjavov. Jata je ve~krat zakro`ila nad bli`njimi njivami in nato na eni izmed njih tudi pristala. Sklepamo, da so `erjavi iskali hrano. Med jato odraslih `ivali smo opazili tudi mlade osebke. Izlet smo nadaljevali na Ptujsko jezero, kjer nas je na polju pod nasipom pri~akalo {est (6) jerebic Perdix perdix. Nato smo na nebu vnovi~ opazili jato `erjavov in se po {tetju zedinili, da gre za jato, ki smo jo opazovali `e na Medvedcah. Nada Labus, Korbunova 31a, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: nada_labus@hotmail.com Miha Krofel, Hudovernikova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: lynx_mk@hotmail.com Sloka Scolopax rusticola Woodcock – three observations of a single individual during migration period in lowland floodplain forests of the sub-Pannonian part of Slovenia: (1) on 26 Mar 2000, (2) on 7 Apr 2000 at Murska {uma (UTM XM25, Prekmurje, NE Slovenia), and (3) on 23 Mar 2001 in Krakov virgin forest reserve (UTM WL38, SE Slovenia) Sloka sodi zaradi skritega na~ina `ivljenja med slab{e poznane vrste ptic v Sloveniji. V letih 2000 in 2001 sem 111 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook zaradi na~rtnih raziskav gnezdilk v spomladanskih mesecih nekoliko ve~ ~asa pre`ivel v ni`inskih gozdovih subpanonskega dela Slovenije. Pri tem sem se v selitvenem ~asu trikrat sre~al tudi s sloko. Prvi~ sem jo opazoval 26.3.2000, ko sem jo spla{il izpod grma na robu gozda na SV delu Murske {ume. Naslednji~ sem to ptico videl dne 7.4.2000, pribli`no 300 metrov od kraja prvega opazovanja. Sloka se je tokrat najprej prestavila za kak{nih 100 metrov, nato pa odletela globlje v gozd. Obakrat se je zadr`evala na golih tleh v hrastovo-gabrovem gozdu Querco-Carpinetum in zletela je {ele potem, ko sem se ji pribli`al na razdaljo manj kot 10 metrov. Gozdna tla so bila tu razmeroma suha, v bli`ini pa ni bilo nobene vodne povr{ine. Naslednji~ sem jo opazoval 23.3.2001 v Krakovskem gozdu. En osebek je takoj ob mojem prihodu vzletel s poplavljenih tal na ju`nem koncu gozdnega rezervata v osrednjem delu gozda. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si Kozica Gallinago gallinago Common Snipe – two observations on 26 and 29 Aug 2001 in Vipava river oxbow near Dornberk (UTM VL08, SW Slovenia) Kozico smo ob reki Vipavi, ki te~e mimo Dornberka, vedno opazovali v ~asu selitve in pozimi. Tako sva z Erikom [inigojem naletela nanjo dne 26.8.2001 pri mrtvem rokavu reke Vipave, imenovanem Bajer. Ko se je dvignila s tal, se je oglasila in v cikcakastem letu odletela proti reki. Sam sem jo opazoval {e 29.8.2001. Tega dne sem v toplem popoldnevu poslu{al celo njeno meketanje. Toma` Berce, Pre{ernova 9, SI-5294 Dornberk, Slovenija Pegasta sova Tyto alba guttata Barn Owl – three cadavers found along local roads in NE Slovenia: (1) on 1 Nov 2002 at Budina, (2) on the same day at Borovci (UTM WM74, Ptujsko polje), and (3) on 9 Nov 2002 at Apa~e (UTM WM63, Dravsko polje) Pozimi je smrtnost sov na cestah ve~ja kot poleti. Vzrok je lahko v tem, da se pozimi sove pogosteje zadr`ujejo ob cestah, {e posebej, ~e pokrajino prekrije debela sne`na odeja. Ob cesti{~u, kjer so tudi pasovi zarasti, je gostota malih sesalcev velika, zato taka obmo~ja pritegnejo sove [Bombek, D. (2001): Zakaj je pegasta sova ogro`ena. – Svet ptic 7 (3): 15–16]. Ve~ina sov je namre~ povo`ena na obmo~jih, ki zdru`ujejo intenzivne kulturne povr{ine in grmovnate `ive meje, kjer se sove najpogosteje zadr`ujejo [Rubini~, B. (2000): Smrtnost sov Strigiformes na avtocestah med Bologno in Trbi`em (Italija) pozimi 1998-99. – Acrocephalus 21(98–99): 67–70]. Dne 1.11.2002 sem na{el dve povo`eni pegasti sovi podvrste guttata v kraju Budina in Borovci na Ptujskem polju. Razdalja med obema mrtvima 112 pticama je bila le kaka 2 km. V Budini je mesto najdbe na eni strani mejilo na naselje, na drugi pa na kmetijsko povr{ino z njivami in travniki. V Borovcih sem na{el povo`eno pegasto sovo na obmo~ju z intenzivnimi kmetijskimi povr{inami ter z drevesi in grmovjem zara{~eno gramoznico. Dne 9.11.2002 sem v kraju Apa~e pri perutninski farmi Trnovec na{el {e tretjo povo`eno pegasto sovo, in sicer na obmo~ju s travniki na eni strani ceste in z gozdom na drugi. Vse tri sove so bile najdene na obmo~jih, kjer tip habitata ustreza ve~ji gostoti malih sesalcev. Dominik Bombek, Pre{ernova 1, SI-2250 Ptuj, Slovenija, e-mail: dominik.bombek@guest.arnes.si Koza~a Strix uralensis Ural Owl – observation of a single individual on 20 Dec 2002 at Sv. Bolfenk above Maribor (UTM WM45, NE Slovenia): first reliable recent record on occurrence of this species in Pohorje Mts. Na Pohorju, v bli`ini razglednega stolpa pri Sv. Bolfenku nad Mariborom (1147 m n.v.), sem 20.12.2003 opazoval za te kraje izjemno redko vrsto. Med vo`njo z avtomobilom proti vrhu Pohorja sem okoli 14.00 ure na manj{i brezi ob cesti zagledal koza~o. Takoj ko sem ustavil, je koza~a odletela nekaj deset metrov v gozd. To je prvo zanesljivo opazovanje koza~e na Pohorju v novej{em ~asu [Bo`i~, L. & Vrezec, A. (2000): Sove Pohorja. – Acrocephalus 21 (98–99): 47–53]. Opazovanje se ~asovno ujema s pove~anim {tevilom opazovanj te vrste v SV Sloveniji v zimi 2002/2003 [[tumberger, B. (2002): Koza~a Strix uralensis. – Acrocephalus 23 (115): 196–197; Bordjan, D. (v tisku): Koza~a Strix uralensis. – Acrocephalus 24 (117); @. [alamun ustno]. Kljub opazovanju v negnezditvenem obdobju dopu{~am mo`nost, da ta sova na Pohorju v majhnem {tevilu tudi gnezdi. