<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In 2006–2017, annual censuses of breeding bird species regarded as indicators of natural rivers were carried out on the 38.9 km long lowland stretch of the Drava riverbed between Maribor and Zavrč with altered flow regime due to the operating hydropower plants. Gravel bar habitats were surveyed in four years of the study period by combining orthophoto analysis and analysis of field photographs. Effects of gravel bar management were evaluated based at 20 locations. The Little Ringed Plover <italic>Charadrius dubius</italic> occurred on 39.8% of the gravel bars, but most were occupied only in a few years and held just one breeding pair. Low numbers between 2009 and 2012 (&lt; 30 pairs) were followed by a steep population increase from 2014 onwards to a maximum of 66–73 pairs (1.7–1.9 p/km). Such population dynamics was attributed to the lack of large discharges (>500 m3/s) and consequent overgrowing of riverbed in the first part of the study period, while the increase in the second part was due to the creation of extensive shingle areas (from 20,6 ha in 2009/10 to 37,8 ha in 2014) by the extreme flood in early November 2012, subsequent regular occurrence of large discharges outside the breeding seasons and large-scale removals of woody vegetation. Breeding population of Common Sandpiper <italic>Actitis hypoleucos</italic> remained at a rather similar low level (&lt;20 p) during most of the period studied after an initial decline, and did not reflect changes in the overall surface area of riverbed habitats. Contrary to the general situation, the number of breeding pairs on gravel bars subjected to management increased several-fold. Maximum number of pairs on these bars was reached up to four years after the initiation of management measures, as only then the optimal mosaic of early successional stages interspersed with shingle areas developed at main sites. The species was widespread only on lower part of the Drava. Kingfisher <italic>Alcedo atthis</italic> was fairly widely distributed along the riverbed, but occurred in rather low densities throughout (c. one pair on 2–3 km of the studied riverbed on average), probably as a result of limited bank erosion and consequent overgrowing/lack of suitable nest sites. The population was estimated as stable with effects of harsh winter conditions on breeding numbers in some years. The majority of nest holes were excavated in eroded river banks along the main river channel (77.8%), followed by similar sites located in mouth areas of small tributaries of the Drava (14.8%). Regular breeding of Sand Martin <italic>Riparia riparia</italic> since 2012 (up to 259, mostly at only one location annually) was almost exclusively the result of the annual artificial nest site preparation programme. Fairly large gravel bar-breeding population of White Wagtail <italic>Motacilla alba</italic>, monitored since 2013 and predominantly ground nesting in sparsely vegetated areas, seems unusual considering the prevalent breeding habits of the species at the European scale. Conservation implications and guidelines for future management efforts are discussed.</abstract>

Population dynamics of five riverbed breeding bird species on the lower Drava River, NE Slovenia

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Due to numerous bird surveys in the past 20 years, the avifauna of Goričko is relatively well known. For some species, the very first national ecological researches were conducted in this area. The article summarizes all bird surveys so far. It presents population trends of farmland species which is one of the most threatened bird groups in Europe. Most of the qualifying species of this habitat that are protected within the Natura 2000 network have suffered a decline at Goričko, specifically Quail <italic>Coturnix coturnix</italic>, Scops Owl <italic>Otus scops</italic>, Hoopoe <italic>Upupa epops</italic>, Woodlark <italic>Lullula arborea</italic> and White Stork <italic>Ciconia ciconia</italic>. The number of breeding pairs of the latter has not changed, but its fecundity has decreased. Furthermore, populations of other farmland bird species have decreased, for example Skylark <italic>Alauda arvensis</italic>, Stonechat <italic>Saxicola rubicola</italic>, Serin <italic>Serinus serinus</italic> and Common Linnet <italic>Linaria cannabina</italic>, as well as butterfly populations and tracts of grassland habitat types. National agricultural and nature conservation policies are evidently inefficient in protecting the biodiversity of Goričko. The most probable cause for bird population decline is agricultural intensification, which manifests itself at Goričko as disappearance and intensification of meadows, land consolidation, degradation of traditional orchards and use of pesticides. As a result of land consolidation hedges, uncultivated strips between fields, individual trees and bushes and minority habitat types are disappearing, whereas the surface of arable fields is increasing. Nature conservation measures performed by the Public Institute Goričko Nature Park with the support of DOPPS – BirdLife Slovenia volunteers seem to be efficient, but are spatially and temporally constrained. For this reason, they cannot serve as a substitute for insufficient systemic financing which could be improved by substantive and financial reform of the agri-environmental scheme. Currently, a negligible percentage (1% in 2016) of Goričko is covered by agrienvironmental scheme measures with positive influence on qualifying species and habitat types. As a consequence, only an insignificant share of subsidies from the Rural Development Plan is used for nature protection at Goričko. If the system of agricultural subsidies remains unaltered, no improvement of the conditions for bird conservation at Goričko can be expected.</abstract>

DOPPS – Društvo za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic Slovenije

