121
^opasta ~aplja Ardeola ralloides
Squacco Heron	–	one	caught	on	8	Apr	2007	at	Velo	
blato,	Pag	Island	(UTM	WK01,	Dalmatia,	Croatia),	
and	 observed	 catching	 European	 Mole	 Cricket	
Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa	in	shallow	water
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
^rna prosenka	–	dne	26.10.2008	opa`en	en	osebek	
na	otoku	Olibu	(UTM	VK81,	Dalmacija,	Hrva{ka)
Quite	 a	 few	 data	 have	 been	 recently	 published	 on	 the	
occurrence	 of	Grey	Plovers	 in	 the	 coastal	 areas	 of	Croatia	
(Rucner 1998).	 This	 species	 appears	 regularly	 in	 the	
Dalmatian	region	during	the	spring	and	autumn	migrations	
and	 may	 even	 overwinter	 there	 in	 small	 numbers	 (Kralj 
1997).	 The	 threatened	 overwintering	 population	 in	 the	
northwestern	 coastal	 areas	 of	 the	 northern	 Dalmatian	
wintering	 area	 is	 estimated	 at	 about	 50−80	 individuals	
(Radovi} et al.	2003).	On	26	Oct	2008,	one	Grey	Plover	
was	 observed	 in	 a	 barren	 wetland	 area	 with	 marshy	 soil	
somewhat	 inland	 from	 Slatina	 Bay,	 Olib	 Island	 (UTM	
VK81,	 Dalmatia,	 W	 Croatia).	 It	 is	 interesting	 to	 note	
that	there	were	no	other	waders	in	the	area,	but	we	found	
plenty	 of	 empty	 shotgun	 cartridges	 in	 the	 10−20	 m	 wide	
land	 strip	 extending	between	 the	 salty	marshland	 and	 the	
bay	area.	This	observation	suggests	that	the	site	is	probably	
well	known	among	hunters.	Considering	that	little	is	known	
about	 the	 avifauna	 of	 Olib,	 it	 is	 important	 to	 record	 the	
occurrence	of	the	Grey	Plover.	The	island	of	Olib	is	located	
in	the	northern	part	of	the	Zadar	island	region,	which	forms	
part	of	the	Croatian	“National	Ecological	Network	−	areas	
important	for	birds	in	Croatia”	(Radovi} et al.	2005).	
The	research	was	co-funded	by	the	Hungarian-Croatian	Intergovernmental	
S&T	Co-operation	Programme	for	2007−2008,	project	No.	CRO−17/2006.
Jenő	J.	Purger,	University	of	Pécs,	Institute	of	Biology,	Ifjúság	útja	6,	H−7624	
Pécs,	Hungary,	e−mail:	purger@ttk.pte.hu	
Eduard	 Klete~ki,	 Croatian	 Natural	 History	 Museum,	 Demetrova	 1.	
HR−10000	Zagreb,	Croatia,	e−mail:	eduard.kletecki@hpm.hr
Gull–billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	
^rnonoga ~igra	 –	 dva	 osebka	 opa`ena	 26.10.2008	
in	 29.10.2008	 v	 bli`ini	 otoka	 Olib	 (UTM	 VK81,	
Dalmacija,	Hrva{ka)
At	10.00	a.m.	on	26	Oct	2008,	two	Gull-billed	Terns,	both	
occupied	 with	 catching	 fish,	 were	 observed	 about	 0.5	 km	
southwest	 from	the	harbour	of	Olib	 Island	 (UTM	VK81,	
Dalmatia,	 W	 Croatia).	 Once	 again,	 three	 days	 later	 (29	
Oct	 2008),	 two	 Gull-billed	Terns	 were	 spotted	 along	 the	
eastern	coast	of	the	island	in	Samotvorac	Bay	(it	is	possible	
that	 these	 were	 the	 same	 birds	 that	 had	 been	 recorded	
previously).	 There	 are	 only	 few	 published	 data	 on	 the	
occurrence	of	Gull-billed	Terns	 in	the	region	of	Dalmatia;	
mostly	 solitary	 specimens	 were	 observed	 during	 autumn	
and	spring	migration	(Kralj 1997).	In	addition	to	the	fact	
that	 this	 species	 is	 a	 rare	 migrating	 bird,	 our	 observation	
is	 important	 also	because	of	 its	 location,	 since	 the	 area	of	
Zadar	islands	(Premuda,	Silba,	Olib,	[karda,	Ist,	Molat	etc.)	
Slika 16 / Figure 16: ^opasta ~aplja / Squacco Heron 
Ardeola ralloides, 8.4.2007, Velo blato, Pag. Foto: D. [ere
Dne	8.4.2007	sem	obro~kal	ptice	na	Velem	blatu	na	otoku	
Pagu	 (UTM	 WK01,	 Dalmacija,	 Hrva{ka).	 Ob	 obali	 sem	
imel	na	~istini	postavljeno	mre`o	za	lov	ptic,	in	ko	sem	se	ji	
po	dolo~enem	~asu	za~el	pribli`evati	mre`i,	sem	pred	seboj	
na	 poplavljenem	 travniku	 zagledal	 dve	 ~opasti	 ~aplji.	 Ena	
je	zletela	naprej	mimo	mre`e,	druga	pa	 je	pristala	tik	pred	
mre`o	in	s	kljunom	za~ela	nekaj	vle~i	iz	plitve	vode.	Ko	sem	
se	ji	bolj	pribli`al,	je	zletela	s	»plenom«	naravnost	v	mre`o.	
Zelo	sem	bil	presene~en,	ker	se	je	~aplja	ujela	v	mre`o,	saj	ta	
sploh	ni	namenjena	za	tako	veliko	ptico.	[e	bolj	pa	sem	bil	
presene~en,	ko	sem	opazil,	da	ji	je	iz	kljuna	padel	v	mre`o	
plen,	 to	pa	 je	bil	bramor	Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa.	Nato	sem	
v	 mre`i	 slikal	 bramorja,	 v	 roki	 pa	 tudi	 to	 ~apljo,	 ki	 sem	
jo	 {e	 prej	 ozna~il	 z	 obro~kom	 ZAGREB	 LA	 2801	 (slika	
16).	Potem	sem	tako	bramorja	kot	~opasto	~apljo	 izpustil.	
Podatek	 pomeni,	 da	 se	 lahko	 ~opasta	 ~aplja	 prehranjuje	
tudi	z	bramorji.	Postavlja	pa	se	vpra{anje,	ali	lahko	bramor	
`ivi	 tudi	nekaj	 ~asa	pod	vodo,	 zlasti	 takrat,	 ko	 so	 travniki	
poplavljeni,	 in	 ali	 se	 takrat	 tudi	 ogla{a.	 Na	 tem	 obmo~ju	
`ivi	namre~	tudi	zelena	krasta~a	Pseudepidalea viridis,	ki	se	
ogla{a	zelo	podobno	kot	bramor	in	ju	zato	lahko	po	»petju«	
zamenjamo.
Dare	 [ere,	 SCOP,	 Prirodoslovni	 muzej	 Slovenije,	 Pre{ernova	 20,	 SI−1000	
Ljubljana,	Slovenija,	e−mail:	dsere@pms−lj.si
Acrocephalus 29 (137): 111−126, 2008