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si Hribski {krjanec Lullula arborea Wood Lark – rare winter observations from the continental part of the country, indicating prolonged winter dwelling by this species in NE Slovenia: (1) 5 individuals on 23 Dec 2001 on road edge cleared of snow at Staro{ince (UTM WM54, Dravsko polje), and (2) 1 individual on 16 Dec 2001 in a flock of 123 Crested Larks Galerida cristata and Sky Larks Alauda arvensis at Dornava (UTM WM74, Ptujsko polje) Hribski {krjanci v Sloveniji redno prezimujejo le v njenem skrajnem JZ delu (na Krasu in v Vipavski dolini), medtem ko gnezdi{~a v notranjosti Slovenije v zimskem ~asu zapustijo [Sovinc, A. (1994): Zimski ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. – Tehni{ka zalo`ba Slovenije, Ljubljana]. Trije ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO9 — II9, 2OO3 doslej zbrani zimski podatki iz SV Slovenije zadevajo, vsaj po datumih opazovanj sode~, zapoznele decembrske selilce [Sovinc 1994; Rubini~, B. (1995): Hribski {krjanec Lullula arborea. – Acrocephalus 16 (68–70): 84]. Dve novej{i opazovanji iz {ir{e okolice Ptuja v mrzlem in snega polnem decembru 2001 pa ka`eta na nekoliko dolgotrajnej{e zimsko zadr`evanje hribskih {krjancev v tem delu Slovenije. Dne 23.12.2001 sem prvi avtor z J. Smoletom in D. Bordjanom popisoval velike srakoperje na ju`nem delu Dravskega polja, ki je bilo tedaj pokrito s skoraj pol metra debelo sne`no odejo. Splu`ene ceste in robovi so tega dne za ve~ino ptic pomenili edino mo`nost prehranjevanja. Na obmo~ju Dravskega polja, ki ga v grobem omejujejo naselja Ra~e, Brun{vik, Kidri~evo, Apa~e, Vrhloga in Pragersko, smo med drugim na{teli 63 kanj Buteo buteo, 19 postovk Falco tinnunculus, tri pepelaste lunje Circus cyaneus in kakih 80 krokarjev Corvus corax. Zelo {tevilni so bili tudi {krjanci, {e zlasti ~opasti Galerida cristata, videli pa smo tudi nekaj poljskih Alauda arvensis. V vasi Staro{ince smo naleteli na pet hribskih {krjancev, ki so se prehranjevali vzdol` cestnega roba. Vsaki~, ko je mimo pripeljal avtomobil, so se {krjanci dvignili, naredili krog nad polji in se vrnili na prej{nje mesto. Med popisom velikih srakoperjev dne 16.12.2001 sem drugi avtor v kraju Dornava opazil jato ptic na njivi, zara{~eni s plevelom. Kljub debeli sne`ni odeji je plevel molel iz snega in pticam ponujal semena. Na njivi so se pasli ~opasti in poljski {krjanci, skupaj 123 osebkov, med njimi pa {e samcat hribski {krjanec. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si Dominik Bombek, Pre{ernova 1, SI-2250 Ptuj, Slovenija, e-mail: dominik.bombek@guest.arnes.si Rjavi srakoper Lanius collurio Red-backed Shrike – a male observed on 1 Jun 2003 on southern slope of Mt. Ko{uta (UTM VM44, Karavanke Mts., N Slovenia) at an unusually high altitude of 1750 m a.s.l. Med hojo po grebenu Ko{ute med Kofce goro (1967 m n.v.) in Velikim vrhom (2088 m n.v.) v Karavankah dne 1.6.2003 sva z M. Ker~kom zasli{ala znano pti~je ogla{anje, ki je prihajalo s pobo~ja pod nama. Kljub temu da sva takoj prepoznala zna~ilno ogla{anje rjavega srakoperja, sva zavoljo visoke nadmorske vi{ine hotela ptico vsekakor tudi videti. Spustila sva se kak{nih sto vi{inskih metrov ni`e po strmem travnatem pobo~ju do planinske poti, ki vodi iz doma na Kofcah na greben Ko{ute. Od tukaj sva lahko opazovala samca rjavega srakoperja, ki se je spreletaval med posameznimi grmi ru{ja in skriven~enimi macesni nekaj sto metrov ni`e. Zadr`eval se je kakih 200 vi{inskih metrov nad gozdno mejo, na uravnanem predelu na vzno`ju ovr{nega, najbolj strmega dela Ko{utinega ju`nega pobo~ja. Doma sem ob pomo~i dr`avnega topografskega na~rta merila 1:5000 ugotovil, da omenjeni predel le`i na nadmorski vi{ini 1750 m. Kljub izredno pi~lim podatkom, objavljenim o vi{inski raz{irjenosti gnezdilk v Sloveniji, menim, da gre za opazovanje na zelo visoki nadmorski vi{ini, ki le`i precej nad obi~ajno zgornjo mejo vi{inske raz{irjenosti rjavega srakoperja. Na avstrijskem [tajerskem je bila na primer gnezditev najvi{e potrjena na 1500 m n.v., obstajata pa {e dve opazovanji iz gnezditvenega obdobja na nadmorski vi{ini 1650 oziroma 2000 m [Sammwald, O. (1997): Neuntöter Lanius collurio. pp. 336-337. V: Sackl, P. & O. Sammwald (eds.): Atlas der Brutvogel der Steiermark. – BirdLife Österreich – Landesgruppe Steiermark & Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz]. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si Veliki srakoper Lanius excubitor & skalni plezal~ek Tichodroma muraria Great Grey Shrike & Wallcreeper – rare records of these species from Kozjansko Regional Park (UTM WM40, E Slovenia), both observed on 20 Nov 2003: the first near Podsreda, the second at Bistri Graben stone-pit near Kozje Dne 20.11.2003 sem se mudil v Kozjanskem regijskem parku v dru`bi {tirih biologov (Sabine Gomboc, Andreja Kaple, Maje Marin~ek in Martina Vernika), kjer se mi je posre~ilo naleteti na dve sicer registrirani, a v teh krajih malo znani vrsti, velikega srakoperja in skalnega plezal~ka [Jan~ar, T. & Trebu{ak, M. (2000): Ptice Kozjanskega regijskega parka. – Acrocephalus 21 (100): 107–134]. Velikega srakoperja, ki je iz obcestnega grma oprezal za plenom, smo opazovali nedale~ od Podsrede v bli`ini zaselka Socko (UTM WM40). Skalnega plezal~ka pa smo na{li v manj{em kamnolomu ob Bistrem Grabnu blizu Kozjega (UTM WM40), ko je ihtavo pregledoval razpoke za otrplimi `u`elkami. Gre za drugi podatek o opazovanju skalnega plezal~ka v Kozjanskem regijskem parku. Prvi~ je bil namre~ opazovan nekoliko ju`neje pri Ore{ju, prav tako v kamnolomu in prav tako v negnezditvenem obdobju [Balon, V. (2000): Skalni plezal~ek Tichodroma muraria. – Acrocephalus 21 (100): 167]. Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Poljska vrana Corvus frugilegus Rook – 1 individual on 16 Dec 2001 in [empeter near Nova Gorica (UTM UL98, W Slovenia) Dne 16.12.2001 sem v [empetru pri Novi Gorici na polju opazil odraslo poljsko vrano. Po polju je stopicala v neposredni bli`ini hi{ in ceste. Podatek je zanimiv, saj je poljska vrana na Primorskem razmeroma redka. Toma` Berce, Pre{ernova 9, SI-5294 Dornberk, Slovenija 113 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook Planinski vrabec Montifringilla nivalis Snowfinch – an adult male observed on 1 Jun 2003 just below Veliki vrh in Ko{uta Mountain Ridge on Slovene-Austrian border (UTM VM44, Karavanke, N Slovenia); the easternmost observation of the species in Slovenia during the breeding season V okviru rednih izletov [tajerske sekcije DOPPS smo se med 31.5. in 1.6.2003 odpravili na dvodnevno ornitolo{ko ekskurzijo v Karavanke. Nastanili smo se v ko~i Gorske re{evalne slu`be na planini [ija, ki je bila izhodi{~e za na{e izlete v pogorje Ko{ute. Dne 1.6.2003 smo se zgodaj zjutraj napotili proti Velikemu vrhu (2088 m n.v.). Na grebenu med Kofce goro (1967 m n.v.) in Velikim vrhom smo na strmih alpinskih travi{~ih izmed zanimivej{ih vrst opazovali dva para belk Lagopus mutus in nekaj pojo~ih samcev kup~arja Oenanthe oenanthe. Glavno presene~enje dneva pa nas je ~akalo malo pred na{im ciljem, ko smo na travnatem pobo~ju tik pod grebenom na nadmorski vi{ini 2000 m opazovali samca planinskega vrabca. Vrabec je po nekaj minutah opazovanja odletel na severno, prepadno stran grebena Ko{ute, kjer pa ga kljub intenzivnemu iskanju nismo ve~ videli. Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. – DZS, Ljubljana] omenja planinskega vrabca le za Julijske Alpe. Kasneje je bil planinski vrabec ugotovljen {e na Stolu v Karavankah [Kozinc, B. (2003): Planinski vrabci gnezdili na pobo~ju Stola. – Gea 13 (5): 69; T. Miheli~ ustno]. Kozinc (2003) omenja celo gnezdenje ve~ parov. Opisano opazovanje na Ko{uti pomeni za zdaj najvzhodnej{o lokacijo opazovanja te vrste v gnezditvenem obdobju. Vzhodneje je bil opazovan na Pohorju, vendar se podatek nana{a na zimsko negnezditveno obdobje [Basle, T. (2002): Planinski vrabec Montifringilla nivalis. – Acrocephalus 23 (110–111): 55]. V lu~i na{e najdbe bi odkrivanju planinskega vrabca kazalo nameniti ve~ pozornosti tudi v bli`njih Kamni{kih Alpah. Matja` Premzl, Zrkovci 65, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si 114 Hrvaška / Croatia Common Scoter Melanitta nigra Crna raca – drugoletni samec in samica opazovana 23.4.2003 na obalnem delu delte Neretve (UTM YH06, J Dalmacija); redek podatek za Dalmacijo In the early morning of 23 Apr 2003, we surveyed the coastal area of the Neretva delta. At 7:30 hrs, two quite large dark ducks flying just above the surface and landing about 1 – 2 km off the coast attracted our attention. With the aid of telescopes we were able to determine the birds as male and female Common Scoters. Judging from the colours on his bill, face and neck, the male was in its 2nd year. Its characteristic diving technique (diving jump with closed wings) was also performed. According to O. Reiser [Reiser, O. (1939): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica, Bd I. – Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Wien] and D. Rucner [Rucner, D. (1993): O `ivotu ptica u dolini Neretve. – Ogranak Matice Hrvatske u Metkovi}u, Metkovi}], the Common Scoter is a very rare winter guest on Dalmatian coast. Peter Sackl, Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Raubergasse 10, A-8010 Graz, Austria, e-mail: peter.sackl@stmk.gv.at Jakob Smole, Cafova 4, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia, e-mail: jakob.smole@kiss.si @erjav Grus grus Common Crane – 1 individual observed on Pag Island near Velo Blato (UTM WK01, N Dalmatia) on 3 and 4 May 2003 @erjav vsekakor sodi med tiste vrste, ki se jih na dvodnevnem izletu po otoku Pagu in okolici nisem nadejal. Prvi~ sem ga opazil zve~er 3.5.2003, ko me je v nizkem letu preletel na vzhodnem obre`ju Velega Blata. Br`kone isti osebek je 4.5.2003 po~ival na pa{niku ob Blatu in si urejal perje. Po navedbah J. Kraljeve [Kralj, J. (1997): Ornitofauna Hrvatske tijekom posljednjih dvjesto godina. – Larus 46: 1–112] se `erjav pojavlja tudi na jadranskih otokih. ^e `e drugega ne, je zanimiv vsaj dokaj pozni datum opazovanja, saj poteka spomladanska selitev te vrste ve~inoma v marcu ali za~etku aprila [npr. Rubini~, B. (2002): @erjav Grus grus. – Acrocephalus 23 (112): 106–107, lastna opazovanja]. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@dopps-drustvo.si Pe{~enec Calidris alba Sanderling – a group of three individuals spotted on 15 Sep 2003 on mudflats near the village of Karin on the coast of Karinsko morje (UTM WJ58, N Dalmatia) during regular visits between 13 and 20 Sep 2003. While the tide was at its lowest, the ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO9 — II9, 2OO3 mudflats became relatively large and were soon occupied by several Black-headed Gulls Larus ridibundus, Yellow-legged Gulls L. cachinnans, Grey Herons Ardea cinerea, Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos, Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata and Dunlins Calidris alpina. A Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola, a Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis and a Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea were also observed there. Blizu naselja Karin ob Karinskem morju v severni Dalmaciji sem se mudil med 13. in 20.9.2003. Na severozahodu se v ta zaliv izliva poto~ek in z nasutjem materiala ustvarja plitvine. Ob oseki se tam razkrijejo obse`ni blatni poloji. To pa izkori{~ajo ptice. Plitvino sem opazil zaradi re~nih Larus ridibundus in rumenonogih galebov Larus cachinnans, ki so se tam zbirali, poleg njih pa sem tu opazoval {e: ~rno prosenko Pluvialis squatarola, sive ~aplje Ardea cinerea, male martince Actitis hypoleucos, spremenljive prodnike Calidris alpina, velike {kurhe Numenius arquata, sivo pastirico Motacilla cinerea in vodomca Alcedo atthis. Dne 15.9.2003 pa so me presenetili trije pe{~enci. Ta pobre`nik sicer velja za redko ptico Hrva{kega primorja [Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. – Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej, Ministartvo razvitka i obnove, Zagreb]. Dejan Bordjan, Ulica 8. februarja 50, SI-2204 Milklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: dejanonih@ email.si Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidofi nilotica Crnonoga èigra – 6 prehranjujo~ih se osebkov dne 27.5.2002 na plitvinah ob izlivu reke Neretve (UTM YH06, J Dalmacija) During our field trip on 27 May 2002, we decided to take some time to survey the mouth of the Neretva river (UTM YH06, S Dalmatia). On the sandbars there, we had a chance to observe some bird species considered rare in Croatia. Amongst 20 Little Egrets Egretta garzetta, 12 Grey Herons Ardea cinerea and 3 Yellow-legged Gulls Larus cachinnans (all of them common species in Croatia) we saw 6 Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus, 6 Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula, 1 Little Stint Calidris minuta, 3 Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferruginea, 1 Turnstone Arenaria interpres, 1 Caspian Tern Sterna caspia, and 6 Gull-billed Terns foraging in the shallow sea. In the 19th century, this tern used to be noted more often in Dalmatia during the spring than autumn migration [Kralj, J. (1997): Ornitofauna Hrvatske