Acrocephalus 110 - lll.qxd 19.12.2002 11:02 PagePro tj- Acrocephalus 23 (110-111): 39 – 42, 2002 Changes in population size of some shorebirds breeding at Ulcinj salt-pans in Montenegro Populacijske spremembe pri nekaterih gnezde~ih pobre`nikih v Ulcinjskih solinah v ^rni gori Darko Savelji} National Institute for Nature Conservation, Trg Nikole Kova~evi}a 7, P. O. Box 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro, e-mail: dasav@cg.yu 1. Introduction Ulcinj and its surroundings is one of the richest bird areas in Montenegro. Interest in its shorebird avifauna dates from the end of the 19th century. Firer (1895) and Reiser & Fuhrer (1896) were the first to report on birds of Zoganj Mud. Vasi} (1979a & b) recorded 229 species there, while Vizi (1998), twenty years later, recorded only 221 bird species. The first intensive ornithological research in the area was carried out by Vasi} (1975). In July 1986 Ham (1986) visited the Ulcinj salt-pans and eventually presented a detailed survey of the local breeders. Puzovi} et al (1992) established the population decline of some bird species, which in fact continued over the next two years (Puzovi} 1994). The aim of this article is to present the decrease in the number of breeding pairs of some shorebird species in Ulcinj salt-pans recorded during two year research. 2. Study Area and Methods 2.1. Study Area Together with its surroundings, the Ulcinj salt-pans (Figure 1) are classified as ornithologically the most important area in Montenegro (Puzovi} & Gruba~ 2000). Its value is even greater due to the marshy habitats and to the vicinity of the sea. All the ecological factors that are significant for birds are controlled by man. The salt-pans originated in the area of the former Zoganj Mud, a 25 km2 large marshy area with brackish water. The oldest salt-pan basins were built in the period from 1926 to 1934. From the mid-20th century the salt-pans gradually grew in size; by the beginning of the 1980s they had been enlarged by 60% and today cover 14.5 km2. The average depth of the pan basins is 30 cm. According to Vasi} (1984), the salt-pans were taken from the sea” and today form a cultural lagoon” (Vasi} 1989). Figure 1: Aerial shot of the salt crystallisation basins in Ulcinj salt-pans Slika 1: Zra~ni posnetek Ulcinjskih solin 2.2. Methods The surveys at the Ulcinj salt-pans were carried out from the pans’ embankments. In the summer months, field work in the pans was done from 05.00 until 10.00h and from 18.00h until dusk. During the rest of the year, the field work lasted all day. For nest search, some 40 km of the pans’ embankments were covered daily. The study was conducted in the years 2000 and 2001. 3. Results and Discussion Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus Reiser & Fuhrer (1896) considered the Oyster-catcher as a breeding bird of the Ulcinj area. Breeding was first confirmed by Vasi} et al. (1977). During the research carried out in 1988, Puzovi} et al. (1992) found a single nest. In 1994, Puzovi} (1994) registered 4 pairs breeding on the pans’ embankments. The Ulcinj salt-pans had been for some years considered the last breeding site of this 39 Acrocephalus 110 - lll.qxd 19.12.2002 11:02 PagePro D. SaveljiĆ ; Changes in population size of some shorebirds breeding at Ulcinj salt-pans in Montenegro species in Yugoslavia. In this study not a single suspect that the reason for absence of breeding in individual was registered at the salt-pans. The 2000 was flooding, as the Collared Pratincole usually Oyster catcher, which has been given the status of breeds on the bottom of a basin. critically endangered species (Vasic 1995) , can now be considered as extinct in the Ulcinj salt-pans. Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta From the number of individuals present there, it can be presumed that in 2000 around 30 pairs of Kentish During the research Avocet was registered only once; Plover bred on the embankment of Lake I (some of a single individual in August 2001. In 1988, 7 them were ringed). Apart from the Common Tern breeding pairs had been registered (Puzovic et al. Sterna hirundo, this is the only species that was 1992-)• constantly present at the salt-pans. Black-Winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Little Tern Sterna albifrons Approximately 10 years ago, the Ulcinj salt-pans were In 1988, around 90 pairs of Little Tern bred at the considered the largest breeding site of Black-winged pans. In 2000 they bred on the slightly raised Stilts in the former Yugoslavia, with around 100 pairs embankments of Lake I. Six nests were registered (Puzovi} et al. I992-)- During this intensive two-year there, but it is not certain that the colony survived as survey, only one nest was found in the basin of the first the basin was flooded by high water. Due to the grade evaporation. Surprisingly, this species was flooding, around 20 nests of this species as well as registered very rarely in the basins of kneta (the new those of the Common Tern were destroyed at Lake part of the pans), although it was constantly present, in II. larger numbers, at the salt-pans at the time of breeding. 