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Home , Bay of Puck, Biebrza, Bzura, Hel Peninsula, Jamno (lake), Narew

29

BREEDING WADERS IN

by Jadwiga Gromadzka, Tadeusz Stawarczyk and Ludwik Tomialojc

The main breeding areas of waders in Poland are 2. Baltic coast between •ielno and . some extensive marshes in the east, hundreds of Gotski (1976) published bird counts for this km of riversides or river valleys, and some area of ca. 580 km2, which includes 5 coastal coastal areas. This paper lists areas of lakes. Several pairs of Dunlin breed on the importancefor waders, which were found and/or southern coast of JamnoLake (W. Gotski peps. described duping 1970s and 1980s. Our knowledge comm.). This breeding site has been knownsince of such sites . has imprbved greatly in recent the 19th century. times and we do not expect to discover new areas equivalent to our first-class sites like 5. Slowinski National park. In its centre are the Bieb•za Marshes, the Narewvalley, or the. two large coastal lakes= Lebsko (about 7140 ha) middle course of the river in the future. and Gardno(about 2468 ha), separated from the However, several sites of regional or local sea by a chain of sand dunes. Around the lakes importancemay remain to be discovered. and dunes are meadows,pastures and somepeat bogs that support several species of breeding We summarizealso the status of each breeding waders (Bednorz 1985). The place was knownin wader species, and quantitative data,- when the past as a breeding site of Dunlins, but known, are given in Table 1. Much of the because grazing ceased a• the site in 1975, information that we summarize here is from the they probably do not breed there now. book P•a• ' PoIs• (Birds of Poland) by L. TomiaIojc (1972, second edition in press). 4- Bielawskie Bloto (= Biela•skie Bog). These are coastal raised bogs of the Atlantic type, covering an area of about 10 km =. Although the AREAS OF IMPORTANCE TO WADERS area has been much destroyed by human activity, it still remains unique. Apart from common An annotated list of areas is given below. The species it contains the only breeding site of numbers refer to those in Figu•re 1, which sh,ows the Wood Sandpiper Tr•ga glareo[a in Polan d the location of places mentioned in the text (Gromadzki in press). and in Table 1. 5. . A narrow sandy p•ninsula north o• Odynia, separating the from the open sea. At its base, near Wladyslawowo, there are coastal meadows, •hich are a former breeding site of some waders including Dunlins. No• waders gather there and also'in the local sewage farm near mainly duping migration. Some single pairs of Oystercatchers breed there (Krol in press a).

6. mouth. The small river Reda flo•s into the Bay of Puck• and at its mouth forms a very wide vaI'Iey. On the left side of the mouth there is a large (c- 100 ha) pasture, with .the highest concentration of breeding Dunlins in the country (Krol 1982, Oromadzka 1985, Krol in press b). 1-2 pairs of Oystercatchers regularly breed there. The area is also a very good site for catching waders during the autumn migration. On' the right side of the 'river mouth, 'there is a g'razed area of c. 50 ha in size where, amongst several wader species, some pairs of Dunlin and 2 pairs of Oystercatche• breed, too (Krol in press •).

