Monitoring of Breeding Birds in H

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Monitoring of Breeding Birds in Häädemeeste
coastal meadow 2000-2004
Aivo Klein Mati Kose
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History

• 2000- beginning of regular counts as a part of
  Estonian Coastal meadow monitoring program
• Total area of monitoring ca 207 hectares
• With expansion of management new census areas
  Rannametsa and Võiste were added in 2003
• On the basis of Häädemeeste and Rannametsa areas,
  was formed undivided coastal meadow complex of
  400 hectares (treated as different census areas)
• 2000 For a first time there was no grazing in
  coastal meadows
• 2001 Subsidies for coastal meadow management
• 2002 Beginning of Life project activities

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Methods

• Mapping bird territories twice during breeding
  season, according to the Estonian Coastal meadow
  monitoring program.
• First counts in middle of may, second in
  beginning of june.
• From 2004 counts were made three times with first
  count at the end of april
• Exactly the same mapping routes were used during
  2000-2004
• Territorial birds were marked on fieldmaps, later
  in Mapinfo program as digital points.
• Evaluation of management quality and condition of
  meadows and mapping as Mapinfo polygons
• Additional information about the condition of
  meadows and breeding birds and breeding success
  of some species in stationary monitoring areas as
  well as outside was collected during Waterfowl
  census project april-november

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Results

• Although numbers of waders in general have
  decreased since
• 2000 overall situation has been stable with
  most of the species during last two years.
• Slightly lower numbers of Lapwing and Redshank in
  2004 could be explained with expansion of
  Häädemeeste meadow and intensive restoration work
  in Rannametsa meadow where the numbers of theses
  species are increased most likely on account of
  Häädemeeste census area.

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Results

• Most of the species have continiuously decreased,
  numbers being wery low in 2003 when breeding of
  all the species were obviously influenced by
  weather conditions. Only the Gadwall follows
  overall increasing trend in whole Estonia

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Results

• From the beginning of management and restoration
  Passerine species are responsed quickly to
  changes in meadow quality.
• Relatively high numbers of Whinchat reflects the
  general condition of coastal meadow, being on
  average well managed, but becoming more fragmented

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Comparison between managed and unmanaged meadows
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Sample of the mapping of the meadow management
quality (2003) - well grazed, uniformly
short-grass - moderately grazed - least
grazed meadow - other unmanaged
habitats
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Dynamics of the grazing quality
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Problems

• Although situation in coastal meadows has greatly
  improved during last five years the coastline is
  mostly covered with reed-bed (red in map)
  reducing food source of waders, providing hiding
  places for predators etc.
• Due to this number of coastal waders and other
  species (terns) is continiuosly decreasing
• With low numbers of cattle it is important to
  concentrate on most important areas for waders

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Problems

• Relatively little attention on predatory species
  foxes, minks etc. As well on crows, even though
  nests of Hooded Crows on the coastal meadows were
  regularly destroyed there is still on average
  some 45-50 crows present in most vulnerable
  period april-may-june (counted during Waterfowl
  census, once in week)

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Thanks