ACROCEPHALUS llö.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 1 O Acrocephalus 24 (116): 1 – 4, 2003 Novosti pri reviji Acrocephalus What’s new in Acrocephalus Novi letnik 24 revije Acrocephalus začenjamo z nekaj novostmi. Revija vsebinsko še vedno ostaja na starin utrjenih temeljih s svojo začrtano usmeritvijo, torej objavljanju ornitoloških raziskav z območja JV Evrope in vzhodnega Sredozemlja. Do sedaj je v enem letniku izšlo šest številk Acrocephalusa v štirih zvezkih, dveh enojnih in dveh dvojnih. Po temeljitem premisleku in v dogovoru z izdajateljem revije, Društvom za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije (DOPPS — BirdLife Slovenia), ter ob posvetu s člani uredniškega odbora sem se odločil, da obseg revije navidezno skrčimo na štiri številke letno. To seveda ne pomeni vsebinskega krčenja, saj bomo še vedno izdali štiri zvezke na letnik, izognili se bomo le izdajanju dvojnih številk. Delo pri reviji bo zato lažje in transparentnejše. Vsi dosedanji člani uredniškega odbora ostajajo pri reviji tudi naprej, sedanjemu naboru pa sta se z novim letnikom 24 (2003) pridružila še dva člana, dr. Jelena Kralj (HR) in Tomaž Mihelič, univ. dipl. inž. gozd. (SI). Dr. Jelena Kralj je ornitologinja, zaposlena na Zavodu za ornitologiju v Zagrebu, in z revijo Acrocephalus uspešno sodeluje že več let kot recenzentka. Zadnje čase v reviji objavljamo vse več člankov iz Hrvaške, samo v pričujoči številki dva članka in pet ornitoloških beležnic, zato bo pomoč hrvaških strokovnjakov pri vrednotenju objav v reviji nujna. Dr. Jelena Kralj se bo v uredniškem odboru revije pridružila dosedanjima hrvaškima članoma, uglednima kolegoma hrvaške ornitologije, prof. dr. Josefu Mikuski in dr. Gordanu Lukaču. Drugi novinec v uredniškem odboru je Tomaž Mihelič, zaposlen kot koordinator Novega ornitološkega atlasa Slovenije v pisarni Društva za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije, ki je pri reviji sodeloval že kot avtor in recenzent. Kot pomembno pridobitev v uredniškem odboru ocenjujem Miheličevo imenovanje tudi zato, ker smo tako pridobili novega člana iz gozdarske stroke, kot vemo, pa ravno gozdne ptice prihajajo danes v ospredje ornitoloških raziskav v Sloveniji. O tem pričajo tudi objave v reviji Acrocephalus. Eden izmed ciljev razvoja revije Acrocephalus je tudi vstop v različne baze podatkov, s čimer se povečuje odmevnost objavljenih prispevkov v reviji. Tako se nam je z letom 2003 posrečilo vstopiti v ameriško bazo Raptor Information System, kjer so evidentirani prispevki s področja biologije ujed in sov. V bazo so zavedeni vsi članki o raziskavah ujed in sov, objavljeni v reviji Acrocephalus od leta 2000 dalje. Z novim letnikom smo revidirali tudi navodila za avtorje, ki so objavljena na predzadnji strani platnice. Tokrat so navodila v slovenščini in angleščini, kar bo v pomoč tudi tujim avtorjem pri pripravi prispevkov za revijo. Ob tej priložnosti pozivam vse avtorje, da se kar se da držijo teh pravil, saj le ta olajšujejo delo urednika in sodelavcev. Na to marsikdaj avtorje opozorijo tudi recenzenti. Novost pri pravilih je morda ta, da naj bodo kratke notice odslej poslani v objavo le v elektronski obliki (na disketi ali po elektronski pošti na urednikov naslov), medtem ko prva oddaja članka v objavo ostaja še vedno v tiskani obliki v treh izvodih. Pri pripravi prispevkov je lahko avtorjem v veliko pomoč tudi pregled zadnjih številk Acrocephalusa. 1 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 2 Uvodnik / Editorial V juniju nas je iz Beograda ob{la `alostna vest, da je v 90. letu starosti preminil dr. Sergej D. Matvejev, veliki mo` ornitologije na obmo~ju JV Evrope. Dr. Matvejeva lahko ozna~imo kot naslednika velikega raziskovalca ptic JV Evrope, dr. Otmarja Reiserja, saj denimo Matvejeve ptice Srbije predstavljajo peti del Reiserjeve Ornis Balcanice. Dr. Matvejev je bil tudi ~lan uredni{kega odbora revije Acrocephalus od njegove ustanovitve leta 1980 pa do leta 1995. Pri~ujo~o {tevilko Acrocephalusa zato posve~amo spominu na `ivljenje in delo dr. Sergeja D. Matvejeva, katerega `ivljenjska vizija je bila raziskati pti~ji svet Balkanskega polotoka in JV Evrope, ki nam je mnogim {e danes velik izziv. Although the new Volume 24 of Acrocephalus will bring certain changes with it, the journal is to remain on its old and solid foundations with its well traced out orientation, i.e. publication of ornithological investigations carried out in SE Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Till now, six numbers - two single and two double issues - have been published per volume, but upon serious reflection as well as in agreement with the journals publisher, DOPPS – BirdLife Slovenia, and after a consultation with the members of the Editorial Board, I have decided to fictitiously reduce the number of the issues from six to four per year. This, of course, means no reductions as far as the journals contents are concerned, for we shall still publish four numbers annually, but will merely avoid publication of double issues. The work within the journal will therefore be easier and no doubt more transparent. The journals Editorial Board will remain the same, except that with Volume 24 (2003) it will be joined by two new members, Dr Jelena Kralj (HR) and Toma` Miheli~, BSc in Forestry (SI). Dr Kralj is an ornithologist, employed by the Institute of Ornithology in Zagreb, and has been successfully collaborating with Acrocephalus for a number of years as a peer reviewer. Lately, our journal has published more and more articles coming from Croatia – two articles and five notices From the ornithological notebook in the present number alone – which is the reason why a help by Croatian experts will be more than desired in the evaluation of the incoming texts. In our Editorial Board, Dr Jelena Kralj will join two already well-established Croatian members, reputable colleagues from the Croatian ornithology, Prof Dr Josef Mikuska and Dr Gordan Luka~. The other newcomer to the Editorial Board, Toma` Miheli~, has already been collaborating with the journal as an author and article reviewer and is currently employed by the BirdLife Slovenia as a coordinator for the new Atlas of Breeding Birds of Slovenia. With Mr. Miheli~ we have certainly gained an important member, for he is a forestry expert and, as we all know, forest birds are coming into the foreground of the ornithological research in Slovenia, as witnessed by the articles published in our journal. One of the objectives as far as the development of Acrocephalus is concerned is its entry into various databases, through which the articles published in the journal will meet with a wider response. In 2003, we thus succeeded in entering the American Raptor Information System, in which contributions from the biology of birds of prey and owls are kept record of. The base also refers to all the articles on the research into birds of prey and owls published in Acrocephalus from 2000 onwards. With the new volume we have revised the instructions to authors, printed on 2 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 3 AcROCEPHALUS 24 (116): I — 3, 2OO3 the inside back cover. This time, the instructions will be given in English and in Slovene, which will be of great assistance to foreign authors during their preparation of articles for the journal. On this occasion I wish to appeal to all authors to stick as much as possible to these rules, for in this way they shall mitigate the work of the editor and his associates. Of this fact, the authors were in fact often reminded by the reviewers as well. The only thing that is perhaps new in this respect is that the short notices should be in future sent in electronic form only (on diskette or by e-mail to the Editors address), while the first submission of an article to be published is to remain in printed form in three copies. A great help to the authors in their preparation of articles can also be a good look through the last few numbers of the journal Acrocephalus. In June, sad news reached us from Belgrade that Dr Sergej D. Matvejev died in his 90th year, a great man of ornithology in the SE part of Europe. Dr Matvejev can be marked as a successor of Dr Otmar Reiser, the great bird researcher in SE Europe, for the fact is that Matvejev’s Birds of Serbia constitute the fifth part of Reiser’s Ornis Balcanica. Dr Matvejev, too, was a member of our journals Editorial Board from its founding in 1980 till 1995. The present number of Acrocephalus is therefore dedicated to the life and work of Dr Sergej D. Matvejev, whose life vision was to thoroughly research the bird world of the Balkan Peninsula and Southeastern Europe, which is still a great challenge to us all. Al Vrezec 3 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 4 4 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 5 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 5 — 6, 2OO3 In memoriam: Dr Sergej Dimitrijevic Matvejev, 1913-2003 V spomin: dr. Sergei Dimitrijevic Matvejev, 1913-2003 Figure 1: Dr Sergej Dimitrijevic Matvejev, 1913 - 2003 Slika 1: Dr. Sergej Dimitrijevic Matvejev, 1913 - 2003 I became acquainted with Dr. Matvejev in the early 1990s, when chancing upon his book Distribution and Life of Birds in Serbia” in the bookshop of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Another couple of years passed, before I learned that the author was actually not only alive but still a very active ornithologist. My first personal contact with him dates to the time when he rang us during the founding meeting of the League for the Ornithological Action of Serbia and Montenegro, congratulating us on the initiative and offering us some of his books for our future library. This was a special honour for me, considering that it is the amateurs who normally attempt to make contact with the experts, while on this particular occasion the communication took place in the very opposite direction. A few days later I visited Dr. Matvejev at his home in Belgrade. This time I was somewhat surprised to learn, that he had first graduated in architecture, that he published his first ornithological work (on the Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus) in 1938, and during World War II finally graduated in biology as well. I always imagined somehow that he had been recording birds’ folk names by inquiring about them from simple country people, but the actual process was quite the opposite. He always carried out the preparatory work on the birds, which he either caught during his fieldwork or obtained from farmers, on the spot himself, and this gave him a chance to gather these people around him and learn more of the details he was interested in. Dr. Matvejevs bibliography numbers 219 titles (208 scientific works and 11 books). Here are some details from his biography (Zivkovic-Hristic 2003): He was born in 1913 in imperial Russia and in 1921 emigrated with his family to Kragujevac, Serbia. In 1938 he obtained his diploma in architecture, but was in the same year invited, on the recommendation of the ecologist Dr. Sini{a Stankovi}, to work for the Museum of the Serbian Countryside (todays Natural History Museum in Belgrade). In 1940 he began to study biology at Belgrade University, and obtained his Ph.D. in 1959 from the University of Ljubljana. His fieldwork, which began in 1938, lasted until 1983. From 1947 to his retirement in 1976 he worked at the Biological Research Institute Dr. Sini{a Stankovi}” in Belgrade. As an associate of the Fauna Committee, functioning within the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, he studied, apart from birds, the ecology of relict grasshoppers of the Balkans. At the Biological Institute of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences of Arts in Ljubljana he worked, together with botanist I. Puncer, on the chart of habitat types in Slovenia and other republics of the former Yugoslavia (Matvejev 1989, Matvejev & Puncer 1991, Matvejev 1993, Matvejev & Lopatin 1995). Through the disintegration of Yugoslavia he experienced, in Slovenia, the third war in his life, and then also witnessed the bombardment of Belgrade to which 5 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 6 V spomin / In memoriam he had returned in 1996. Dr. Matvejev donated his scientific works (bound notebooks, files, photographs, reprints, books, manuscripts) to the Archives of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade. While visiting Dr. Matvejev in Belgrade, he showed me a number of his photographs. I was particularly impressed by the scene of a young architect with a rifle on his shoulder, riding across the terrain he was investigating immediately after World War II. I planned to visit him again, as I wished to take my copy of his Distribution and Life of Birds in Serbia” with me and ask him for a dedication in it, but he died suddenly. Dr. Sergej Dimitrijevi~ Matvejev passed away on 27 June, 2003, at his home. Dr. Matvejev was, and still is, the father of Serbian, Yugoslav and Balkan ornithology. While investigating the birds of Kopaonik (about which he published a number of books), he saw himself as continuing the work of Dr. Josif Pan~i}. All those of us who study and protect the birds of our country are successors to Matvejev, Pan~i}, and others, and continue their work. As long as we too are dedicated to the study of birds, these great men will continue to live in us. References: Zivković-Hristić, Z. (2003): Bibliografija radova S.D. Matvejeva 1938-2003 u Arhivu SANU. Prilog 84, Beograd. (a script) Matvejev, S.D. (1989): Karta tipova predela (bioma) Jugoslavije i njena upotrebljivost u biogeografiji. III simpozijum o fauni SR Srbije. Srpsko biolo{ko dru{tvo. Zbornik referata i rezimea, Beograd: 33-36. Matvejev, S.D. & Puncer, IJ. (1991): Landscape Types of Yugoslavia – a Map of Biomes. 2nd abbreviated Edition. Ljubljana. Matvejev, S.D. (1993): Biomi Slovenije. Enciklopedija Slovenije 3. Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana. Matvejev, S.D. & Lopatin, I.K. (1995): Kratka zoogeografija sa osnovama biogeografije I ekologije Balkanskog poluostrva. Izdanje S.D. Matvejeva, Ljubljana. Dragan Simić League for the Ornithological Action of Serbia and Montenegro 6 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 7 Acrocephalus 24 (116): 7 – 10, 2003 V spomin: Pogled na ornitolo{ko delo dr. Sergeja D. Matvejeva (1913-2003) v Sloveniji In memoriam: An overview of the ornithological work carried out by Dr Sergej D. Matvejev (1913-2003) in Slovenia Slika 1: Naslovnica knjige Ptice Jugoslavije iz leta 1947. Figure 1: The frontpage of Birds of Yugoslavia from 1947. Odšel je dr. Sergej D. Matvejev. Končana je življenjska pot moža, za katerega ni mogoče reči v eni besedi, kakšna je bila njegova osnovna življenjska usmeritev. Rečem pa lahko, da je bil svojemu delu predan z dušo in srcem. Bil je arhitekt in geograf, prežet z naravoslovjem, pa naj je bila to biogeograrija, ekologija, favnistika, taksonomija ali varstvo narave. Verjetno bi težko našli znanstvenika, ki bi se lahko kosal z njim glede obsega opravljenega terenskega dela. Prehodil je vse, od Grčije do Slovenije, pri tem pa zbiral znanstveno gradivo in slikovno dokumentacijo. Za potrebe raziskovanja biogeograrije in ekologije ptičev je opravil več tisoč transektov. Sistematično je zbiral opeke in jih je pridno zlagal v svojo hišo znanosti. Za njim je ostalo ogromno objavljenih del, njegov življenjski opus obsega, če povzamem po zgoraj objavljenem nekrologu, 208 znanstvenih člankov in 11 knjig. Njegova vsestranskost je razvidna tudi iz priloženega skromnega izvlečka opusa. O dr. Matvejevu, njegovem delu in življenju je že marsikaj zapisanega, obširno so o njem pisali Geister (1991), Aljan~i~ (1992-1993), Satler (1994) in Gomboc (2003). Ob tej priložnosti želim spomniti predvsem na nekatera njegova nam še vedno preslabo poznana dela in dela, ki se nanašajo na Slovenijo. In s Slovenijo je bil povezan praktično ves čas svojega znanstvenega delovanja, skoraj dve desetletji je tu tudi stalno živel. Ves čas bivanja v Ljubljani je bil tesno povezan z delovanjem Društva za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije (DOPPS), od vsega začetka je bil tudi njegov častni član. Vedno pripravljen na strokovne debate, vedno pripravljen svetovati. Dr. Matvejev je bil celovit znanstvenik, ki je obvladal tako terensko kot kabinetno delo. Veliko pozornosti je posvečal metodologiji dela na terenu. V zoogeografskih in ekoloških raziskavah je uveljavil svojo metodo minimalnega transekta, ki jo je prvič objavil v Pticah Srbije (1950), kasneje (1988) pa predstavil še podrobneje. Metoda je zelo preprosta, uporabna tudi za druge živalske skupine, npr. kobilice in metulje. Področje, ki je močno zaposlovalo dr. Matvejeva, je bila biogeograrija. Bila je predmet njegove doktorske disertacije, kasneje pa je delo še dopolnil in razširil ter objavil v knjigi Biogeografija Jugoslavije (1961). Svoja dognanja je utemeljeval na osnovi preučevanja flore in favne. Poleg vretenčarjev, z izjemo rib, obravnava tudi kobilice. Vsebinsko se na to delo navezuje knjiga Predeli Jugoslavije i njihov `ivi svet (1973). Zanimivo je poglavje, kjer predlaga načrte za 125 daljših izletov iz vseh večjih mest tedanje Jugoslavije, pri vsakem izletu pa je tudi zapisano, kakšne tipe vegetacije izletnik tam lahko vidi. Tako predlaga 13 izletov iz Ljubljane, v različne predele Slovenije, in enega iz Kopra. Kako je dr. Matvejev želel mladim rodovom posredovati osnovna znanja v ornitologiji, govori knjiga Ptice Jugoslavije, ki jo je napisal skupaj z V. E. Martinom (1947)- To je pregleden ključ za določanje ptičev do podvrst, z najnujnejšimi ilustracijami in z obširnim uvodom, kjer je poseben poudarek na prepariranju ptičev in vzdrževanju ornitoloških zbirk. 7 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 8 V spomin / In memoriam Poudariti je treba področje, kateremu je dr. Matvejev posvečal še prav posebno pozornost in skrb. To je taksonomija na infraspecijskem nivoju, na nivoju, nižjem od vrste. Vedno je poudarjal, da se marsikatera ptičja populacija, gnezdeča na Balkanu in bližnji okolici, razlikuje od populacij, gnezdečin v drugih predelih Evrope. Zato je treba taksonomsko preučevati svoje populacije in ne slepo kopirati izsledkov tujin taksonomov. Tako je knjiga Pregled faune ptica Balkanskog poduostrva (1976) tudi revizija infraspecijskih taksonov. Za to svoje izjemno delo je vzel material tudi iz ornitološke zbirke Prirodoslovnega muzeja Slovenije in ga uporabil pri svojih obsežnih primerjalnih raziskavah v zbirkah takratnega Leningrada. Nastalo je temeljno delo o ptičih Balkanskega polotoka. Čeprav se ne nanaša na favno Slovenije, moram omeniti obsežno delo iz leta 1950, Razširjenost in življenje ptičev v Srbiji. Otmar Reiser je v svojem nedokončanem delu Ornis Balcanica objavil štiri knjige: I Bosna in Hercegovina, II Bolgarija, III Grčija in IV črna Gora, ni pa imel zadosti materiala za V. knjigo o favni ptičev Srbije. Tako je dr. Matvejev svojo monografijo o ptičih Srbije imenoval kot peti del Reiserjeve monografije o ptičih Balkanskega polotoka. Dr. Matvejev je opravil velikansko delo, ki pa žal marsikje ni bilo zadosti opaženo. Kljub temu da imajo njegova obsežnejša dela povzetke v drugih jezikih, ostajajo težko dosegljiva za marsikaterega strokovnjaka, saj so večinoma pisana v cirilici. Hvaležni smo dr. S. D. Matvejevu za njegovo zapuščino, ki je obsežna in sega v različna področja naravoslovja. Upajmo, da se bo kmalu našel strokovnjak, ki jo bo kritično ocenil in ji dal pravo mesto v znanosti. V pomoč in kot pregledni zapis zato navajam izbrana dela dr. S. D. Matvejeva splošnega pomena in tista, ki se nanašajo na Slovenijo: Martino, V.E. & Matvejev, S.D. (1947): Ptice Jugoslavije. Prosveta, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1950): Rasprostranjenje i život ptica u Srbiji {Ornithogeographia Serhicd). Srpska akademija nauka, monografija 161, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1961): Biogeograflja Jugoslavije. Biološki institut NR Srbije, monografija 9, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1963): Biogeografsko-ekološki krkerijum za izdvajanje i klasifikaciju biljnih i životinjskih vrsta i njihovih zajednica kao prirodnih retkosti. Zaštita prirode 21-25: 75-90. Matvejev, S.D. (1973): Predeli Jugoslavije i njihov živi svet. Naučna knjiga, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1975): Geografske i biogeografske zakonitosti u rasprotranjenosti reliktnih životinjskih zajednica. Ekologija 10 (2): 199-207. Matvejev, S.D. (1976): Pregled faune ptica Balkanskog poluostrva {Piciform.es et Passerif rmes). SANU, Posebna izdanja, knjiga 46, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1983): Ptice Triglavskog narodnog parka i susednih predela. Larus 33-35: 69-91. Matvejev, S.D. (1983): Savremena favnistika, njen domen i zadaci. Zbornik radova o favni SR Srbije, knjiga 2., izdanje SANU, Odeljenje prirodno-matematičkih nauka, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1983): Dr. Aleš Bebler - u spomen. Larus 33-35: 222. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Expansion of areas by 15 bird species in Balkan peninsula. Acta XVIII Congr. Intern. ornithologici 2: 763-768, Moscow. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Semispecies in the avian fauna of the Balcan peninsula. Acta XVIII Congr. Intern. ornithologici 2: 1281-1282, Moscow. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Problematika "poluvrsta" (semispecies) u favni ptica Balkanskog polusotrva. Biosistematika 11 (2): 135-141. Matvejev, S.D. (1986): Karta biomov in skupin sorodnih biotopov Slovenije. Biol.vestn. 34 (2): 53-64. Matvejev, S.D. (1986): Leben und Werk Dr. Otmar Reisers, des Ornithologen der Balkanländer. Egretta 29 (1-2): 1-19. 8 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 9 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 9 — IO, 2OO3 Matvejev, S.D. (1986): Delo i `ivot dr. Otmara Reisera ornitologa balkanskih zemalja. Larus 36-37: 205-224. Matvejev, S.D. (1986): Recenzija na knjigu: Bo`i~ I. Pti~i Slovenije. Larus, 36-37: 339-342. Matvejev, S.D. (1988): "Ograni~eni transekt" - metoda odredjivanja frekvencije nala`enja vrsta u biotopu (Aves, Orthoptera). Larus 38-39: 147-164. Matvejev, S.D. (1988): "Sestrinjske" vrste Sibling species) ptica u fauni Balkanskog poluostrva. Biosistematika, 14 (2): 1-7, Beograd. Matvejev, S.D. (1991): Naravni tipi predelov Slovenije in njihovo varstvo. Zavod Republike Slovenije za varstvo naravne in kulturne dedi{~ine, Ljubljana. Matvejev, S.D. (1993): Ekologija: Biomi. Enciklopedija Slovenije, 3: 3-4. Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana. Matvejev, S.D. (1996): O velikih kormoranih in sivih ~apljah - resni~no. Ribi~ 55 (7-8): 173. Matvejev, S.D. & Vasic, V.E (1973): Catalogus faunae Jugoslaviae. IV/3 Aves. Acad. Scient. et Artium Slovenica, Ljubljana. Matvejev, S.D. & Vasic, V.E (1977): Prve dopune i korekcije za "Catalogus faunae Jugoslaviae - Aves". Larus 29-30: 123-136. Matvejev, S.D. & Puncer, I. (1986): Karta biomov in skupin sorodnih biotopov Slovenije. Biol.vestn. 34 (2): 53-64. Matvejev, S.D. & Puncer, IJ. (1991): Landscape Types of Yugoslavia, Map of Biomes. zalo`il S.D.Matvejev, Ljubljana. Matvejev S.D. & Gregori, J. (1992): Rde~i seznam ogro`enih pti~ev v Sloveniji. Varstvo narave 17: 29-29. Dela dr. S. D. Matvejeva, objavljena v reviji Acrocephalus: Matvejev, S.D. (1980): Sodobna favnistika - njeno podro~je in naloge. Acrocephalus, 1 (2): 22-24. Matvejev, S.D. (1981): La{ka konopelj{~ica Serinus citrinella. Acrocephalus, 2 (10): 59. Matvejev, S.D. (1981): Planinska vrana Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax. Acrocephalus, 2 (7): 16. Matvejev, S.D. (1981): V spomin dr. Ale{u Beblerju. Acrocephalus, 2 (8-9): 48, Matvejev. S.D. (1982): XVIII Congressus internationalis ornithologicus. Acrocephalus, 3 (11-12): 1-2. Matvejev, S.D. (1982): Poljska vrana Corvus jrugilegus. Acrocephalus, 3 (11-12): 29. Matvejev, S.D. (1984): Dru{tveni izlet v Bohinj. Acrocephalus, 5 (21): 43. Matvejev, S.D. (1984): ^rna {torklja Ciconia nigra. Acrocephalus, 5 (19-20): 22. Matvejev, S.D. (1984): Nove knjige: D. Nankinov, Ptice na grad Sofija,1982. Acrocephalus, 5 (19-20): 30. Matvejev, S.D. (1984): Rjasta raca Tadorna ferruginea. Acrocephalus, 5 (19-20): 23. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Varstvo gozdov in ptic v Triglavskem narodnem parku. Acrocephalus, 6 (26): 72. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Dru{tveni izleti: Blejsko jezero. Acrocephalus, 6 (26): 74. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Zastrupljanje volkov in varstvo ptic. Acrocephalus, 6 (26): 71. Matvejev, S.D. (1985): Varstvo ptic in kanjona Tare. Acrocephalus, 6 (26): 72. Matvejev, S.D. (1986): Nove knjige: Migrations of birds of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, Gruiformes and Charadriiformes, Moskva 1985. Acrocephalus, 7 (27-28): 21. Matvejev, S.D. (1989): The Sparrows, J.Denis Summers-Smith. Acrocephalus, 10 (41- 42): 73. Matvejev, S. (1995): Pismo uredni{tvu. Acrocephalus, 16 (73): 203. Matvejev, S.D., Bračko, E & Gregori, J. (1985): Dru{tveni izleti. Acrocephalus, 6 (26): 74. Janez Gregori Literatura: AljanČiČ, M. (1992-199): Sergej Dimitrijevi~ Matvejev. Pogovor z dobitnikom Zoisovega priznanja. Proteus, 55: 228-231. 9 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 10 V spomin / In memoriam Giester, I. (1991): Pogovor z dr. Sergejem Matvejevom. Acrocephalus 12 (47): 1-13. Gomboc, S. (2003): In memoriam dr. Sergej Dimitrijevi~ Matvejev. Acta entomologica slovenica 11 (1): 91-96. Satler, M. (1994): Dr. Sergej D. Matvejev. Nedeljski Dnevnik 27.02.1994, v rubriki Znanec iz sosednje ulice. IC ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 11 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): II — 19, 2OO3 Prehrana kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 (Slovenija) The diet of Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo on the Drava river in the winter of 1995/96 (Slovenia) Marijan Govedič1 & Franc Janžekovič Center za kartografijo favne in flore, Antoli~i~eva 1, SI-2204 Miklav` na Dravskem polju, Slovenija, e-mail: marijan.govedic@ckff.si 2_\JJ11 1-1 •• Pj «1 ril TT* \ A *1 ^/' «1 i f r\ CT <~>r\r\r\ \ /t '\ Sl Oddelek za biologijo, ledago{ka fakulteta - Univerza v Mariboru, Koro{ka cesta 160, SI-2000 Maribor, Movenija, e-mail: franc.janzekovic@uni-mb.si Diet of the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo was studied by means of regurgitated pellets collected in March 1996 at night roost along the Drava river near Miklav` na Dravskem polju. Altogether, remains of 741 fish were found. Total weight of these fish was estimated at 115 kg. The diet consisted of 14 fish species (Chub Leuciscus cephalus, Nase Chondrostoma nasus, Barbel Barbus barbus, Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, Gold Fish or Prussian Carp Carassius auratus, Bream Abramis brama, Common Carp Cyprinus carpio, Danube Roach Rutilus pigus virgo, Roach Rutilus rutilus, Perch Perca fluviatilis, Ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus, Striped Ruffe Gymnocephalus schraetzer, Zingel Zingel zingel and Pike Esox Lucius). The diet was dominated by Perch (52.5% by number, 53.1% by mass) and Nase (14.0% by number, 22.3% by mass). Most of the fishes consumed by cormorants belonged to the 18-22 cm (32.1%) size class. Average length of consumed Perch was 21.9 cm (median 21.5 cm, Q1-QJ3: 18.9-25.2cm) and 26.7 cm of Nase (median 25.3 cm, Q1-Q3: 22.3-31.9 cm). Average length of all prey in the diet of Great Cormorant was 21.3 cm (median 20.9 cm, Q1-QJ3: 18.1-25.2 cm, min-max: 6.1-46.3 cm). Specimens of the first quartile constituted 6.4 % mass of all prey of the second and third quartiles 42 %, and of the last quartile 51.3 % mass of all prey. Length frequency distribution of the Perch, especially low proportion of small Perch in the Cormorants' diet, depended on standing waters' ice cover. Small Perches are abundant in standing waters, as they feed on plankton, which is most abundant there. In the winter of 1995/96 all standing waters in the Drava region were covered with ice and fishes in these waters were inaccessible to Cormorants. But as Ruffe and bigger Perches are not restricted to plankton diet, they also frequented flowing nonfrozen waters and were thus accessible to Cormorants. The proportion of Perch in Cormorants' diet was probably higher than in feeding habitat, while the proportion of Nase, Barbel and Chub was probably lower than in feeding habitat. Key words: Phalacrocorax carbo, Great Cormorant, piscivorus birds, winter diet, pellets analysis, Perca fluviatilis, Perch, Chondrostoma nasus, Nase, fish, Slovenia, Drava river Klju~ne besede: Phalacrocorax carbo, kormoran, ribojede ptice, zimska prehrana, analiza izbljuvkov, Perca fluviatilis, navadni ostri`, Chondrostoma nasus, podust, ribe, Slovenija, reka Drava II M. GovediČ & F. JanŽekoviČ: Prehrana kormorana Phahicrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 (Slovenija) ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 12 1. Uvod Kormoran Phalacrocorax carbo je na reki Dravi reden prezimovalec (Bibič 1988, Sovinc 1994), v zadnjih letih pa se posamezni osebki zadržujejo tudi v poletnih mesecih (Stumberger 1997A). V Sloveniji so prehrano kormorana preučevali predvsem na reki Savi (GovediČ 2001 & 2002, GovediČ et al. 2002). Na območju zgornjega toka reke Save sta v prehrani prevladovala lipan Thymallus thymallus in postrv Salmo trutta (GovediČ 2002), na območju srednjega pa klen Leuciscus cephalus in podust Chondrostoma nasus (GovediČ 2001, GovediČ et al. 2002). Prehrana kormorana na reki Dravi v Sloveniji je poznana iz študije JanŽekoviČ & GovediČ (1998), Mikuska (1983 & 1985) pa je analiziral prehrano na Hrvaškem na območju Kopačkega rita, kjer se reka Drava izliva v reko Donavo. Dosedanje raziskave so pokazale prevlado rdečeok Rutilus rutilus ali navadnih ostrižev Perca fluviatilis v prehrani kormoranov na jezerih, v nezajezenih delih rek pa prevladujejo v zgornjih delih salmonidne, v spodnjih delih pa ciprinidne vrste rib (Van Dobben 1952, Mikuska 1983 & 1985, Müller 1986, Marteijn & DlRKSEN 1991, SCHRATTER & TrAUTTMANSDORFF 1993, Keller 1993 & 1995, Keller & Vordermeier 1994, DlRKSEN ET AL. 1995, MANN et al. 1995, SuTER 1997, Veldkamp 1997, GovediČ 2001 & 2002, GovediČ et al. 2002). Pri prehranjevanju kormoranov na krapovskih ribnikih lahko krapi Cyprinus carpio sestavljajo tudi 100% delež (Mikuska 1985, Mellin et al. 1997). V Sloveniji je reka Drava za kormorana zelo specifičen in raznolik prehranjevalni habitat. Prehranjuje se lahko na akumulacijskih jezerih, v dovodnih in odvodnih kanalih hidroelektrarn in v nezajezenih delih reke oziroma v stari neregulirani strugi. Na Dravskem polju in v Pesniški dolini je tudi več ribnikov, na katerih se prehranjuje (KristofiČ 1986 & 1995, GREGOM 1989, SOVINC 1994, VOGRIN 2000, VOGRIN & VOGRIN 200o). S časom ponovnega naraščanja števila kormoranov na gnezdiščih v srednji in severni Evropi (Suter 1989) se ujemajo tudi prva opažanja kormoranov na reki Dravi. Prvo opazovanje v tistem času je zabeležil Jež (1979); ki jih je v zimi 1978/79 opazoval na reki Dravi in Račkih ribnikih. V zadnjih zimah pa na reki Dravi prenočuje okrog 1000 kormoranov (Geister i997> Ribiška zveza Slovenije 1999, Stumberger 1997A & B, 1998, 1999). Namen članka je predstaviti prehrano kormorana na reki Dravi v Sloveniji, vrstno sestavo plena in velikost osebkov, s katerimi so se prehranjevale te ptice. 12 2. Metode Izbljuvke sva pobrala dvakrat (6. in 27.3.1996) na prenočišču kormoranov pri Miklavžu na Dravskem polju, kjer so kormorani začeli prenočevati februarja 1996 (Stumberger 1997A). Spali so na drevju rečnega brega. V zimi 1995/96 so v Podravju kormorani prenočevali tudi na Ormoškem in Ptujskem jezeru ter akumulaciji Medvedce (Stumberger 1997A), a ker so bila ta prenočišča znotraj vodnih površin, pobiranje izbljuvkov tam ni bilo mogoče. Vse izbljuvke, pobrane v enem terminu, sva shranila skupaj. Zato jih obravnavava kot celoto in pri opisu metode podajava samo razlike od metode v GovediČ et al. (2002). Iz vsakega vzorca sva odbrala vse goltne kosti, žvečne ploščice in asteriskuse krapovcev ter vse sagite nekrapovskih taksonov. Parne strukture sva ločila. Število osebkov krapovskih vrst sva določila na podlagi številnejših goltnih kosti znotraj para, število osebkov nekrapovskih vrst pa na podlagi številnejših sagit znotraj para. Število nedoločenih krapovcev sva določila kot razliko med številom številnejših krapovskih asteriskusov znotraj para in skupnim številom vseh določenih krapovcev. Za izračun dolžin sva izmerila številnejše strukture znotraj para posamezne vrste. Merila sva samo nepoškodovane strukture. Dolžine in mase rib sva izračunala z regresijskimi enačbami (GovediČ et al. 2002). Za izračun dolžine navadne mrene Barbus barbus sva uporabila enačbo: log TL = 0,9886 * log (PBL1) + 1,2476 (GovediČ v pripravi). Osebkom taksonov, ki jim nisva izmerila dolžine, sva pripisala povprečno maso osebkov znanih dolžin taksona (GovediČ 2002). Smrkežu Gymnocephalus schraetzer in čepu Zingel zingel, ki sva ju določila iz delno razgrajenih osebkov, sva pripisala povprečje povprečnih mas navadnega ostriža in okuna Gymnocephalus cernuus. Ščuki Esox lucius, nedoločenim krapovcem in osebkom krapovskih vrst nedoločenih dolžin (beli amur Ctenopharyngodon idella, platnica Rutilus pigus virgo, ploščic Abramis brama, krap in zlati ali srebrni koreselj Carassius auratus) sva pripisala povprečje povprečnih mas podusti, klena, navadne mrene in rdečeoke. Korekcijskih faktorjev nisva upoštevala, ker nama za nekrapovske vrste niso bili znani, pri krapovcih pa sva dolžine izračunala iz dolžine goltne kosti, za katero korekcijski faktorji niso potrebni (GovediČ 2001). Izračunane vrednosti dolžin rib sva podala kot največje dolžine osebkov v centimetrih (Ricker 1979) • Mase osebkov sva prikazala v gramih. Za obdelavo podatkov sva uporabila računalniški program O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 13 AcROCEPHALUS 24 (116): II — 19, 2OO3 STATISTICA (StatSoft 1997)- Razlike med 3. Rezultati frekvenčnimi distribucijami sva testirala s Kolmogorov- Smirnovim testom (Sokal & Rohlf 1995)- Razlike s V oben vzorcih sva našla ostanke 741 osebkov rib, p < 0,05 sva obravnavala kot statistično značilne. katerih skupno maso sva ocenila na 115 kg. Določila Tabela 1: Vrstna sestava, {tevilo osebkov in dele` posameznega taksona glede na {tevilo in maso rib v prehrani kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 (N-{tevilo osebkov, N (%) - dele` po {tevilu, m-masa (g), m (%) - dele` po masi) Table 1: Fish species list, number of individuals and proportion of species by number and mass of fish in the diet of Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo on the Drava river in the winter of 1995/96 (N - number of individuals, N (%) - proportion by number, m -mass (g), m (%) - proportion by mass) 6.3.1996 27.3.I996 Skupaj N / Total % m (g) Vrsta / Species N N (%) N N (%) m (%) Pereci jluviatilis 205 57>6 184 47» 8 389 52,5 61160 53,1 Gymnocephalus cernuus 15 4,2 29 7,5 44 5,9 1170 1,0 Gymnocephalus schraetzer 1 o>3 0 0,0 1 0,1 92 0,1 Zingel zingel 0 0,0 4 1,0 4 o>5 368 o»3 Chondrostoma nasus 16 4,5 88 2.2,9 104 14,0 25750 22,3 Barbus barbus 12 3,4 20 5,2 32 4,3 4807 4,2 Leuciscus cephalus 6 1,7 25 6,5 31 4,2 2762 2,4 Rutilus rutilus 2 0,6 n 2.,9 13 1,8 1187 1,0 Rutilus pigus virgo 0 0,0 4 1,0 4 o>5 578 o»5 Ctenopharyngodon idella 0 0,0 3 0,8 3 0,4 578 o»5 Carassius auratus 1 o»3 1 o»3 2 o»3 289 o»3 Cyprinus carpio 0 0,0 1 o»3 1 0,1 145 0,1 Abramis brama 1 o»3 0,0 1 0,1 145 0,1 Cyprinidae nedoloč./undet. 97 2.7,2 12 3,1 109 H>7 15756 13,7 Es ox Lucius 0 0,0 1 o»3 1 0,1 145 0,1 Nedoločeno/ undetermined 0 0,0 2 o>5 2 o»3 289 o»3 Skupaj / Total 356 100,0 385 100,0 741 100,0 115221 100,0 Tabela 2: Dol`ine in mase najpogostej{ih vrst rib v prehrani kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 (N - {tevilo osebkov, Xp - aritmeti~na sredina, Me - mediana, min - minimum, max - maksimum, Q1 - prvi kvartil, Q3 - tretji kvartil) Table 2: Estimated total length and mass of most important fishes in the diet of Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo on the Drava river in the winter of 1995/96 (N - number of individuals, Xp - arithmetic mean, Me - median, min - minimum, max - maximum, Q1 - first quartile, Q3 - third quartile) dolžina rib / total fish length (cm) masa Xp rib / fish min mass (g) N Xp Me min max Ql Q3 max Perca jluviatilis 347 2.1,9 2.1,5 8,8 35,8 18,9 2.5,2 157 10 581 Chondrostoma nasus 57 2.6,7 2.5,3 10,7 46,3 2.2,3 31,9 248 9 1260 Gymnocephalus cernuus 43 12,1 12,2 6,4 18,9 10,9 13,7 27 3 104 Barbus barbus 18 22,8 21,2 14,8 35.5 19,1 2.7,1 150 43 434 Leuciscus cephalus 17 15,6 11,8 6,1 32,6 10,0 21,1 89 3 441 Rutilus rutilus 10 18,5 19,4 15,1 21,1 15,3 2.0,3 91 46 132 vsi osebki / all individ. 492 2.1,3 2.0,9 6,1 46,3 18,1 2.5,2 152 3 1260 13 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 14 M. GovEDič & F. JanŽekoviČ: Prehrana kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 (Slovenija) sva 14 vrst rib (tabela 1). {tevilu in 53,1% po masi), sledila je podust (14,0% po V prehrani so bili krapovci Cyprinidae in pravi {tevilu in 22,3% po masi). ostri`i Percidae zastopani v podobnem dele`u (tabela Dol`ina rib je zna{ala od 6,1 cm (klen) do 46,3 cm 1). Najpogostej{a vrsta je bil navadni ostri` (52,5% po (podust), masa pa od 3 g (klen) do 1260 g (podust) Perca fluviatilis (n=347) 40 35 ^" 30 C ?h t o Q. O 20 o. v ib >N V ¦o 10 5 0 40 35 3^ 30 C O t 25 O a. o 20 a. v. 15 IN 03 ¦o 10 5 0 40 35 & 30 C e ?5 t o a. e 20 a. V 15 IN O d) ¦a 10 5 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 dolžina rib / fish length (cm) Slika 1: Frekven~na porazdelitev dol`in treh najpogostej{ih vrst rib v prehrani kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 Figure 1: Length frequency distribution of three most abundant fish species in the diet of Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo on the Drava river in the winter of 1995/96 14 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 15 AcROCEPHALUS 24 (116): II — 19, 2OO3 (tabela 2, slika 1). Najpogostejši dolžinski razred vseh požrtih rib je bil med 18 in 22 cm (32,1 %). Povprečna masa požrtin rib je bila 152 g, povprečna dolžina 21,3 cm (mediana 20,9 cm). Osebki prvega kvartila so sestavljali 6,4% mase vseh osebkov, drugega in tretjega kvartila 42,2% in osebki zadnjega kvartila 51,3% mase vseh osebkov (slika 2). Najpogostejši dolžinski razred podusti je bil 22-26 cm (33,3%), navadnih ostrižev 18-22 cm (37,8%) in okunov 10-14 cm (72,1%). Frekvenčne distribucije dolžin teh vrst so bile statistično značilno različne v vseh kombinacijah (p < 0,001, slika 1). 