7- mouth.. There are sandy alluvia! ridges, sandy peninsulas an• islands surrounded by shailo• off-shore •atees. Deposition processes and storm water movements lead to a continual transformation of this area. Only a Figure 1• Breeding sites of waders in Poland. few Oystercatchers breed there, •and also a fe• Site numbers are those given in the text pairs of Ringed Plover Char•Er{us h{ae{cu[a and and in Table 1. Little Ringed Plover Char•r•us dub•us. During autumn migration flocks of waders regularly concentrate in this area and they' have. been 1. Coastal meadows near Swinou•s.cie and on ringed there for several years (Gromadzka •',•in, Island. Bednorz (1972) proposed' to 1981). es•ab!ish a nature reserve (42 ha) and gave notes on the numbersof birds in the eastern 8. Kostrz•n Retention Reservoir. Flood land of par• of the Row peninsula ( Island). the Warta river at its 5unction to the Odra General characteristics of habitat and breeding river. Numerous old drainage canals• shallow •aders in the whole area are described by Krol lakes, meadowsand pastures make this area of (in press a). Three very rare breeding species special importance to waterfowl and to some for Poland breed here: Dunlin C•[• •[• waders. Many breeding waders beIongir, g to 7 schi•zgg, Ruff Philomachos pughax and species were found in the area 50 km= covered Oystercatcher Haematopus os•ralegus (3akuczun by observations (Nowysz and Wesolowski. 1972). 1980). Slonsk Nature Reserve has been established on I o

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4166 ha of the area• being one of the most 198d) have recorded nesting by 156 bird species 'important waterfowl reserves in the country (see Table I for detail• of waders}. This is (Ma•ewski 1985). Du•ing autumn migration large the only breeding place in Central of flocks of waders concentrate there. the Jack Snipe œym•ocryp•e$ m•m•, as well as biggest breeding concentration of the Great 9. No•ec valley. A wide flat river valley with Snipe •o[[•no•o me•.o and Ruff. Very large extensive meadows and some fish ponds. In the breeding populations of Snipe, Black-tailed 1970s• ornithological observations •ere carried Godwits and Redshanks occur there. It is also out in the middle section of the valley, over the only recent inland breeding site of Dunlins an area of 150-140 km = of drained meadows and in Poland. on four comple•es of ponds {Nowysz and Wesol'o•ski 1975). The middle and lower sections 17. Leczna-Wlodawa' Lake District. An area of of the valley are considered to be the most c. 1200 km= of which 20• were peatbogs, was important region for breeding Curlews investigated (Dyrcz e• •. 19T5). It includes •r•a•a in Poland (Bednorz, after Tomialojc in 68 natural lakes and some groups of fish-ponds. press). To what extent the ornithological data are valid now is not known, for large parts of the 10. Flooded meadows in the Warta valley near peat bogs have been reclaimed in recent years. Poznan. Eight years of detailed studies on an area of 182 ha of this valley were described by 18. The. upper Vistula valley and the Bednorz {1976). Breeding densities of several Goczalkowice Reservoir. The largest rservoir waders are given. The area has subsequently (c. 52 km=), and a large area of fish-ponds, in been drained and the habitat is now changed. the Vistula valley. This is the most important area for breeding Redshanks and Black-tailed 11. Flooded •astures in the middle Warta Godwits in southern Poland. valley. Three years of studies were carried out in an isolated area of 260 ha pastures by 19. Bu• Valley. About •5 km of the rive• Winiecki {1985). The section of the v•lley from ,with c. 200 km• of starrounding land, the town of Kolo to the river junction between Malkinia and Wolka, was studied in 1985 is an important breeding area for Black-tailed and 198• by S. Chmielewski (in litt.) and B. Godwits L•mos• •mos• and Redshank T• Pryzstupa (pets. comm•). There are many tot•us {Lewartowski and Chylarecki, after attractive places for breeding waders, Tomialojc in press). especially in the surrounding water meadows and pastures, some of which have been drained. 12- Kramsk Marshes. The birds of this big Other habitats of importance for breeding complex of peatbogs, meadows and pastures near wader• are flat sandy beachesi and old r. iver have been described by Nawrocki et al. beds w!•ere the water course has changed• {1985•- Unfortunately this area has also been Breeding Ringed Plovers, Little Ringed plovers partly reclaimed in recent years. and Black-tailed Godwits were numerous. Near the village of Prostyn there were up to 2• 15. valley. A marshy river valley displaying male Great Snipe (S. Chmielewski in between Leczyca and Lowicz with meadows and litt.); there were also a few displaying males pastures. One of the largest breeding sites of near- Tonkiele {B. Pryzstupa pers. comm.). Two the Black-tailed Oodwit, Redshank and Ruff breeding sites, each with a single pa•r-, of (Markowski and Wojciechowski in pPess). Stone Curlews, remain near the villages of Rybaki and Molozew. Dunlins probably b,reed near ld. Islands in the middle Vistula course. An Molozew (B. Pryzstupa peps. comm.