<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In the Golyófogó Valley near Albertirsa natural erosion created near vertical walls in the loess deposited in the last glacial period, offering natural nesting sites for the European Bee-eater. Later the deeply cut coach roads, the pits of loess extraction and the construction works of the motorway nearby created further man-made banks. Hence by the 1970-ies a well-established colony bred here, but by the beginning of the 21<sup>st</sup> century, disturbance and the demise of vertical banks led to a serious reduction in the number of breeding pairs. The purchase of 5-hectare loess grassland plot and the adjacent loess bank, and later its reconstruction led to an unprecedented growth in the number of Bee-eaters. From 2010 the number of breeding pairs exceeded 200 every year. Not only the Bee-eater colony, but also the natural vegetation and the botanical values of the area are managed to maintain the population of rare and protected element of the local flora and fauna.</p></abstract>

In the Golyófogó Valley near Albertirsa natural erosion created near vertical walls in the loess deposited in the last glacial period, offering natural nesting sites for the European Bee-eater. Later the deeply cut coach roads, the pits of loess extraction and the construction works of the motorway nearby created further man-made banks. Hence by the 1970-ies a well-established colony bred here, but by the beginning of the 21st century, disturbance and the demise of vertical banks led to a serious reduction in the number of breeding pairs. The purchase of 5-hectare loess grassland plot and the adjacent loess bank, and later its reconstruction led to an unprecedented growth in the number of Bee-eaters. From 2010 the number of breeding pairs exceeded 200 every year. Not only the Bee-eater colony, but also the natural vegetation and the botanical values of the area are managed to maintain the population of rare and protected element of the local flora and fauna.

A successful habitat reconstruction effort, the short history of the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) colony at Albertirsa (Hungary)

Jásznagykun Nature Protection Organisation, 5001 Szolnok Pf. 188.

Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 1088 Budapest, Baross utca. 13., Hungary

Ornis Hungarica

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

In the Golyófogó Valley near Albertirsa natural erosion created near vertical walls in the loess deposited in the last glacial period, offering natural nesting...

A successful habitat reconstruction effort, the short history of the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) colony at Albertirsa (Hungary)

Published Online: Jul 02, 2014

Page range: 47 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0005

Keywords
European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, habitat reconstruction, conservation biology, nature protection

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

A successful habitat reconstruction effort, the short history of the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) colony at Albertirsa (Hungary)

Published Online: Jul 02, 2014

Page range: 47 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0005

KeywordsEuropean Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, habitat reconstruction, conservation biology, nature protection

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, habitat reconstruction, conservation biology, nature protection