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Article:
©álek M. 2014: Long-term population decline of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in a core
area of its distribution in Bohemia. Sylvia
50: 2–11. Paclík M. & Tyller Z. 2014: Droppings as an indicator of nest box occupancy by roosting
birds in winter. Sylvia 50: 12–24.
©evčíková K. & Koleček J. 2014: Bird abundance and species richness of brownfields in
central Moravia. Sylvia 50: 25–40.
Reif J., ©korpilová J., Vermouzek Z. & ©»astný K. 2014: Population changes of common
breeding birds in the Czech Republic from 1982 to
2013: an analysis using multispecies indicators. Sylvia 50: 41–65. Leąo P. & Kropil R. 2014: Breeding bird assemblages of three West Carpathian oak-beech
natural forests (eastern Slovakia). Sylvia 50:
66–85. Suvorov P., Sládeček M., Sitko J., Kolařík M. & Jelínek M. 2014: Historical data on the
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) in the
Czech Republic and a report on a recent record in 2012. Sylvia 50: 86–93. Mlíkovský J. & Sládeček M. 2014: Records of the Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides (Aves:
Laridae) from Czechia. Sylvia 50: 94–98.
Hertl I. 2014: Wood-decaying fungus as an unusual cause of breeding failure in the Boreal Owl
(Aegolius funereus). Sylvia 50: 99–
102. Vavřík M. and FK ČSO 2014: Rare birds in the Czech Republic in 2013. Sylvia 50: 103–128.
Adamík P.: Editorial PDF 25 kB
1 ©álek M.: Long-term population decline of the Little Owl (Athene noctua)
in a core area of its distribution in Bohemia
abstract PDF 890 kB 2–11 Paclík M. & Tyller Z.: Droppings as an indicator of nest box occupancy by
roosting birds in winter abstract PDF 751 kB 12–24 ©evčíková K. & Koleček J.: Bird abundance and species richness of brownfields
in central Moravia abstract PDF 204 kB 25–40 Reif J., ©korpilová J., Vermouzek Z. & ©»astný K.: Population changes of
common breeding birds in the Czech Republic from
1982 to 2013: an analysis using multispecies indicators abstract PDF 1.6 MB 41–
65 Leąo P. & Kropil R.: Breeding bird assemblages of three West Carpathian oak-
beech natural forests (eastern Slovakia) abstract PDF 296 kB 66–85 Suvorov P., Sládeček M., Sitko J., Kolařík M. & Jelínek M.: Historical data on
the Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)
in the Czech Republic and a report on a recent record in 2012 abstract PDF 398 kB 86–
93 Mlíkovský J. & Sládeček M.: Records of the Iceland Gull Larus
glaucoides (Aves: Laridae) from Czechia abstract PDF 441 kB 94–98 Hertl I.: Wood-decaying fungus as an unusual cause of breeding failure in the
Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) abstract PDF 1.2 MB 99–102 Vavřík M.: Rare birds in the Czech Republic in 2013 abstract PDF 1.8 MB 103–128 Book reviews PDF
85 kB 129–133
Abstracts
The Little Owl is a small-sized nocturnal farmland predator whose European populations have declined significantly in the
last decades, with many regional populations
now extinct or on the brink of extinction. Similarly the population in the Czech Republic has declined markedly, however,
the current distribution of the species and
its long-term trends in numbers are insufficiently known. The main aim of this study was to determine a long-term
population trend of the Little Owl in the core area
of its distribution in Bohemia (Czech Republic). During the years 2000–2014, 261 localities were checked in north-western
Bohemia, covering the total area of 2677 km2
of intensively used agricultural landscape. In total, 77 occupied territories were recorded at 59 localities during the
whole study period, representing the mean
population density of 0.29 calling males per 10 km2. At present (2014), the population density reaches only 0.09 calling
males per 10 km2. Several high-density areas
(„local core areas“), with the mean population density reaching 1.52 calling males per 10 km2, have been recorded. All
expected breeding territories were located
within human settlements (51% residential buildings, 48% agricultural buildings, 1% industrial facilities). Long-term
monitoring in several areas enabled to assess
population trend during the study period. For example, the population at 11 annually monitored localities declined by
about 79% during 2000–2014. The continual
population decline is also known from recent years (2010–2014) with 56% population reduction recorded at 41 localities.
