Rudolf Rust & Tino Mischler: Consequences of legal and illegal persecution on Goshawk Accipiter gentilis populations in southern Bavaria. (Auswirkungen legaler und illegaler Verfolgung auf Habichtpopulationen in Südbayern)

This paper deals with extent and effects of human persecution and disturbance in goshawk populations in 3 control areas of southern Bavaria from 1960 to 2000. Up to now there is still massive persecution, with core areas in Upper and Lower Bavaria.

Illegal persecution pertains throughout the year since the onset of our investigations, with documentation of 702 cases. Legal protection, since 1971, does not show sufficient effect, as the intensity of persecution has increased since the early 80ies. 8 main types of illegal persecution are treated in detail. Mode, extension and direction of persecution are altered during the year´s course. During the 90ies there is an increase in such disturbances which prevent goshawks from breeding. An increase is stated for 3 out of 7 persecution modes.

Legal persecution is still allowed by the lower hunting authorities and can be calculated rather well from official numbers of allowances for trapping and shooting. These data show that at least 700 goshawks were allowed to be removed between 1978 and 2000 from our control areas. There is a negative correlation between trapping quota and population trend, combined with disturbance of the natural ratio of age classes. Lowest breeding pair densities occur just in these districts where high trapping quota, both legal and illegal, are noted. In the very same districts there is a high number of unoccupied territories as well as a yearly change of females in the still occupied ones.

Parallel to this development, the status of the female breeding goshawks has changed from low to high percentage of unexperienced breeders ("Einmalbrüter"), increasing especially in the last 2 decades (Table 4). Example: 1966: 34,8 %, 2000: 64,5 % unexperienced breeders. This means, two thirds of all female breeders are prone to failure and have to be replaced by others in the turnover of a year. As this is no longer possible, we register an increasing number of abandoned territories in the control areas. Legal trapping alone takes almost as many goshawks from the population as are produced yearly.

Trapping and hunting both act as strong limiting factors on qualitative and quantitative composition of the goshawk population. A considerable number of lower hunting authorities allows trapping without sufficient foregoing investigation about prey spectrum of the goshawks in the relevant area. High trapping quota due to easily given permissions counteract the exceptional status of such allowances. Thus the law of protecting this raptor cannot be reinforced.

Hans Utschick: Riverine forests as refuges for birds during bad weather conditions. (Flussauen als Vogelrefugium in Schlechtwetterperioden)

Line transect counts of birds from 1975 to 1997 in the Perach riverine forest (Lower River Inn, Bavaria), an area with many parts managed "close to nature", revealed increasing bird abundance after periods of bad weather or days following rapidly falling temperatures or heavy precipitations. This was verified in all seasons of the year and indicates that riverine forests may be important bird refuges of a region. Similiar effects are known from supported feeding sites of towns and villages in winter. Most intensive refuge effects showed small tits (Longtailed, Marsh, Willow Tit) and Nuthatch.

In winter and spring more species used the riverine forest as a bad-weather refuge than in summer or autumn, in spring mainly after days and periods of high precipitation. To define the weather-induced refuge effects typical for species and seasons, "reaction types" are created describing a) basic reactions following low temperatures or high precipitations and b) reactions to weather dynamics (intensity of change).

Tests comparing the average values of temperature or precipitation over all days with occurrence of a bird species with the averages of all sampling days partly confirmed significant differences. Direct confirmation of the refuge effects may only be possible by an all-season sampling of bird communities along a regional gradient from riverine habitats to forests, agrotopes, settlements etc. outside the river valley. Using the Nuthatch as an example it is demonstrated that for revealing real refuge effects, eventually related parameters like seasonal population dynamics or population trends must be checked first.

The results confirm the central position of riverine landscape protection in national nature conservancy laws and support demands for the further extension and regeneration of these habitats.

Luca Salvati, Alberto Manganaro & Lamberto Ranazzi: Occurrence of the Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) in Mediterranean coastal woodlands: Wood size and vegetation affect patch occupation.

The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) occupies extended forests, fragmented woodlands, and forested uplands with the highest breeding density in central Europe. Low densities in coastal areas of southern Europe arise primarily through lack of suitable habitats or limited availability of nesting sites. In central Italy, Buzzards are generally more common in hilly woodlands than in lowland and coastal oak forests. Here, we provide a preliminary survey of Buzzards in dry oak woods of coastal Latium, assessing the influence of wood size, forest cover, and vegetation on the distribution of this raptor in 15 forest fragments of different size (mean ± SD = 201±241 ha, range 25 - 890), including pine (Pinus pinea) and thermophilous oak (especially Quercus ilex) woods, cork oak (Q. suber) woods, as well as mixed oak (especially Q. cerris and Q. frainetto) woods. Six (40%) forest fragments were occupied by at least one Buzzard breeding territory. By using the stepwise discriminant analysis, occupied and unoccupied woodlands were all discriminated based on the two landscape variables wood size and proportion of mesophilous oak cover. Based on the logistic regression analysis the predicted area of wood for which the probability of occupation reaches 100 % is higher than 2,5 km². Buzzards tend to avoid thermophilous forest stands, occupying only stands with mesophilous oaks. Mesophilous oaks tend to produce open forests, with higher trees and taller arbustive layer, probably, providing optimal nesting sites for large-sized raptors. The relationship between Buzzard density obtained from literature data and altitude of census plots in central Italy may confirm this hypothesis, with highest densities recorded in woods between 500 m and 700 m, where Q. cerris and Castanea sativa represent the dominant vegetation.