}. unchannelled river section about •00 km long• from the junction of the river and Vistula 20. Linwiec valley. Observations were made in to the town of Plock was studied, and 5 pairs 1901, 1982 and 198d over the whole length of of Stone Curlews Bu•h•s oed•c•em•s (an the river valley {c •0 km=) by M. Rzepala {in extremely scarce• breeder. in Poland) were litt.). The river channel is regulated in some estimated to breed there. A significant parts only, but the water meadows have mostly percentage of the Polish breeding population of been drained. The most numerous breeding waders Ringed Plovers and Little Ringed Plovers was are Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwits and Snipe. found there (Wesolowski et al. 198d). BREEDING SPECIES OF WADERS 15. valley. The river Narew flows through relatively less transformed regions of Below are some brief comments on the abundance Poland and is inhabitat by numerous birds that and distribution of breeding waders in Poland. are scarce, or very scarce, in other parts of Numbers of breeding pairs, where these are the country. Unfortunately there a•e projects known, are given in the Table 1. Area numbers to regulate the river flow and work has already are those listed above, and scientific names begun. Ornithological observations were made, are listed in Table 1- during a canoe trip in 1975, along the river sides including 51 km= of pastures, fallows and Oystercatcher. An extremely scarce breeding dunes. 1-2 pairs of Stone Curlew bred near species, with not more than 10 pairs in Poland. Czartoria {Domaszewicz and Lewartowski A few pairs breed in areas 1, 5, 6 and 7 The marshland in the middle and upper part of (E.Krol pets. comm.). Inland only a single pair the valley contains a good number of Ruff and has been breeding since 1982 in the middle very high numbers of Snipe ••go Vistula near Kazimierz Dolny (Tomialo•c in Black-tailed' Godwits• Curlews and Redshanks press). {Lewartowski and Pugacewicz after Tomialojc in press). Stone Curlew. Formerly widespr-ead throught the country, but now on the verge of extinction. 16- Marshes. These are the largest 5-5 pairs breed in the middle Vistula section fens in Central Europe (c. 100 km=) that have {Wesolowski e• •. 198•), c 5 pairs in the Bug been preserved in their natural state. They are valley (Tomialojc in press), and 1-2 pairs in the overflow land or'the Biebrza river and are the Narew valley {Domaszewicz and Lewartowski very important as breeding• resting and feeding 1975). places for many wader and waterfowl species during their breeding and migration time. Little Rinqed Plover. Scarce breeder in the Studi•s carried out by Dyrcz e• •. (19T2, lowlands and highlands of the whole country 1000-1500 pairs}. Somewhat more numerous only Black-tailed Go•it. Breeds in lowlands of the in valleys of big rivers, e.g. at least whole country, but distributed unevenly. pairs in the middle Vistula section Comparatively scarce in sour'h-western and (Wesolowski et al. 1984), c. 60-70 pairs each north-western Poland. M•st numerous in swampy on the Bug, Narew and in the middle and lower valleys of big ri¾'•G• ½. 1000 pairs breed in Warta rivers (Tomialojc in press). In the the Biebrza MarsheS• Bi•ilar numbers along province of Silesia numbers are estimated at Narew and Bzura r•v• (Dyrcz et •. 1984, 250-500 pairs; there Little Ringed Plover have Lewartowski and Pugacewicz, after Tomialo•c in bred also on the disused industrial areas of press, Markowski and Wojclechowski in press), the Upper Silesian mœning district. and c. 500 pairs in the middle Warta section (Winieck• 1982, Lewartowski and Chylarecki Ringed Plover. Regularly breeds on the coast after Tomlalojc in press)ß The number for the and along big rivers, occasionally also on whole country is estimated at more than 7000 lakes and fish-ponds. Tomialojc (in press) pairs (Tomialo•c in press). gives an estimatio• of 550-400 pairs for the whole country. It is most numerous as a Curlew. A• total of about 400 pairs is reported breeding species on the sea coast (c. 150 for the country by Tomialojc (in press). Most pairs), in the midd•le Vistula (c. 60 pairs), important breeding sites are the Notre valley and in the middle•Warta and Bug (c. 50 pairs (c. 150 pairs (Bednorz after Tomialojc in each). press)), the Biebrza Marshes (50-75 pairs (Dyrcz et •. 1984)) and Leczna-Wlodawa Lake Lapwing. Fairly •umerous throughout the country Districts (55-40 pairs (Dyrcz et •l. 1975)). In except in the mountains. Very locally numerous some provinces, •.g. in Silesia and on the in river valle•s,,e.g. in the Biebrza Marshes Baltic coast in• , there has been a estimated at •00=2000 pairs (Dyrcz e• a•. conspicuous decline in the numbers recorded (Gotski 1976, Bednorz 1985). 1984)( ednorz,and afterover •om•alojc1•0 pairs in inpress the)Notre valley Redshank. Breeding in the whole lowland, but in Dunlin. •-100 pai r• of ec•z• race Dunlins some regions clearly decreasing in number. breed in Poland •Gromadzka 1985). They are There is a total of 1100-1400 pairs in Poland distributed mainly along the coast, With the (Tomialo•c in press). It is most numerous in greatest concentration (c. 60 pairs) in the the Biebrza Marshes and in the Narew valley (c. Reda mouth {Kro1 in press b}. Several pairs 200 •airs in each), and also in the middle breed also inland in the Bierbrza Marshes courses of Warta and rivers, and in (Dyrcz e• • 1984) and probably a single pair southern Poland in the valley of the upper at the Bug •iver (B.Przystupa peps. comm.). Vistula and around the Goczalkowice Reservoir.