Population trends of Goričko agricultural landscape birds

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Since the beginning of this century, Greater Flamingo <italic>Phoenicopterus roseus</italic> flocks have been observed regularly when feeding in the large extensions of shallow bottoms in the Lagoon of Venice (NE Italy), the largest lagoon along the Mediterranean. Nowadays thousands of flamingos are present throughout the year. Between 2013 and 2017 I collected data on the environmental features of the shallow bottoms used by feeding flocks, along with measurements of flight initiation distance (FID) of Greater Flamingo in response to the approach of boats and pedestrians. Shallow bottoms were shown to be used when covered with approximately 10 to 60 cm of water. All the feeding sites were in open landscapes, with low occurrence of saltmarshes in a radius of 500 m. The bottoms were barely covered with seagrasses (&lt;4% of the surface around the survey points) and were mostly silty. Feeding flocks were on average 1.2 km far from the nearest road or dyke, while the mean distance from channels that could be used by boats was about 420 m. The mean FID caused by boats or pedestrians was 241 m ± 117 m (N = 31, ± 1 SD) without significant differences between those for the two disturbance sources. The use of shallow bottoms by the Greater Flamingo appears governed primarily by the tidal cycle, but boat disturbance probably modifies this effect. According to FID values, a set-back distance of 465 m is suggested to reduce the disturbance caused by boats and pedestrians to the flamingo feeding flocks.</abstract>

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo <italic>Phoenicopterus roseus</italic> in a northern Adriatic lagoon

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In 2016, data on 176 bird species were gathered during bird ringing activities in Slovenia. A total of 65,711 birds of 165 different species were ringed. Furthermore, 148 recoveries of birds ringed in Slovenia and found abroad, 245 foreign recoveries in Slovenia and 1840 local recoveries were made. The most frequently ringed species was the Blackcap <italic>Sylvia atricapilla.</italic> Among the ringed nestlings, Great Tits <italic>Parus major</italic>, Tree Sparrows <italic>Passer montanus</italic> and White Storks <italic>Ciconia ciconia</italic> predominated. Considering recoveries of birds ringed or found abroad, the most frequent were finds based on colour rings, especially of Black-headed Gulls <italic>Chroicocephalus ridibundus</italic>, Mute Swans <italic>Cygnus olor</italic> and Common Terns <italic>Sterna hirundo</italic>. As far as local recoveries are concerned, most data were collected for Great Tit and Siskin <italic>Spinus spinus</italic>. Among rare species, two Yellow-browed Warblers <italic>Phylloscopus inornatus</italic> were ringed, one Paddyfield Warbler <italic>Acrocephalus agricola</italic>, one Little <italic>Emberiza pusilla</italic> and one Black-headed Bunting <italic>Emberiza melanocephala</italic>, the latter as a singing male, which probably also bred in 2016. The catch frequency of the Yellow-browed Warblers has indeed been increasing in Slovenia in the last 25 years, but this is still a rare and irregular vagrant on autumn migration.</abstract>

Poročilo o obročkanju ptic v Sloveniji v letu 2016 in pojavljanje mušje listnice <italic>Phylloscopus inornatus</italic> v 25 letih v Sloveniji

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In 2017, the International Waterbird Census (IWC) was carried out in Slovenia on January 14 and 15. Waterbirds were counted on all larger rivers, along the entire Slovenian Coastland and on most of the major standing waters in the country. During the census, in which 235 observers took part, 413 sections of the rivers and coastal sea with a total length of 1,427 km and 200 other localities (164 standing waters and 36 streams) were surveyed. The census was characterized by harsh winter conditions and high proportion of frozen water bodies. Altogether, 51,790 waterbirds of 61 species were counted. Thus, the number of waterbirds and the number of species recorded were close to the 21-year average. The highest numbers of waterbirds were counted in the Drava count area, i.e. 20,064 individuals (38.7% of all waterbirds in Slovenia). By far the most numerous species was Mallard <italic>Anas platyrhynchos</italic> (46.1% of all waterbirds), followed by Coot <italic>Fulica atra</italic> (6.8% of all waterbirds), Cormorant <italic>Phalacrocorax carbo</italic> (5.9% of all waterbirds), Black-headed Gull <italic>Chroicocephalus ridibundus</italic> (5.7% of all waterbirds) and Mute Swan <italic>Cygnus olor</italic> (3.9% of all waterbirds). The number of 1,000 counted individuals was also surpassed by Yellow-legged Gull <italic>Larus michahellis</italic>, Teal <italic>An. crecca</italic>, Tufted Duck <italic>Aythya fuligula</italic>, White-fronted Goose <italic>Anser albifrons</italic>, Pygmy Cormorant <italic>P. pygmeus</italic> and Grey Heron <italic>Ardea cinerea</italic>. Among the rarer recorded species, the Red-breasted Goose <italic>Branta ruficollis</italic> (registered for the first time during the January Waterbird Censuses and only for the third time ever in Slovenia) and Barnacle Goose <italic>Branta leucopsis</italic> (the first probable A category individual for IWC and Slovenia) deserve special mention. Numbers of the following species were the highest so far recorded during the IWC: Mandarin Duck <italic>Aix galericulata</italic> (together with 2006 and 2012), Pintail <italic>An. acuta</italic>, Ferruginous Duck <italic>Ay. nyroca</italic>, Long-tailed Duck <italic>Clangula hyemalis</italic> (together with 2003), Goosander <italic>Mergus merganser</italic>, Pygmy Cormorant, Herring Gull <italic>L. argentatus</italic> and Caspian Gull <italic>L. cachinnans</italic>. Number of Pochards <italic>Ay. ferina</italic> was the lowest so far recorded during the IWC.</abstract>

Results of the January 2017 waterbird census in Slovenia

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Acrocephalus

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Acrocephalus

Volume 38 (2017): Issue 174-175 (December 2017)

Population dynamics of five riverbed breeding bird species on the lower Drava River, NE Slovenia

Population trends of Goričko agricultural landscape birds

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Poročilo o obročkanju ptic v Sloveniji v letu 2016 in pojavljanje mušje listnice Phylloscopus inornatus v 25 letih v Sloveniji

Results of the January 2017 waterbird census in Slovenia

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