Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea in 1996 WADDEN SEA ECOSYSTEM No. 10
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Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea in 1996 Results of a total survey in 1996 and of numbers of colony breeding species between 1991 and 1996 WADDEN SEA ECOSYSTEM No. 10 - 2000 1 Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea in 1996 Results of a total survey in 1996 and of numbers of colony breeding species between 1991 and 1996 Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10 - 2000 2 Colophon Publishers Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS), Wilhelmshaven, Germany Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Group (TMAG) Joint Monitoring Group of Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea (JMBB) Authors Lars Maltha Rasmussen, Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser, Møllegade 12, DK – 6280 Højer, Denmark; David M. Fleet, Landesamt für den Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer, Schloßgarten 1, D – 25832 Tönning, Germany; Bernd Hälterlein, Landesamt für den Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer, Schloßgarten 1, D – 25832 Tönning, Germany; Ben J. Koks, SOVON Vogelonderzoek Nederland, Hylkemaheerd 22, NL – 9736 JB Groningen, The Netherlands; Petra Potel, Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer, Virchowstr. 1, D – 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany; Peter Südbeck, Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte, Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Ökologie (NLÖ), Göttingerstr. 14, D – 30449 Hannover, Germany. Cover illustration and graphic support Gerold Lüerßen Cover photo Lars Maltha Rasmussen Language support Tony Fox Marijke Polanski Drawings Niels Knudsen Winfried Daunicht Lay-out CWSS Print Druckerei Plakativ, Kirchhatten, 04482/928080 Paper Cyclus – 100% Recycling Paper Number of copies 1,500 Published 2000 ISSN 0946-896X This publication should be cited as: Rasmussen, L.M., D. M. Fleet, B. Hälterlein, B.J. Koks, P. Potel & P. Südbeck 2000. Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea in 1996 - Results of a total survey in 1996 and of numbers of colony breeding species between 1991 and 1996. Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10. Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Group, Joint Monitoring Group of Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea. Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10 - 2000 3 WADDEN SEA ECOSYSTEM No. 10 Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea in 1996 Results of a total survey in 1996 and of numbers of colony breeding species between 1991 and 1996 Lars Maltha Rasmussen David M. Fleet Bernd Hälterlein Ben J. Koks Petra Potel Peter Südbeck 2000 Common Wadden Sea Secretariat Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Group Joint Monitoring Group of Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10 - 2000 4 Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10 - 2000 5 Editorial Foreword With the publication of this report, it is the sec- rately for each of the concerned 31 species; and ond time that a complete breeding bird survey in thirdly, the discussion chapter, which confirms the the entire Wadden Sea is presented in the frame- outstanding significance of the breeding bird fau- work of the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment na of the entire Wadden Sea. It is shown that the Program (TMAP) by the Joint Monitoring Group breeding bird monitoring provides a mechanism of Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea (JMBB). The for evaluating the nature conservation actions and results of the first complete survey of Breeding achievements in the Wadden Sea. birds of the entire Wadden Sea in 1990 were pub- Considering the huge data set and the limited lished in 1994 as the first issue of the publication available time for a trilateral evaluation and the series ‘Wadden Sea Ecosystems’ edited by the compilation of the report by the members of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS). JMBB, the publication of the results - only four The current report is the tenth issue of the years after the survey - can be seen as a great Wadden Sea Ecosystem series and includes the accomplishment. We would like to thank all those results of the 1996 total survey and the compar- who contributed to the surveys and the report, isons with the first survey five years ago. Further- such as the field workers and organizations in- more, for the colony nesting species, changes in volved, the authors and, in particular, Lars Maltha distribution and abundance are given for the first Rasmussen. Only his continuous work input and time on an annual basis for the period between enormous effort in handling the huge data set, 1991 and 1996. The report reflects the fact that evaluating the data and compiling the numerous the joint breeding bird monitoring program has figures and most of the text, made this report now been operational for a longer period of time, possible. allowing for the analysis of long term-series. The evaluation consists of three main parts: firstly, an overview on the basic information regarding the Bettina Reineking study area and the methods used in the 1996 sur- Common Wadden Sea Secretariat vey; secondly, the results, which are given sepa- June 2000 Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10 - 2000 6 Acknowledgements This report was only possible through the turstyrelsen and Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser of collaborative effort of a large number of field the Danish Miljø- og Energiministeriet, by the workers and volunteers in the three countries. We Landesamt für den Nationalpark Schleswig-Hol- would like to thank all the people who have steinisches Wattenmeer in Schleswig-Holstein, By participated in the surveys of breeding birds since the Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches 1991. A list of the field workers, organizations and Wattenmeer in Germany and by the Directie Nat- institutions involved in the 1996 survey is given uur, Bos, Landschap en Fauna in the Ministerie in Appendix D. van Landbouw, after 1995: IKC Natuurbeheer, Min- We would especially like to thank other mem- isterie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij/ bers of the Joint Monitoring Group of Breeding Expertisecentrum LNV and SOVON Vogelonderzoek Birds (JMBB) in the Wadden Sea: Rob Vogel and Nederland in The Netherlands. The Common Wad- Lieuwe Dijksen, SOVON, The Netherlands. Thanks den Sea Secretariat provided the platform for the to Gerold Lüerßen, Common Wadden Sea Secre- trilateral co-operation involved in this program. tariat, for preparing the landscape map. We would We would especially like to thank Bettina Reine- also like to thank the people who commented on king, the secretary of the JMBB for her support the draft text for their valuable contributions: Otto during the preparation of this report. Overdijk, Eric Stienen, Cor Smit from The Nether- lands and Ole Thorup, Denmark. Tony Fox, NERI, L. M. Rasmussen Denmark made valuable contributions to the text D. M. Fleet and checked the English, and Marijke Polanski, B. Hälterlein Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, corrected the B. J. Koks English language. P. Potel Financial support and manpower for the pro- P. Südbeck gram was provided in Denmark by Skov & Na- May 2000 Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 10 - 2000 7 Contents Summaries ______________________________________________ 9 Summary ____________________________________________________________________ 9 Sammenfatning _____________________________________________________________ 11 Zusammenfassung ___________________________________________________________ 13 Samenvatting _______________________________________________________________ 15 1. Introduction __________________________________________ 17 2. Study Area and Methods _______________________________ 18 Regions and Area Landscape Types _______________________________________________ 18 Bird Species Surveyed _________________________________________________________ 18 Survey Methods _____________________________________________________________ 18 Coverage ___________________________________________________________________ 19 Extensification of Grazing ______________________________________________________ 20 Weather Conditions __________________________________________________________ 20 Recreation__________________________________________________________________ 22 3. Results ______________________________________________ 23 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo ____________________________________________ 24 Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia ____________________________________________ 26 Shelduck Tadorna tadorna ______________________________________________________ 28 Common Eider Somateria mollissima _____________________________________________ 30 Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator __________________________________________ 32 Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus _____________________________________________________ 34 Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus ____________________________________________ 36 Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta ___________________________________________________ 39 Great Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula __________________________________________ 41 Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus ___________________________________________ 44 Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus ______________________________________________ 47 Dunlin Calidris alpina shinzii ____________________________________________________ 49 Ruff Philomachus pugnax ______________________________________________________ 52 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago ______________________________________________ 55 Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa _______________________________________________ 57 Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata ______________________________________________ 59 Common Redshank Tringa totanus _______________________________________________ 61 Turnstone Arenaria interpres ____________________________________________________ 64 Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus _________________________________________ 65