4. Conclusion Redshank Tringa totanus The decrease of breeding species was greatly In years 2000 and 2001 breeding of Redshank in influenced by man controlled factors: Ulcinj salt-pans was not confirmed, although in 1988 a) Flooding of the basins (in 2000 some 20 Common some 500 pairs – a minimum of 10% of the Balkan Tern and Little Tern nests were flooded). population – (Puzovic et al. 1992) bred at the salt- b) The presence of salt workers, hunters, shepherds, pans. Otherwise, this species used to be present at the flocks of sheep and cattle clearly presented very pans throughout the whole year, and during the spring disturbing factors for breeding birds. flocks of more than 1000 individuals could be seen. c) Tourism (the pressure of tourists from Big Beach and Ada) Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus The problem of the disappearance of breeding bird species from the pans could possibly be solved by The Ulcinj salt-pans were considered the largest controlling flooding of the basins and by reducing breeding site of the Stone-curlew in the former human disturbance. By declaring the salt-pans a Yugoslavia with 30 pairs (Puzovic et al. 1992-). In protected zone, conditions for the return of birds 2000, up to 8 individuals were registered on the pans’ would be created. Out of 40 IBA’s in Yugoslavia, 11 embankments, with one of them giving the do not have the status of protected areas (Puzovic & impression that it was ready to mate, but this was not Grubac 2000), one of them being the Ulcinj salt-confirmed during the ensuing research. During 2001, pans. The significance of salt-pans for biodiversity Stone-curlews were registered at the pans, but no may be seen in the fact that some 75% of all breeding activity was observed. European salt factories are protected (Sadoul et al. 1998)- For example, the Salin de Giraud in France is Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola classified as a biosphere reserve, while three Greek salt-pans, at Messolonghi, Kitros and Messi, enjoy While no less than 90 pairs were registered in 1988 the status of Ramsar sites. At all Greek salt-pans, for (Puzovic et al. 1992), not a single nest was found in example, any kind of shooting is strictly forbidden, the pans in 2000, although 10 individuals were particularly during bird migration (Petanidou recorded during the breeding period (in July). I 1994)' 4C Acrocephalus 110 - lll.qxd 19.12.2002 11:02 Page^ri tj- Acrocephalus 23 (110-111): 39 – 42, 2002 Table 1: Breeding population size (breeding pairs) of some shorebird species in Ulcinj salt-pans recorded during several surveys from 1975 to 2001 Tabela 1: Pregled velikost gnezditvene populacije (gnezde~i pari) nekaterih vrst pobre`nikov v Ulcinjskih solinah med razli~nimi popisi od leta 1975 do 2001 Year/Leto 1975 1984 1989 1988 1994 2000 2001 Reference/Vir Vasi} et al. (1977) Ham (1986) Vasi} (1989) Puzovi} et al. (1992) Puzovi} (1994) this work / to delo Haematopus ostralegus 2 0 ?a 1 4 0 0 Himantopus himantopus 2 45 ?a 100 ?a 10 Recurvirostra avosetta 0 0 ?a 7 ?a 00 Burhinus oedicnemus 0 0 ?a 30 25 0 0 Glareola pratincola 40 150 ?a 75-90 ?a 00 Charadrius alexandrinus 0 50 ?a 50 50 30 30 Tringa totanus 0 0 ?a 500 ?a 10 Sterna albifrons 2 50 ?a 80-90 ?a 6 30 Remarks: The breeding was confirmed, but the number of pairs was not given b Around 20 nests of Little S. albifrons and Common Tern S. hirundo were flooded Opombe: Potrjena gnezditev brez natan~nih navedb {tevila parov Okoli 20 gnezd male Sterna albijrons in navadne ~igre S. hirundo je bilo poplavljenih 5. Summary The author established a population decline, from numbers established in research from 1988 onwards, for eight shorebird species breeding at the Ulcinj saltpans (Montenegro): Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, Kentish Plover Charadrius alexadrinus, Redshank Tringa totanus, Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta, Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola and Little Tern Sterna albifrons. During the two-year survey (2000-2001) a dramatic decrease was noticed in the number of breeding pairs, as well as the complete disappearance of some species from the study area including (e.g. Oystercatcher and Avocet). Povzetek Avtor s primerjavo svojih podatkov s prej{njimi raziskavami od leta 1988 naprej ugotavlja upad populacije pri osmih pobre`ni{kih vrstah, gnezdilcih Ulcinjskih solin (^rna gora): {koljkarica Haematopus ostralegus, belo~eli de`evnik Charadrius alexadrinus, rde~enogi martinec Tringa totanus, polojnik Himantopus himantopus, sabljarka Recurvirostra avosetta, prlivka Burhinus oedicnemus, rjava komatna tekica Glareola pratincola in mala ~igra Sterna albifrons. Med dvoletnim popisom (2000-2001) je bil registriran velik upad {tevila gnezde~ih parov, medtem ko so nekatere vrste celo popolnoma izginile iz obravnavanega obmo~ja (npr. {koljkarica in sabljarka). 6. References Firer, L. (1895): Produ`ena posmatranja na ornitolo{kom polju u Crnoj Gori godine 1895. Glasnik zemaljskog muzeja Bosne i Hercegovine 7: 241-258. Ham, I. (1986): Naselje ptica Ulcinjske solane u drugoj dekadi jula. Larus 36-37: 125-142. Petanidou, T. (1994): Conserving nature we produce salt throughout Greece. 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