Andrzej Węgrzynowicz, Dawid Sikora
Ornis Polonica 2016, 57: 187–203
https://doi.org/10.12657/ornis.2016.3.1
Abstract: In 2010–2012 counts of birds were carried out at the airport in Modlin (central Poland). In 2010, when the airport was used to a small degree, a total of 58 breeding species were found there at the average density of 204–219 pairs/km2. The Skylark Alauda arvensis was the most numerous species (42% of the assemblage); its density at the airport was the highest ever recorded in Poland. Another dominant species was the Sand Martin Riparia riparia. A few species of high conservation priority – the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, Woodlark Lullula arborea and Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria – reached high densities. After significant environmental changes related to the reconstruction of the airport, numbers of several species, including the described above, have declined considerably. Moreover, a total of 55 non-breeding species were recorded during three years of the study. Within this group gulls, birds of prey, crows and starlings were particularly numerous. The impact of intensification of airport management on the local avifauna is discussed, as well as possible conflicts between air traffic and birds.
Keywords: airports, birds of airports, population changes