4. Diskusija 4.1. Vrstna sestava plena Veliko število najdenih ostankov rib se ujema z visokim številom kormoranov na prenočišču pri Miklavžu na Dravskem polju. Tam je bilo 15.3.1996 preštetih 890 kormoranov (Stumberger 1997A). Vrste rib, ki sva jih našla v izbljuvkih, živijo v reki Dravi (Povž 1992), vendar vse še niso bile ugotovljene v prehrani kormorana (Veldkamp 1997, Govedič et al. 2002). Cep je bil najden prvič, smrkeža pa še niso določili do vrste (Keller & Vordermeier 1994, Veldkamp 1997). Salmonidnih vrst, ki so v reki Dravi v majhnem deležu (Povž 1992), nisva ugotovila. Osebke vrst, ki jih gojijo v ribnikih na Dravskem polju in v Pesniški dolini, sva našla le posamič. Ameriškega somiča Ictalurus nebulosus, s katerim so se prehranjevali kormorani na Pernici (Sorgo & Janžekovič 1997) in tudi živi v reki Dravi (Povž 1992), nisva ugotovila. Prav tako pa ameriški somič še ni bil ugotovljen v prehrani kormorana na drugih območjih (Veldkamp 1997). Navadni ostriž je bil kot najpogostejša vrsta v prehrani kormoranov do sedaj ugotovljen le pri prehranjevanju kormoranov na jezerih (Suter 1997). Nasprotno od najinih ugotovitev je bil pri prehranjevanju kormoranov na rekah pogostejši okun (Schratter & Trauttmansdorff 1993, Mann et al. 1995). Na podlagi spoznanj Marteijn & Dirksen (1991), Keller & Vordermeier (1994) in Suter (1997) meniva, da je bil delež navadnega ostriža v prehrani kormoranov večji, kot je bil na območju prehranjevanja kormoranov v času raziskave. Vendar to pripisujeva predvsem razporeditvi, gostoti in združevanju navadnih ostrižev v jate in ne njihovi drsti, saj se marca 1996 zaradi nizkih temperatur v reki Dravi verjetno še niso drstili. Navadno se drstijo pri temperaturi vode 10-13 °C (Prokeš 1985). V predhodni študiji 0anžekovič & Govedič 1998) sva predstavila analizo samo celih izbljuvkov, ki sva jih odbrala iz vzorca. V njih so prevladovali krapovci. Vsi drugi izbljuvki so bili raztrgani ali sprijeti. Ravno razpadajoči izbljuvki pa so povečini vsebovali sagite navadnega ostriža, ki so v celih izbljuvkih sestavljali približno 20%. Ker je podust znotraj določenih krapovcev sestavljala približno 55% številčni delež (tabela 1), predvidevava, da je tudi polovica nedoločenih krapovcev pripadala podusti. Zato je bil njen delež približno 20% po številu in 30% po masi. Kljub temu da je podust v ulovu športnih ribičev na reki Dravi najpogostejša vrsta (Povž 1992), katere ulov upada (Povž 1992 & 1995, Povž et al. 1997), meniva, da je bil njen delež v prehrani kormorana v manjšem deležu, kot je bil na območju prehranjevanja kormoranov v času raziskave. Podobno meniva tudi o deležu navadne mrene in klena. Ugotovljena prehrana kormorana se razlikuje od prehrane kormorana na reki Savi (Govedič 2001 & 2002, Govedč et al. 2002) in na območju Kopačkega rita (Mikuska 1983 & 1985). Navadni ostriž je bil na območju zgornjega toka reke Save v 1% (Govedič 2002), na območju srednjega v 7,1% (Govedič et al. 2002) na območju Kopačkega Rita (Mikuska 1983 & 1985) pa v 2,3% številčnem deležu v kormoranovi prehrani. Na območju Kopačkega rita so v prehrani kormoranov prevladovali kosalj Abramis ballerus, androga Blicca bjoerkna in rdečeoka (Mikuska 1983 & 1985). Prehrana se je ujemala edino v deležu podusti, ki je bil podoben deležu na območju srednjega toka reke Save in na reki Dravi. Razlog za razlike je predvsem v številčnosti posameznih ribjih vrst rib v prehranjevalnem območju. Iz ugotovljene prehrane, saj večina vrst pripada ribam, ki živijo v tekočih vodah (Povž & Sket 1990), potrjujeva opazovanja ŠTUMBERGER-ja (1997A) o prehranjevanju večine kormoranov na tekočih odsekih stare struge reke Drave. Natančnega območja prehranjevanja kormoranov, ki so spali v marcu 1996 pri Miklavžu na Dravskem polju, v prvem delu zime pa na Ptujskem jezeru, ne poznava, vendar se je verjetno večina prehranjevala na reki Dravi med Rušami in Ptujem. Ker so bile vse stoječe vode v Podravju, vključno z ribniki, v zimi 1995/96 zamrznjene (Javornik 1996, Stumberger 1997A), iz ugotovljene prehrane v marcu 1996 zaključujeva, da je bilo takšno razmerje vrst v prehrani kormorana najverjetneje v celotni zimi 1995/96. Analizirani vzorec ponazarja prehrano daljšega časovnega obdobja in zajema tudi ribje vrste, ki živijo na različnih odsekih znotraj širšega območja. 15 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 16 M. GovEDič & F. JanŽekoviČ: Prehrana kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 (Slovenija) 4.2. Velikost plena Dolžine požrtih rib so bile statistično značilno večje od dolžin požrtin rib na območju zgornjega (-0,02 < D < 0,38; p < 0,001) in srednjega (0,00 < D < 0,56; p < 0,001) toka reke Save (Govedič 2001 & 2002, Govedič et al. 2002). Na drugih območjih so ugotovili podoben (Feltham & Davies 1997, Lindell 1997, Noordhuis et al. I997> Suter 1997) ali manjši (Schratter & Trauttmansdorff 1993, Martyniak et al. 1997) najpogostejši dolžinski razred požrtih rib. Povprečna dolžina požrtih navadnih ostrižev (tabela 2) je bila večja od rezultatov večine raziskav (Van Dobben 1952, Müller 1986, Keller 1993 & 1995, Dirksen et al. 1995, Mellin & Krupa 1997, Stempniewicz & Grochowski 1997, Suter 1997, Bokranz et al. 1998, BoKRANZ 1999). Statistično značilno daljši (0,00 < D < 0,84; p < 0,001) so bili tudi v primerjavi s prehrano kormorana na območju srednjega toka reke Save (Govedič 2001, Govedič et al. 2002). Povprečna velikost požrtih podusti je bila manjša, kot je ugotovil Keller (1995), in podobna velikosti požrtih podusti (-0,19 < D < 0,16; ns) na območju srednjega toka reke Save (Govedič et al. 2002). Podusti tudi pripada največja požrta riba (tabela 2), ki pa je bila manjša od zabeleženo največje požrte ribe (Carss & Marquiss 1997). Nizki delež majhnih (tabela 2, slika 1) navadnih ostrižev, ki so navadno stari do treh let (Craig 1980, Prokeš 1985 & 1993, LoRENZONi et al. 1993) in so pogost kormoranov plen (V'an Dobben 1952, Marteijn & Dirksen 1991, Dirksen et al. 1995, Bokranz et al. 1998, Bokranz 1999), pripisujeva zaledenelosti stoječih voda. Ker se v prvem in drugem letu starosti navadni ostriži prehranjujejo največ s planktonom (Persson & Greenberg 1990, Zerdin 1992, Diehl 1993, Guti 1993), predvidevava, da so se zato zadrževali predvsem v odsekih s stoječo vodo (rokavi, akumulacije), ki pa so bili zaledeneli in so bili v njih kormoranom nedostopni. Zato zaključujeva, da velikostna struktura navadnega ostriža v prehrani kormorana ni odsevala velikostne strukture navadnih ostrižev na območju prehranjevanja kormoranov v času raziskave. Nasprotno pa na plankton niso vezani majhni okuni (Bergman 1991, Hoelker & Hammer 1994, Kangur & Kangu 1996), ki so se zato verjetno zadrževali tudi v nezaledenelih delih reke Drave, v katerih so bili kormoranom dostopni. Velikostna struktura podusti v prehrani kormorana je po najinem mnenju odvisna od velikostne strukture podusti v jati, ki so jo odkrili kormorani. Pri pomembnosti posameznih velikostnih razredov rib v prehrani kormorana na reki Dravi se pridružujeva zaključkom drugih avtorjev (Veldkamp 1995, Suter 1997, Govedič et al. 2002), da so v prehrani kormorana na rekah najpomembnejše večje ribe (slika 2). 1 \ I I I I I I I I \ 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 dolžina rib/total fish length (cm) Slika 2: Dele` {tevila (~rno) in mase (belo) rib posameznih dol`inskih razredov v prehrani kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na reki Dravi v zimi 1995/96 Figure 2: Proportion by number (black) and by mass (white) for fish length classes in the diet of Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo on the Drava river in the winter of 1995/96 16 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 17 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): II — 19, 2OO3 5. Povzetek Avtorja sta z analizo izbljuvkov ugotavljala prehrano kormoranov Phalacrocoräx carbo, ki so marca 1996 skupinsko preno~evali ob reki Dravi pri Miklav`u na Dravskem polju. Na{la sta ostanke 741 osebkov rib, katerih skupno maso sta ocenila na 115 kg. Dolo~ila sta 14 vrst rib (klen Leuciscus cephalus, podust Chondrostoma nasus, navadna mrena Barbus barbus, beli amur Ctenopharyngodon idella, zlati ali srebrni koreselj Cardssius auratus, plo{~i~ Abramis brama, krap Cyprinus cärpio., platnica Rutilus pigus virgo, rde~eoka Rutilus rutilus, navadni ostri` Perca fluviatilis, okun Gymnocephalus cernuus, smrke` Gymnocephalus schraetzer, ~ep Zingel zingel, {~uka Esox Lucius). V prehrani kormorana je bil najpogostej{i navadni ostri` (52,5% po {tevilu, 53,1% po masi), podust pa druga najpogostej{a vrsta (14,0% po {tevilu, 22,3% po masi). Najpogostej{i dol`inski razred vseh po`rtih rib je bil med 18 in 22 cm (32,1%). Povpre~na dol`ina po`rtih navadnih ostri`ev je bila 21,9 cm (mediana 21,5 cm, Q1-Q3: 18,9-25,2 cm), podusti pa 26,7 cm (mediana 25,3 cm, Q1-Q3: 22,3-31,9 cm). Povpre~na dol`ina vseh po`rtih rib je bila 21,3 cm (mediana 20,9 cm, Q1-Q3: 18,1-25,2 cm, min-max: 6,1-46,3 cm). Osebki prvega kvartila so sestavljali 6,4% mase vseh osebkov, drugega in tretjega kvartila 42,2% in osebki zadnjega kvartila 51,3% mase vseh osebkov. Velikostno strukturo navadnega ostri`a, predvsem nizki dele` majhnih osebkov v prehrani kormorana, sta avtorja pripisala zaledenelosti stoje~ih voda. Ker so majhni navadni ostri`i prehransko vezani na plankton, se zadr`ujejo predvsem v stoje~ih vodah, kjer je planktona najve~. V zimi 1995/96 pa so bile stoje~e vode zamrznjene in ribe v njih kormoranom nedostopne. Na prehrano s planktonom pa niso vezani okuni in ve~ji navadni ostri`i. Ti so se zadr`evali tudi v teko~ih nezaledenelih delih reke, kjer so bili kormoranom dostopni. 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Prispelo / Arrived: 11.4.2003 Sprejeto / Accepted: 14.10.2003 19 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 20 2C ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 21 O Acrocephalus 24 (116): 21 – 27, 2003 Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla on the lower Neretva river: notes on a possible breeding location in southern Dalmatia Pritlikava tukalica Porzana pusilla ob spodnjem toku reke Neretve: zapiski o verjetni gnezditvi v ju`ni Dalmaciji Peter Sackl 1 , Luka Boži2 & Borut [tumberger j Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Forschungsstätte “Pater Bl. Hanf am Furtnerteich, Raubergasse 10, A – 8010 Graz, Austria, e-mail: peter.sackl@stmk.gv.at 2 P * 1 f CT ni r\/- \ /f *1 Sl * Mill * r~\ • 1 1 intarjeva 16, SI – 2106 Maribor, Movenia, e-mail: luka.bozicwsiol.net 3 ~-,. , , /1 CT T-too r-~' 11 Sl • *1 1 r~\ • 1 Cirkulane 41, M – 2282 Cirkulane, Movenia, e-mail: stumbergerwsiol.net 1. Introduction Despite its extensive distribution which encompasses Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia, Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla belongs to the least-known breeding birds of the western Palearctic. This is due to its nocturnal and largely secretive habits. In Europe the species is a rare and erratic breeder in marshlands, flooded meadows, lowland floodplains and river deltas of the temperate, Mediterranean and steppe climate zones. While the nominate race P. p. pusilla occurs in Russia and Asia eastwards from the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, the distribution of P. p. intermedia is restricted to small, fragmented and ephemeral breeding areas in Morocco, and in southern, western and central Europe (Glutz von Blotzheim et al. 1973, Cramp 1980, Taylor & van Perlo 1998). Apart from its European strongholds on the Iberian Peninsula, where population numbers are estimated at 3010 – 5100 pairs (SEO/BirdLife 1997, Heath et al. 2000), scattered populations exist on the Balkan Peninsula northwards to the floodplains of the Carpathian Basin and Danube delta in Hungary and Romania (Ciochia 1992, Gorman 1996, Magyar et al. 1998, Munteanu 1998). In former Yugoslavia, Baillon’s Crake was found regularly in the riverine lowlands of eastern Croatia and northern Serbia, where the species bred in small numbers in the Baranja, Slavonija, Posavina, Pokuplje and Vojvodina regions (Matvejev & Vasi} 1973, Kralj 1997, Ra{ajski 1997, Luka~ 1998). With population numbers estimated at < 11 - 100 pairs, Baillon’s Crake is assessed as being critically endangered in Croatia (Luka~ 1998). In contrast to the central Balkans only scattered records exist for the western part of the Balkan Peninsula since the late 19th century. Almost all records concerning the region appear to relate to migrants (Csörgey 1903, Reiser 1905 & 1939, Matvejev & Vasi} 1973, Kralj 1997, Handrinos & Akriotis 1997, Luka~ 1998, Rucner 1998). The only, but vague, evidence for nesting on the western Balkans consists of: (1) On 10 Jun 1894 the dog of Ludwig von Führer caught an ash-grey male Porzana crake with an incubation patch in Humsko blato on Lake Skhoder. Unfortunately the bird was heavily mashed by the retrieving dog and consequently was not preserved. Later Reiser & Führer (1896) mentioned the case with much regret, because they were unable to decide retrospectively whether the specimen concerned Little P. parva or Baillon’s Crake; (2) In the early morning of 5 Jul 1959 Géroudet (1965) heard rattling calls of birds unknown to him in three locations throughout the marshlands of Hutovo blato on the lower Neretva river (Bosnia and Hercegovina). According to recordings of the advertising calls of Baillon’s Crake he later concluded that the callings he had heard in Hutovo blato may possibly have indicated the presence of the species. His report was later cited by many authors as the first evidence for breeding in the region (Matvejev & Vasi} 1973, Kralj 1997, Luka~ 1998); (3) In a review of the birds of the Ulcinj area in southern Montenegro, Vasi} (1979) quotes a personal comment by M. Shepherd, who had heard the callings of Baillon’s Crake in the salt-works of Ulcinj on 5 May 1975, but considers Shepherd’s report insufficiently well documented; (4) More recently a possible breeding locality in the surroundings of Knin (Croatia) and (5) three isolated breeding entries for Albania were recorded on the distribution maps in the EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds (Bijlsma 1997) and the Concise Edition of The Birds of the Western Palearctic (Snow & Perrins 1998). We report here on a small population in southern Dalmatia (Croatia), where we have found evidence of breeding on the lower Neretva river downstream of Hutovo blato. 21 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 22 P. Sackl et al.: Baillon’s Crake Porzäna pusilla on the lower Neretva river: notes on a possible breeding location in southern Dalmatia 2. Study area and methods Between 26 Apr and 2 May 2001 we visited, as part of a group of field ornithologists organized by Borut [tumberger of DOPPS/BirdLife Slovenia at the request of the Institute of Ornithology of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, the valley of the lower Neretva river in southern Dalmatia. Our small Slovene-Austrian team, which resided in the town of Metkovi}, was complemented by Dominik Bombek, Matja` Ker ~ek, Luka Koro{ec, Primo` Kmecl, Barbara Pislak, Jakob Smole, Greta and Karmen [tumberger. The main objective of the expedition was to investigate the presence and status of Purple Swamp-hen Porphyrie? porphyrio, as well as to carry out an evaluation of population numbers of Great Bitterns Botaurus stellaris nesting in marshlands along the lower Neretva. The study area encompasses the depressions (dolina) Figure 1: Study area in the lower Neretva river valley in southern Dalmatia (Croatia) with black circles (= approximate location of callers) indicating the distribution of calling groups of Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla during late April and early May 2001. (white areas - inland water surface, bright grey area - Neretva river valley, dark grey area - hilly surrounds) Slika 1: Območje raziskave v spodnjem delu reke Neretve v južni Dalmaciji (Hrvaška): črni krogci (= približna lokacija oglašajočih se ptic) ponazarjajo distribucijo klicalnih skupin pritlikave tukalice Porzana pusilla med koncem aprila in začetkom maja 2001 (belo obarvana območja = vodne površine; svetlo sivo območje = dolina reke Neretve; temno sivo območje = hribi) ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 23 Acrocephalus 24 (116): 21 – 27, 2003 Table 1: Records of calling Baillon’s Crakes Porzana pusilla in the lower Neretva river valley, Dalmatia in spring 2001, at Lake Kuti and between the villages of Mislina and Trojavina. Tabela 1: Podatki o klico~ih pritlikavih tukalicah Porzana pusilla v spodnjem delu doline reke Neretve, Dalmacija, spomladi leta 2001, pri jezeru Kuti in med vasema Mislina in Trojavina. Date/ Location/ datum lokacija Time/ Number of birds, behaviour/ Observers/ ~as {t. ptic, vedenje opazovalci 27.4. Jezero Kuti, S Bad`ula 20.30 - 21.05 27.4. Blato, Podgrede evening 29.4. Jezero Kuti, - 20.00 Mislina - Trojavina 29.4. Jezero Kuti, S Bad`ula - 20.00 - 21.30 and Bad`ula - Mislina -Trojavina 30.4. Jezero Kuti, S Bad`ula 20.40 - 22.30 and Bad`ula - Mliniste 1.5. Jezero, Modro Oko - Osac 20.35 - 20.40 4 - 5 males calling spontaneously (warm, windless, very dark and moonless) 1 male calling spontaneously 2 males calling spontaneously 50 - 70 m from road (around 20 minutes after sunset) no reaction to playbacks; birds between Mislina and Trojavina silent, no reaction to playbacks along the whole section Badzula -Mislina - Trojavina no reaction to playbacks (warm, windless, bright moonlight) 2 males calling spontaneously close to road (warm and windless) L. Bo`i~ & P. Sackl D. Bombek L. Koro{ec & B. [tumberger L. Koro{ec & B. [tumberger L. Bo`i~ & P. Sackl P. Kmecl & B. [tumberger covered by extensive wetlands between the borderline to Bosnia and Hercegovina and the town of Opuzen near the estuary of the Neretva river at the Adriatic coast (Figure 1). With core wetland areas not accessible without boats we performed 42.2 km of synchronized transect counts - excluding a 6.7 km boat trip on Lake Kuti - along the periphery and along dikes crossing the marshlands with 3 - 4 teams each consisting of 2 – 3 observers during early morning (5.00 – 07.30 CET) and late evening (17.30 – 21.00 CET). To stimulate territorial calls at 73 check-points along transects (= 1.7 per km), taped playbacks of advertising and territorial calls of Purple Swamp-hen and Great Bittern were played for 5 – 10 minutes. In addition, on 30 – 40% of all check-points, when rails were not calling spontaneously, we also tested with the help of taped playbacks for the presence of Water Rail Rdllus aquaticus, Spotted Porzana porzäna, Little and Baillon’s Crake. Except for a short rain shower during early morning of 28 April, when no counts were performed, overall windless, warm and sunny weather conditions with changing overcast prevailed. A total of 64 km2 of wetlands, with 56.4 % homogenous reedbeds, 22.3% marshlands covered by lower vegetation and 21.3% drained wetland areas, were investigated (Figure 1). 3. Results All Baillon’s Crakes recorded during our surveys on the lower Neretva were initially found by the advertising and territorial calls of spontaneously calling birds (Table 1). We heard calling males on four locations, with the most dense concentration of 4 – 5 callers on 27 Apr in the southeastern section of Lake Kuti south of Bad`ula, close to the frontier guard into Bosnia and Hercegovina. The following day, two other spontaneously calling birds were heard in the same area 1.7 km north of Bad`ula, near the road between the small villages of Mislina and Trojavina. In the marshlands north of the Neretva river another solitary male was heard in the extensive Blato of Podgrede, east of Sv. Vid. In addition two calling males were found on the Lake of Modro Oko between Komin and Rogotin, close to the estuary of the Neretva river, on 1 May (Figure 1). Vegetation characteristics where calling crakes were recorded, except in the Lake of Modro Oko, correspond to those summarized by Glutz vo n Blotzheim et al. (1973), Cramp (1980) and Taylor & van Perlo (1998). Most birds were calling from the edge of extensive wetland depressions characteristic of the area, in shallow, seasonally or irregularly flooded 23 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 24 P. Sackl et al.: Baillon’s Crake Porzäna pusilla on the lower Neretva river: notes on a possible breeding location in southern Dalmatia marshlands and submerged meadows covered by low sedges Carex sp., soft-rush Juncus sp., bulrush Scirpus sp. and other relatively fine-stemmed vegetation intermingled with tall stands of Reed Phragmites communis. On Lake Kuti, calling places of at least one or two males were near floating vegetation close to deeper, more open water (Figure 2). But due to darkness and a deep canal between the road and their calling sites, we were not able to locate the position of these birds exactly. Between Mislina and Trojavina the species was found in a partly submerged meadow dominated by low sedges and fragmented stands of dense reed. In contrast, both birds heard on 1 May were calling near the edge of extensive homogenous reed beds close to the road in Modro Oko (cf. Table 1). Figure 2: Habitat of Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla at Lake Kuti near Bad`ula in the lower Neretva river valley, Dalmatia, May 2001. Males were found calling close to the edge (right) and more to the centre of the area behind open water in the background (photo: P. Sackl). Slika 2: Habitat pritlikave tukalice Porzana pusilla ob jezeru Kuti pri Bad`uli v spodnjem delu reke Neretve, Dalmacija, maj 2001. Samci so se ogla{ali v bli`ini roba (na desni) in bolj proti sredi{~u obmo~ja onkraj odprtih voda v ozadju (foto: P. Sackl). Whereas transect counts were done during the evening as well as early morning, spontaneous calling activity of Baillon’s Crake appeared to be restricted to late evening hours with almost all calling recorded towards the end of transect counting between 20.00 and 21.00 CET, i.e. 20 min to 1 hour after sunset (Table 1). Perhaps more important, calling activity appeared to be largely reduced after 27 Apr. Except for a few interruptions, when suddenly and simultaneously all crakes ceased to call, all birds were calling continually when we first encountered them on Lake Kuti in the late evening of 27 Apr. During one of the breaks we managed to provoke continuous calling bouts by using taped playbacks. Later the same evening, we had the impression that at least some birds moved around while calling, possibly indicating courtship flights invisible to us owing to darkness (cf. Glutz von Blotzheim et al. 1973, Taylor & van Perlo 1998). In contrast, no crakes were found calling on 29 and 30 Apr, and no response to playbacks was provoked on Lake Kuti during later visits (Table 1). On both occasions, contrary to the situation on 27 Apr of deep darkness owing to an approaching rain front, the bright moonlight night was filled with extraordinarily loud choruses of frogs Rana X ridibunda and Common Tree Frog Hyla arborea. Nearest neighbour distances between solitary callers and/or calling groups on the lower Neretva (Figure 1) varied from 1.7 to 12.2 km (x = 8.2 km, n = 4). With 9 – 10 calling birds recorded we are neither able to rule out double counts between different transects nor the possibility that we missed other crakes in the area during our study. However, based on the assumption that advertising calls of Baillon’s Crake are audible for 150 – 250 m (cf. Glutz von Blotzheim et al. 1973) and according to a total of 42.2 km of line transect surveyed, overall densities for wetland areas in the region can be roughly estimated at 0.4 – 0.8 birds /km2. 