Jerzy Michalczuk, Monika Michalczuk, Robert Cymbała
Ornis Polonica 2011, 52: 280–287
https://doi.org/10.12657/ornis.2011.4.5
Abstract: Four methods of estimating the number of breeding pairs of the Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus were compared in 2006, 2007 and 2011 on 43 km² of farmland (SE Poland). The study was conducted in an anthropogenic habitat: orchards, tree lines and widely spaced woodlands in built-up areas (about 4.5 km²) which support optimal breeding habitat for the Syrian Woodpecker. During the three years of the study, the mean density was 1.2–2.1 pairs/10 km² for the entire study area and 11.1–20.0 pairs/10 km² for the area of optimal habitat. The approach based on six surveys with the use of playback provided the highest detectability of breeding territories (N=9 territories). The most time-consuming and the least effective was the nest searching method. The main reasons of its low efficiency (N=5 nests found, 56% of pairs detected with the 6KS approach) were the secretive behaviour of this species during the breeding period and significant losses of holes caused by the nesting parasite of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris. The cartographic method and the method of three visits with playback allowed to estimate the number of nesting sites at only seven pairs. Although the last method required a relatively short time spent on field surveys, it showed changes in population size precisely. In mind with this, we recommend the method of three controls with playback for monitoring the number of breeding pairs of the Syrian Woodpecker.
