23.07.15

The number of globally endangered bird species has grown in Lithuania but the worldwide trend is still alarming


After two birds’ monitor countings ornithologists can sum up that there is the increase in the number of Aquatic warbler as it was the previous year. There were 138 singing males counted in 2015.

„We are really happy to track the increase in the number of Aquatic warbler for the second year. That is the best reward for our efforts,” – commented Žymantas Morkvėnas, a member of an international Aquatic Warbler conservation team and a leader of the project protecting the species. „These results prove that the ideas of international Aquatic Warbler conservation team and methods that have been developed for a long time pay off,” – says the coordinator of the conservation team Dr. Jaroslaw Krogulec from Poland.

The population of Aquatic warbler is monitored by counting the singing males. Monitoring is usually carried out twice a year– in the middle of June and at the beginning of July, – in order to avoid inaccuracies due to external factors.

A radical decrease of the number of Aquatic warbler in Europe is observed for a long period of time. During the last century 95% of the population disappeared. For more than ten years Aquatic warbler has been not breeding in Latvia and from 2011 also in Hungary. There are only few sporadic couples in Germany with a real danger for extinction. The population is also decreasing in Poland and Ukraine. There were more than 300 singing males in Lithuania in 1994, in 2011 –90 and in 2013 only 50 of them. The population in Lithuania slightly rose in 2014 resulting in 106 singing males. Aquatic warbler is a unique European bird species. If it disappears in Europe, it will go extinct globally.

Scientists are worried about its global population because of the situation in Belarus even though the new breeding locations were identified in Poland. Belarus gets a special concern because of difficulties faced this year in the largest Aquatic Warbler habitat. According to researchers, due to especially low water level in the fens there, only 20-30% of birds had their first breed (Aquatic warbler breed twice a year). The consequences of the drought will be clear the next year when the birds will come back after wintering but these news are already enforcing the concern about the situation.

Mysterious migration

Žydrūnas Preikša who is an ornithologist leading the monitoring of Aquatic warbler in Lithuania and carries out the research on this bird species is now surprised by the locomotion of the birds: „ The greatest question is – where did 40 new males come from? We did not find those during the first monitoring few weeks ago. We checked all known habitats and the areas potentially suitable for Aquatic warbler.“ The guess of expert is that birds could have come from the territories of Kaliningrad or Poland. The colleague of Žydrūnas, ornithologist from Ventės ragas Vytautas Eigirdas who also participated in the monitoring of Aquatic warbler, considers the possibility of still unknown breeding sites in Klaipėda county. However, an expert of this bird species dr. Jaroslaw Krogulec is not surprised by the larger number of birds during the second monitoring: „This trend always occurs in Poland. Most probably it happens because of more developed vegetation at the time of the second monitoring. That means there is more food for the birds.“ Still, the researcher admits that more detailed studies are necessary to identify the true reason.

Ornithologist Vytautas Eigirdas is intrigued by the chaotic Aquatic warbler locomotion across the known breeding places. „The strangest thing is that some of the males are very settled– for several years in a row we recorded them at the same area of 100 m2. Meanwhile some of the males are found in the sites 20 km away. Surely, some of the birds have to move because of the grasslands being mowed but some of them still act this way when their breeding sites are safe,“ – says ornithologist. More comprehensive information of Aquatic warbler migration and conclusions will be at the end of the year after analyzing the data of bird ringing. Bird ringing with special color bands started this year on purpose to better perceive this bird species and find solutions for its protection.

This sporadic Aquatic warbler locomotion causes additional difficulties for a already complicated newly established administration of agri-environmetal measure. Specialists already see the space for improvement of the new measure which has an aim to compensate farmers for the responsible and sustainable farming practices. The comprehensive assessment of the measure will be implemented when the mowing season ends.

 

More about Aquatic Warbler and its protection: meldine.lt/en


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