This rapid population decline resulted in
fragmentation of subpopulations within the monitored area which are more prone to extinction due to deterministic and
stochastic factors. Management efforts and known
effective conservation measures to increase the Little Owl population should be primarily directed to recently occupied
localities and their surroundings to support
immigration and gene flow between individual subpopulations.
Correspondence: martin.salipost.cz
Nest boxes provide an opportunity to study bird life not only during the breeding season, but even in winter, when the
birds use them as roost sites. Wintertime
occupancy is usually detected by direct night checks of nest boxes, which are physically demanding and may disturb the
roosting birds. Here we present an alternative
way how to study the wintertime nest box occupancy based on the estimate of “droppings cover” from the photographs taken
in late winter. We confronted the droppings
cover with the occupancy revealed by direct night checks. The data were collected in the Království u Grygova floodplain
forest, Olomouc District, Czech Republic, in
2007–2010. Nest box occupancy was clearly predictable from the droppings cover. We discuss the applicability of the model
to predict nest box occupancy from the
droppings cover, as well as factors that may affect the estimation of droppings cover from the photographs, such as the
nest box size, length of the studied winter
period, or the species of roosting birds.
Correspondence: martin.paclikpost.sk
In 2013, we studied bird assemblages of 21 brownfields (abandoned, at least partly built-up industrial and agricultural
sites) in central Moravia, Czech Republic. In
total, we registered 57 bird species, whereas 13 less abundant species were not recorded in the surroundings of the
brownfields and they occurred only at the
brownfields. The highest number of species was registered at larger sites and at the sites with rather high values of the
Shannon Diversity Index, i.e. with
heterogeneous, evenly distributed habitats. In most species, the densities fell into the published range and the highest
densities were recorded in synanthropic
species. The overall frequency and dominance of most bird species was low: 61% of the species occupied less than 25% of
sites and dominance of 3 species was higher
than 5%. Based on the index of habitat preference, most species preferred tree vegetation, while permanent grasslands were
of the lowest preference. An important role
in maintaining bird species richness in urban habitats should be taken into account when restoring brownfields for further
use.
Correspondence: sevcikovakaseznam.cz
Long-term monitoring of bird populations delivers information on mechanisms of population regulation as well as early
warning signals for conservation practice. In the
Czech Republic, such data are collected within the Breeding Bird Monitoring Programme. For the purpose of this study, we
used data covering 85 common bird species
obtained in the period 1982–2013. We aim to describe population trajectories of 14 species groups defined by habitat use,
habitat specialization, European breeding
distribution and legal protection status. We employed the multispecies indicator approach by calculating geometric mean of
population indices across species in a given
group expressed in % relative to the reference year (1982). The indicator containing all species included in this study
did not change significantly over the focal
time period. However, particular species groups showed divergent temporal trajectories. Habitat specialists declined,
particularly those occurring in open habitats,
and the forest as well as urban specialists declined too. By contrast, habitat generalists increased and the pattern was
driven by originally forest species recently
colonizing human settlements. The results indicate that bird populations are rather affected by land use change than by
climate change. Statutory protection does not
seem to be able to cope with these drivers effectively, albeit many protected species have increasing populations.
Correspondence: jirireifnatur.cuni.cz
Investigations of breeding bird assemblages were carried out in three nature reserves in eastern Slovakia during
1999−2001. These reserves represent remnants of
natural West Carpathian oak-beech forests. A combined territory-mapping technique was used to census breeding birds. In
total, 49 breeding species were found within
all three study plots during three breeding seasons. The mean rarefaction number of species per 10 ha ranged from 25.3 to
25.5. The mean density ranged from 72.5 to
89.3 pairs/10 ha. Both the presence of shrubs and the distance to forest edge were positively correlated with bird
density. Hole-nesters represented the most numerous
nesting guild in all three plots, their proportion reached around a half of the overall density in the particular plots.
The qualitative Sørensen and quantitative
Czekanowski- Sørensen similarity indices comparing plots in individual years reached values from 76.3% to 93.0%, and from
79.9% to 90.7%, respectively, which shows a
close relation of the bird assemblages. Comparing the results from the Western Carpathian natural forests with data
obtained in a similar study in the Białowieża
National Park (three study plots: W, CM, MS), the standardized species richness was very similar in all study plots,
except for the plot W in the Białowieża Forest,
where a strong edge effect was evident. The mean total density was lower in the Carpathians by 2.4−44.0 pairs/10 ha. The
relatively high diversity, similarity and
year-to-year stability of the particular bird assemblages highlights the importance of near-natural forests for the
conservation of valuable and relatively stable
breeding bird assemblages.