Ruff. Forme•!y,**widespread in the most of Wood Sandpiper. Formerly bred almost throughout lowlands. No•*•p ¾ery rare breeding species in the whole •lowlands, but breeding was not northern 'Poland. Breeding pairs vary yearly. confirmed after 1945 for a long time. Former Females 6ave•"been estimated recently at 550-400 breeding sites of Wolin Island, Lebsko Lake, for the whole c•untry (Tomialo3c in press)- The Gorki Wschodnie near Gdansk and Biebrza Marshes most important breeding sites are Bierbrza appear to be deserted now (Tomialojc 1972). Marshes (200-500 •females (Dyrcz e• al. 1984)) However, since 1981 breeding birds have been and the valleys of the middle Narew, the middle seen in each year on the Bielawskie Bog: Warta and Bzura '(c. 50 females in each displaying birds, nest with eggs and juveniles (Lewartowski and Pugacewicz after Tomialojc in recorded (M. Gromadski peps- comm.). It i• press, Winiecki 1982, Markowski and estimated that several pairs of Wood Sandpiper Wolciechowski in press)). breed there. Jack Snipe. B•ed sporadically during the 19th Green Sandpiper. Occurs in the whole lowlands century in the Lublin province, i• Pomerania, but scarce almost everywhere. However in some and probably in Silesia (Tomialojc 1972)- Now regions of northern and eastern Poland it still extremely rare and a few pairs only recorded as remains fairly numerous (e.g- in Bialowieza breeding in the Bierbrza Marshes (Dyrcz e• Forest, Augustow Forest, Biebrza Marshes, Lublin Province). In western Poland there is a marked decrease in number (Tomialojc in press). Snipe. A rather scarce breeding species in southern and central Poland, while locally Common Sandpiper. Widespread but scarce still quite numerous in northern and eastern breeding species in the whole country. Most parts of the country, e.go in valleys of numerous in Pomerania, while on big rivers it Biebrza and Narew (Dyrcz e• •. 1984, is a scarce breeding species. Extremely rare in Domaszewicz and Le•artowski 1975). In many Silesia (Tomialojc in press). localities a rapid decrease has been observed.