tijekom posljednjih dvjesto godina. – Larus 46: 1–112]. In the 20th century, only individual sightings were made (again during migration). One was killed on 28 Apr 1920 near Nin (UTM WJ19), four were recorded in the mouth of the Neretva river in May 1951 (Kralj 1997), and some were observed on Lake Vransko on 10 Jul 1972 (UTM WJ46; Kralj 1997). More recently, 10 individuals were observed at the end of April and at the beginning of May 2001 in the mouth of the Neretva river [Dumbovi} Ru`i}, V. & [tumberger, B. (2002): Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica. – Acrocephalus 22 (109): 240–241]. Considering our observation made in May 2002, we may conclude that Gull-billed Terns occur quite regularly in late spring in the Neretva estuary. Jozsef Mikuska, Pedago{ki fakultet, Jägera 9, HR-31000 Osijek, Croatia Vlatko Ro`ac, Pedago{ki fakultet, Jägera 9, HR-31000 Osijek, Croatia Alma Mikuska, Pedago{ki fakultet, Jägera 9, HR-31000 Osijek, Croatia, e-mail: amikuska@pedos.hr ^uk Athene noctua Little Owl – while censusing Scops Owls Otus scops on 20 Apr 2003 at Milna on the island of Bra~ (UTM XH19, Central Dalmatia), a male Little Owl was provoked. Quite surprisingly, it responded to the recording of Scops Owl very early in the evening (20.50 hrs). Med popisom velikih skovikov Otus scops v sklopu dalmatinskega biolo{kega tabora Bra~ 2003 smo v no~i 20.4.2003 popisovali tudi v naselju Milna na zahodnem delu otoka. Takrat smo poleg iskanih skovikov zasli{ali {e ~uka. Ta se je odzval na izzivanje s posnetkom velikega skovika in tudi v skupini drugih skovikov je nekajkrat “zamijavkal” svojo pesem. Zanimivo je tudi to, da se je dal izzvati dokaj zgodaj, saj je bila ura {ele 20.50. Sicer pa je ~uk v Hrva{kem primorju pogosta vrsta, tudi na otoku Bra~u [Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. – Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej, Ministarstvo razvitka i obnove, Zagreb]. Dejan Bordjan, Ulica 8. februarja 50, SI-2204 Milklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: dejanonih@email.si Travni{ki vrabec Passer hispaniolensis Spanish Sparrow – overview of localities of its breeding colonies on Pelje{ac peninsula (S Dalmatia), with two new localities added in 2003. Only one large colony is known from Pelje{ac so far, i.e. at Mali Ston (UTM YH14), while others are very small, but all confined to the vicinity of settlements: @uljana (UTM YH05), Viganj (UTM XH75), Ku~i{te (UTM XH75), Ston (UTM YH14), and two new ones at Sreser (UTM YH05) and Potomje (UTM XH95). Travni{ki vrabec je v ju`ni Dalmaciji pogosta vrsta, ki naseljuje zlasti ve~ja ni`avja, kjer se lahko pojavlja celo v zelo velikem {tevilu (lastna opazovanja). Vendar pa na primer reliefno precej razgibani polotok Pelje{ac naseljuje zelo raztreseno, predvsem v okolici naselij, kot so @uljana, Viganj, Ku~i{te, Mali Ston in Ston [Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. – Hrvatski prirodoslovni 115 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook muzej, Ministarstvo razvitka i obnove, Zagreb; Vrezec, A. (2001): Travni{ki vrabec Passer hispaniolensis. – Acrocephalus 22 (106–107): 132]. V letu 2003 sem s kolegi Borutom Rubini~em, Katarino Ale{ in Lukom Jurinovi}em dne 14.5.2003 na{el {e dve novi lokaliteti, in sicer na severni obali polotoka v naselju Sreser in v osrednjem celinskem delu polotoka v ni`avju ob naselju Potomje. Na obeh smo opazovali svatujo~e samce v manj{ih kolonijah. O~itno travni{ki vrabec na Pelje{cu zaradi majhnih povr{in kultivirane ravninske krajine, njegovega glavnega `ivljenjskega prostora [Summers-Smith, J.D. (1988): The Sparrows. – T & AD Poyser, Calton], ni sposoben razvitih ve~jih kolonij. Izjema je edino velika kolonija v sredi{~u Malega Stona. Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Èrna Gora (Srbija in Èrna Gora) / Montenegro (Serbia & Montenegro) Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus Kodrasti pelikan – 1 osebek 20.9.1998 v Ulcinjskih solinah (UTM CM54, J ^rna gora) On 20 Sep 1998, Du{anka Stokovi} and the author observed a pelican at the Ulcinj Saltpans (IBA area). The distance combined with air shimmering disturbed the eyesight but most likely it was the Dalmatian Pelican, breeder of the nearby Skadar Lake [Puzovi}, S. & Gruba~, B. (2000): Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. pp. 725–745 In: Heath, M.F. & Evans, M.I. (eds.): Important Bird Areas in Europe: Priority sites for conservation. 2: Southern Europe. – BirdLife International, Cambridge]. Other species observed at the saltpans included 32 Black-necked Grebes Podiceps nigricollis, 4 Pygmy Cormorants Phalacrocorax pygmeus, 6 Grey Herons Ardea cinerea, 41 Little Egrets Egretta garzetta, about 100 Common Redshanks Tringa totanuS, 1 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, 6 Little Ringed Plovers Charadrius dubius, and 6 Common Kingfishers Alcedo atthis. Dragan V. Simi}, Ustani~ka 144, 11050 Beograd, Serbia & Montenegro, e-mail: ddsimic@eunet.yu Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos Planinski orel – 1 odrasel osebek, verjetno samec, opa`en 23.4.2003 s plenom v krempljih med kro`enjem ob gori Njego{ pri Kotorju (UTM CM10, J ^rna Gora); gnezditev ni izklju~ena On 23 Apr 2003, at 13.15 hrs, we noticed a raptor soaring at an altitude of 400 – 600 m a.s.l. over mightily folded Il6 rockwalls that crisscross the west flank of Mt. Njego{ by Kotor (UTM CM10). During our stop on the road running along Kotor Bay, the bird was determined as an adult Golden Eagle. Considering its size, it was probably a male. It held a prey in its claws, Rock Partridge size, but could not be determined as the bird was simply too far away. After 3 – 4 circles over the flank of the mountain it landed, with its prey, in a broad gully, in a high folded cliff that was impossible to see from the road. The Golden Eagle is a breeding bird of the Dalmatian coast. In Montenegrin mountains it is a widespread breeder, too (D. Savelji} pers. comm.). However, it seems that the breeding data have not been recorded for the Kotor Bay area so far [see e.g. Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J. (1997): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London]. Peter Sackl, Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Raubergasse 10, A-8010 Graz, Austria, e-mail: peter.sackl@stmk.gv.at Jakob Smole, Cafova 4, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia, e-mail: jakob.smole@kiss.si Caspian Tern Sterna caspia Kaspijska ~igra – en osebek opazovan 9.5.2003 v bli`ini naselja Vranjina ob severozahodni obali Skadarskega jezera (UTM CM48, JV ^rna Gora) While taking a stroll down the northwestern shore of Lake Skadar near Vranjina (UTM CM48) on 9 May 2003, I noticed several Grass Snakes Natrix natrix and Dice Snakes Natrix tessellata on the shore and in the water itself. Amongst several water birds flying over the lake, e.g. Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus, Pygmy Cormorants Phalacrocorax pygmeus, Black-headed Gulls Larus ridibundus, Yellow-legged Gulls L. cachinnans, and Common Terns Sterna hirundo, I caught sight of a Caspian Tern flying just a few metres above the surface. The Caspian Tern has not been known to breed anywhere in the Balkans nor elsewhere in southeastern Europe. Its nearest known nesting ground is on the Ukrainian shores of the Black Sea, from where the terns are supposed to migrate to their wintering quarters in the Mediterranean [Kastepold, T., Staav, R. & Stjernberg, T. (1997): Caspian Tern Sterna caspia. pp. 350–351 In: Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J. (eds.): The EBBC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London]. Katarina Ale{, Spodnje Pirni~e 24c, SI-1215 Medvode, Slovenia, e-mail: ninaales@yahoo.com Tawny Owl Strix aluco Lesna sova – 6.5.2003 je bila v zaselku Zlostup ob zno`ju gore Golija (UTM CN16, V ^rna Gora) najdena obe{ena ubita lesna sova. V ve~inoma neposeljeni su{ni pokrajini prevladuje nizko hrastovo grmi~evje Quercus sp., ki spominja na makijo. Kot generalist v izbiri habitata Acrocephalus 24 (118): 109 – 119, 2003 je lesna sova o~itno sposobna zasesti tudi tak{na ekstremnej{a sredozemska obmo~ja. The foothill of Mt. Golija near the border between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro in the western part of Montenegro is very dry. The area is covered with low oak Quercus sp. bushes of maquis type vegetation. The settlements are scarce, with only rare individual houses. On 6 May 2003 we found, in the village of Zlostup (UTM CN16), a dead Tawny Owl hanging in front of the only house there. According to the atlas of breeding European birds, this owl is not known form Montenegro [Petty, S.J. & Saurola, P. (1997): Tawny Owl Strix aluco. pp. 410–411 In: Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J. (eds): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London], probably due to the lack of data from this part of Europe. The historical data from the end of the 19th century also indicate that the Tawny Owl is a rare species in Montenegro [Reiser, O. & Führer, L. (1896): Materialen zu einer Ornis Balcanica. I V. Montenegro. – Bosnisch-Hercegovinischen Landesmuseum in Sarajevo, Carl Gerold’s Sohn, Wien]. This owl is otherwise known as a very adaptable species in respect of its habitat selection and is able to settle even in the extremely dry Mediterranean areas [Sánchez-Zapata, J.A. & Calvo, J.F. (1999): Rocks and trees: habitat response of Tawny Owls Strix aluco in semiarid landscapes. – Ornis Fenn. 76: 79–87]. Katarina Ale{, Spodnje Pirni~e 24c, SI-1215 Medvode, Slovenia, e-mail: ninaales@yahoo.com Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Dipper Cinclus cinclus Povodni kos – 1 osebek dne 7.5.2003 na re~ici Svinja~a pri Kola{inu (1000 m n.v., UTM CN85, Bjelasica, SV ^rna Gora) On 7 May 2003, Katarina Ale{, Borut Rubini~ and I observed a Dipper in the small alpine Svinja~a river near Kola{in at the altitude of 1000 m a.s.l. (Mt. Bjelasica, UTM CN83). The bird was searching for food in the rushing water. Dippers seemed to be quite common species along mountain streams and rivers in the entire territory of Montenegro [Reiser, O. & Führer, L. (1896): Materialen zu einer Ornis Balcanica. IV. Montenegro. – Bosnisch-Hercegovinischen Landesmuseum in Sarajevo, Carl Gerold’s Sohn, Wien; Matvejev, S.D. & Vasi}, V.F. (1973): Catalogus Faunae Jugoslaviae. IV/3 Aves. – Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, Ljubljana], although the European breeding bird atlas does not present any data for the continental part of Montenegro [Wilson, J. & Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. (1997): Dipper Cinclus cinclus. pp. 502–503 In: Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J. (eds.): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London]. Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica Sredozemski kup~ar – dva gnezditvena podatka s celinskega dela J ^rne Gore med 7. in 8.5.2003: (1) 2 pojo~a samca pri naselju Vladimir (UTM CM55) in (2) 1 razburjeno ogla{ajo~i se samec na parkiri{~u, polnem gradbenega materiala na bregu reke Mora~e pri Bio}ah (UTM CN60) The breeding area and the population of the Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica melanoleuca eastern subspecies are estimated as presently stable in contrast to decrease of the western subspecies Oe. h. hispanica on the Iberian Peninsula and in Central Italy [Hagemeijer, W.J. & Blair, M.J., eds. (1997): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London]. The subspecies melanoleuca is widespread in Dalmatian coastal area [Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. – HPM & MRO, Zagreb] and in the Montenegrin Karst [Reiser, O. & Führer, L. (1986): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica, I V. Montenegro. – Carl Gerold´s Sohn, Wien]. In the EBCC Atlas, there is only one raster field given for the coast – approximately at the height of the town of Bar. If we ignore the Montenegrin – Albanian coast around Ulcinj, the species was seen inland between 7 and 8 May 2003 on the southern slope of Mt. Tikiovac above Vladimir (2 singing males; UTM CM55), and on a large parking place filled with construction material on the bank of the river Mora~a near Bio}e (1 male uttering warning calls; UTM CN60). As far as the area of Lake Skadar is concerned, the Black-eared Wheatear is dealt with as a common breeder [Vizi, O. (1981): Birds of Skadar Lake. pp. 