Correspondence: lesotuzvo.sk
So far only 9 observations of the Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) have been registered by the Czech Rarities
Committe. Several other records were mentioned in
literature without detailed documentation and, thus, they cannot be considered as reliable. In 2012, the tenth observation
was made in the centre of Prague. Here we
summarize historical data on the occurence of this species in the Czech Republic including an overview of museums
specimens. In addition, we discuss in detail the most
recent finding of the Glaucous Gull. As shown by dissection, the main cause of the bird´s death was the aspergilotic
fungus Aspergillus fumigatus.
Aspergillomycosis is one of the most common bird diseases of fungal origin. Little is known on its occurrence in wild bird
populations. In addition, parasitological
analysis revealed three trematode species: Diplostomum spathaceum, Ichthyocotylurus variegatus and Gymnophallus
deliciosus. The latter one has never been
described in the Glaucous Gull before.
Correspondence: petr.suvorovhotmail.com
The Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) is a year-round inhabitant of the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Only two
records of this species were known from the
Czech Republic thus far (2012–2013). Collections of the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic, contain a specimen
collected in Central Bohemia in January 1866,
which was incorrectly registered in literature as a Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus. This specimen, first mentioned
by Frič (1872), is thus the first historical
record of the Iceland Gull from the Czech Republic. Another specimen deposited in the National Museum, Prague, was
obtained with Woborzil’s collection and was probably
collected in Bohemia before 1865, but clear evidence for this is lacking. Thus, we consider this specimen only as a
possible record.
Correspondence: jiri_mlikovskynm.cz
When carrying out an owl survey and checks of hollow trees in the Velká Bíteą region (Moravia, Czech Republic) in 2014, an
unsuccessful breeding attempt of the Boreal
Owl (Aegolius funereus) was documented, which was caused by the growth of a wood-decaying fungus of the genus
Pholiota. At the time when the hatchlings
were over 10 days old, the fungus filled the hollow completely and thus imprisoned the female with the young and made it
impossible for the male to bring them food.
The male put the hunted prey at the hole entrance. Without human help, the female would have probably died in the nest.
Correspondence: hertlatlas.cz
The 20th report of the Czech Rarities Committee, working under the Czech Society for Ornithology (CSO), includes records
of rare bird species in the Czech Republic,
submitted for assessment to the Committee in the year 2013 and early 2014. In this period, the Committee received
altogether 115 records, 105 of them (91%) were
accepted and seven rejected (in most cases, possible confusion with other species could not be excluded based on the
available description, or the misidentification
was even proved); the remaining three records had not been solved by the date of publication of this report. Besides the
assessed records, the report also includes a
number of other records of registered species which were sent to the Committee or were obtained from web pages and online
discussion groups of the CSO. In 2013, the
Committee was composed of the following members: Jiří Horáček (chair), Jiří ©írek (secretary), Martin Vavřík, Jaroslav
Cepák, David Heyrovský and Jaroslav ©imek (since
Miroslav Jelínek stepped down from the function on 1 January 2013, the Committee has been composed of six members only).
In 2013, three new species for the Czech
Republic were recorded – the Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus), Desert Warbler (Sylvia nana) and Booted
Warbler (Iduna caligata). In addition,
the first record of the Western Bonelli's Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli) from the year 2009 was accepted. Other
interesting records include the 3rd finding of
the Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides), 4th record of the Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii), 4th and 5th
records of the Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis
daurica), 7th finding of the Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), 7th finding of the Pallas's Leaf Warbler
(Phylloscopus proregulus), 10th to 12th
records of the Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), 10th to 16th findings of the Yellow-browed Warbler
(Phylloscopus inornatus). Unusual numbers of
individuals were recorded in the Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus), Little Tern (Sterna albifrons) and
Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides); among registered species the highest numbers since 2008 were recorded
in the Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Red-footed Falcon
(Falco vespertinus), Little Crake (Porzana parva), Sanderling (Calidris alba), Red-throated Pipit
(Anthus cervinus) and Snow Bunting
(Plectrophenax nivalis).
Correspondence: vavrik.martinseznam.cz