Great Snipe. In the 19th century widespread but ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS scarce in the whole country. Now its population is estimated ß at 550-600 displaying birds We are most grateful to Kees Rappoldt and Nick (Tomialojc in press), of which as many as 570 Davidson for. their helpful suggestions in were recorded in the Biebrza Marshes (Dyrcz preparing this paper. •l. 1984). Other.important breeding sites are in t•e middle Narew and Bug rivers and in the Lublin province. Very rarely breeds in central REFERENCES Poland along middle Warta. Now extinct in other parts of the country. Most of the publications listed below refer to a specific area in the list above. They are mainly in Polish, with summaries only in wooccock. W•despread but scarce breeding English. The address of the authors of these species both in the lowlands, and in lower publications are given below the reference mountains at elevations up to 1000 m above sea list. level. More numerous locally in some swampy forests of northern and eastern Poland. Bednorz,J. 1972. W sprawie ochrony ptakow n'a polwyspie Row na wysvie Wolin. [Notes on the protection of birds on the Row Kostrzynskiego zbiornika retencyjnego i peninsula of the Wolin Island.] Ch•onmy okolic w sezonie legowym. [The birds' of przyr. o•cz. 28(4): 12-20. Kostrzyn retention reservoir and its Bednorz,J. 1976. Ptaki wodne i blotne environs in the breeding season.] Not. zagospodarowanych lak zalewowych w dolinie przyr. 6(8): 4-51. Warty kolo Poznania. [Water- and Nowysz.W. & Wesolowski,T. 1975. Materialy do wading-birds of former flooded meadows in awifauny doliny Noteel. [Contribution to a valley of the Warta River near Poznan.] the avifauna of Notre river valley.] Mot. Pt. Un•. A.M. Poznan, set. zool. 5: 1-77. przyr. 7(10): 57-48. Bednorz,J. 1985. Awifauna Slow(risk(ego Parku Tomialojc,L. 1972. Ptaki Polski. Wykaz gatunkow Narodowego z uwzglednieniem stosunkow i rozmieszczenie. [Birds of Poland. A list ilosciowych. [Avifauna of Slow(risk( of species and their dist.ribution.] National Park with the consideration of Warszawa. quantitative relations.] Prate Kom. B•ol. Tomialojc,L. in press. Ptaki Polski. PTPM .65: 1-101. Rozmieszczenie i liczebnosc. [Birds of Domaszewicz,A. & Lewartowski,Z. 1975. Poland. Their distribution and abundance. Obserwacje awifauny rzeki Narwi i jej 2nd edition.] doliny. [Observations on the avifauna of Wesolowski,T., Olazewska,E., Olazewski,L., Narew River and its valley.] Motø przyrø Nawrocka,B.,. Nawrocki,P. & Okonska,•. 7, 10: 5-56. 1984. Rozmieszczenie i liczebnosc ptakow Dyrcz,A., Okulewicz,•., Tomialojc,L. & sie•kowatych, mew i rybitw gniazdujacych Witkowski,J. 1972. Ptaki Bagien na wyspach Wisly srodkowej. [Distribution Biebrzanskich i okolic w okresie' legowym. and numbers of waders, gulls and terns [Breeding avifauna of the Biebrza Marshes nesting in the middle course of Vistula.] and adjacent territories.] Acta orn. 15: Acta orn. 20: 159-185. 545-422. Winiecki,A. 1985. Ekologia i fenologia ptakow Dyrcz,A., Okulewicz,J., & Wiatr,B. 1975. Ptaki wodnych i blotnych zalewowych pastwisk w Pojezierza Leczynsko-Wlodawskiego w dolinie srodkowej Warty. [Ecology and okresie lego•ym. [Birds breeding in the phenology of wate• and wading birds of •eczna-Wlodawa Lake Districts.] Acta zool. water-pastures in the valley of middle cracou. 