The Breeding Population of Eurasian Dotterel <I>Charadrius Morinellus</I> in Spain

The breeding population of Eurasian Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Spain

Ricard Gutierrez,Antoni Carulla,Xavier Parellada,Diego Garcfa - FerrY, FrancescXavier Santaeufernia,Jordi Figuerola, Oriol Muntan & Francisco Cerd.

Gutierrez,R., Carulla,A., Parellada,X., Garcia-FerrY,D., Santaeufemia,F.X., Figuerola,J., Muntan•, O. & Cerda, F. 1996. The breedingpopulation of Eurasian DotterelCharaddus morinellus•n Spain• Wader Study Group Bull. 80: 47-49. A partialcensus was carriedout in 1994 to confirmthe statusof EurasianDotterel in alpine areas of CatalonianPyrenees (NE Spain). Only one of the three areas, near the Andorranand Frenchfrontiers, gave positiveresults, with 2-4 pairs and two nests beingfound at altitudesof 2580 m and 2720 m. The minimumestimate for the wholeof the area was 2-15 pairs. The currentdistribution coincides with that knownpreviously from the XVlII centuryand is connectedwith that of Frenchand suspectedAndorran populations. The speciesbreeds on stony high plateauxwith some wet areas where they feed. Relief and thus, lack of suitable habitats,together with soiltype influencinglikelihood of floodingcould be factorsdetermining distribution.

Gutierrez,R. & Santaeufemia,F.X., ReservesNaturals Delta de/Uobregat,Departament d,Agricultura,Ramaderia i Pesca, Gran •a de les Corts Catalanes, 612-614 2n, E-08007 Barcelona,Spain. Carulla,A., Ca La Madeta,Cam[ de Tall(•s/n, Tall(•,E-25721 Bellverde Cerdanya,Spain. Parellada, X., Garcia-FerrY, D., Servel de Protecci(•i Gesti(• de la Fauna, D.G. Medi Natural, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 612-614 2n, E-08007 Barcelona,Spain. Figuerola,J. Departamentde BiologiaAnimal (Vertebrats), Universitatde Barcelona,Av. Diagonal,625, E-08028 Barcelona,Spain. Muntan•, 0o, JacintVerdaguer, 14 4rt 1-a, E-08902 L'Hospitaletde Uobregat,Spainø Cerd•, F., Av. Uibertat,24 2on 3•-,E-08820 El Prat de Uobregat,Spain.

INTRODUCTION initiative. On the other hand, Muntaneret al. (1983) and Martinez-Vilalta(1985), consideredthe species as a The Eurasian Dotterel Charadfius morinellus breeds in N breedingbird in Spain, with an estimatedbreeding continentalEurope and Asian Russia in arctic, coastal and populationof 1-10 pairs. They based their assertationon inlandtundra habitat, from Scandinavia east to the Bering the fact that the Lescouret data were obtained close to the Sea, occupyingalso the Scottish Highlands(Cramp & Spanishfrontier, however no confirmedbreeding records Simmons 1983). South of its main strongholdsit breeds have existed until now• in isolated,high altitudemountain ranges, having been reportedfrom northernEngland and southernScotland To clarifythe status of the Pyrenean Spanishpopulation, (Ogilvie& RBBP 1994), the Alps (Schifferliet al. 1980; a census coveringall the areas where previousrecords Sackl 1993), the Appenines, the Carpats - Abruzzos area existedand with apparently suitable habitat in the eastern (Cramp & Simmons 1983) and the eastern Pyrenees Pyrenees(Catalonia, Spain) was plannedand undertaken (Lescouret& Genard 1982; Muntaneret aL 1983; Martinez in 1994. This paper reportsthe results of the census and -Viialta 1985). Dotterel has exceptionallybred irregularly commentson the distributionof the speciesin the area. in temperate lowlandsin Dutch polders(SOVON 1987).