392–413 In: Karaman, G.S. & Beeton, A.M. (eds.): The Biota and Limnology of Skadar Lake]. Peter Sackl, Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Raubergasse 10, A-8010 Graz, Austria, e-mail: peter.sackl@stmk.gv.at Jakob Smole, Cafova 4, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia, e-mail: jakob.smole@kiss.si Lesser Grey Shrike Lantus minor & Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio Crnoceli srakoper & rjavi srakoper – 1 samec ~rno~elega srakoperja v svatovskem perju opazovan 6.5.2003 v sadovnjaku blizu naselja Krstac (UTM CN16, Z ^rna Gora). Ob 13 km dolgi cesti med naseljema Krstac in Gosli~ pre{tetih {e 6 osebkov rjavih srakoperjev. The data on Montenegrin birds are scarce, when looking at the distribution maps of The EBBC Atlas of European Breeding Birds [Hagemeijer, WJ.M. & Blair, M.J., eds. (1997): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London]. This can also be said for the Lesser Grey Shrike, for which no records are presented in the Atlas [Kri{tín, A. & Lefranc, N. (1997): Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor. pp. 662–663 In: Hagemeijer, WJ.M. & 117 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook Blair, M.J. (eds.): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London]. Although the species was considered the commonest shrike in Montenegro at the end of the 19th century [Reiser, O. & Führer, L. (1896): Materialen zu einer Ornis Balcanica. I V. Montenegro. – Bosnisch-Hercegovinischen Landesmuseum in Sarajevo, Carl Gerold’s Sohn, Wien], it appears that later on it was found only in the southern part of Montenegro [Matvejev, S.D. & Vasi}, V.F. (1973): Catalogus Faunae Jugoslaviae. IV/3 Aves. – Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, Ljubljana]. On 6 May 2003, I caught sight of a male Lesser Grey Shrike at Krstac in W Montenegro along the border with Bosnia & Herzegovina near Mt. Somina (UTM CN16), in cultural landscape with interchanging bushes and orchards. Although the bird was in breeding plumage and in suitable breeding habitat, it could still be merely on migration considering the date of observation. Additionally, I counted Red-backed Shrikes; along the 13 km long road between Krstac and Gosli~ I managed to count 6 of them. Al Vrezec, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus Planinska kavka – verjetno gnezdenje na nizki nadmorski vi{ini nad Budvo (1 m n.v., UTM CM28, J ^rna Gora); dne 25.6.2003 sta bila opazovana dva odrasla in dva mlada osebka v letu nad Budvo. Sicer je avtor opazoval planinske kavke na nizkih nadmorskih vi{inah od septembra (350 osebkov 1.9.2002 v Kotorju, UTM CN10, J ^rna Gora) do aprila (20 osebkov 3.4.2003 v Budvi in nekaj ptic pozno v aprilu v Podgorici, UTM CN50, srednja ^rna Gora) Alpine Chough is present and numerous in many mountains of the Balkan Peninsula. It is not only a bird of high alpine rockeries but also inhabits many other rocky places that have enough moisture and are cold enough during the breeding season in the spring and summer months [Matvejev, S.D. (1976): Pregled faune ptica Balkanskog poluostrva. Conspectus Avifaunae Balcanicae. – Srpska akademija nauke i umetnosti, Beograd]. And indeed it has been recorded to breed at lower altitude as well. Matvejev (1976) found the species nesting at Sutorina pass (150 m a.s.l.) above Sutomore in Montenegro. Conspicuous breeding activities have also been detected in Mostar (59 m a.s.l., Bosnia & Herzegovina) [[tumberger, B. (2002): Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus. – Acrocephalus 23 (112): 108]. In Montenegro, Alpine Chough is present in most high mountains in the country’s interior as well as in many mountains along the coast [Reiser, O. & Führer, L. (1896): Materialien zu einer Ornis balcanica, I V. Montenegro. – Carl Gerold´s Sohn, Wien]. On many occasions it has been observed at low altitudes, i.e. in Podgorica, Kotor and Budva (pers. observ.). These records, however, all date from the winter half of the year. I observed the species on the coast and in Podgorica from September 118 (350 ex. in Kotor on 1 Sep 2002) to April (20 ex. in Budva on 3 Apr 2003, and few birds in Podgorica in late April). There are no low altitude spring and summer observations known from the literature. On 28 Jun 2003, I observed 2 adult and 2 young Alpine Choughs flying over Budva (1 m a.s.l.). Although vertical daily movement such as it was observed on Croatian coast in October 2001 [[tumberger, B. (2002): Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus. – Acrocephalus 23 (115): 200] cannot be excluded, I suspect that the birds could have been nesting at a very low altitude in the vicinity of Budva. The presence of cliffs with moist and cold crevices close nearby, the unusually early date of occurrence, and the presence of almost fledged birds all point at that possibility. Borut Rubini~, Institute Ornis balcanica, Pra`akova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: rubinic@siol.net Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus Planinska kavka – dve opazovanji iz ju`nega dela ^rne Gore: (1) 61 osebkov 23.4.2003 na zahodni strani gore Njego{ med Dobroto in Kotorjem (UTM CN10) in (2) 10 osebkov 7.5.2003 pri naselju Virpazar na SZ obali Skadarskega jezera (UTM CM47). V vi{jih predelih severnega dela ^rne Gore planinske kavke niso bile opa`ene. The Alpine Chough is a common breeder in the mountainous regions of the Balkans. Reiser & Führer [Reiser, O. & Führer, L. (1986): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica, IV. Montenegro. – Carl Gerold´s Sohn, Wien] found the species in the coastal karst mountains between Kotor and Cetinje, as well as inland. Especially in the winter, it occurs on the coast in great flocks. During our three stays (each lasting from one to three weeks) on the Montenegrin coast near Ulcinj at the end of April/May, in June and in November 2003, we observed the Alpine Choughs only upon the arrival and during the return journeys to Kotor Bay and Lake Skadar. We saw a flock of 61 individuals on the west side of Mt. Njego{ between Dobrota and Kotor (UTM CN10) on 23 Apr 2003, and a minor group of 10 birds in the mountains above Virpazar on the northwest bank of