4. Discussion In the course of the 20 century the avifauna of the lower Neretva river valley was intensively studied by Rucner (1953 & 1993). In spite of long-term collecting and bird-watching in the area he did not find Baillon’s Crakes. Nevertheless, in his most recent monograph on the bird fauna of the lower Neretva, Rucner (1993) listed Baillon’s Crake as a breeding species for the area without giving further details. However, first evidence for breeding in the valley of the lower Neretva river was reported by Geroudet (1965), who heard rattling calls which he later thought might have concerned the species in Hutovo blato, 5 km upstream of our study area. Other solitary birds recorded in Dalmatia during the last century were collected or sighted outside the nesting season; i.e. a male shot in Strobe~ near Split on 3 Apr 1959 and another male seen on 29 Sep 1988 in Torak Lake on the Krk river (Reiser 1939, Piasevoli & Pallaoro 1991, Stipčevic 1996, Kralj 1997). Evidence for the breeding of the species on the western Balkans is clearly based on records of calling 24 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 25 Acrocephalus 24 (116): 21 – 27, 2003 birds only. Many aspects of the population dynamics, ecology, breeding biology, and behaviour of Baillons Crake are still insufficiently studied. Given our somewhat confusing data concerning the calling activity between late April and early May 2001, the breeding status of the species for the western Balkans is still inconclusive. However, territorial and courtship behaviour of Baillons Crake is generally regarded to be similar to that of other, better studied Porzana species. In particular the hard, dry rattling calls of the species, probably given by males only, the formation of small calling groups, and courtship flights may primarily function as advertising calls and mating displays important for pair-formation and subsequent courtship (Glutz von Blotzheim et al. 1973, Cramp 1980). Locating territorial males by means of their advertising calls is a matter of routine in breeding surveys and census work for Corncrake Crex crex, Water Rail and Spotted Crake (e.g. Gilbert et al 1998). According to Feindt (1968) and Szabó & Viszló (2001), advertising and territorial calls should, in the same way, be useful for population surveys of Baillons Crake. Recently the method was used for the species in the more densely populated parts in its breeding range (cf Marchant & Higgins 1993, SEO/BirdLife 1997, Taylor & van Perlo 1998). Male Corncrakes are known to reduce their nocturnal calling activity drastically for a few nights immediately after they are mated, while Spotted Crakes call only until they are mated and keep silent for the rest of the breeding season (e.g. Tyler & Green 1996, Schäffer 1999). During a study in Austria’s Enns river valley (1998 – 2000), calling groups of Corncrakes (< 10 callers), regularly ceased calling during late May to early June, with a second peak of calling activity between late June and mid-July (H. Faber, P. Sackl & L. Zechner unpubl.). A similar reduction of calling activity is reported by male Baillons Crakes by Feindt (1968), Becker (1983) and Szabó & Viszló (2001). Correspondingly these authors emphasize that, in closely investigated cases, males ceased to call immediately after pair formation and/or at the start of egg laying (cf. also Glutz von Blotzheim et al. 1973, Taylor & van Perlo 1998). The period of time between the arrival of a female and the completion of clutch, and the period of calling activity for a solitary male at nesting sites in Lower Saxony (Germany), is given by Becker (1983) as 9 and 3 days, respectively. Calling activity of Baillons Crake may further depend on external factors like weather conditions, the volume of noise made by frogs or the intensity of moonlight (Table 1), the latter possibly affecting predation risk in habitats covered by low, more open vegetation preferred by the species. However, our data from the lower Neretva correspond to the calling phenology and calling characteristics during courtship and pair formation described for Corncrakes and other Porzana species. With timing of egg laying presumably depending on water level (Feindt 1968, Becker 1983, Szabó & Viszló 2001), our study apparently coincided with the initial stages of pair formation and egg laying. For southern and central Europe the latter is estimated by Glutz von Blotzheim et al. (1973) and Cramp (1980) to be early to mid-May. Although in Hungary most clutches were found between mid-May and late June, Szabó & Viszló (2001) mention a single clutch for early May and another one with already hatched chicks on 21 May. In The Netherlands in the 20 century, nests with eggs were found from 25 May – 23 June, nests with chicks or adults with chicks between 23 Jun and 5 Aug, and juveniles mainly in August (van den Berg & Bosman 2001). Apparently, breeding in the Netherlands is later than in central Europe. In more southern breeding areas a clutch of five eggs was found in the Azraq marshes of Jordan on 17 Apr 1963 (Andrews 1995) and in the Nile delta in Egypt adults in breeding condition and with downy young, respectively, were collected on 17 Apr 1917 and on 1 May 1920 (Goodman & Meininger 1989). Accordingly, Taylor & van Perlo (1998) correlate breeding condition and egg laying for the southern Mediterranean and the Middle East with April – May. The wetland depressions of the lower Neretva are obviously situated within the climatic zone suitable for nesting and within the overall distribution of the species. In comparison to densities of the possible race obscura” reported for some wetland areas of tropical Africa (Taylor & van Perlo 1998) and for P. p. palustris in Australia, our estimate of 0.4 – 0.8 birds / km2 is very low, but close to maximum densities of 5 birds / 509 ha found at Thompsons Lake Nature Reserve, Western Australia, 1981- 88 (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Large sections of marsh- and wetlands on the lower Neretva were reclaimed for agriculture, road building and urban development during the last decades. Although all wetlands in the area, including designated IBA and RAMSAR sites, are heavily disturbed by excessive hunting ([tumberger unpubl.), suitable marshland nesting habitat for Baillons Crake is apparently still widespread throughout the river delta and lower Neretva river valley. However, based on the evidence presented we conclude that the species is 25 O P. Sackl et al.: Baillon’s Crake Porzäna pusilla on the lower Neretva river: notes on a possible breeding location in southern Dalmatia ower Neretva river: notes on a possible breeding location ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 26 probably a sparsely distributed and possibly erratic breeding bird in the area, a fact hitherto overlooked by many ornithologists. Summary Apart from very vague evidence for nesting, most records of Baillon’s Crake Porzäna pusilla from the western Balkans along the coast of the Adriatic Sea relate to migrants. Between 26 Apr and 2 May 2001, 64 km2 of extensive marsh and wetland areas were investigated for the presence of Purple Swamp-hen Porphyrie? porphyrio, Great Bittern Botaurus stellaris, Water Rail Rallus aquaticus and crakes Porzana sp. by 42.2 km of transect counting along the lower Neretva river valley between the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the town of Opuzen in southern Dalmatia (Croatia). Although we used playbacks of advertising and territorial calls of Baillon’s Crake on 20 – 30 check points along transects, the species was only found during our surveys by spontaneously calling birds. We recorded Baillon’s Crakes in four locations from solitary calling birds and from small calling groups of 2 – 4 (5) birds with the most dense concentration of 4 – 5 callers in the south-eastern section of Lake Kuti, south of Bad`ula. Altogether we were able to locate 9 – 10 calling birds in the area, i.e. 0.4 – 0.8 birds / km2 of wetlands investigated. Nearest neighbour distances between solitary callers and/or calling groups varied from 1.7 – 12.2 km. Over the period of the study two repeatedly visited calling groups at Lake Kuti appeared to reduce their spontaneous calling activity until 29 Apr, which seems to be in accordance with published evidence of a drastic reduction of nocturnal calling activity after pair formation and egg laying. Given the location of our study area within the overall distribution area of the species, the time of season and the characteristics of calling activity which we found on the lower Neretva, we conclude that the species - overlooked by many ornithologists – is probably a sparsely distributed breeding bird in the area. The first evidence for nesting on the western Balkans is based on calling birds heard in July 1959 in Hutovo Blato (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on the lower Neretva, 5 km upstream from our study area and in the salt-works of Ulcinj (Montenegro) in early May 1975. Povzetek Ve~ina podatkov o pojavljanju pritlikave tukalice 26 Porzana pusilla na zahodnem Balkanu vzdol` Jadranskega morja – poleg nekaj sicer zelo neprepri~ljivih dokazov” o gnezdenju te vrste v tem obmo~ju – zadeva njeno selitveno obdobje. Med 26.4. in 2.5.2001 smo pregledali 64 km2 mokri{~, da bi pre{teli sultanke Porphyrio porphyrio, bobnarice Botaurus stellaris, moko`e Rallus aquaticus in tukalice Porzana sp. vzdol` 42,2 km dolge ~rte transektov v spodnjem delu reke Neretve med bosansko-hercegovsko mejo in mestom Opuzen v ju`ni Dalmaciji na Hrva{kem. ^eprav smo na tridesetih to~kah ob transektih uporabljali posnetke teritorialnega ogla{anja pritlikave tukalice, smo jih med popisom na{li le med njihovim spontanim ogla{anjem. Zabele`ili smo jih na {tirih lokalitetah, kjer so se ogla{ale posami~no, in v skupinah od 2 – 4 (5) ptic z najve~jo koncentracijo 4 – 5 ogla{ajo~ih se ptic v jugovzhodnem delu jezera Kuti ju`no od Bad`ule. Skupaj nam je v raziskanih mokri{~ih uspelo locirati 9 – 10 ogla{ajo~ih se pritlikavih tukalic, t. j. 0,4 – 0,8 ptic / km2. Najmanj{e razdalje med posami~no ogla{ajo~imi se pticami in/ali klicalnimi skupinami so se sukale med 1,7 in 12,2 km. V ~asu raziskave sta se dve klicalni skupini pritlikavih tukalic ob jezero Kuti nehali spontano ogla{ati 29.4., kar je v skladu z objavljenimi podatki o drasti~nem zmanj{anju no~nega ogla{anja, ko se ptice za~nejo dru`iti v pare in le~i jajca. Glede na lokacijo preu~evanega obmo~ja znotraj celotnega obmo~ja raz{irjenosti vrste, letnega ~asa in zna~ilnosti ogla{anja ob spodnjem toku reke Neretve menimo, da je vrsta – ki so jo mnogi ornitologi tu o~itno prezrli – najbr` redko raz{irjena gnezdilka v obravnavanem obmo~ju. Prvi dokazi o gnezdenju pritlikave tukalice na zahodnem Balkanu zadevajo ogla{ajo~e se ptice, zabele`ene julija 1959 v Hutovem blatu (Bosna in Hercegovina) v spodnjem delu reke Neretve kakih 5 km severno od na{ega obmo~ja raziskave in v za~etku maja 1975 v Ulcinjskih solinah (^rna gora). References Andrews, IJ. (1995): The Birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. - Privately published, Musselburgh, UK. Becker, P. 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(1991): Ornitolo{ka zbirka prirodoslovnog muzeja u Splitu. - Larus 43: 89 – 119. RaŠajski, J. (1997): Ptice Srbije: sa kartama distribucija. Prometej, Novi Sad. Reiser, O. (1905): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica. III. Griechenland und die griechischen Inseln (mit Ausnahme von Kreta). - Carl Gerolds Sohn, Wien. Reiser, O. (1939): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica. I. Bosnien und Herzegowina nebst Teilen von Serbien und Dalmatien. - Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien. Reiser, O. & von Führer, L. (1896): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica. IV Montenegro. - Carl Gerolds Sohn, Wien. Rucner, D. (1953): Birds of the Neretva valley. A contribution to the study of the avifauna of Croatia. - Larus 6/7: 53 – 138. Rucner, D. (1993): O `ivotu ptica u dolini Neretve. - Ogranak matice Hrvatske u Metkovi}u, Metkovi}. Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. - Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej, Ministarstvo razvitka i obnove, Zagreb. Schäffer, N. (1999): Habitatwahl und Partnerschaftssystem von Tüpfelralle Porzana porzana und Wachtelkönig Crex crex. - Ökol. Vögel 21: 1 – 267. SEO/BirdLife (1997): Atlas de las aves de Espana (1975 – 1995). - Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Snow, D.W. & Perrins, CM. (1998): The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Concise Edition, Vol. 1. - Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York. StipČeveĆ, M. (1996): A contribution to the Croatian list of rare and scarce birds recorded from 1985 – 1995. - Nat. Croat. 5: 53 – 81. Szabó, LV. & VisZLO, L. (2001): A Csákvári-rét rejtélyes madarai. Madártani kutatások a Zámolyi-medencében. - Pro Vértes Természetvédelmi Közalapitvány, Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt and Stiftung Europäisches Naturerbe, Csákvár. Taylor, B. & van Perlo, B. (1998): Rails. A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. - Pica Press, Sussex. Tyler, G.A. & Green, R.E. (1996): The incidence of nocturnal song by male Corncrakes Crex crex is reduced during pairing. - Bird Study 43: 214 – 219. van den Berg, A.B. & Bosman, C.A.W. (2001): Rare birds of the Netherlands, with complete list of all species. 2nd edition. - GMB Uitgeverij and Stichting Uitgeverij KNNV, Haarlem and Utrecht. Vasic, VF. (1979): Popis faune ptica podru~ja Ulcinja (ju`na Crna Gora). - Biosistematika 5: 71 – 111. Prispelo / Arrived: 14.4.2003 Sprejeto / Accepted: 14.10.2003 27 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 28 Kratki članki / Short Articles 28 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 29 O Acrocephalus 24 (116): 29 - 30, 2003 Prezimovanje velikega {kurha Numenius arquata, pribe Vanellus vanellus in liske Fulica atra na Kolanskem blatu (otok Pag, Hrva{ka) Wintering Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus and Common Coot Fulica atra at Kolansko blato (Pag Island, Croatia) Davorin Tome Trnovska 8, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: aavorin.tonie@nib.si Veliki škurh Numenius arquata je na Hrvaškem reden preletnik in prezimovalec. Njegova zimska populacija je ocenjena na 100 - 500 osebkov, ki se zadržujejo pretežno v obalnem pasu. Priba Vanellus vanellus velja na Hrvaškem za dokaj pogosto gnezdilko in prezimovalko. Njena zimska populacija je ocenjena na 500 - 1000 osebkov, večina jih zimo prebije v obalnem predelu med Istro in južno Dalmacijo. Liska Fulica atra je na Hrvaškem najštevilčnejša od vseh treh obravnavanih vrst, tako v času gnezdenja kot prezimovanja. Zimska populacija naj bi štela od 100.000 - 500.000 osebkov, najdemo pa jo na vseh večjih, nezamrznjenih vodah. (Kralj 1997, Luka~ 1998, Rucner 1998) Hrvaška obala je ornitološko dokaj dobro raziskana (glej npr. Rucner 1998), kvantitativnih podatkov o posameznih vrstah pa ni veliko. Z otoka Paga sem zbral nekaj podatkov o velikosti jat velikega škurha, pribe in liske, ki prezimujejo na Kolanskem blatu. Pag je četrti največji otok v Jadranskem morju. Od kopnega je ločen z ozkim Velebitskim kanalom. Večina otoka je povsem brez rastlinske odeje, nekaj je makije in hrastovih gozdov. V depresijah je rodovitna zemlja, ti predeli so kmetijsko obdelani. Ena izmed takšnih je Kolansko polje, ki leži med Novaljo in Kolanom. Na najnižjem predelu depresije je močvirje, Kolansko blato, ki je bilo leta 1988 razglašeno za ornitološki rezervat. Močvirje se razteza na površini okoli 500 x 200 m. Na severnem delu so odprte vodne površine, ki jih obrašča širok pas trstike, na južnem delu je travnik, ki je pozimi pogosto poplavljen. Blato ima povezavo z morjem, zato je voda rahlo brakična. (npr. Igalffy 1980) Od leta 1998 do 2002 sem Kolansko blato med decembrom in februarjem obiskal petkrat. Liske so se zadrževale na odprti vodni površini, če pa jih je kaj vznemirilo, so se poskrile v trstičje - njihovo število na odprti vodi sem po svoji presoji preštel na ± 50 osebkov natančno. Veliki škurhi in pribe so se zadrževale na poplavljenih travnikih. Napaka pri štetju teh vrst po moji oceni ni presegla 10%. Na Kolanskem blatu redno prezimuje med 15 in 31 velikih škurhov, do 120 prib in 300-500 lisk (tabela 1). Podatki o prežimovanju obravnavanih vrst v tem delu Paga niso novi, je pa število višje od tistega, ki ga za obdobje pred 40 leti opisuje Igalffy (1980). Različne vrednosti števila lisk v posameznih sezonah so lahko posledica nenatančnega opazovanja. Del jate se je vedno zadrževal na robu in tudi v trstičju, kjer je štetje onemogočeno. V rezultatih nekoliko bode v oči tudi sezona 2002/03, ko na Kolanskem blatu ni bilo prib. Dopuščam možnost, da jih v času štetja na travniku ni bilo zaradi ljudi, ki so območje obiskali pred mano. Tabela 1. [tevilo velikih {kurhov Numenius arquata, prib Vanellus vanellus in lisk Fulica atra na Kolanskem blatu v zimah 1998 do 2002. Table 1. Numbers of Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata, Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus and Common Coots Fulica atra at Kolansko blato during the winters of 1998 to 2002. zima/ datum/ Numenius Vanellus Fulica winter date arquata vanellus atra 1998/99 1.1.1999 31 100 400 1999/00 31.12.1999 20 50 -500 2000/01 25.2.2001 27 120 -400 2001/02 23.2.2002 15 30 -350 2002/03 29.12.2002 25 0 -300 Povzetek V letih 1998 do 2002 sem na Kolanskem blatu (otok Pag, Hrvaška) štel prezimujoče velike škurhe Numenius arquata, pribe Vanellus vanellus in liske Fulica atra. Velikih škurhov je bilo med 15 in 31 osebkov, prib med 0 in 120 osebkov ter lisk med okoli 300 in 500 osebkov. 29 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 30 D. Tome: Prezimovanje velikega {kurha Numenius arquata., pribe Vanellus vanellus in liske Fulica atra na Kolanskem blatu (otok Pag, Hrva{ka) Summary In the years 1998 - 2002, I counted the wintering Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata, Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus and Common Coots Fulica atra at Kolansko blato (Pag Island, Croatia). There were from 15 to 31 Eurasian Curlews, 0 to 120 Northern Lapwings, and from 300 to 500 Common Coots. Literatura Igalffy, K. (1980): Prilog poznavanju ptica otoka Paga. - Larus 31-32: 55-89. Kralj, J. (1997): Ornitofauna Hrvatske tijekom posljednjih dvjesto godina. - Larus 46: 1-112. Luka~, G. (1998): List of Croatian birds. - Natura Croatica 7: 1-160. Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. - Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej, Zagreb. Prispelo / Arrived: 3.4.2003 Sprejeto / Accepted: 14.10.2003 3C ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 31 O Acrocephalus 24 (116): 31 - 43, 2003 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice From the ornithological notebook Slovenija / Slovenia Bobnarica Botaurus stellaris Great Bittern – observation of 1 individual on 13 Apr 2001 at Ljubljansko barje (UTM VL59, C Slovenia) Te`ave pri dolo~anju nacionalnega gnezditvenega statusa bobnarice v Sloveniji morda {e najbolj ilustrirajo navedbe iz rde~ih seznamov V prvem je bila evidentirana kot slabo poznana vrsta [Gregori, J. & Matvejev, S.D. (1992): Rde~i seznam ogro`enih pti~ev Slovenije. - Varstvo narave 17: 29-39], v drugem kot vrsta, ki ji grozi izumrtje [Bra~ko, F., Sovinc, A., [tumberger, B., Trontelj, P. & Vogrin, M. (1994): Rde~i seznam ogro`enih ptic gnezdilk Slovenije. -Acrocephalus 15 (67): 166-180], v tretjem kot domnevno izumrla [Uradni list RS, {t. 82, 24.9.2002] - ob tem, seveda, da pri ugotavljanju gnezditve ve~ kot svatovskega bobnanja nismo potrdili. Manj nejasnosti je zunaj gnezditvenega obdobja. Na Ljubljanskem barju smo jo opazovali `e v vseh letnih ~asih - obi~ajno je ~epela ob enem izmed {irokih izsu{evalnih jarkov. Eno zadnjih opazovanj je bilo 13.4.2001, ko sem jo presenetil kakih dvesto metrov zahodno od Notranjih goric. Davorin Tome, Trnovska 8, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: davorin.tome@nib.si Zvonec Bucephälä clangula Common Goldeneye – group of 15 birds (8 males and 7 females) observed on 16 Feb 2003 at Zbilje Reservoir (UTM VM51, C Slovenia) V zgodnjem jutru 16.2.2003 sem se z N. Labus in D. Huzinec odpravila na Zbiljsko jezero. Bilo je hladno (-3°C) in pokrajina je bila pokrita s snegom. Akumulacijsko jezero je tega dne gostilo skupino petnajstih zvoncev; osem samcev in sedem samic. Opazile smo tri pare in dvorjenje treh samcev z zna~ilnim »metanjem glave v znak«. Zvonec ima na Zbiljskem jezeru status rednega prezimovalca in spomladanskega preletnika [Trontelj, P. (1992): Prispevek k poznavanju avifavne Zbiljskega in Trbojskega akumulacijskega jezera na reki Savi. - Acrocephalus 13 (92): 2-16]. Sode~ po datumu opazovanja smo torej naletele na prve spomladanske selivce, pa tudi {tevilo opazovanih ptic je bilo precej{nje. Katarina Ale{, Spodnje Pirni~e 24c, SI-1215 Medvode, Slovenija, e-mail: ninaales@ yahoo.com Rjavi {karnik Milvus rnilvus Red Kite - 1 individual spotted on 7 Sept 2002 gliding over Medvedce near Pragersko (UTM WM53, NE Slovenia). In Slovenia, most observations of Red Kites are made in NE Slovenia. Dne 7.9.2002 sva se z Matja`em Ker~kom odpravila na zadr`evalnik Medvedce jugovzhodno od Pragerskega pre{tevat vodne ptice in ujede. Ko sva bila na drugi {tevni to~ki, sva opazila psa, ki se je prebijal skozi lo~je in grmovje. Kmalu za njim sta pri{la {e dva {tirino`ca, za njima pa trije lovci, ki so takoj za~eli streljati na race, med katerimi je bila tudi kostanjevka Aythya nyroca. Ker sva uvidela, da je {tetje za tisti dan zaklju~eno – race so brezglavo letale po zraku ter pristajale in vzletale, ponirki so se potopili, liske so se stisnile v enotno maso, galebi in ujede so se razbe`ali in tukalice poskrile – sva se vrnila k avtu. Sredi poti sem opazil ujedo. Bil je rjavi {karnik. Po pregledu revij Acrocephalus, Ornitolo{kega atlasa Slovenije [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. - DZS, Ljubljana] in Zimskega ornitolo{kega atlasa Slovenije [Sovinc, A. (1994): Zimski ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. - Tehni{ka zalo`ba Slovenije, Ljubljana] sem ugotovil, da je to {ele 18. objavljeno opazovanje v Sloveniji. Pri tem se mi zdi zanimivo, da je to `e tretji osebek, ki sem ga opazil v roku enega leta [Bordjan, D. (2002): Rjavi {karnik Milvus milvus. - Acrocephalus 23 (110-111): 50; Bordjan, D. (2002): Rjavi {karnik Milvus milvus. - Acrocephalus 23 (115): 194]. Rjavi {karnik je bil po enkrat opazovan v letih 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1999 in 2000, v letih 1985, 1987, 2001 in 2002 po dvakrat, leta 1993 pa celo trikrat. V ve~ini primerov so bili rjavi {karniki opazovani v severovzhodni Sloveniji, in to kar {tirinajstkrat. Dejan Bordjan, ul.8. februarja 50, SI-2204 Miklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: dejanonih@ email.si Kanja Buteo buteo Common Buzzard - three dead individuals found on 26 Dec 2002 at a distance of less than 30 m near a grove at Spodnje Jablane near Pragersko (UTM WM53, NE Slovenia). Their deaths are questionable, but all three were most probably poisoned. Dne 26.12.2002 sem se peljal proti zadr`evalniku Medvedce. Kot ponavadi sem oprezal za kanjami ob cesti, a jih tega dne ni in ni bilo. [ele blizu Spodnjih Jablan na robu majhnega gozdi~ka sem videl prvo. Z razprtimi perutmi je bila zagozdena med veje. Hitro sem pohitel k njej. Na poti sem v kanalu opazil {e eno mrtvo kanjo v vodi, deset metrov naprej pa {e eno na bregu kanala, prav tako mrtvo. Vzrok smrti mi ni znan, verjetno pa so bile vse tri ptice zastrupljene. Dejan Bordjan, ul.8.februarja 50, SI-2204 Miklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: dejanonih@ email.si 31 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 32 Iz ornitološke beležnice / From the ornithological notebook Mali sokol Falco columbarius Merlin — three winter records from NE Slovenia: (a) Maribor (UTM WM 55), Feb 1999, 1 male, (b) Maribor, Jan 2000, 1 female, (c) Straše (UTM WM54), 15 Jan 2000, 1 individual Z malim sokolom sem se prvič srečal februarja 1999 v Mariboru. Stopil sem na naš balkon, s katerega imam lep razgled na Zrkovško florino, in se zazrl v grmovje. V tem trenutku so utihnili vsi vrabci, ki so se še minuto prej glasno oglašali. Nenadoma sem zagledal sivo-modro »puščico«, ki je tik nad tedaj belim travnikom letela proti pasu cipres. Samca sem to zimo videl še dvakrat. Januarja 2000 sem v Mariboru opazoval še samico. Z Matjažem Premzlom sva stala na njegovem dvorišču, ko je samica švignila mimo najinih glav, tako blizu, da bi jo lahko skoraj prijela. Zadnjič se mi je to čudovito ujedo posrečilo videti med zimskim štetjem 15-1.2000. S Tatjano Koren in Matjažem Premzlom smo ravno hodili po kanalu v bližini Starš, ko sem ga zagledal na drugi strani, sedečega na mladem orehu. Aleš Tomažič, Cesta ob lipi 1, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija Moko` Rallus aquaticus Water Rail — daytime territorial calling on 17 Jun 2001 at Hraše pools (N Slovenia, UTM VM51) Na Hraških mlakah sva 17.6.2001 sredi belega dne poslušala razburjeno teritorialno oglašanje mokoža v zahodnem, s šašem Carex sp. in z rogozom Typha sp. bujno zaraslem delu. Glede na habitat in datum meniva, da mokož na Hraških mlakah gnezdi, kar sta sklepala že Cigli~ & Trebar [Cigli~, H. & Trebar, T. (1998): Prispevek k poznavanju ptic Hraških mlak. - Acrocephalus 19 (86): 8-13]. To je še eden izmed podatkov, ki nam kažejo na ornitološki pomen tega sicer malega, a za ptice zelo pomembnega območja. Damijan Denac, Gorkičeva 14, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: damijan.denac@dopps-drustvo.sid Katarina Denac, Gorkičeva 14, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: katarina.senegacnik@ guest.arnes.si Mala tukalica Porzana parva & Tamariskovka Acrocephalus melanopogon Little Crake & Moustached Warbler — 2 juvenile Little Crakes and 1 Moustacned Warbler observed on 21 Sept 2002 while reeding on Lake Komarnik (UTM WM65, NE Slovenia) Dne 21.9.2002 smo se kljub slabemu vremenu ob jezeru Komarnik zbrali Matjaž Kerček, Cvetka Marhold, Matjaž Premzl in avtor te notice. Terenski obhod smo začeli na SZ strani jezera, kjer majhen mostiček vodi čez potok Partinjščak. Jezero je ob robu sicer dokaj široko poraščeno z 32 rogozom in trstičjem, vendar je na tem delu rogoz porezan. Ob golem delu obrežja sta se v vodi prehranjevali dve mladostni mali tukalicL Težko je reči, ali sta se tu zares tudi izvalili, a je podatek kljub temu zanimiv, saj Ornitološki atlas Slovenije gnezdenje male tukalice za ta konec Slovenije ne omenja [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitološki atlas Slovenije. -DZS, Ljubljana]. Za tukalicama sta skakala še dva manjša ptiča. Eden izmed njiju je spominjal na bičjo trstnico, a je bil po telesnih znakih in petju vendarle drugačen. Izkazalo se je, da gre za tamariskovko. Aleš Tomažič, Cesta ob lipi 1, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija @erjav Grus grus & togotnik Philomachus pugnax Common Crane & Ruff— a flock of 700 Ruffs, the largest so far observed number of these birds on Lake Cerknica (UTM VL56, central Slovenia), and two Common Cranes on 23 Mar 2003 Triindvajseti marec 2003 je bil lep, sončen, zgodnje spomladanski dan, primeren za obisk Cerkniškega jezera. Za ogled ptičjega življa sva si izbrala že preizkušeno razgledno točko pri Leviščih. Spomladanska selitev je bila na višku, saj je bilo opazki prek 200 regelj Anas querquedula, ki v zadnji pentadi marca dosežejo tudi svoj višek selitve [Kmecl, P. & Ri`ner, K. (1993): Pregled vodnih ptic in ujed Cerkniškega jezera; spremljanje številčnosti s poudarkom na preletu in prezimovanju. - Acrocephalus 14 (56-57): 4-31], vsaj 50 rac žličaric Anas clypeata in najmanj 700 togotnikov Philomachus pugnax., ki so se v orjaški jati vsake toliko dvignili iz trstičevja. Slednji podatek je do sedaj največje število opazovanih togotnikov na Cerkniškem jezeru (Kmecl & Ri`ner 1993). Svatovati so že začeli ponirki, tako čopasti Podiceps cristatus kot mali ponirki Tachyhaptus rußcollis, in tudi par rjavovratih ponirkov Podiceps grisegena. Presenečenje pa naju je čakalo v daljavi, ob Obrhu, kjer je v družbi sivih Ardea cinerea in velikih belih čapelj Egretta alba na nepoplavljenem predelu za hrano stikal osamljen žerjav Ta ptica je na Cerkniškem jezeru redka gostja na selitvi; vsi do sedaj znani podatki so bili prav tako datirani v marcu (Kmecl & Ri`ner 1993). Pozneje se je najinemu opazovanju na razgledišču pridružil še Borut Rubinič, ki je nedaleč stran slišal še enega žerjava. Al Vrezec, Pražakova 11, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: al.vrezec@nib.si Tina Eleršek, Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Večna pot 111, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: tina.elersek@nib.si Dular Charadrius morinellus Dotterel — fifth record for Slovenia. On 19 Sept 2000, 2 individuals observed on top of Mt. Vremščica (UTM VL25, SW Slovenia), 1020 m a.s.l. Dne 19.9.2000 ob približno 11.00 uri sem na vrhu O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 33 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 31 - 43, 2OO3 Vremščice pri Senožečah na nadmorski višini 1020 m opazil par dularjev. Okolica vrha Vremščice je negozdnata in spominja na kraško stepo. Vreme je bilo zelo spremenljivo in oblačno, vrh je bil v megli. Ptiča sta priletela na neporasel del vrha in se tam zadrževala približno 15 minut. Pri tem nista bila nič plašna, tako da sem se jima lahko približal na približno 3 m in naredil skromen dokumentacijski posnetek. Podatek je kot peto opazovanje vrste v Sloveniji potrdila tudi Nacionalna komisija za redkosti. Sicer je bil dular opazovan na selitvi večinoma v nižinah, le redko na višjih nadmorskih višinah, denimo na Peci [Jež, M. (1988): Severni dular Eudromias morinellus na Peci. - Acrocephalus 9 (35-36): 1-2]. Andrej Kapla, Cesta Hermana Debelaka 21, SI-1430 Hrastnik, Slovenija, e-mail: trechus@volja.net Rdecenogi martinec Tringa totanus Common Redshank — at least 1 pair breeding at Ledavsko jezero (Goričko) in 1991 and 1993 (UTM WM77, NE Slovenia) Na osnovi izkušenj z gnezdečimi rdečenogimi martinci v bazenih za odpadne vode Tovarne sladkorja Ormož [npr. Stumberger, B. (2001): Rdecenogi martinec Tringa totanus. - Acrocephalus 22 (109): 234] lahko retrogradno strnem svoja opazovanja vrste z Ledavskega jezera s stavkom: rdecenogi martinci na obsežnih blatnih in poraščenih polojih jezera nedvomno občasno gnezdijo. Dne 8.7.1991 sta me med šestimi (6) gnezdečimi malimi deževniki Charadrius dubius razburjeno in svarilno obletavala dva osebka rdečenogega martinca. Pri tem sta v nizkem letu nekajkrat preletela isto točko, čemur sem se odkrito čudil. Natanko tako, kot to počnejo rdecenogi martinci ob nevarnosti v bazenih za odpadne vode pri Ormožu! Dne I.5.I993 sva z Damijanom Denacem med paleto pobrežnikov poslušala območno petje rdečenogega martinca na severnem robu ledavske akumulacije. Ker populacija martinca verjetno niha iz leta v leto, odvisno od gladine vode oziroma velikosti blatnih polojev, bi zlasti v bolj sušnih letih veljalo vrsti nameniti več pozornosti. Velikost populacije je še vedno neznanka. Borut Stumberger, SI-2282 Cirkulane 41, Slovenija, e-mail: stumberger@siol.net Velika uharica Bubo bubo Eagle Owl — on 23 May 2003, a dead male Eagle Owl in 2n year plumage was found on Ljubljansko barje (C Slovenia, UTM VL59), holding a young Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in its claws. The owl was lying under an overhead power line support, clearly electrocuted, which was evident from the burn on its wing. No other injuries were noted. The find is even more significant owing to the fact that Eagle Owls are very rare on Ljubljansko barje. The last observation here was made on 22 Feb 1990 near Goričica. Still, the Eagle Owl breeds quite near Ljubljansko barje. In 1997, three abandoned nests were found at Borovniški pekel. The nearest occupied nest-site at the moment is at Ljubljanski vrh. (photo: T Minelič) Dne 23.5.2OO3 sem na Velikem mahu na Ljubljanskem barju, v bližini Dragomerja, pregledovala, kako nekaj parov prib Vanellus vanellus napreduje s prvim letošnjim nadomestnim gnezdom. Na dolgih poljih sem ubrala krajšo pot, ki me je zanesla mimo daljnovoda električne napeljave. Tu sem naletela na svež kadaver velike uharice. Ptica je v pretekli noči očitno poginila po trčenju ob električno žico. Na peruti je bila namreč vidna ožganina, drugod pa ni bilo najti poškodb. Ležala je na hrbtu, ob stebru. Tomaž Mihelič je na podlagi literature in ornitološke zbirke Prirodoslovnega muzeja Slovenije ugotovil, da gre za drugoletnega samca. V krempljih je sova še vedno stiskala plen — mladiča pnbe. Letalna peresa pribe so bila še v tulcih, mladič pa je bil iz enega od zarodov, ki so bili na tem območju po mojih opazovanjih uspešno speljani v drugi polovici aprila. V želodcu sove je bilo poleg glave nesrečnika v krempljih še eno truplo pnbjega mladiča. Velika uharica se hrani predvsem s sesalci in ptiči, med katerimi so deževniki Charadrüdae med najpogostejšimi [Cramp, S., ed. (1988): The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. IV Oxford University Press, Oxford]. Raziskave prehrane velike uharice v JZ Sloveniji pa so pokazale drugače, saj ptice sestavljajo le 23% delež v njeni prehrani in so vrstno bogato zastopane. Med deževniki so zastopane le pribe, z zanemarljivo majhnim deležem; le dva osebka od skupno 541 vseh določenih ptic [Mihelič, T. (2002): Prehrana velike uharice Bubo bubo v jugozahodni Sloveniji. - Acrocephalus 23 (112): 81-86], kar je verjetno povezano z dejstvom, da pribe kot gnezdilke v tem delu Slovenije, izključujoč Notranjsko, kjer priba tudi gnezdi, ni [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitološki atlas Slovenije. - DZS, Ljubljana]. Velika uharica se na Ljubljanskem barju po do zdaj znanih podatkih redko pojavlja. Nazadnje, 22.2.1990, jo je na ostanku visokega 33 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 34 Iz ornitološke beležnice / From the ornithological notebook barja pri Goričici opazoval Davorin Tome [Vrezec, A. (1992/93): Sove (Strigiformes) Ljubljanskega barja. -Raziskovalna naloga, Gimnazija Šentvid, Ljubljana]. Sicer pa velika uharica v bližnji okolici Ljubljanskega barja tudi gnezdi. V Borovniškem peklu so bila leta 1997 odkrita tri opuščena gnezda, ki so vsa verjetno pripadala enemu paru (T. MiheliČ ustno). Sodeč po preperelih izbljuvkih v njih je sova tu verjetno gnezdila vsaj v prvi polovici devetdesetih let. Trenutno je najbližje zasedeno gnezdišče na Ljubljanskem vrhu (T. MiheliČ ustno). Smrt zaradi električnega udara na daljnovodu je v letu 2003 že drugi tovrstni znani primer pogina velike uharice v Sloveniji. Dne I5.4.2OO3 je bil namreč v vasi Svino pri Kobaridu najden podobno ubit osebek velike uharice (T. MiheliČ ustno). Katarina Aleš, Sp. Pirniče 24c, SI-1215 Medvode, Slovenija, e-mail: ninaales@ yahoo.com Močvirska uharica Asio flammeus Short-eared Owl — observation of (probably migrating) individual on 9 Apr 2003 near Iška Loka at Ljubljansko barje (UTM VL69, C Slovenia). Snort-eared Owl is a rare guest at the Barje, and the record has already been confirmed by the National Rarities Committee. Skoraj vsako popoldne se odpravim na sprehod za urico ali dve na Ljubljansko barje. Tudi 9.4.2003 je bilo tako, razlika je bila edino v tem, da sem imel na voljo le pol ure časa, kar je bil razlog, da sem s seboj vzel le daljnogled in diktafon, fotoaparat in teleskop pa sem pustil doma. Bilo je sončno popoldne, pihal je tako močan jugozahodnik, da sta dva velika škurha Numenius arquata kar obsedela na tleh, s kljunom obrnjena proti vetru. Na travnati poti v bližini Iške Loke se je s tal dvignila svetlo rjava sova, a se že po nekaj deset metrih spet usedla na tla. Se sreča, da barjanska trava še ni bila tako zrasla in je bila sova skoraj na popolni čistini. Zrla je naravnost vame in pogled skozi daljnogled je povedal vse. Okrogla glava brez vidnih čopkov, na sredini pa dve očesi, iz katerih je izžarevala svetlo rumena šarenica, ki mi je dala vedeti, da opazujem močvirsko uharico. Kmalu se je spet dvignila, preletela dobrih 30 metrov in se usedla v redko suho travo. Tu je bila manj opazna, vendar je ves čas obračala glavo. V tistem trenutku sem takoj pomislil na opremo, ki sem jo pustil doma. Zato sem sklenil poklicati Davorina Tometa, da bi si tudi on lahko ogledal to pri nas redko sovo. Ves čas čakanja na Davorina me je skrbelo, da bo uharica kam odletela. Nenadoma je od nekod priletela siva vrana Corvus corone cornhc-, se ji začela približevati in jo radovedno ogledovati. Takrat se je močvirska uharica stisnila k tlom. Kmalu zatem je siva vrana odletela, prišel je Davorin in pravi užitek se je začel šele zdaj, kajti sovo sva si lahko ogledala skozi teleskop. Zadovoljna sva zapustila pritajeno uharico in se z dragoceno ornitološko izkušnjo odpravila domov. Tik pred mrakom (19.30) sem isti travnik obiskal še z Andrejem Sovincem: ptica je bila še vedno tam. Močvirska uharica je pretežno dnevna sova, v Evropi je klatež oziroma 34 pravi nomad ali celo selivka [Snow, D.W. & Perrins, CM. (1998): The Birds of Western Palearctic. Vol. 1. - Oxford University Press, Oxford]. Na osnovi obročkanja so znane tudi najdbe, tako da meri zračna razdalja med mestom obročkanja in prezimovanja tudi prek 3000 km zračne razdalje [Cramp, S. & Simmons, K.E.L. (1994): Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. - Oxford University Press, Oxford]. Menim, da je bila zgoraj opisana uharica na selitvi, saj je znano, da gnezdi na severu ali SV delu Evrope šele maja ali junija (Snow & Perrins 1998). Na Ljubljanskem barju je močvirska uharica danes sicer redek gost, ki naj bi tod nekdaj celo gnezdila. PonebŠek [PonebŠek, J. (1917): Naše ujede, I. del: Sove. - Carniola, Muzejsko društvo za Kranjsko, Ljubljana] je o njej celo zapisal: »Na Kranjskem nima močvirna uharica posebno veliko ugodnih gnezdišč in bivališč. Poleg Ljubljanskega barja bi navedli morda lahko še Krakovo pri Kostanjevici in Cerkniško jezero, kjer bi ji utegnilo ugajati.