In the Pyrenees,it has been only provedbreeding on the METHODS eastern French side (Lescouret& Genard 1982), while breedingis still not confirmedin Andorra(Crozier 1993). Suitablenesting areas were surveyedduring July and On the Spanishside of the Pyreneesthe speciesis well August1994 by means of transectswalked by co- knownin certainareas evenhaving a local'popular name ordinatedgroups of observerscovering most of the area, "Perdiurasca" known from at leastthe XVIII century as it is undertakenfor Ptarmigan Lagopusmutus (Zamora in Maluquer 1992; Martinez-Vilalta1983). After censuses(see Telleda (1986) for a general review). Once the finding of Lescouret & Genard in France in 1980, two a pair was discovered, male and female were watched to specificcensuses were carriedout in the Spanishside of establishtheir territory. Nest sites were located by Pyrenees in June 1983 and July 1991 to determine followingone of the individualsreturning to the nest. The Dotterelstatus, althoughthe bad weather frustratedthis territorycovered was where suspectedbreeding data

47 alreadyexisted (see Figure1), beingmost of alpine RESULTS plateaux>2300 m high in the easternPyrenees. We estimatedthe extentof Dotterelbreeding areas usinga Breedingwas confirmedfor only one of the censused digitalplanimeter to calculatethe area of all the alpine areas, that of the Cerdanya peaks (Area C), where 2-4 plateauxfrom a 1: 50 000 scale map. pairswere found (Table 1). The habitatwhere the pairs have beenfound is a stonygranitic alpine plateau of c. The estimate of breedingpopulation size has been 245 ha, in an ancientglacial erosion level (GOmez 1979) obtainedby extrapolatingthe resultsof the censusover with alpine meadows(Hieracio-Festucetum airoidis) and the potentialbreeding areas (see Table 1 for its extent) some wet areas called locally"molleres" (Caricion nigrae). where former observations exist.

Table 1, Censused areas and results.

Area Extentof suitable Numberof pairs Estimated Existanceof previousrecords habitat counted number of pairs duringthe breedingseason

A Vallter-PuigmaloToses 5 175 ha 0 0-5 Yes (France) (Lescouret& Genard 1982)

B Cadi-Moixer6 1 978 ha 0 - No

C Cerdanyapeaks 5 640 ha 2-4 2-10 Yes (Maluquer1992)

Total 12 793 ha 2-4 2-15

FRANCE

Figure1. Breedingdistribution of EurasianDotterel Charadrius morinellus in SpanishPyrenees: censused areas (solid). A: Vallter- Puigmal- Toses(possible). B: Cadi - Moixer6.C: Cerdanya(confirmed). Shaded areas show the prolongationof searchedalpine plateaux within France and Andorra.

Observationsof nestingbirds were made both in the slopeof the plateau. At this last locality,J.L. Copeteand centralzone of the plateau(7-10 ø steep)and on its slopes R. Marin• (pers. comm.) found a nest on 24 July (10-30ø steep), all of them southwardsorientated. A nest containingthree eggs beingincubated by the male. These underconstruction was foundon 1 July at an altitudeof two nestsare the first to be found in the Spanish 2720 m. A male was diggingin a nest of 10 cm diameter Pyrenees. The breedingsuccess of these two nests could and with 3 cm depth,while anothermale and a female not be established as we were unable to relocate them on were in the neighbourhood.Another lone bird was seen successivevisits. Other possiblebreeding places within nearbywhile yet anotherpair was foundon the same the area that did not give positiveresults were the mountainat 2580 m on the same day, on the southern Engorgslake, where two adultshad beenseen in July

48 1992 (T. Mallorqu[,pers. comm.)and at least one in July ACKN OWLEDG EM ENTS 1993 (A. del Riu, pers. comm.). Also no positiveresults were obtained from searchingin the vicinity peaks within Besidesthe authors,the followingobservers have area A nor in the rest of the B and C areas although some collaboratedin the censuses:O. Arribas,O. Alamany, of them have been periodicallyvisited in search of J. Jordana, J.A. Mutioz, J. Pasques,J i J. Marsol, F i PtarmiganLagopus mutus since 1967. The westernpart J. Bonada, V. Tor, J. Campi, I. Navarro, D. Olivera, of area "A"(PuigmaI-Toses) was not coveredso J. Gispert, R. Martinez, A. Ricard and the rangersof the satisfactorilyhowever, and it is possiblethat pairs could Cerdanya and RipcliPs. have bred there undetected, as the French data obtained by Lescouret& Genard (1982) came from a nearby sector. REFERENCES

