Slovak Raptor Journal 2011, 5: 121–126. DOI: 10.2478/v10262-012-0058-7. © Raptor Protection of Slovakia (RPS) The abundance of the little owl (Athene noctua) in Podunajská rovina lowland in 2009 and 2010 Početnosť kuvika obyčajného (Athene noctua) na Podunajskej rovine v rokoch 2009 a 2010 Martin DOBRÝ Abstract: This paper outlines the results of the mapping of the little owl and its abundance in selected areas in Podunajská rovina lowland, Slovakia, in 2009 and 2010. From a total area of 3,500 km2, 11.6% was monitored and 26 occupied localities identified. Average abundance was 0.6 occupied localities per 10 km2. Abstakt: Práca informuje o výsledkoch mapovania výskytu kuvika obyčajného na území vybraných častí Podunajskej roviny v rokoch 2009 a 2010. Z celkovej rozlohy Podunajskej roviny (3500 km2) bola zmapovaná plocha približne 11,6 %, kde bolo zistených 26 obsadených lokalít. Priemerná abundancia bola 0,6 obsadených lokalít na 10 km2. Key words: population density, distribution, Slovakia. Martin Dobrý, Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Kuklovská 5, SK–841 04 Bratislava 4, Slovakia. E-mail:
[email protected]. Acknowledgement: I thank Ivan Dobrý, Zuzana Kesanová, Roman Kormoši and Zoltán Vozák for their help with the field work. Special thanks go to Marcel Uhrin for his encouragement. The study was supported by the grant scheme of the Small Member Projects 2010 of the Raptor Protection of Slovakia and by the European Regional Development Fund within the Slovak-Austrian cross-border cooperation programme 2007–2013 (project CORO-SKAT N00103). Introduction and strengthen populations within Slovakia, are ongoing. Populations of the little owl in Central Europe have de- The most common causes of the decline include the be creased significantly over the last 50 years, much more loss or unavailability of trophic sources, loss of breeding so than for any other owl species (Glutz von Blothzheim and day roosting sites, direct human disturbance at nests, & Bauer 1994).