Capsule: The distribution range of the European Roller Coracias garrulus has undergone large changes over geological times, but although the species is warm-adapted, the human induced climate change ...is predicted to affect negatively the range of the currently large populations.
Aim: Information on species-specific vulnerability to climate change is crucial not only for designing interventions and setting conservation goals, but also to inform conservation decision-making. Our goal was to map climate suitability for the European Roller in the Western Palaearctic under current climate, and for past (last glacial maximum and mid-Holocene) and future (2050 and 2070) climate scenarios.
Methods: We used MaxEnt for species distribution modelling based on the reconstructed distribution map of the species.
Results: Our results suggest that during glacial periods Rollers persisted in small southern refugia, and then spread and colonized northern latitudes during the mid-Holocene. In the future, our models forecast a shift in climatically suitable range towards northern latitudes and an overall small range contraction (4.5-5.5%). Warmer temperatures will increase climate suitability in northern countries where the species is currently declining or became locally extinct. On the other hand, wide suitable areas under current climatic conditions are predicted to become unsuitable in the future (35-38% by 2050 and 2070, respectively), significantly impacting large populations such as those in Romania, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary. French and Italian populations are identified to be future key populations for Roller conservation.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that future climate changes will likely amplify the impacts of existing threats on the majority of large European Roller populations in Europe.
Abstract In January 2014, the first ever comprehensive winter census of the Whitetailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla along the Danube River was conducted, using mostly point and transect counts. ...Altogether, 550-700 eagles were counted. The upper range of the estimate may in fact be more realistic because 615 km of the Danube were not surveyed. Birds were observed in every country along the Danube. Hotspots of occurrences were (1) the Central Danube floodplains - the area encompassing the lower Hungarian section (Danube- Drava National Park), Kopački rit Nature Park (Croatia), and the Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve (Serbia); and (2) the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. According to the Action Plan for the conservation of the White-tailed Eagle along the Danube, future winter counts should be made regularly, and lower variation in the resulting eagle numbers achieved by a higher degree of synchronization between individual countries. This study reinforces the importance of protected areas along the Danube as a backbone for the conservation of White-tailed Eagles and biodiversity.
We investigated the scale and characteristics of spring migration of soaring birds in Bourgas district, SE Bulgaria during three 5-day periods in March (27th-31st), April (20th-24th) and May ...(12th-16th) 2008. Simultaneous counts were carried out from six observation points in two separate areas (Karnobat and Sredets), located 24.5 km and 37.3 km inland from the Black Sea coast, respectively. In total, 31,049 soaring birds of at least 27 species were counted, by far the most numerous being the White Stork Ciconia ciconia (23,358 ind.), followed by the Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina (3,112 ind.). In Karnobat area, situated farther from the Black Sea coast, the total number of soaring migrants (21,231) was more than two-fold higher than in Sredets area (9,818). Overall, there was a significant difference in flock size and flight altitude within separate area (i.e. among observation points) as well as between the two observation areas and the three 5-day periods. However, there was a substantial variance in factors significantly affecting the flock size and flight altitude among most numerous individual species. In general, birds passed at much higher altitude above Karnobat area (mean flight altitude 208.3 m ± 6.4) compared to Sredets area (mean flight altitude 130.5 m ± 4.4). In both observation areas, northern direction was the most commonly observed flight direction (46.3% of all recorded flight directions). The highest numbers of soaring migrants passed in the late afternoon, between 15.00 and 18.00 hrs - 11,554 individuals (43.0% of all birds counted). The study confirmed that the front of Western Black Sea migration route, or "Via Pontica" as part of the Mediterranean/Black Sea Flyway in SE Bulgaria, is rather wide, since the magnitude of inland migration in Bourgas district can be compared with that along the Black Sea coast, at least during spring migration. Both observation areas qualify as Important Bird Areas (IBA) of European importance according to the several BirdLife International criteria. We recommend that any new wind farms built should avoid the area of Hisar Hill south of Karnobat and the NW parts of Sredets Municipality.
Značilnosti spomladanske selitve jadrajočih ptic v notranjosti JV Bolgarije
Nedavni rast gnijezdeće populacije kudravog nesita Pelecanus crispus na Skadarskom jezeru je omogućio prstenovanje većeg broja mladunaca tokom sezone gniježđenja, a time i više prijavljenih opažanja. ...Nalaz mlade jedinke u Bugarskoj, na udaljenosti od 540 km,
predstavlja novi uvid u disperziju ove vrste, koja je nakon gnijezdeće sezone lokalizirana duž jadranske i jonske obale. Nalaz također ukazuje i na povezanost dvije razdvojene metapopulacije kudravog pelikana (mediteranske i crnomorske) u ovom dijelu areala.
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