« Opisano opazovanje je potrdila tudi Nacionalna komisija za redkosti. Dare Sere, Langusova 10, SI - 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: dsere@pms-lj.si Brinovka Tardus pilaris Fieldfare — one (1) individual observed on 24 Jul 1996 near Otovci at Goričko, some 60 km from its known breeding range in Slovenia (NE Slovenia, UTM WM88) Med vožnjo po cesti Mačkovci — Vidonci me je nasproti kraja Otovci dne 24.7.1996 preletela brinovka in izginila v visokodebelnem sadovnjaku. Ker za Goričko doslej ni znano, da bi vrsta tu gnezdila [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitološki atlas Slovenije: - DZS, Ljubljana], je opazovanje brinovke v tem času zanimivo. Najbližja gnezdišča brinovk so bila v obdobju Ornkološkega altlasa Slovenije znana z Dravskega polja oziroma Maribora (Geister 1995). Borut Stumberger. SI-2282 Cirkulane 41, Slovenija, e-mail: stumberger@sio 1.net Sredozemski kupčar Oenanthe hispanicu melanoleuca Black-eared Wheatear — one observed on 18 Apr 2002 after stormy weather at Sajevško polje near Postojna (UTM VL36, SW Slovenia) Dne 18.4.2002 so nevihtni oblaki nekje z juga prinesli puščavski rdeči pesek in ga z obilnim dežjem potresli po zahodni Sloveniji. V tistem aprilskem deževju sva s kolegom Zvonetom Petrovčičem obiskala ponorno jamo Markov spodmol na koncu slepe doline Sajevškega polja pri Postojni. Iz blatne kolovozne poti je pred nama zletela majhna črno-bela ptica, ki je zaradi že povsem zelenega okolja nisem mogel spregledati niti iz avtomobila. Po prvem O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 35 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 31 - 43, 2OO3 vtisu sem menil, da sva videla črnočelega ali velikega srakoperja, toda ptica je bila premajhna. Stopil sem iz avtomobila in na razdalji kakih 5 metrov prepoznal samca sredozemskega kupčarja vzhodne podvrste O. h. melanoleuca z belo obarvanim grlom. V službi sem kasneje vzel v roke članek [Kmecl, P. & RiŽner, K. (1992): Opazovanje španskega kupčarja Oenanthe hispanica ob Cerkniškem jezeru. - Acrocephalus 13 (55): 176-178]. Podobnost dogodkov, vremena in datuma je presenetljiva. Ptico je drugi dan opazovala tudi Nadja Petrovčič na svojem vrtu le nekaj sto metrov proč od mesta najinega opazovanja. Crno-bela ptica, ki se kar zlije z belino sredozemskega kamenja, je v zeleni srednji Evropi pač bolje opazna. Slavko Polak, Koritnice 65, SI-6253 Knežak, Slovenija, e-mail: slavko.polak@guest.arnes.si Rdeceglavi kraljicek Regulas ignicapillus Firecrest — some rare winter (December) records from NE Slovenia. The author has been regularly ringing birds at a number of localities in NE Slovenia: Tezno near Maribor (UTM WM55), Miklavž na Dravskem polju (UTM WM55), Kungota near Ptuj (UTM WM64), and Gerečja vas (UTM WM64). Firecrests were caught in 1985, 1997, 1999 and 2002. Med jesensko selitvijo srečamo rdečeglavega kraljička pri nas še novembra, zlasti v nižinskih iglastih ali mešanih gozdovih. Decembrski podatki o njegovem pojavljanju pa so že veliko bolj redki, predvsem ko gre za notranjost Slovenije. Po podatkih ZOAS [Sovinc, A. (1994): Zimski ornitološki atlas Slovenije. Tehniška založba Slovenije, Ljubljana] rdeceglavi kraljicek redno prezimuje v Primorju, na Krasu in v Vipavski dolini. Na Štajerskem sem v zadnjih nekaj letih pri lovu in obročkanju rumenoglavih kraljičkov Regulus regulus decembra ujel kar nekaj rdečeglavih. Vsakikrat so bili v mešani jati z rumenoglavimi, običajno eden in največ dva osebka. V nekaterih letih jih v mesecu decembru sploh ni bilo, celo v novembru so bili sila redki. To trdim na osnovi lastnih izkušenj, kajti v Mariboru in na Dravskem polju več let zapored obročkam na istih lokalitetah, celo na istem lovnem mestu v mešanem gozdu s prevladujočim rdečim borom Pinus sylvestris-, v bližini Kidričevega pa je veliko tudi zelenega bora Pinus strobus. Decembrski podatki ujetih rdečeglavih kraljičkov v Mariboru in na Dravskem polju: (a) 1.12.1985, Tezno Maribor, ujeta samec in samica (ly); (b) 29.12.1997, Tezno Maribor, ujet samec (ly); (c) 3.12.1999, Miklavž na Dravskem polju, ujeta samica (ly); (d) 8.12.1999, Tezno Maribor, ujeta samica (ly); (e) 1.12.2002, Kungota pri Ptuju, ujeta dva samca (ly); (f) 22.12.2002, Gerečja vas, ujeta dva samca (ly). Franc Bračko, Gregorčičeva 27, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija Skalni plezalček Tichodroma muraria Wallcreeper — recorded on 20 Oct 2002 at Mt. Pohorje, where 1 individual was observed at Pesnik near Ribnica na Pohorju (UTM WM25, NE Slovenia) Zjutraj 20.10.2002 je pričel pihati močan jugozahodnik pred bližajočo se hladno fronto z dežjem. Pod kočo na Pesniku nad Ribnico na Pohorju sva s Stankom Jamnikarjem lovila in obročkala rumenoglave kraljičke Regulus regulus. Na prisojnem kamnitem in razgaljenem robu useka ceste v strmo pobočje sva med vračanjem domov prijetno presenečena opazila skalnega plezalčka. Verjetno ga sploh ne bi opazila, če ga ne bi bil splašil mimo vozeči avtomobil. Odletel je le nekaj metrov dalje ob skalni steni in se skril med kamenjem in borno vegetacijo. Ker sva si ga hotela pobliže ogledati, sem se mu skušal z avtomobilom približati, vendar se je manever vsakič končal neuspešno. Skalni plezalček je bil nenavadno plašen in naju je vedno preletel ter se vrnil na prejšnje mesto. Kolikor mi je znano iz ornitološke literature, skalni plezalček na tem delu Pohorja še ni bil opazovan, nedavno pa je bil viden na drugi strani Pohorja nad Smolnikom, tudi v mesecu oktobru [Vrezec, A. (2001): Skalni plezalček Tichodroma muraria. -Acrocephalus 22 (109): 238]. Franc Bračko, Gregorčičeva 27, SI- 2000 Maribor, Slovenija Lesser Grey Shrike Lantus minor Crnočeli srakoper — osebek opazovan 10.5-2003 blizu letališča v Ležeškem gabrku pri Divači (UTM VL25, JZ Slovenija) On 10 May 2003, after completing transects for the new ornithological atlas of Kras, Eva Vukelič and I took a break at the airfield Ležeški gabrk near Divača. We noticed a bird sitting on the top of a tree. Before we managed to look trough our binoculars, k flew away. In the air, large white patches on its wings were well distinguishable. After a good look through the telescope, the bird that was now feeding on a beetle at the top of a bush was undoubtedly identified as a Lesser Grey Shrike. After a while k descended to the ground and a few moments later disappeared in the direction of the airport. The species has not yet been registered in this part of Kras [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitološki atlas Slovenije. - DZS, Ljubljana]. On the following day, the shrike was no longer to be seen. The only birds we could see were two Ortolan Buntings Emheriza hortulana as well as numerous Corn Buntings Miliaria calandra and Skylarks Alauda arvensis. Maarten de Groot, Droevendaalsesteeg 61, 6708 PN Wageningen, The Netherlands, e-mail: M.deGroot@rocketmail.com 35 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 36 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook Rožnati škorec Sturnus roseus Rosy Starling – flock of 5 individuals observed on 25 May 2002 near Bevke at Ljubljansko barje (UTM VL49, C Slovenia). The record was confirmed by the National Rarities Committee. Ro`nati {korec je v Sloveniji redek obiskovalec [Božič, L. (1998): Seznam ugotovljenih ptic Slovenije s pregledom redkih vrst. - Acrocephalus 22 (106-107): 115-120]. Po do sedaj zbranih podatkih smo ga v Sloveniji na spomladanski selitvi opazovali med koncem maja in za~etkom junija. Strnjeni del njegovega gnezditvenega areala se na zahodu kon~a ob obalah ^rnega morja, posamezne skupine gnezdijo nekako do Makedonije [Snow, D.W. & Perrins, CM. (1998): The Birds of Western Palearctic. Vol. 1. -Oxford University Press, Oxford]. V izjemnih, iruptivnih letih prileti ro`asti {korec tudi v zahodno Evropo (Snow & Perrins 1998). Eno izmed tak{nih je bilo o~itno tudi leto 2002. Dne 25.5. sem na Ljubljanskem barju ju`no od vasi Bevke opazoval jato petih osebkov. Mojo pozornost so vzbudili z glasnim ogla{anjem, sicer pa niso bili ni~ kaj pla{ni. Podatek je potrdila tudi Nacionalna komisija za redkosti. Davorin Tome, Trnovska 8, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e-mail: davorin.tome@nib.si Krekovt Nucifrugu cäryocätäctes Nutcracker – single individual in flight on 28 Jun 1998 above Stro{ki near Neradnovci (UTM WM98, Gori~ko, NE Slovenia): new breeding site at the altitude of 330 m a.s.l. Dne 28.6.1998 naju je z Otom Samwaldom nad Stro{ki pri Neradnovcih preletel krekovt in v zahodni smeri poniknil v ob{irnih mejnih gozdnih kompleksih severnega Gori~kega. Glede na to, da krekovt gnezdi od leta 1996 na avstrijskem [tajerskem kar na nadmorski vi{ini 200-300m, je kolega Samwald menil, da vrsta gnezdi tudi na Gori~kem. Najbli`ja gnezdi{~a krekovta so od Gori~kega oddaljena okoli 60 km in le`ijo na Pohorju in Kozjaku [Geister, I. (1995): Ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. - DZS, Ljubljana]. Glede na nadmorsko vi{ino 330 m na Gori~kem tam gnezdijo na bistveno vi{ji nadmorski vi{ini. Borut [tumberger. SI-2282 Cirkulane 41, Slovenija, e-mail: stumberger@siol.net Snežni strnad Plectrophenax nivalis Snow Bunting – observation of a single individual on 2 Nov 2002 on southern slope of Mt. Sne`nik (UTM VL44, SW Slovenia) Turobnega popoldne dne 2.11.2002 sem imel speleobiolo{ki opravek na prepihanem grebenu vzpetine 36 Milonja (1099 m n.v.) na ju`nih obronkih sne`ni{ke planote. Pokrajina daje tu videz travnate stepe, ki jo vzdr`ujeta zmrzal in su{a kot posledica mo~ne burje. Grahasta, nekoliko okrasta ptica, ki je s sunkovitim tekanjem nekaj ~asa vzdr`evala razdajo 3 do 4 metre pred menoj, je ob vzletu razkrila belino svojih peruti. Dvoma ni bilo ve~. Opazoval sem mladosten primerek ali sami~ko sne`nega strnada. Ptica, ki me je kasneje v letu dvakrat obletela, je kmalu poniknila v visoki travi. Videl sem en sam osebek, ugibal pa sem, ali jih je lahko {e ve~ pritajenih v tej na{i »velebitski« pokrajini. Po podatkih ZOAS sne`ni strand na Sne`niku {e ni bil opazovan [Sovinc, A. (1994): Zimski ornitolo{ki atlas Slovenije. - Tehni{ka zalo`ba Slovenije, Ljubljana], pa~ pa je bil opazovan v bli`nji dolini Reke [Surina, B. (1999): Ornitofavna zgornjega dela doline Reke in bli`nje okolice. - Annales 9 (2): 303-314]. Smiselno se mi zdi dodati, da sem tega redkega, skrajno severnega gosta, vajenega tundrske pokrajine, opazoval prav na obmo~ju Milonje nad Volovjo rebrjo, ki mu grozijo s postavitvijo {panskih mlinov na veter. Slavko Polak, Koritnice 65, SI-6253 Kne`ak, Slovenija, e-mail: slavko.polak@guest.arnes.si Croatia / Hrvaška Plevi ca Plegadis fizlcinellus Glossy Ibis – several observations from Dalmatia: (1) 18 individuals on 29 Apr 2001 in the Neretva delta near Opuzen (UTM YH16, S Dalmatia); (2) 1 individual on 28 Apr 2001 on mudflat at the Neretva outfall (UTM YH06, S Dalmatia); (3) 1 individual on 4 May 2003 in wet pastureland along Velo Blato on Pag Island (UTM WK01, N Dalmatia); (4) 2 individuals on 17 May 2003 in wet pastureland by Velo Blato on Pag Island Plevica je postala v zadnjih desetletjih v Evropi redka in lokalno raz{irjena vrsta [Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J., eds. (1997): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds: Their Distribution and Abundance. - T & AD Poyser, London], zato je prav vsako opazovanje dragoceno. Dne 29.4.2001 sva z Petrom Sacklom v okviru slovensko-avstrijske ekspedicije v delti reke Neretve opazovala 18 plevic v bli`ini nasipa, ki povezuje kraj Klade z osamelcem Mali Hum v bli`ini Opuzena. Najprej naju je v poznem popoldnevu preletelo 13 osebkov, lete~ih v smeri od ustja Neretve proti severovzhodu. Nekaj minut kasneje jim je sledilo {e pet osebkov. ^eprav sva plevice spremljala z daljnogledom, dokler je bilo to pa~ mogo~e, ni bilo videti, da bi kje v bli`ini pristale. V isti smeri so letale tudi manj{e skupine rjavih ~apelj Ardea purpurea., skupaj 15 osebkov. Za dana{nje razmere sicer visoko {tevilo opazovanih plevic pa kar nekako zbledi ob podatkih iz {estdesetih let prej{njega stoletja, ko so bile v ju`ni Dalmaciji opazovane nekaj sto-oziroma tiso~glave jate teh ptic [Kralj, J. (1997): O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 37 O ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 31 - 43, 2OO3 Ornitofauna Hrvatske tijekom posljednjih dvjesto godina. -Larus 46: 1-112]. En osebek, ki se je prehranjeval na blatnem poloju, smo opazovali `e dan prej, 28.4.2001, v bli`ini izliva Neretve v morje. Moja naslednja opazovanja plevic s Hrva{ke so z otoka Paga. Tukaj sem 4.5.2003 v ve~ernih urah opazoval en osebek med prehranjevanjem na vla`nem pa{niku pri Velem Blatu. Dru`bo mu je delalo 13 ~opastih ~apelj Ardeola ralloides in 12 malih belih ~apelj Egretta garzetta. Dne 17.5.2003 sta bila na tej lokaliteti dva osebka. Plevici sta ve~ino ~asa po~ivali na plitvini sredi obse`nega sestoja trsja in si tu in tam pretegnili peruti. Dvakrat sta se tudi spreleteli nad Blatom in se po nekaj krogih nad mo~virjem vnovi~ spustili na prej{nje mesto. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@siol.net Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus Beloglavi jastreb – novo gnezdi{~e na Velebitu ob cesti med Senjem in Vratnikom (UTM VK99, S Dalmacija). Dne 1.4.2002 je avtor opazoval odrasel osebek, ki je nekajkrat pristal na gnezdu v skalni steni. Avtor domneva, da gre pri tem za vsaj poskus solitarnega gnezdenja in da gnezdenje na celini severne Dalmacije ni izklju~eno. Since the 19th century in the wake of large-scale persecution, Griffon Vultures have become extinct in most parts of their former breeding range on the Balkan Peninsula. A small remnant population remains in the northeastern Adriatic, nesting on the islands in the Kvarner Gulf and, until recently, in Paklenica National Park in the southern Velebit Mountains [Perco, R, Toso, S., Sušić, G. & Apollonio, M. (1983): Initial data for a study on the status, distribution and ecology of the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus fulvus Hablizl 1783) in the Kvarner Archipelago. - Larus 33-35: 99 – 134]. According to M. Stip~evi} [Stipčević, M. (2002): Solitary breeding of Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus on the island of Pag (Croatia) in 1997. - Acrocephalus 23(112): 87 – 90], the numbers breeding in the Velebit Mountains on the Dalmatian mainland have decreased dramatically during the 1990s. Breeding in the Velebits completely ceased in 2000. In regard to the note of Stipčević (2002) that no further nesting or breeding attempts by adult pairs could be found on the mainland since then, the following observation made by me poorly by chance during my last year Easter holidays may be of interest. On 1 Apr 2002 I made a short break some metres outside a small village (its name not mentioned here for reasons of conservation) about halfway along the road from Senj to Vratnik Pass on the northern edge of the Velebit Mountains. While leaving the car I noted an adult Griffon Vulture flying straight into a steep, red coloured cliff to the northwest of the village. The bird landed in a somewhat untidy nest situated in the middle to upper portion of the cliff’s face. From the road the nest was just partly visible, and consequently I could not decide whether another adult or juveniles were present. However, after a few minutes an adult bird left the nest again soaring in a wide circle and at great height above the ground to the west and after approximately 5 minutes landed again in the same nest. According to my observation, at least solitary breeding attempts by Griffon Vultures may still be made in the northern Dalmatian mainland. Gerold Döltlmayr, Dolzen 28, A-8755 Rothenthurm, Austria Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus Močvirski lunj – 7 parov na otoku Pag (UTM WK01, srednja Dalmacija) v gnezditvenem obdobju 2002; edino oto{ko gnezdi{~e na Hrva{kem In Croatia, the Montagu’s Harrier is considered an extremely rare breeder [Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske obale Jadrana. - HPM & MRO, Zagreb; LukaČ, G. (1998): List of Croatian Birds. - Natura croatica 7 (suppl. 3): 1-160; Kralj, J. (1997): Ornitofauna Hrvatske tijekom poslednjih dvjesto godina. - Larus 46: 1-112]. On 26 Apr 2002 at 11.00 hrs I watched, in the southern part of salt-pans on the island of Pag, a courting male and soon after a female in a strong thermal updraught. On 28 Apr at 15.15 hrs I observed a hunting male at Dinji{ke salt-pans, and on 30 Apr 2002 a female at Velo Blato during its terrific surge towards waders with prevailing Wood Sandpipers Tringa glareola. Well, on 31 Apr 2002 I finally found their central and expected nest-site on Pag: above Malo Blato, five (5) pairs of these birds were courting during 10.00 and 10.30 hrs. The birds were display calling, circling, diving, making characteristic turns, chasing each other, bringing nest material and taking off the ground quite quickly The two nearest nests were less than 200 metres apart. Malo Blato in max. 1,220 m long and max. 730 m wide, and covers 61 ha. As I searched the island of Pag really thoroughly between 4 and 31 Apr 2002, I believe that the island population numbers at least seven (7) pairs. After 26 Apr 2002, I watched the Montagus Harriers on the entire island – most probably a post-breeding dispersion of the breeders from Malo Blato and the area between Pa{ke and Dinji{ke saltpans. Borut [tumberger, SI-2282 Cirkulane 41, Slovenija, e-mail: stumberger@siol.net Crnonoga Čigra. Gelochelidon nilotica Gull-billea Tern – 1 adult observed on 3 May 2003 on Mi{njak islet along the island of Pag (UTM WK92, N Dalmatia) Dne 3.5.2003 sem na majhnem oto~ku Mi{njak, ki le`i severozahodno od istoimenskega rta na otoku Pagu, opazoval odraslo ~rnonogo ~igro. Ptica je sprva sedela na manj{i ~eri, ko pa smo se ji z jadrnico pribli`ali na razdaljo pribli`no 50 metrov, je med zna~ilnim ogla{anjem odletela vzdol` obale Paga proti jugu. Na oto~ku so se zadr`evale {e 37 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 38 O Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook naslednje vrste ptic: 14 vranjekov Phalacrocorax aristotelis-, 1 par malih ~iger Sterna alhifrons-, 4 pari rumenonogih galebov Larus cachinanns-, 4 pari skalnih golobov Columba livia., 2 zelenonoga martinca Tringa nehularia in 2 mala {kurha JVumenius phaeopus. Luka Bo`i~, Pintarjeva 16, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija, e-mail: luka.bozic@siol.net Kmečka lastovka Hirundo rustica Barn Swallow – observation of their migration from Lun peninsula on the island of Pag (UTM VK84, Croatia) on 28 April 2003. In 15 minutes, the author counted some 150 Barn Swallows flying from the peninsula towards the open sea in groups of 1 to 8 individuals, most often between 2 and 5. The author believes that he observed the birds’ late spring migration, although at somewhat unusual time, i.e. 13.30 hrs. Dne 28.4.2003 sem na polotoku Lun na otoku Pagu opazoval prelet kme~kih lastovk, in sicer s skrajnega konca rta Lun pri razvalinah cerkvice Sv. Martina. Bilo je okrog 13:30. Ves ~as opazovanja je pihal rahel jugo, sicer pa je bil topel son~en dan. V pribli`no ~etrt ure je s kopnega na odprto morje odletelo kak{nih 150 kme~kih lastovk. Ve~inoma so letele v manj{ih skupinah od 2 do 5 osebkov Nekatere so letele posami~, najve~ja skupina pa je {tela 8 osebkov. Skupinice so priletavale ves ~as, najdalj{i premor ni bil dalj{i od ene minute. Priletavale so nizko, vsega nekaj metrov nad tlemi, v nobenem primeru pa vi{e kot nekaj 10 m. Ko so priletele nad morje, so v za~etku letele prav tako nizko, nato pa so se mnoge dvignile za nekaj 10 m. Lastovke so odletavale v severozahodni smeri. Imel sem ob~utek, da letijo proti okoli 25 km oddaljenemu otoku Cresu. Mo`no je sicer, da so se kasneje preusmerile proti Rabu, ki je oddaljen okoli 6 km in le`i le nekoliko iz smeri. Nekatere lastovke sem z daljnogledom spremljal toliko ~asa, dokler se niso izgubile v daljavi. Lastovke so letele premo~rtno proti severovzhodu; med mojim opazovanjem se ni vrnila niti ena izmed njih. Preleta lastovk si ne znam pojasniti druga~e, kot da gre za spomladansko selitev. Pa~ pa me je nemalo presenetila intenzivnost selitve glede na razmeroma pozni datum. Zanimiva se mi je zdela tudi za selitev neobi~ajna ura dneva. Toma` Jan~ar, Gorenje Blato 31, 1291 [kofljica, Slovenija, e-mail: tomaz.jancar@dopps-drustvo.si 38 Bulgaria / Bolgarija White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus Ro`nati pelikan – skupina opazovana 22.2.2002 v reki Struma (UTM FL89, JZ Bolgarija): prvi (objavljeni) podatek za to vrsto iz zimskega obdobja na tem obmo~ju. Sicer pa so zimska opazovanja redka tudi drugod v Bolgariji. On 22 Feb 2002, between 16:10 and 16:40 EET, a group of 10 White Pelicans was observed in the Struma river, north of the Rupite site in southwestern Bulgaria; UTM FL89 [Mitchev, T (1999): An UTM register of Bulgaria. - mscr.]