Lake Skadar (UTM CM47) on 7 May 2003 from the Ulcinj – Podgorica road. The species was classified as a wintering guest and a regular but not frequent migratory bird on Lake Skadar [Vizi, O. (1981): Birds of Skadar Lake. pp. 392–413 In: Karaman, G.S. & Beeton, A.M. (eds.): The Biota and Limnology of Skadar Lake]. Between 7 and 8 May 2003, while travelling through the interior of the country through Kola{in and over the Tara Canyon to the Bosnian border, we did not see any Alpine Choughs, despite good weather conditions, suitable habitats and our regular stops. Peter Sackl, Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Raubergasse 10, A-8010 Graz, Austria, e-mail: peter.sackl@stmk.gv.at Jakob Smole, Cafova 4, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia, e-mail: jakob.smole@kiss.si ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): IO9 — II9, 2OO3 Raven Corvus corax Krokar – 29 osebkov opa`enih dne 8.5.2003 na travnatem pobo~ju pribli`no 1500 m n.m. v pogorju Bjelasice v bli`ini vrha Strmac (UTM CN85, SV ^rna Gora) On 8 May 2003, I was observing birds on Mt. Bjelasica. Late in the afternoon I spotted 29 Ravens on a grassy slope at approximately 1500 m a.s.l. near the Strmac peak (UTM CN85). According to the atlas of European breeders, Raven’s presence in this part of Montenegro is not known [Bednorz, J. (1997): Raven Corvus corax. p.p. 686–687 In: Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J. (eds.): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London] , which, however, is most probably due the fact that these territories remain unexplored. Raven’s immatures are social and dispersive. Within flocks of nonbreeding birds, pairs are formed that after some years settle to become strictly resident (Bednorz 1997). Katarina Ale{, Spodnje Pirni~e 24c, SI-1215 Medvode, Slovenia, e-mail: ninaales@yahoo.com U9 Nove knjige / New books Nove knjige New books Sovinc, A. (2003): Spoznajmo ptice Se~oveljskih solin. – Soline Pridelava soli d.o.o. in Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno sredi{~e Republike Slovenije v Kopru s pomo~jo Ministrstva za okolje, prostor in energijo RS, Koper. ISBN 961-6328-15-8, cena: 2200 SIT V letu 2003 je iz{la nova, doma~a knjiga o pticah. V celoti je posve~ena vrstam, ki jih lahko opazujemo v Se~oveljskih solinah. Napisana je na 72 straneh majhnega formata in bogato ilustrirana z barvnimi fotografijami in risbami. V uvodnih poglavjih nam predstavi obravnavano obmo~je, Se~oveljske soline, njihov varstveni status in pomen za naravo Slovenije. Soline so bile leta 2001 progla{ene za krajinski park. V knjigi je podrobno opisano, kaj to pomeni za obiskovalce – kaj se od njih, ko to zavarovano obmo~je obi{~ejo, pri~akuje in kaj zahteva. Predstavljeni sta tudi obe poti, namenjeni za obiskovalce, vklju~no s pticami, ki jih lahko ob eni ali drugi opazujemo. V osrednjem delu so opisi 35 vrst ptic, nepevk, ki so v Solinah zna~ilne in pogoste gnezdilke, preletnice ali obiskovalke. Vsaka izmed vrst je predstavljena z barvno fotografijo, pod katero je zapisano vse, kar trenutno vemo o njenem statusu v solinah ter tudi o obdobjih, ko jo lahko opazujemo. Omenjeni informaciji sta pregledno predstavljeni tudi grafi~no, z razli~no obarvanimi liki, ki nam za vsak mesec v letu predstavljajo relativno pogostnost vrste in njen gnezditveni status. V naslednjem podpoglavju izvemo, kje v solinah se najpogosteje zadr`uje. Precej{en del besedila je namenjen tudi opisu telesnih zna~ilnosti, predvsem tistih, po katerih jo zanesljivo lo~imo od drugih podobnih ptic. Zelo uporabne pri tem so fotografije ali risbe vseh podobnih vrst, na katerih so poudarjeni razlo~evalni znaki, da si opisane razlike tudi la`je predstavljamo. V odstavku, natisnjenem na barvni podlagi, je podanih nekaj zanimivosti. Tu so zbrane nekatere manj poznane zna~ilnosti ptic (telesne, ekolo{ke, etolo{ke, itd.), tako da ta del besedila pritegne tudi ljudi, ki ptice sicer dobro poznajo. ^eprav so Se~oveljske soline na{e ornitolo{ko najbolj raziskano mokri{~e, dobrih 6 km2 povr{ine skriva {e prenekatero skrivnost. Kako je s temi skrivnostmi, pa vsi precej dobro vemo na izku{njah opa`anj Kristusove mame, Marije: rednim obiskovalcem in zaposlenim se obi~ajno dobro skriva, 120 SPOZNAJMO PTICE SEÈOVELJSKIH SOLIN Andrej Sovine medtem ko se, po drugi strani, nekega dne povsem nenadejano razkrije naklju~nemu obiskovalcu. Zadnje podpoglavje je namenjeno prav tem, naklju~nim sre~ne`em. Zadnje podpoglavje opisuje tiste skrivnosti solin, ki jih nekako pri~akujemo, ~eprav jih ni opazil {e nih~e. S spiskom zbranih {e neopa`enih zanimivosti lahko sedaj vsak obiskovalec solin svoje izku{nje vsaj okvirno razvrsti tudi po pomembnosti. Sam bi knjigo uvrstil med priro~nike in je prijetna popestritev slovenske, sicer bolj skromne ornitolo{ke literature. Besedilo v njej je bogato, pre`eto s pozitivnimi mislimi, kar ga gotovo dviga nad nivo obi~ajnih priro~nikov. V tem duhu je tudi poglavje o pravilih vedenja v parku predstavljeno kot spisek dejavnosti, ki so v parku dobrodo{le in ne kot odbijajo~ seznam prepovedi. Knjigo lahko dobite v upravi Krajinskega parka Se~oveljske soline (KPSS) po ceni 2.200 SIT. Davorin Tome Acrocephalus 24 (118): 121, 2003 Najave in obvestila Announcements 24th International Ornithological Congress 2006, 13 – 19 August 2006, Hamburg, Germany – call for symposium proposals and pre-registration 24. mednarodni ornitolo{ki kongres 2006, 13. – 19.8.2006, Hamburg, Nem~ija – vabilo za prijavo kongresnih prispevkov The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) for the 24th International Ornithological Congress 2006 invites you to submit symposium proposals. Symposia are aimed at the general ornithologist and provide up-to-date coverage of current ornithological research. Each symposium will include five speakers: two of these will be invited by the conveners to provide keynote addresses that summarize the global progress of ornithological science in the field over the last four years and to address priorities for future research. The other three speakers will be chosen by conveners, with guidance from the SPC, from abstracts of accepted contributed papers. This is intended to increase global participation and/or