18: 599-475. Warta River.] Prace Kom. •o•. PTPN 67: Dyrcz,A-, Okulewicz,J., Witkowski,J., 19-41. Jesionowski,J., Nawrocki,P. & Winiecki,A. 1984. Ptaki torfowisk risk(oh Kotliny Biebrzanskiej. Opracowanie faunistyczne. ADDRESSES OF AUTHORS OF PUBLICATIONS [Birds of fens in Biebrza Marshes. Faunistic approach.] Acta orn. 20: 1-108. D•. Jan Bednorz, Zaklad Zoologii Ogolnej UAM, Oorski,W. 1976. Ptaki'legowe pobrzeza Baltyku (Department of General Zoology, Poznan miedzy Mielnem a Ustka w latach 1965-1975. University), Fredpy 10, 61-701 Poznan. [Breeding birds of Baltic coast between Prof. Andpzej Dyrcz, Zaklad Ekologii Ptako• .and Ustka in years 1965-1975.] Not. U.Wr. (Department of Bird Ecology , Wroclaw orn. 17(1-2): 1-54. University), Sienkiewicza 21, 50-555 Gromadzka,J. 1981.Results of twenty years of Wroclaw. wader ringing at the mouth of the Vistula Dr. Wojciech Gotski, Zaklad Zoologii WSP in Poland. Wader Study Group Bull. 52: (Department of Zoology, Ped. Col.), 25-2•. Arciszewskiego 22, 76-200 Slupsk. Gromadzka,J. 1985. Rozmieszczenie lego•isk i Dr. Jadwiga Gromadzka, Stacja Ornitologiczna IZ liczebnosc biegusa zmiennego (Cal•dr•s PAN (Ornithological Station, Institute of alp•na sch•nz•) na poludniowym •ybpzezu Zoology Polish Academy of Sciences), Baltyku. [Distribution of breeding sites Nadwislanska 108, 80-680 Gdansk 40. and numbers of southern Dunlin (Cal•dr• Dr. Maciej Gromadzki, Stacja Ornitologiczna IZ alp•na sch•nz•) on southern Baltic PAN (Ornithological Station, Institute of coast.] Not. orn. 24 (1-2): 51-56. Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences), Gromadzki,M. in press. Some problems of wetland Nadwislanska 108, 80-680 Gdansk 40. protection in northern Poland. Vat Fagel. Bogdan Jakuczun, Niepodleglosci 5, 72-610 Jakuczun,B. 1980. Stanowiska legowe ostrygojada Miedzyzdroje. Haematopus ostralegus w delcie Stare• Elzbieta Krol, Stac•a Ornitologiczna IZ PAN Swiny. [Breeding localities of the (Ornithological Station, Institute of oystercatcher H=ematop•s ostrale9•s in the Zoology Polish Academy of Sciences), Old Swina delta.] Chronmy •rzyr. oyez. Nadwislanska 108, 80-680 Gdansk 40. 56(4): 71-75. Zenon Lewartowski, Zielonogorska 5, 62-500 Kpol,E.. 1982L Population study of Dunlin Wrzesnia. Cal•dr•s alp•na sch•nz• near Gdansk, Dr. Przemyslaw Majewski, Stac}a Badawcza PZL Poland - preliminary results. Abstract (Research Station of Polish Hunting XVII Int. Congr. Ornithol. Moskow. Moskva. Association), 64-020 Czempin. Krol,E. in press a. Coastal meadows in Poland - Przemyslaw Nawrocki, Muzeum Okregowe, Nowotki the vanishing breeding wader habitat. 12, 26-600 Radom. General characteristic. Vat Fagel. Dr. Ludwik Tomialo}c, Muzeum Przyrodnicze U.Wr. Krol,E. in press b. Numbers, reproduction and (Museum of Natural History, Wroclaw breeding behaviour of Dunlin Calgdrgs University), Sienkiewicza 21, 50-555 =[p•na sch•nz• at the Reda mouth, Poland. Wroclaw. Acta orn. 21. Dr. Tomasz Wesolowski, Zaklad Ekologii Ptakow Majewski,P. 1985. Evaluation of the role of the U.Wr. (Department of Bird ECology, Wroclaw Slonsk Reserve (poland) for waterfowl. University), Sienkiewicza 21, 50-555 Acta orn. 19: 227-255. Wroc•aw. Markowski•J. & Wojciecho•ski,Z. 1984. Rzadkie Aleksander Winiecki, Zaklad Zoologii gatunki ptakow stwierdzone w srodkowej Systematycznej UAM (Department of Polsce. [Rare bird species observed in the Systematic Zoology, Poznan University), middle part of Poland.] Not. orn. 25(1-4): Fredry 10, 61-701, Poznan. 15-24. Dr. Zbigniew Wojciechowski, Krasn•ludkow 7, Nawrocki,P., Jermaczek,A., Jesionowski,J., 91-504 Lodz. Nawrocka,B. & Winiecki,A. 1985. Ptaki Bagien Kramskich w okresie legowym w latach 1976-1979. [Birds of Kramskie $. Gromadz•a, Ornithological S•ation, Marshes during the. breeding period in the Nadwislanska 108, 80-•80 Gdansk •0, Poland. years 19•6-1979.] Prate Kom. •olo PTPM T. Stawarczyk and t. Tomialoic, Museum of 67: 19-41. Natura! H•story, •oclaw University, No•vs•W. & Wesolowski,T.' 1972. Ptaki $ien•i'e•icza 21• 50-335 •ocla• Poland.