. The birds were observed feeding in the rivers branch, where the water was very calm. The pelicans were preying, standing close to each other – in this way the group boxed off this blind sector of the river. Afterwards the birds moved towards the shore by swimming and wing-clapping. The White Pelican is reported as a species that winters in Bulgaria only exceptionally [Michev, T. (1985): The White pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus). p.45 In: The Red Data Book of Bulgaria, vol. II. - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia; Simeonov, S., Michev, T. & Nankinov, D. (1990): Fauna of Bulgaria, Aves, vol. 20, part I. - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia]. During the mid-winter (January) counting carried out annually in the 1997-2001 period, a total of 11 birds were detected in Bulgaria, except for 1997 when no wintering White Pelicans were recorded [Kostadinova, I. & Dereliev, S. (2001): Results of the mid-winter count of waterfowl in Bulgaria for the period 1997-2001. - Nature protection series. Book 3. BSPB, Sofia]. In southwestern Bulgaria, and particularly in the Struma river valley, the species has not been yet observed in the winter season. -Neither are such observations available for the other seasons [Prostov, A. (1963): A contribution to the studies of the avifauna in the Petrich region (Southwestern Bulgaria). Newsletter of the Institute of Zoology with a Museum. Vol. XIII, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia; Simeonov et al 1990; Simeonov, S., Michev, T. & Pchelarov, G. (1991): Birds of the Balkan Peninsula – a field guide. - Petar Beron Publishers, Sofia; Kostadinova & Dereliev 2001]. For the neighbouring border territories of Northern Greece situated along the Struma (Strimon) river, e.g. Lake Butkovsko (Kerkini), many fewer White Pelicans are reported for winter (max. 16 in 1993) and defined as occasionally wintering individuals [Handrinos, G. & Akriotis, T. (1997): The birds of - Greece. A & C Black, London]. We must point out that this lake complex is located about 25 km away from the Struma river, where the wintering pelican group reported here was observed. It is quite possible that these birds had arrived from the Kerkini lake region of Greece while on feeding migrations against the Struma river flow (i.e. in northern direction). Georgi P. Stoyanov, Durrell Wild Fauna Preservation & Support Center, 23, Golyam Bratan Str., floor 2, Sofia 1618, Bulgaria, e-mail: georgips@abv.bg O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 39 O Acrocephalus 24 (116): 31 - 43, 2003 Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus Kodrasti pelikan – pozno jesensko opazovanje ve~je jate 188 osebkov 16.11.2001 na oto~ku Gorni Tsibar na reki Donavi, vzhodno od mesta Lom v SZ Bolgariji (43,49N, 23,32E) A group of 188 Dalmatian Pelicans was observed on 16 Nov 2001 on the island of Gorni Tsibar in the Danube River at the 715th km (43.49N, 23.32E). The island is situated east of the town of Lom, northwestern Bulgaria. At 14.30 hrs, 136 birds frequented a sandy islet along the western part of the island. An hour later, another group of 52 birds arrived from the Romanian territory, probably from the large Lake Bistrec. We presume that the birds had fed on this lake during a part of the day and then flew to the island to rest and roost. Unfortunately, we have no information whether the pelicans spend the winter here, but believe that they probably do so in mild winters. Antonov [Antonov, A. (1997): Ostrov Gorni Tsibar. In: Important bird areas in Bulgaria. - Nature conservation series 1, BSPB (in Bulgarian)] observed between 150 and 252 Dalmatian Pelicans on the island of Gorni Tsibar “during migration” and nearly the same numbers “during the breeding period”. The origin of these birds is not clear. The Bulgarian population of Dalmatian Pelicans breeds on the lake Srebarna – the closest known breeding site of the species – almost 300 km east of Lom [Simeonov, S., Michev, T. & Nankinov, D. (1990): Fauna na Balgaria, vol. 20, Aves. - 1. BAS, Sofia (in Bulgarian), Kostadinova, I. (1997): Important bird areas in Bulgaria. - Nature conservation series 1, BSPB (in Bulgarian)]. Peter Shurulinkov, Institute of Zoology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1000, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel str., Bulgaria, e-mail: shurulinkovps@mail.bg Dimitar Ragyov, kv. Vrajdebna, third str., 17, Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: dimitarragyov@yahoo.com Michaela Ilieva, Institute of Zoology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel str., Sofia 1000, Bulgaria, e-mail: exc_misha@hotmail.com Tundra Swan Cygnus columbiänus bewickü Mali labod – 6 osebkov opazovanih 21.12.2002 na akumulacijskem jezeru Pjasa~nik blizu mesta Plovdiv (44,24N, 24,33E). Ptice so bile v dru`bi 50 labodov grbcev Cygnus olor in 7 labodov pevcev C. cygnus. Gre za redko zimsko opazovanje v zahodni Bolgariji. A group of six Tundra Swans was observed on 21 Dec 2002 in Pjasachnik Damlake (44.24N, 24.33E), situated 45 km to the northwest of Plovdiv, western Bulgaria. There were two adult birds and four yearlings – perhaps a family. The birds were in the company of 50 Mute Swans Cygnus olor and 7 Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus. After a few minutes, the Tundra Swans separated from the group of other swans. This is probably the first observation of the species in western Bulgaria. The weather and the visibility during the observation were excellent. Three days later the Tundra Swans were gone (I. Nikolov & N. Chakarov^>m. comm.). Tundra Swan is a rare but regular winter visitor in the eastern part of Bulgaria. For the first time it was observed in 1978 at Lake Durankulak [Nankinov, D., Simeonov, S., Michev, T. & Ivanov, B. (1997): Fauna na Balgaria, Aves, part 2, vol. 24. - Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia (in Bulgarian)]. After 1990, the observations of the species have been more regular, mainly on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. In the central parts of the country, three Tundra Swans were seen on 13 Jan 1997 on Koprinka Damlake [Kostadinova, I. & Dereliev, S. (2001): Results from the midwinter counts of waterbirds in Bulgaria for the period 1997-2001. - BSPB Conservation Series, book 3, BSPB, Sofia]. There are no records of this species from other parts of western Bulgaria [Nankinov, D. (1982): The birds of Sofia. - Orn. inf. bulletin 12: 386 (in Bulgarian), Nankinov et al. 1997, Kostadinova & Dereliev 2001]. Peter Shurulinkov, Institute of Zoology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1000, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel str., Bulgaria, e-mail: shurulinkovps@mail.bg Michaela Ilieva, Institute of Zoology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1000, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel str., Bulgaria, e-mail: exc_misha@hotmail.com Dimitar Ragyov, kv. Vrajdebna, third str., 17, Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: dimitarragyov@yahoo.com Tsvetan Zlatanov, 132, K.Ohridski, 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: tzvetan_zlatanov@yahoo.com James Day, 24 Joakim Gruev, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria Velvet Scoter Melanitta fiisca Beloliska – avtorji navajajo dve opazovanji te vrste, ki je v Bolgariji redek zimski gost na celinskih vodah, v decembru 2002: (1) 3 osebki (1 samica, 2 mladostna osebka) so bili opazovani 21.12.2002 na akumulacijskem jezeru Pravets (UTM GN45, Z Bolgarija), (2) 1 osebek pa 22.12.2002 na jezeru Sopot (UTM KH96, Z Bolgarija) During our Christmas Bird Census of waterfowl conducted in western Bulgaria at the end of December (21 to 23 Dec 2002), the Velvet Scoter, which happens to be a very rare species in the inland part of Bulgaria, was registered on two reservoirs in this region. In the afternoon of 21 Dec 2002, three Velvet Scoters (1 female and 2 young) were observed in good weather conditions on Pravets Damlake (42 54’ N; 23 55’ E, UTM GN45). Its surface was covered with ice, with the exception of a minor area covering about 15 m2. We had the opportunity to enjoy, at a distance of 80 m, three Velvet Scoters diving in the presence of ten Black-necked Grebes Podiceps nigricollis., three Eurasian Wigeons Anas penelope-, two Red-crested Pochards Netta rufina and 110 Common Coots Fulica atra., most of them resting on the very edge of the ice. At midday of 22 Dec 2002, a flying Velvet Scoter was observed three times, probably the same bird, above Sopot Damlake (43 o 00’ N; 24 o 27’ E, UTM KH96). Here, the water surface was not frozen. It seems that we have observed a kind of a migration wave by this species throughout the western parts of Bulgaria. The observations of Velvet Scoters in Bulgaria are not so numerous. The species is presented by single birds or small 39 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 40 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook flocks along the Danube River and the Black Sea Coast primarily during the winter (October – February). There are only few records from the inland freshwater basins [Nankinov, D., Simeonov, S., Michev, T. & Ivanov, B. (1997): The fauna of Bulgaria. Vol. 26. - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia (in Bulgarian)]. Ivailo Nikolov, Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, Institute of Zoology, BAS, 1 “Tsar Osvoboditel” Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bulg_orn_centre@zoology.bas.bg Stoyan Nikolov, Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, Institute of Zoology, BAS, 1 “Tsar Osvoboditel” Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bulg_orn_centre@zoology.bas.bg Ivan Hristov, Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, Institute of Zoology, BAS, 1 “Tsar Osvoboditel” Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bulg_orn_centre@zoology.bas.bg Radoslav Stanchev, Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, Institute of Zoology, BAS, 1 “Tsar Osvoboditel” Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bulg_orn_centre@zoology.bas.bg Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca Kraljevi orel – opazovanje tretjeletnega osebka v dolini reke Sturme med mestoma Sandanski in Kresna (UTM FM81) dne 12.5.2002; drugo opazovanje te vrste v gnezditvenem obdobju v JZ Bolgariji On 12 May 2002, I observed a single Eastern Imperial Eagle in flight between the towns of Sandanski and Kresna, UTM FM81 [Mitchev, T. (1999): An UTM register of Bulgaria. -mscr.]. The bird had the features of a three-year old immature-subadult specimen [Svensson, L., Grant, P., Mullarney, K. & Zetterstrom, D. (1999): Bird Guide. -Collins Publishers, London]. The area, where the observation took place, is a slightly hilly plain. It is situated in the Struma river valley, i.e. on the slopes above the left geographical shore of the Struma river. The landscape constitutes mainly of variable-sized cultivated fields covered by mono-culture crops as well as grazing plots of land and bald grass-and-stone areas. There are separate groups of larger poplar Populus sp. and willow Salix sp. trees. In SW Bulgaria, the species has been registered only once after 1970 during the breeding season, i.e. on 5 May 1978 in an area located considerably northwards, where one adult bird near the village of Tarsino, Kyustendil district, was observed [Michev, T. & Petrov, T. (1979): On the distribution of the Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Bulgaria. - Newsletter of the Museums in Southern Bulgaria. Vol.5: 65-77]. There are another two records for the species from the same region, although outside the breeding season: one wintering bird in the region of Ograzhden Mt. (Dec 1993; observer: Ivan Mitev), and a wandering juvenile seen above the sub-alpine meadows of Rilomanastirska Gora Nature Reserve in the Rila Mts. (26 Aug 2001; observer: Petar Yankov) [Petrov, T. & Stoychev, S. (2002): National Action Plan for the Conservation of the Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Bulgaria, 2002-2006. pp. 132-160 In: Yankov, P. (ed.): Globally threatened bird species in Bulgaria. National Action Plans for Their Conservation. Part 1. - BSPB, Sofia]. The Eastern Imperial Eagle is a globally threatened species, 4C with a Bulgarian population estimated at about 17-20 breeding pairs. Its distributional range in the country according to the collected data, covers the regions of the Stara Planina Mts. and SE Bulgaria – Strandzha, Sakar and East Rhodope Mts. (Petrov & Stoychev 2002). 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 Saker Falcon Falco cherrug Sokol plenilec – tri opazovanja v JZ Bolgariji: (1) zahodno od mesta Blagoevgrad na vi{ini 1200 m n.v. dne 24.4.1999 (UTM FM63) – nova lokaliteta; (2) gora Pirin na vi{ini 2400 m n.v. dne 20.8.1999 (UTM FM92) – nova lokaliteta; (3) vzhodni del pogorja Rila na vi{ini 2500 m n.v. dne 24.7.2001 (UTM GM27) On 24 Apr 1999, I observed a flying Saker Falcon west of the town of Blagoevgrad at an altitude of approx. 1200 m a.s.l., UTM FM63 [Mitchev, T (1999): An UTM register of Bulgaria. - mscr.]. Michev & Petrov have not reported on this species from this particular region [Michev, T & Petrov, T (1985): Distribution and number of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug cherrug Gray, 1834) in Bulgaria. pp. 314-323 In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Project 8-MAB (UNESCO) entitled “Conservation of the natural territories and the genetic fund they contain”, Blagoevgrad, September 23-28, 1985. - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]. Since then, there has been no proven information on observations of the Saker Falcon in this mountain massif bordering on the Republic of Macedonia. On 20 Aug 1999, I saw another single Saker Falcon in Pirin Mt. at an altitude of about 2400 m a.s.l., UTM FM92 (Mitchev 1999). The bird perched on a large piece of rock near a small spring passing through a wide-open grassland strewn with numerous stone congregations. A frightened Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca could be seen and heard while trying to hide between rocks near the falcon. For the entire Pirin Mt. there have been no published data on Saker Falcon observations since 1972, when a pair was observed [Simeonov, S. (1986): Birds of the Pirin mountain. pp. 61-81 In: Fauna of Southwestern Bulgaria, Part 1. - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]. Two years later, on 24 Jul 2001, I registered another Saker Falcon in flight, at about 2500 m a.s.l. in the Eastern Rila Mts., UTM GM27 (Mitchev 1999). The habitat consists of vast alpine meadows featuring vertical rock complexes of various sizes. The adjoining regions are home to Bulgaria’s and the Balkan Peninsula’s highest-elevated population of the European Sousliks Spertnophilus citellus (V. Stefanov pers. comm.). The observed Saker Falcon was performing a hunting flight above one of the territories inhabited by sousliks. The Saker Falcon on is currently listed among the rarest birds of prey with a drastically decreased population and nesting strength throughout the 1990s. The reason for such a sharp decline O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 41 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 31 - 43, 2OO3 can be found mainly in the numerous violations made by poachers on the nests for falconry purposes. Acknowledgements: The author would like to extend his gratitude to Vladimir Stefanov for the kindly provided data about the European souslik, to Stoyan Yotov for the English translation of the manuscript, as well as to Georgi Kotzakov and Boyan Kazandzhiev for their support during some of the field observations. 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 Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Sokol selec – opazovanja sokola selca v Sofiji, bolgarski prestolnici (UTM FN82/83 in FN92/93). @e vse od 80. let prej{njega stoletja se ka`e tendenca o ~edalje pogostej{em pojavljanju te ptice v velikih mestih, posebno jeseni in pozimi, redkeje spomladi in poleti (vselej posamezni osebki, le enkrat par). Do zdaj {e ni bilo ugotovljeno, da bi sokol selec v mestu tudi gnezdil. There are data originating from as early as 1925 about several observations of the Peregrine Falcon in Sofia, when a bird of this species was repeatedly seen in summertime perching on the top of Saint Alexander Nevski Cathedral’s belfry [Boetttcher, H. (1927): Kurze ubersicht uber die raubvogel und eulen Bulgariens. - Verh. Orn Ges. Bayern 17 (4): 535-549]. The Peregrine Falcon has been characterized as an extremely rare species for the region of Sofia [Nankinov, D. (1982): The birds of Sofia. - Ornithological Information Bulletin, BAS 12, Sofia (in Bulgarian)]. Nankinov wrote that “it enters, although rarely, the downtown of Sofia”. Donchev & Yankov [Donchev, S. & Yankov, P. (1989): Status and trends in the synanthropisation and synurbanisation of birds in Bulgaria. - Ekologia 22: 35-42 (in Russian)] found the Peregrine Falcon in the human settlements of Bulgaria as a species falling into the “seasonal synanthropic” category (for the 1980-1986 study period). According to this category’s definition, this large falcon species penetrates the synanthropic environment, single or in pairs, at particular localities. The above authors, however, point out that there is no data whether the synanthropism of this species is declining or increasing. Anyway, the species features frequent wintertime occurrences in settlements, but rarely as vagrant. At the end of the 1980s, the meetings with Peregrine Falcons in Sofia became increasingly frequent. The average altitude of the city is 550 m above sea level. The number and points of such observations have been progressively increasing until March 2003. Initially the birds were seen mostly during migrations and wintering. The Peregrines are registered in all urban zones – the city centre, distant living complexes, suburbs, industrial zones, sport facilities, and parks [Kyutchukov, D. (1995): The birds of prey in large city parks of Sofia. - Proceedings of the XXII Congress “The Game Animals and the Man”. Sofia, September 1995: 20-26] where they are observed to hunt above buildings and open areas. More often the Peregrines can be comfortably observed when perching in certain places they prefer, usually on high buildings. Our own observations proved this, for they were seen on some of the tallest buildings forming the Sofia centre skyline, where they rested, fed on the prey they had caught, watched around and spent the night. The birds registered were mainly single adult and immature individuals, some of them being seen in the city during the spring and summer months after the mid-90s of the past decade as well. In 1997, a pair of Peregrines was observed during the winter (starting with the first months of the year) and spring (end of April) to rest and stay overnight on one of the tall buildings. Afterwards the birds left this place and were unfortunately not registered in other urban regions anymore. It was repeatedly determined that in Sofia the Peregrine Falcon feeds on semi-wild Feral Pigeons Columba livia var. domestica. Food remains found around the feeding places and some direct observations of hunting Peregrines catching such pigeons prove this conclusion. In addition, we had the opportunity to see (in June 2001 and July 2002) few unsuccessful attempts by a single Peregrine to catch Alpine Swifts Tachymarptis melba nesting near the city centre. The falcon was intercepting the swifts, which were flying around a high building, after ambushing them on the same building. Until now there have been no reports on Peregrine Falcons breeding in Sofia. We believe that one of the most serious limiting factors is the almost full absence of appropriate nesting places on otherwise numerous suitable tall buildings and facilities, where the falcons are seen to perch quite often – administrative buildings, hotels, high chimneys, metal constructions such as floodlights at stadiums, and high-voltage electric pylons. In 2002, we built and managed to mount a closed-type nesting box for Peregrines on an industrial building located in Sofia, UTM FN82/83 and FN92/93 [Mitchev, T. (1999): An UTM register of Bulgaria. - mscr.]