{"title":"Temporal variation in the peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) diet after the extinction of the original population and the emergence of a new population in Slovakia","authors":"J. Obuch, J. Chavko","doi":"10.2478/srj-2022-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2022-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We made an analysis of the osteological remains of prey that had been captured by the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and was collected from eyries perched high in rocky cliffs of Slovakia. Birds dominated the 7,233 vertebrates identified (class Aves, with minimum of 98 species and 97.2% of the total). Bones from mammals (class Mammalia, 24 species, 2.5%) were rarely found, and sporadic remains from lower vertebrate species (classes Amphibia, Reptilia, Pisces, 0.3%) were also noted. The collected specimens were divided over three distinct periods. Before domestic pigeons became a major component in the juvenile peregrine falcon diet (Period A), wild pigeons and doves were the most common prey; specifically stock doves (Columba oenas) caught at lower elevations, and wood pigeons (Columba palumbus) in mountainous areas. The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) was a frequent prey . The diversity of peregrine falcon diet reached its maximum between the 1930s and the 1950s (Period B), with the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica) present in the diet at a similar abundance (16.1%) to wild pigeons and doves. The peregrine falcon population tailed off in the 1960s as pesticides became more commonly used in agriculture. A new population started expanding from Western Europe during the 1990s and has stabilised at around 150 breeding pairs in recent years. Since the turn of the millennium (Period C), domestic pigeons have become the dominant prey (51.1%) along with smaller songbirds such as hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) and common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), at 15.5% and 14.6% of total osteological remains collected, respectively.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85173870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Roadside hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) hit by an oncoming vehicle while capturing a striped snake (Lygophis anomalus)","authors":"S. Lyons, D. O. Di Pietro","doi":"10.2478/srj-2022-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2022-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract One of the most apparent origins of biodiversity loss caused by humans is infrastructural development of roads. Yet they offer certain benefits for some animals, such as hunting opportunities with lower energy costs and consumption of carrion earlier hit by vehicles. Raptors find roads a particularly favorable environment, perching on poles or overhead cables and waiting to attack their prey as it crosses a road. This paper describes the first ever recorded predation by a roadside hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) of a striped snake (Lygophis anomalus) supportable by material evidence, when both the raptor and the snake were hit by a vehicle immediately after the snake was caught. The study contributes to knowledge about the roadside hawk’s diet and illuminates the problem these human infrastructures pose for animals. Future research on roads birds of prey use as hunting sites could contribute toward improvements in conservation programs for birds of prey species.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85318357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The second egg in the lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina) clutch as a nesting insurance","authors":"Ján Kicko","doi":"10.2478/srj-2022-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2022-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Over an interval of 16 days, two eggs were laid by the same lesser spotted eagle female in her nest in the west-central Slovakia in 2021. The first egg failed to hatch, and the female ate it on the 45th day after she had laid it. Thereafter, the chick hatched from the second egg and later successfully fledged. The case contributes toward explaining why the species lays a second egg, even though the younger hatched chick is almost always prone to siblicide. In this case, the second egg acts as a reserve or an insurance if the first egg should not hatch, enabling the parents to breed successfully.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74637087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spatial and temporal changes in the diet composition of the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) in Slovakia comparing three historical periods","authors":"J. Obuch","doi":"10.2478/srj-2021-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2021-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The author evaluates his own data on the food of the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) in Slovakia using material he collected between 1975 and 2020. A total of 105,543 food items were identified in 254 samples taken at 136 localities. Mammals had the highest representation (Mammalia, 65 species, 58.4%), and the species composition of birds was diverse (Aves, minimally 140 species, 8.5%), but the common frog (Rana temporaria, 32.0%), from the lower vertebrates, is represented more abundantly. Invertebrates (Evertebrata, 0.1%) occurred in food residues only occasionally. The bulk of the samples were collected from eagle-owl nests. The samples were divided into three time periods (A–C), which differ in the manner of human land-use management: A up to the 1950s, with a smaller area of field plots and more extensive grazing in the uplands; B from the 1950s to the 1980s, during