Key words: Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo, breeding, dry oak woods, wood size, central Italy.

Robert Pfeifer, Jutta Stadler & Roland Brandl: Tail length of wagtails (Genus Motacilla): Correlates with body size, habitat type and behaviour. (Die Schwanzlänge bei Stelzen Motacilla: Beziehungen zu Körpergröße, Lebensraum und Verhalten)

It was hypothesized that the noisy environment along rivers calls for alternative ways of communication. In birds living near rivers, a long tail and wagging may serve as an optical communication system and thus may support vocal communication. The two species of wagtails (M. cinerea and M. clara) which live near rivers have indeed longer tails than expected from interspecific allometry across other species of the genus Motacilla. However, these two species are closely related. Thus, there are no degrees of freedom for convincing conclusions. Furthermore, there are other hypotheses which may explain the long tail, in particular sexual selection and aerodynamics. We show that the latter may also explain the long tail of certain wagtail species.

Dietmar Walter: Deviated Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) on the northern edge of the Alps in Bavaria. (Verdriftete Sturmschwalben Hydrobates pelagicus am nördlichen Alpenrand im Allgäu)

In the last days of December 1999 Storm Petrels were deviated by a hurricane into Allgäu (Bavaria, Germany). I compiled for nine individuals: location, coordinates, sea-level, date, circumstances of finding as well as description of appearance and measurements.

Dietmar Reusch: Colonisation of a wind-throw area by Stonechats Saxicola torquata and Red-backed Shrikes Lanius collurio. (Besiedlung einer Windwurffläche durch Schwarzkehlchen Saxicola torquata und Neuntöter Lanius collurio)

In 1994 a 150 hectare wind-throw area was formed near Munich, Upper Bavaria, which was subsequently colonized by Stonechats, Saxicola torquata, and Red-backed Shrikes, Lanius collurio. The colonisation was recorded from 1995-2000. The Stonechats were breeding for the first time in 1997. In the following years the number of breeding pairs increased to six pairs. The first juveniles were observed early in June, there was only one breeding attempt per year. The number of breeding pairs of Red-backed Shrikes did not increase during the monitored time-span. The density was very high (1.3 breeding pairs per 10 hectares). A number of other species typical for half-open landscapes are breeding in the area, too, namely Grashopper Warbler Locustella naevia, Whitethroat Sylvia communis, Whinchat Saxicola rubetra and Hobby Falco subbuteo.

Christiane Kolbet: About birds and fishes in Bavaria - The world of Andreas Johannes Jäckel (6.1.1822-12.7.1885). Von den Vögeln und Fischen in Bayern - die Welt des Pfarrers Andreas Johannes Jäckel (6.1.1822 - 12.7.1885)

The roots of A J Jäckel´s ornithological studies are to be found in his work as an aviculturist, a tradition which flourished in Nürnberg in the nineteenth century. After attending grammar school at Nürnberg and studying theology at Erlangen-Nürnberg University, he was appointed to his first position as vicar of a Protestant church in Neuhaus an der Aisch.

The wealth of bird life in the ponds around Neuhaus and Mohrhof was the inspiration for his numerous avifaunistic studies. He was not only an active ornithologist, but was also interested in bats, fish, insects and amphibians. Jäckel was a member of many natural science societies although he was an autodidact, and he corresponded regularly with ornithologists at home and abroad.

Jäckel finished life as a clergyman in Bad Windsheim where he died in 1885 from the after-affects of Malaria which he had caught some years before on one of his nature excursions in the Franconian wetlands. His life work, "A Systematic Survey of the Birds of Bavaria", was published posthumously in 1891. Part of his natural science collection today belongs to the Natural History Society of Nürnberg.

Helmut Meyer: Der Rauhfußkauz Aegolius funereus - jetzt Brutvogel in weiteren Forsten um München.

Origin and consolidation of new centres of distribution of Tengmalm´s Owl on the "Münchner Schotterebene" are described from 1998 to 2000. Breeding success is due to ample supply of nesting boxes. Postbreeding dispersion is exemplified by recoveries of juv. Tengmalm´s Owls ringed in 2 broods 1996 in the Höhenkirchen forest.

Christian Fackelmann: Stake posture of juvenile Jay. ("Pfahlstellung" eines juvenilen Eichelhähers Garrulus glandarius)