Grzegorz Neubauer, Arkadiusz Sikora
Ornis Polonica 2016, 57: 169–186
https://doi.org/10.12657/ornis.2016.3.0
Abstract: The paper presents density and abundance estimates of the Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva in the southern part of Tricity Forest called Oliva Forest. Tricity Forest is a 210 km2 complex bordering the Tricity agglomeration (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), with high contribution of the Beech Fagus sylvatica. The point-count data were collected according to the robust design protocol: the two 5-min counts were performed on the same day during both the first (12–16 May 2015), and the second (18–22 May 2015) survey in each of 78 observation points. Density was estimated with the hierarchical binomial N-mixture models, accounting for both temporary emigration and imperfect detection. Availability was estimated at 0.44 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.22–0.69). Detection probability of a single, singing male Red-breasted Flycatcher during a single, 5-min count was best characterized as constant at 0.65 (95% CI: 0.53–0.77). Density was 0.72 male/10 ha of forest (95% CI: 0.53–0.95). The total population size in the Oliva Forest was estimated at 320 males (95% CI: 232–419), while in the whole complex of the Tricity Forest – 1383 males (95% CI: 1001–1810). The Tricity Forest represents the second most important refugee for the Red-breasted Flycatcher in Poland, supporting ca 3.2% of the national population. For this reason, special protection area (SPA) within the Natura 2000 network should be established here. The unique value of the Tricity Forest reported for other groups of organisms including plants, invertebrates, and fungi, supports this conception.
Keywords: density, Ficedula parva, protection, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Special Protection Area, Tricity Forest