the Socialist period, with the concentration of agricultural production in large units; C the last 30 years, 1990 to 2020, with the gradual break-up of collective land management. The first period (A) is characterised by a strong dominance of frogs, particularly the European brown frog R. temporaria (44.6%), and a large share of small mammal species of the family Muridae (genera Apodemus and Mus). During the time of Socialism (B), eagle-owls adapted to hunting larger species of mammals and birds, and the share of frogs in their food fell by half (R. temporaria, 23.3%). With the decline in livestock production after 1990 (period C), the species diversity of birds increased: aquatic species and raptors in particular are on the rise. Successive overgrowth of pastures in the submontane zone is reducing the hunting territories of eagle-owls. The dominance of the common vole (Microtus arvalis) in their diet has gradually increased from period A (26.8%) to period C (37.3%). Data from eleven areas around Slovakia are evaluated separately for the three time periods. In period A, the highest proportion of frogs was in the Liptov region (R. temporaria, 68.2%), when eagle-owls nested deeper in the mountains. The proportion of frogs decreased towards lower areas, and in the Ponitrie (Nitra river basin) it was only 10.8%. At the same time, the share of M. arvalis and larger prey increased. A similar trend of increasing shares of larger prey towards lower locations also applied during the Socialist period (B). In the last 30 years (C), frogs in the higher river basins have given way to European water voles Arvicola amphibius and M. arvalis. In association with the progressive overgrowth of pastures, forest species such as the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and bank vole (Myodes glareolus) are increasingly prevalent, as are the white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus) and various thrushes (Turdus sp.).","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89550734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. McGrady, Matthias Schmidt, G. Andersen, C. Meyburg, Ü. Väli, Faisal Allamki, B. Meyburg
{"title":"Movements of a male greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) during its 2nd and 3rd calendar years","authors":"M. McGrady, Matthias Schmidt, G. Andersen, C. Meyburg, Ü. Väli, Faisal Allamki, B. Meyburg","doi":"10.2478/srj-2021-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2021-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) is poorly known compared to other European eagles. We tracked an immature greater spotted eagle during 2018–2020 within the eastern European part of the species’ distribution, west of the Ural Mountains. Because so little is published about the annual movements of this species, especially from that region, tracking data from this single individual are valuable. 95% kernel density estimator (KDE) range sizes for the two complete winters in Yemen were 4,009 km2 (2018), 1,889 km2 (2019); 95% dynamic Brownian bridge movement models (dBBMM) encompassed 1,309 km2 (2018) and 1,517 km2 (2019). It returned to the same wintering area every year. During summer 2018, it settled into a small area (95% KDE = 126 km2; 95% dBBMM = 21 km2) near Birsk, eastern European Russia; in 2019 it wandered over a huge area (95% dBBMM = 66,304 km2) of western Kazakhstan and southern Russia, south west of Yekaterinburg. Spring migration 2018 was west of the Caspian Sea; during 2019 it was east of it. Mean speed of spring migration was 160±120 km/day during 2018, and 132±109 km/day during 2019. Autumn migration passed east of the Caspian in both years, and the mean speed of migration was 62 ± 78 km/day in 2018, and 84 ± 95 km/day in 2019. During both spring and autumn migrations, the eagle made stopovers, mostly lasting 1–2 days. The eastern Alborz Mountains in northeastern Iran appeared to be an important stopover locale, where autumn stopovers lasted 19 days (2018) and 27 days (2019). These and other data suggest that most greater spotted eagles that spend summers west of about 42°E, winter in southern Europe, Asian Turkey, the Levant and Africa, and those that summer to the east of that meridian winter in southern Asia, including Arabia.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84876821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overview of raptor and owl ringing in Slovakia in 2020","authors":"Roman Slobodník, Michal Jenčo","doi":"10.2478/srj-2021-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2021-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In 2020, 1296 raptors and owls (23 species) were ringed in Slovakia. The most abundant was the common kestrel (719 individuals), then the western marsh harrier (126) and saker falcon (92). The proportion of nestlings among all the ringed individuals was 76.7%. In the given period, 145 recoveries of raptors and owls (15 species) were recorded in the Bird Ringing Centre database. This number included 77 recoveries of colour-marked individuals recovered in our territory. There were 43 recoveries of birds ringed in Slovakia and resighted abroad. The last 25 recoveries were of individuals ringed abroad and recovered in Slovakia. In summary, most of the recoveries (of all types) were of red-footed falcon (69 recoveries), then common kestrel (17) and eastern imperial eagle (15). Most of the recovery circumstances were ring reading (almost 76% in total), findings of bird cadavers (6%) and recaptures (5%). Electrocutions and predations by other animals (3% each) were frequent causes of their deaths.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88623075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roman Slobodník, J. Chavko, J. Lengyel, Michał Noga, Boris Maderič, M. Baláž
