45

Report on nestingof the Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropusin central Europe

Pavel Zwddrek

Zwd•rek,P. 1999.Report on nesting of theGreen Sandpiper Tringa ochropus in centralEurope. WaderStudy Group Bull. 89:45 - 49

Pavel Zwddrek,Labskd kotlina 971,500 02 Hradec Krdlov•, CzechRepublic

The CzechRepublic is a smallcountry in centralEurope. Of 13 nestingwader species recorded, five occuronly irregularly or rarely. Breedinghabitat for speciessuch as Northern LapwingVanellus vanellus, Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosa, EurasianCurlew Numeniusarquata and Common SnipeGallinago gallinago has deteriorated during the lastfew decadesdue to agriculturalintensification. However, Green SandpipersTringa ochropus, which nest in forestedareas 150-700m above sea level, still have areas of suitable breedinghabitat.

The CzechRepublic lies closeto the south-westernlimits of the distributionof the speciesin Europe. Someindividuals overwinterat waterbodiesthat have not frozenover (Figure 1). At theend of March andbeginning of April, thebirds return from theirwintering grounds. Until thebeginning of May, birdsmigrate through the CzechRepublic to morenortherly breedinggrounds. During this period, local residents perform flightdisplays above the forest breeding and wetland feeding territories.Some breeding grounds resemble those in northern Europe(Figure 2) but somebirds nest in agriculturalareas.

The GreenSandpiper does not build its own nest. The female laysher eggs in the abandonednests of otherbirds, mostly thrushes( SongThrush Turdus philomelos, Blackbird T. merula,Mistle Thrush T. viscivorus)and crows (Jay Garrulus glandarius,Carrion Crow Corvuscorone) (Figures 3 & 4). Usuallyduring the second day afterhatching the chicks jump to theground from thenest (Figure 5). The parentslead them throughthe forest to a feedingterritory, which is usuallyon the bankof a small forestbrook (Figure6) or on the shoresof a shallowpond covered with thickvegetation, most often reed-maceTypha sp. (Figure 7). The chicksrespond to the warningcalls of theparents by takingcover (Figure 8). After severaldays, the femaleleaves the family andthe young remainin thecare of themale until theybecome independent. Youngbirds are ableto fly for shortdistances at the ageof 18 to 20 days(Figure 9). Immediatelyafter breeding, the adult GreenSandpipers moult their flight andtail featherson their renestingsites (settling ponds of sugarfactories and similar locations).In centralEurope, autumn migration of northern populationspeaks in August. Figure 1: GreenSandpiper wintering site, east Bohemia. 46

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Figure 4: A sitewhere a pair of GreenSandpipers successfully bred in an old CarrionCrow's nest 20.5m high in a sprucetree. 48

Figure5: A 20-hour-oldchick shortly after jumping from the nest

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