Cramp,S. & Simmons,K.E.L. (Eds.) 1983. Handbookof the Birds DISCUSSION of Europe,the MiddleEast and NorthAffica: the birdsof the WesternPalearctic. Vol. 3. OxfordUniversity Press. Our resultsindicate that EurasianDotterel breed regularly Crozier,J. 1993. Dotterel(Charadrius rnorinellus). European news. in a small area in the Eastern Spanish and French British Birds 86: 40. Pyrenees. Galbraith,H., Murray,S., Duncan,K., Smith,R., Whitfield,D.P., The distribution in the area is similar to that described in Thompson,D.B.A. 1993. Diet and habitatuse of Dotterel Charadriusmorinellus in Scotland.Ibis 135 (2): 148-155. the XVIII century(Maluquer 1992), suggestingthat this shouldnot be consideredas a recentlyestablished GOmezOrtiz, A. 1979. Restesde I'acci(•glacial i periglaciala la population.The existanceof a local name givento the Cerdanya. Muntanya704. Vol. 78: species("Perdiu rasca") supports the historicalpresence Lescouret,F. & Genard,M. 1982. Premierenidification prouv•e du of Dotterelin the studyarea. The area where the species Pluvierguignard Eudromias morinellus dans les Pyrenees has been found is closeto breedinggrounds in France franc•aises.L'Oiseaux et la RFO 52: 367. and those suspectedin Andorra,suggesting that birds breedingin the three countriesbelong to the same linked Maluquer,J. 1992. Noficiade la faunade Catalunyai d'Andorraal finaldel segleXVIII. Butil.Cat. Inst.Nat., 60. Secc.Zool., 9' population. 5-21.

It is also interestingto note that neither in the XVlll Martinez-Vilalta,A. 1985. Breedingwaders of the IberianPeninsula. WaderStudy Group Bull. 45: 35-36. century,nor now, has the speciesbeen recordedduring the breedingseason in the centraland western Pyrenees. Muntaner,J., Ferrer, X. & Martinez-vilaita,A. 1983. Atlas desIs Observationsin those areas have only been made in ocellsnidificants de Catalunyai Andorra. Ketr•s Eds. Augustto September,when migrantbirds occur Barcelona. (Pedrocchi& Dominguez1990). Ogilvie,M. & Rare BreedingBirds Panel. 1994. Rare breedingbirds in the UnitedKingdom in 1991. BritishBirds 87: 366-393. The distributionof Dotterelcould be constrainedby the Pedrocchi,V. & Dominguez,B. 1990. Observaci(•nde Chorlito abrupt relief of these mountains. Dotterelare confinedto Carambolo(Eudrornias rnorinellus) en el PirineoAragon,s. the scarce plain alpine plateauxavailable, a habitat mainly Lucas Mallada 2:313-314. restrictedto the eastern Pyrenees. Flat alpine plateaux are almost absent in the Pyreneeswest of Andorra. Sackl, P. 1993. A review of the current situationof Dotterel However,it remains a possibilitythat some breedingpairs Eudromiasmot•nellus in the centralAlps of Austria. Wader occur in small numbersin isolatedlocalities through the Study GroupBull. 71: 39-40. central Pyrenees. Factors such as soil type or flooding Schifferli,A., Geroudet, P. & Winkler, R. 1980. Atlas des oiseaux (Watson 1989; Galbraith et al. 1993) could also determine nicheursde Suisse. Sempach. the distributionof Dotterel in the Pyrenees. SOVON 1987. Atlasvan der NederlandseVogels. Amsterdam. Teller[a,J.L. 1986. Manualpara el censode los vertebrados terrestres. Ed. Ralces. Madrid.

Watson,A. 1989. Dotterelpopulations and spacing on three Scottish areas in 1967-86. Ornis Fennica 66: 85-99.