allow new researchers to contribute to symposia. The call for contributed papers (which will come in autumn 2004) will include a box that a contributor can check if they wish to be considered for a specific symposium. In cases where three additional speakers cannot be found for a symposium topic, conveners will be allowed to invite additional speakers. Each symposium should have two co-conveners. Since this is an international congress, the SPC will give preference in choosing symposium topics to symposia with co-conveners from different continents, and, failing this, from different countries. If it is not possible to meet these criteria, a brief explanation should be given under »Justification of symposium« on the application form. Conveners may choose themselves as keynote speakers. Conveners can organize only one symposium. Also note that symposium speakers cannot give another oral presentation during the congress, but can apply to organize a round table discussion or present a poster. Proposals for symposia must be received on or before 1 April 2004. We urge you to use the electronic submission form available on the IOC meeting web site http://www.i-o-c.org. If you are unable to use the electronic form, please contact the chair of the SPC, Susan Hannon, at IOC2006@biology.ualberta.ca If you cannot submit your proposal by email, please mail it directly to the program chair: Susan Hannon Dept of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta Canada, T6G 2E9 Please provide a title of symposium, Names, institution or affiliation, addresses, phone, fax, email of Principal organizer, Co-organizer, first and second keynote speakers, and describe (400 words maximum) goals, objectives, importance of the symposium and outline briefly what each keynote speaker will cover, giving a preliminary title if possible. Justify (250 words maximum) why this symposium is important and timely and why it will be of interest to IOC congress participants. If you cannot find a co-convener from another continent or country, explain why. The justification will not appear in the program or on the web site. All proposals will be reviewed by the SPC in August 2004 and symposium organizers will be notified as to whether their proposal has been accepted shortly thereafter. The IOC is not able to provide any financial assistance to symposium organizers or participants. Organizers must make this clear to participants. We ask that symposium organizers have a firm commitment from keynote speakers to attend the meeting before listing them in their proposal. Once a proposal has been accepted and the speakers finalized, we will request abstracts for each of the keynote talks. Summaries of accepted symposia will be posted on the IOC website. We also ask that symposium conveners inform speakers that the conference proceedings will be published, so that speakers must be willing to submit a paper on their presentation. We also call for pre-registration if you like to receive all further information about the congress. Please use the electronic submission form available on the IOC meeting web site http://www.i-o-c.org. If you are unable to use the electronic form, please contact us by e-mail at info@i-o-c.org or mail it to: IOC 2006 Institute of Avian Research An der Vogelwarte 21 26386 Wilhelmshaven Germany 121 Popravek / Corrigendum Popravek Corrigendum V 24. letniku Acrocephalusa (116): 41–42 je bila v poglavju Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice med prispevki iz Bolgarije narejena napaka pri navedbi avtorjev pod besedilom Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. Avtorji prispevka so namre~ trije in ne le eden. Glej {e priporo~ilo za citiranje! In the issue of Acrocephalus 24 (116): 41–42, an error was made in the short Bulgarian contribution about the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (published in the section From the ornithological notebook). The authors of the contribution are in fact three and not only the one stated below the text. See also the recommended citation! Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice From the ornithological notebook Bolgarija / Bulgaria Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Sokol selec George P. Stoyanov, c/o The Durrell Center for Conservation and Support of the Wild Fauna, 23, Golyam Bratan Str., fl. 2, apt. 2., 1618 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: georgips@abv.bg Dobromir Domuschiev, c/o Birds of Prey Protection Society (BPPS), 40, Vassil Levski Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bpps@abv.bg Stoyan Yotov, c/o Borrowed Nature Association, 20-B, Stambolyiski Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e- mail: bornat@mbox.cit.bg Priporo~ilo za citiranje / Recomended citation: Stoyanov, G.P., Domuschiev, D. & Yotov, S. (2003): Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. – Acrocephalus 24 (116): 41–42. 122 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll8): 123, 2OO3 Slika 1: Samec gosje race Chenonetta jubata, Kranj — Savski log (S Slovenija), 23.5.2003 (foto: T. Trebar) – gelj str. 110 Figure 1: Male Maned Duck Chenonetta jubata, Kranj — Savski log (N Slovenia), 23 May 2003 (photo: T. Trebar) – see page 110 Slika 2: Samec gosje race Chenonetta jubata, Kranj — Savski log (S Slovenija), 5.8.2003 (foto: T. Trebar) – gelj str. 110 Figure 2: Male Maned Duck Chenonetta jubata, Kranj — Savski log (N Slovenia), 5 Avg 2003 (photo: T. Trebar) – see page 110 123 Kako hitro je življenje" 1 Med prvimi operaterji na svetu In kot edini slovenski smo uvedli UMTS (univerzalni Mobttelov telekomunikacijski sistem), tretjo generacijo mobilnih telekomunikacij. Zaradi izpopolnjenega prenosa podatkov (do 384 kb/s) zagotavlja UMTS uporabo vsebinsko bogatih avdio in video storitev ter pošiljanje in sprejemanje multimedijskih vsebin nekajkrat hitreje kot sistem GSM. S tem omogoèamo bolj kakovostno uporabo že znanih in razvoj novih storitev. Mobllnlk Je tako postal prenosni multimedijski pripomoèek, ki združuje lastnosti telefona, fotoaparata, kamere, interneta, televizije in radia. Zaèenjamo novo štetje na podroèju slovenskih mobilnih telekomunikacij. Mobitel UMTS Nova generacij mobilnih telekomunikacij @