{"title":"Corrigendum: Trend in an isolated population of the red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus) at the edge of its breeding range (south-western Slovakia)","authors":"Roman Slobodník, J. Chavko, J. Lengyel, Michał Noga, Boris Maderič, M. Baláž","doi":"10.2478/srj-2021-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2021-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Table 1 in original paper (Slobodník et al. 2017, Slovak Raptor Journal 11: 83–89) was published with incorrect data. Correct version is published here.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83335950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Post-fledging dependence period, dispersal movements and temporary settlement areas in saker falcons (Falco cherrug)","authors":"M. Kouba, Roman Slobodník, J. Chavko","doi":"10.2478/srj-2021-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2021-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Information on mortality rates and their causes in raptors and owls during the post-fledging dependency period (PFDP) and subsequent dispersal is essential for their more effective protection, including more efficient use of funds. Despite the importance of the above data, these data are not yet available for most birds of prey. The study aimed to provide and expand the knowledge in this field for saker falcon. We used satellite telemetry to monitor a total of six young birds since they left the nest boxes. All young birds survived the PFDP, but none survived to adulthood and died during the period of dispersal movements. The PFDP lasted 47 days (median value hereinafter), and the distance of individuals from the nest boxes during this period was 3.2 km (maximum distance 9 km). The area of the home range of the PFDP calculated by the 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) method was 81 km2. During the period of dispersal movements, the monitored individuals set up five temporary settlement areas with an area of 422 km2 according to 100% MCP, where they stayed for 37 days. All individuals’ mean length of movement routes throughout the monitoring period was 3862 km. The main finding of the present study is the fact that none of the monitored individuals survived the dispersal period. At least half of them died due to human activity (electrocution, hunting), which is probably unbearable in the long term for wild populations of most animal species. This shows the need to start eliminating all types of artificial traps (e.g., electrocution, hunting, poisoning, etc.) without delay, thus helping to prevent the decline of populations of many species in the shorter or longer time horizon.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73626405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Age of maturity and exceptionally distant natal dispersal of over 500 km by a male lesser spotted eagle Clanga pomarina","authors":"B. Meyburg, H. Matthes, G. Maciorowski","doi":"10.2478/srj-2020-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2020-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract According to previous studies using colour rings, lesser spotted eagles Clanga pomarina have established breeding territories up to 249 km from their natal site. A colour-ringed lesser spotted eagle nestling from NE Poland settled 540 km further west in NE Germany. This male was discovered at the age of six and nested there for several years. This finding is all the more remarkable because the bird was a male, which in large eagles typically settle nearer to their natal sites than females. They apparently reproduce successfully for the first time later than females, normally at the age of five.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73841041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diet of the lesser kestrel Falco naumanni at post-breeding roosts in southern Albania","authors":"A. Krištín, T. Bělka, D. Horal, T. Bino","doi":"10.2478/srj-2020-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/srj-2020-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The lesser kestrel is an insectivorous and migratory falcon species, frequently using communal roosts in the post-breeding period in southern Europe. Using pellet analysis from two post-breeding roosting sites in southern Albania collected in August 2017, we identified 1539 prey items belonging to approximately 58 prey species, 20 families and 7 orders in 110 pellets from two sites. Invertebrates made up the major part of the diet spectrum (PNI = 99.8 %, PFI = 100 %). Invertebrate prey body size varied between 8 and 62 mm (mean 28.1 mm). Bush-crickets (Tettigoniidae) and locusts (Acrididae) were the most abundant and frequent prey groups (PNI = 33 % resp. 48.6 % and PFI = 97 % resp. 94 %). Within the bush-cricket family we could identify the species of genera Tettigonia, Decticus, Platycleis, Isophya and Metrioptera. The species of genera Calliptamus, Stenobothrus and Locusta belonged among the locust species identified in the food. Birds and mammals were found in pellets only occasionally. The prey composition was rather similar at both studied sites, while locusts (Acrididae) were more abundant at the Jorgucat site and bush-crickets (Tettigonioidea) at the Mollas site in the same time. Prey groups Scarabeidae beetles and other beetles (Coleoptera other) were more abundant and frequent at Mollas than at Jorgucat, and spiders were more frequent at Jorgucat. These results suggest that the high abundance of orthopterans and beetles in the food supply in certain localities is the main reason for selection and stable occupancy of these massive communal roosting sites by lesser kestrels in Albania.","PeriodicalId":56343,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Raptor Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85960318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}