. In the remaining time until the end of the same year it remained unoccupied. Our opinion is that some of the main reasons for the increasingly frequent cases of meeting Peregrines in Sofia, and in other big cities of Bulgaria in general, are the following: (a) There is a clearly expressed increase in the number and distribution of this species across the country starting from the 1990s up to the present day. Therefore the Peregrine Falcon appeared again to breed in a number of natural habitats. For example, a pair of Peregrines has bred on rocks located in Vitosha Mt. in the immediate proximity to Sofia since 1998. As a result, the number of Peregrines entering human settlements in search for food has substantially increased. The same can be said of migrating and wintering individuals; (b) Some of these birds are progressively adapting to it as a result of their frequent contacts with the urban environment and are beginning to stay annually within the cities. A crucial role in this process is played by food found by the Peregrine downtown. In this respect, Sofia and several other Bulgarian cities and towns have great prey resources “potentials”, i.e. semi-wild Feral Pigeons, Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto-, Magpies Pica pica., Jackdaws Corvus monedula and other bird species, 41 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 42 Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook especially their internal urban populations, which have practically not been utilised by raptors yet; (c) The availability of tall massive buildings (about 30-60 m) is also important, as the areas with high concentration of such buildings are also the areas in which Peregrines have been reported to stay more constantly; (d) In the end it must be also pointed out that particular cases of falcons escaping from poachers’s captivity have been registered in Sofia. The falconry is unlawful in Bulgaria. Such individuals are stolen from nests in the wild. It can be therefore suggested that some of the Peregrines observed in Sofia are of such origin and that they have later adapted to city life. Acknowledgements: We would like to express sincere gratitude to Ventzislav Delov, Anton Antonov, Dinyo Kyutchukov, Stoyan Bogdanov, Rumen Kolchagov, Dimitar Gradinarov and Nayden Chakarov for the kindly provided information on the studied issue, to Nikolay Todorov for the design and construction of the Peregrine nesting box, as well as to Nikolay Domuschiev and Radko Petrov for their great help in mounting the nesting box in Sofia. 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 Great Black-headed Gull Larus ichthyaetus Ribji galeb – peto opazovanje v celinski Bolgariji in prvo v poletnem obdobju. Osebek v drugem poletnem perju je bil opazovan 20. in 21.7.2003 na zadr`evalniku Ognjanovo (UTM GN22, Z Bolgarija) v dru`bi 4 re~nih Larus ridibundus in 4 rumenonogih galebov L. cachinnans. A 2nd summer individual of Great Black-headed Gull was observed on 20 and 21 Jul 2003 at the reservoir of Ognyanovo, Sofia region (UTM GN22, W Bulgaria). Both observations were taken at about 12:00-12:40 hrs in sunny and hot weather. The bird was seen flying along the east shore close to the dam and swimming in the centre of the water-body preening and pecking from the water surface, but most of the time it was in the company of four Black-headed Gulls Larus ridibundus and four Yellow-legged Gulls L. cachinnans. The species is usually recorded in Bulgaria during the winter, but also from September till April, mostly along the Black Sea Coast [Nankinov, D. (2000): Die Fischmöwe Larus ichthyaetus als Gast in Bulgarien. - Orn. Mitt. 52 (12): 422-423]. This is the 5th inland record of the Great Black-headed Gull for Bulgaria and the first for the region of Sofia. In addition, this is the first summer record of this species in Bulgaria. Considering the population increase in Ukraine and the frequent observations of oversummering birds in central-eastern European countries during the last decade [Ecsedi, Z. (1998): A halászsiraly (Larus ichthyaetus) európai és magyarországi helyzete. - Partimadár 6/7: 15-24], we believe that the number of Great Black-headed Gull records in Bulgaria will increase in the future. Stoyan Nikolov, Mladost 1, bl. 26, vh. 1, et. 7, ap. 23, 1750 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: nikolovstoyan@hotmail.com Boris Nikolov, Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, Institute of Zoology (BAS), 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bnikolov@poshta.net 42 Magpie Pica pica Sraka – nenavadno vedenje srak pri lovu na zlate ribice Carassius auratus gibelio opazovano 14.12.1996 na ribniku Chelopechene” blizu Sofije (UTM GN03, Z Bolgarija). Srake so izkoristile nizko vodno gladino v izpu{~enem ribniku. Pri tem so posedale na plavajo~ih trstikah in oprezale za manj{imi ribami. Avtorji domnevajo, da so se tak{nemu prehranjevanju prilagodile zaradi pogostega izpu{~anja vode iz ribnika, kar jim omogo~a la`ji dostop do ribjega plena. An interesting foraging behaviour of “fish-eating” Magpies was noticed on 14 Dec 1996 in “Chelopechene” fishponds situated close to the city of Sofia, Western Bulgaria (UTM GN03). Due to some meliorative requirements, the water level in one of the ponds was lowered to a depth of 20-25 cm. Shoals of little Goldfish Carassius auratus gibelio', reaching up to 5-12 cm, were concentrated close to the bank, trying to find refuge in reed massif from the hunting Grey Herons Ardea cinerea and Great White Egrets Egretta alba. Therefore most of the fish hid in the shadows of the vegetation. The reed stems, however, provided good positions as watchpoints for the perching Magpies. Two or three of them were waiting there for the right moment to catch some fish, swimming close under the water surface. Nippy bows together with difficult balancing while trying to get the prey with bills – this unusual technique brought the Magpies luck, for from time to time they succeeded in catching small Goldfish and immediately carrying them away, probably to a secure feeding place nearby After a while they reappeared on their favourite perching positions on the reed. It was not clarified whether the birds utilized the whole fish or just preferable parts of it. Some of the attempts to catch fish were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the percentage of successful catches was quite great for such unspecialised species. The number of hunting birds could be a proof that in certain conditions some of the local Magpies might have reached some kind of level of specialization in fish-eating as a result of the regular meliorative activities in fish-ponds, accompanied with draining of the ponds during different seasons. Ivailo Nikolov, Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, Institute of Zoology, BAS, 1 “Tsar Osvoboditel” Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: bulg_orn_centre@zoology.bas.bg Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus Planinska kavka – skupina 30 osebkov na gori Osogovo (UTM FM26 in FM27, Z Bolgarija) 5.10.2002 na nadmorski vi{ini 1450 m. Po pri~evanju B. Dimitrova naj bi se planinske kavke tu zadr`evale vse leto, in sicer od leta 1984 dalje. Pojavljanje planinske kavke na gori Osogova do zdaj ni bilo znano, zato avtorja sklepata, da gre za novo gnezditveno lokaliteto vrste v Bolgariji. O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 43 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 31 - 43, 2OO3 A group of 30 Alpine Choughs was observed on 5 Oct 2002 in Osogovo Mt., western Bulgaria, UTM FM26 and FM27 [Mitchev, T. (1999): An UTM register of Bulgaria. - mscr.]. The birds fed on a steep rocky slope with some grassland at an altitude of about 1450 m a.s.l. The locality faces the highest peak of Ruen Mt. (2251 m a.s.l.) in the upper course of the river Bistrica and near to “Ruen” metal-mine. After this observation, we gathered some information showing that the species had been observed regularly since 1984 in the area of the mine. Boyko Dimitrov, a mining engineer working in the mine, told us that every year during the breeding period a flock of Alpine Choughs inhabited few deep precipices, formed after a landslide above the horizontal mine gallery. The hole of this “artificial cave” is situated at 1600 m a.s.l. in the uppermost course of the river Bistrica very close to the border between Bulgaria and Macedonia. The landscape of this area consists of open steep grassy slopes with small rocks. Slopes with northern and eastern exposures prevail in the area. The Alpine Chough has not been found in Osogovo Mt. so far, in spite of the ornithological surveys carried out in both Bulgarian and Macedonian parts of the mountain [Simeonov, S. & Marinov, Y. (1994): Pticite na Osogova planina. - Ann. Sof Univ. Sv. Kl. Ohridski, Biol.Fac.Book 1, Zool. 85: 237-252; DiMOvSKi, D. (1957): Ptici na Osogovo planina. Musei Macedonici Scientarium Naturalium, Skopie. T V. 3 (44): 1-59]. According to M. Velevski (Rep. Macedonia) and B. Gruba~ (Rep. Serbia), there have been no breeding colonies of the Alpine Chough found in the Macedonian part of Osogovo Mt. or in the nearby territories of north-eastern Macedonia. In Bulgaria, the closest known breeding sites of the species are situated in the Rila Mts., some 60 km east of Osogovo Mt. (own data). We hope that the breeding locality of the Alpine Chough in Osogovo Mt.will be an object of further studies. Ackonwledgements: We thank Dafina Dimitrova and Boyko Dimitrov, Alexandrina Japrakova, Metodia Velevski (R Macedonia) and Bratislav Gruba~ (R Serbia) for their help and for the information they supplied for us. George P. Stoyanov, Centre for conservation and support of the wild fauna Durrell, Golyam Bratan Str No 23, fl. 2, ap. 2., Sofia 1618, Bulgaria, e-mail: georgips@abv.bg Petar Shurulinkov, Institute of Zoology (Bulgarian Academy of Science), Tzar Osvoboditel blvd No 1, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria, e-mail: shurulinkovps@mail.bg 43 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 44 O Acrocephalus 24 (116): 44, 2003 Nove knjige New books Spitzenberger, F. (2001): Die Säugetiere Österreichs. - Grünne Reihe des Bundes-ministeriums für Land- und Forstwirtscahft, Umwelt und Wasserwitschaft. Bd. 13, Graz. 895 str. in zgo{~enka. ISBN 3-85333-063-0, cena: 47,00 EUR Obsežna monografija o sesalcih Avstrije je rezultat dolgotrajnih pripravljalnih del, ki so potekala v dunajskem Prirodoslovnem muzeju (material obsega več kot 38.000 primerkov avstrijskih sesalcev) in so že doslej izhajala separatno v periodiki pod skupnim tekočim naslovom Mammalia Austriaca. Posamezne vrste so obdelali različni poznavalci, med imeni pa vzbuja pozornost Kurt Bauer, bralcem Acrocephalusa bolj znan kot sourednik Priročnika srednjeevropskih ptičev. Vključenih je 107 vrst, od katerih sta dve globalno izumrli (tur in evropski divji osel), zober pa je iztrebljen v Avstriji. Najmanj 13 vrst je alohtonih, nekatere (ris) je človek ponovno naselil ali pa so poselili Avstrijo potem, ko so bili že iztrebljeni (npr. medved, volk). Vrsta uhatega netopirja, ki v času pisanja knjige še ni bila formalno opisana in poimeno-vana, je označena kot Plecotus sp., njeno veljavno ime pa je še danes predmet spora. Kljub razmeroma majhni površini Avstrije (približno 84.000 km2) je število vrst veliko, kar je posledica izjemne ekosistem-ske pestrosti. Območje namreč sega od Osrednjih Alp na zahodu do obrobja Panonske nižine na vzhodu. Zato ne preseneča, da nekatere vrste segajo v Avstrijo samo obrobno (npr. dimasta miš ob Muri, hišna rovka v Vorarelbergu in stepska hišna miš na obrobju Panonije). Prav zaradi te pestrosti je Avstrija ena redkih srednjeevropskih držav, ki kršijo pravilo o monotonem upadanju vrstne diverzitete s povečevanjem zemljepisne širine. Osrednji del knjige obravnava posamezne vrste. Poudarek je na opisu, morfometriji, arealu in habitatu, izvirnih podatkov o življenju pa je bistveno manj. Večina vrst je predstavljenih z manjšo barvno fotografijo, pri mnogih pa so tudi slike značilnega habitata. Natančne točkovne arealne karte so natisnjene na reliefno osnovo, kar pomaga bralcu, da si ustvari predstavo o zakonitostih, ki določajo razširjenost. Za mnoge vrste je na posebnem zemljevidu predstavljena holocenska razširjenost. Nasploh se knjiga veliko ukvarja s časovno dinamiko arealov — vidik, ki ga večina podobnih del zanemarja. Bralcu je tu v pomoč obsežen uvodni del (napisal ga je K. Bauer), ki pregledno obravnava dogodke v poznem pleistocenu 44 in holocenu. Podana je tudi višinska razširjenost posameznih vrst. Omeniti velja, da so trivialna vrstna imena navedena tudi v jezikih šestih manjšin (razen madžarščine so vsi slovanski), torej tudi v slovenščini. Posebna vrednost knjige je tudi v tem, da bistveno dopolnjuje znanje o nekaterih malo znanih vrstah, npr. o ilirski kratkouhi voluharici, alpski belonogi miši in številnih netopirjih. Slovenskega bralca utegne presenetiti pogled na zemljevid lokalitet, kjer se je v 90-ih letih pojavljal medved, ali pa na razpršenost najdb klateških šakalov. Seznam literature je izjemno obsežen in obsega skoraj sto gosto natisnjenih strani. Mnogi vidiki so v knjigi namreč deležni obravnave, ki presega avstrijske meje. To velja zlasti za taksonomska in filogenetska vprašanja, pri katerih avtorji bodisi podajajo kritičen pregled ali pa predlagajo izvirne rešitve. To daje delu še dodatno težo. Na koncu so določevalni ključi, ki temeljijo na lobanji in zobovju. Monografija je obvezno berilo za vsakogar, ki ga zanimajo sesalci srednje Evrope, vključno s Slovenijo. Knjiga »Sesalci Avstrije« je nedvomno najtemeljitejše in najpopolnejše delo v tem prostoru. Nakup zato ne bo razočaral. Boris Krystufek O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 45 ACROCEPHALUS 24 (ll6): 45, 2OO3 Najave in obvestila Announcements Nagrada Zlati legat 2002 The Golden Bee-eater Award 2002 Društvo za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije vsako leto podeli nagrado »Zlati legat« za najboljše slovensko delo s področja ornitologije za preteklo leto. Letos smo nagrado podelili že petič. Za finančni del nagrade se zahvaljujemo podjetju Bioteh d.o.o. iz Ljubljane. Upravni odbor Društva za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije je imenoval štiričlansko žirijo v sestavi: prof. dr. Kazimir Tarman, Bojan Marčeta, Luka Božič (člani) in Tomaž Mihelič (predsednik). Žirija je pregledala skupno 26 prispevkov, ki so prišli v poštev v skladu s pravili o izboru del za natečaj. Po predloženem ožjem izboru prispevkov posameznih članov žirije je le-ta na zasedanju 17.3.2002 obravnavala ožji izbor devetih prispevkov (našteto po abecedi): Božič, I.A. (2001): Gnezditvena biologija šmarnice Phoenicurus ochrurus v osrednji Sloveniji. -Acrocephalus 22 (109): 213-218. Božič, L. (2002): Zimsko štetje mokožev Rallus aquaticus v Sloveniji. - Acrocephalus 23 (110-111): 27-33. Govedič, M., Janžekovič, F. & Kos, I. (2002): Prehrana kormorana Phalacrocorax carbo na območju reke Save od Ljubljane do Zagorja. - Acrocephalus 23 (110-111): 5-20. Stumberger, B. & Velevski, M. (2002): White Stork Ciconia ciconia survey in Pelagonija indicates a decrease in its breeding population and colony disintegration. - Acrocephalus 23 (112): 67-74. Tome, D. (2002): Effect of floods on the distribution of meadow birds on Ljubljansko barje. -Acrocephalus 23 (112): 75-79. Trilar, T. (2002): Gozdne ptice Slovenije (zvočni posnetek). - Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije, Ljubljana. Trontelj, P. (2001): Popis kosca Crex crex v Sloveniji leta 1999 kaže na kratkoročno stabilno populacijo. - Acrocephalus 22 (108): 139-147. Vrezec, A. (2000): Evropsko pomembne populacije ptic v Sloveniji. - Acrocephalus 21 (102-103): 241-248. Vrezec, A. (2001): The breeding density of Eurasian Scops Owl Otus scops in urban areas of Pelješac Peninsula in southern Dalmatia. Acrocephalus 22 (108): 149-154. Po opravljenem glasovanju so bila izbrana tri nominirana dela, in sicer: članek o prehrani kormorana na Savi med Ljubljano in Zagorjem avtorjev Marjana Govediča, Franca Janžekoviča in Ivana Kosa, CD Gozdne ptice Slovenije, ki ga je posnel Tomi Trilar, in že lani nominirani članek Petra Trontlja o popisu kosca v Sloveniji. S člankom o prehrani kormorana so avtorji posegli na področje, ki je v Sloveniji še povsem neraziskano. V raziskavi, ki je metodološko izpiljena, je celovito obdelana prehrana kormorana na reki Savi med Ljubljano in Zagorjem, tako v kvantitativnem kot kvalitativnem oziru. Natančno izdelana in predstavljena metoda bo osnova za podobne raziskave v prihodnosti, rezultatom pa daje mednarodno primerljivost. Članek združuje težavno in obsežno laboratorijsko delo in jasno interpretacijo podatkov, ki je na strokovno visokem nivoju. Svojevrsten pomen pa delu daje tudi aktualnost teme ta hip v Sloveniji, ki bo, vsaj upamo tako, presekala niz številnih nestrokovnih mnenj o prehrani kormorana pri nas. Članek Petra Trontlja obravnava razširjenost in številčnost kosca v Sloveniji. Z jasno opredeljeno in strandardizirano metodo, velikim številom popisovalcev in seveda veliko množico podatkov je lep primer celovitega popisa vrste na nivoju države, ki ga je nemogoče opraviti znotraj institucionalnih okvirov. Jasno izbrana metoda ter kritičnost in pazljivost avtorja pri interpretaciji podatkov daje rezultatom mednarodno primerljivost. Članek ima tudi veliko naravovarstveno težo, saj so temeljna sporočila prispevka zelo pomembna za ohranitev te globalno ogrožene vrste v Sloveniji: spoznati populacijsko dinamiko in odzive populacije na spremembe okolja, ki jih s svojimi posegi lahko izziva tudi človek. Z Zlatom legatom za leto 2002 je bil letos nagrajen Tomi Trilar. V delu z naslovom Gozdne ptice Slovenije so zbrani zvočni posnetki ptic slovenskega gozda. Delo je obsežno in celovito zaobjema celoten spekter gozdnih vrst. Kljub temu da sama narava dela onemogoča prikaz zastavljene metode, nas o njeni dovršenosti in natančnosti konkretno prepričajo rezultati. Visoka kakovost posnetkov in velika raznolikost posnetih glasov pri posameznih vrstah uvršča CD na svetovni vrh. Delo je izjemnega pomena za razvoj slovenske ornitologije, saj je čudovit učni pripomoček pri poznavanju glasov slovenskih gozdnih ptic, zanimiv po eni strani za začetnike, v roke pa ga bodo z veseljem vzeli tudi izkušeni ornitologi. Lep in pomemben dodatek k delu je tudi spremljevalna knjižica v Braillovi pisavi, ki omogoča uporabo CD-ja tudi slepim in slabovidnim: priložnost, da ob tem vsi 45 O ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 46 Najave in obvestila / Announcements zapremo oči in pomislimo na lepote, ki nam jih ptice prinašajo s svojim petjem. Vsem nominirancem, zlasti pa Tomiju Trilarju, letošnjemu dobitniku nagrade »Zlati legat 2002«, iskrene čestitke. Tomaž Mihelič, predsednik žirije Zlati legat 2002 Čestitam 1 omiju 1 rilarju ob podelitvi nagrade Zlati legat 2002 za delo »Gozdne ptice Slovenije« Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije, Ljubljana Al Vrezec, glavni urednik 46 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 47 47 ACROCEPHALUS 116.qxd 26.11.2003 14:18 Page 48 @ Moj planet.! Izberite ga tudi vi. Novi vsebinski multimedijski portal Planet združuje 1000+1 informacijo in 1000+1 zabavo. Planet Pluton vam omogoča takojšen dostop do kinoprograma, glasbenih informacij, tračev, iger in horoskopa. Seveda jim po želji dodajate še druge svoje najljubše, prosto pa dostopate tudi do vseh ostalih vsebin na planetu. Kadarkoli se od loa te za drugega: Mars, Venero ali Merkur. Planet Planet omogoča bogato uporabniško izkušnjo na sodobnih mobitelih z mobilnim brkljalni kom (wap) in baivnim zaslonom. Le imate čmobelega, vam vsebinein storitve pi^tavi v čitljivi tekstovni obliki. Priporočamo uporabo GPRS-a, potovanje po Planetu bo tako hitrejše in cenejše. VeCinfbnnacij: naročniki MobitelGSH: 031/041/051700 700, Hobiupo-rabniki: 031/041/051121, ostali: 080 70 70.