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ACTA ZOOLOGICA BULGARICA Acta zool. bulg., Suppl. 4, 2012:47-54 Natural Colonies of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in European turkey and Discussion on the Chances of Natural Re-colonization of the Species in Bulgaria Elena Kmetova, Pavlin Zhelev, Aleksandar Mechev, Gradimir Gradev, Ivelin Ivanov Green Balkans NGO, 1, Skopie street, Plovdiv 4004, Bulgaria; E-mail: [email protected], www.greenbalkans.org Abstract: Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni, Fleischer, 1818) is a small falcon, extremely efficient in the combat against pests on cultural plantations. The current nesting status of the species in Bulgaria is extremely unclear. The option for natural re-colonization of the species is determined by the fact that Lesser Kestrels still breed relatively close to Bulgaria – in Turkey, FYRMacedonia and Greece. The current study reports the location and nesting number of five active Lesser Kestrel colonies in Eu- ropean Turkey and discusses the option of natural expansion of the population for re-colonizing suitable areas in South-eastern Bulgaria. Lesser Kestrel potentially suitable sites in Bulgaria are selected on the basis of a Habitat Suitability Model based on a set of indexed criteria applied in GIS environment. Key words: Lesser Kestrel, colonies, European Turkey, re-colonization, Habitat Suitability Model introduction Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni, Fleischer, 1818) Kestrel populations of Middle Asia and Turkey is a small falcon species that is a useful ally of and the strongholds of the species in Western man in combating pests in agricultural landscapes. Mediterranean countries (Portugal and Spain). Once considered among the most abundant birds Despite being widespread in Bulgaria in the of prey in Europe (Bi j l e v e l d 1974), today, due to mid-XIX (RADAKO ff 1879), more recent estimates of agriculture intensification, farmland abandonment, Lesser Kestrel in Bulgaria has dropped to 0-5 breed- loss of nesting sites and intensive pesticide appli- ing pairs for the period 1995-2000 (Ba r o v 2002, cation (ha g e M e i j e r , ia n K o v 1997) it has an uncer- BirdLife International 2004), while at present only tain future. single wandering birds and small flocks are being At present the entire European population observed and no nesting Lesser Kestrels can be con- is estimated at some 17000-21000 breeding pairs firmed (Ba r o v 2002, BirdLife International 2004, (Bi r d li F e _international 2008), undergoing a small gB 2010). decline (Bi r d li F e _international 2004). The strong- It is however believed that the main threats est remaining Lesser Kestrel populations are found which have caused the decline of Lesser Kestrel in Spain (12000-20000 pairs) and Turkey (5000- have been eliminated and that the species can be suc- 7000 pairs), while the species is considered to have cessfully restored in Bulgaria. This can be achieved already gone permanently extinct from Croatia, through either natural re-colonization or through Slovenia (Bi r d li F e _international 2004) and Poland human-induced reintroduction in potentially suit- (EUNIS 2010). able areas. The disappearing population on the Balkans At the same time Bulgaria borders Turkey, is thus an important link between the core Lesser which is known to be a stronghold of the species, 47 Kmetova E., P. Zhelev, Al. Mechev, G. Gradev, I. Ivanov maintaining the third largest population of Lesser number of inhabitants, type of land use, number of Kestrels in the world (BirdLife International 2004, cattle raised, etc., was collected through written in- PA rr et al. 1997). Such close proximity to the stable terviews filled in by the local people to obtain a bet- large Lesser Kestrel populations in Turkey would al- ter perspective of the birds’ breeding and foraging low for avoiding isolation of the restocked Bulgarian habitats. The reported number is however relative population and could potentially assist a future con- as no long-term observations on the nest usage and nection of the Asian population to Western Balkan breeding success have been conducted. populations and thus to the growing Mediterranean The data obtained on field were used to calibrate population (Italy, Spain and Portugal) within the glo- a Lesser Kestrel Habitat Suitability Model developed bal range of the species. for identifying potentially suitable Lesser Kestrel The current paper therefore explores the pos- areas and applied for a target area in South-eastern sibilities of natural re-colonization of Lesser Kestrel Bulgaria (KM e t o v a 2010). The model was developed in South-eastern Bulgaria, considering the present in GIS environment, using a set of criteria, which de- knowledge on the existing Lesser Kestrel colonies in scribe the combination of independent environmen- North-western Turkey. tal factors and their referent values, determining the presence of Lesser Kestrel as a breeding species in a Materials and Methods given territory. The independent environmental fac- tors selected were as follows: topography (altitude, In order to establish the location and status of Lesser slope and aspect), land management (land use, ex- Kestrel population in Turkish Thrace, a 7-day field istence of protected areas and favourable land man- study was completed in the period April 17-23, 2010. agement practices), biological factors (proximity to During the planning of the expedition, local experts existing Lesser Kestrel colonies, connectivity among and birdwatchers, as well as Bulgarian researchers sites, potential predator competition), and demo- working in the area of Turkey were contacted to ob- graphic factors (road network, population density, tain information on the possible location and charac- presence of deserted buildings). teristics of the colonies. Initial data was kindly shared The choice of that particular set of environmen- by two local divisions of BirdLife International and tal factors, their weighting, ranking in order of sig- Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds. nificance and their particular tolerance ranges were The period mid-April – mid-March was select- based on the data collected within the first stage ed as it is the pre-laying period of Lesser Kestrels of the development of the current study (literature in Turkey, when birds are most conspicuous at the review, field visit and expert consultations). Three breeding colonies (PA rr et al. 1995). The study steps were followed when identifying potentially was based on transect surveys as they have been suitable Lesser Kestrel sites: identifying existing po- proven to provide similar results to radio-tracking tential nesting sites (settlements); determining and techniques (Fr a n c o et al. 2004) and allow for locat- analyzing the potential home range and foraging ing both foraging and breeding birds. The literature area the suitable nesting sites identified would of- review completed showed that Lesser Kestrels pre- fer, and finally locating the optimal site among them ferred nesting in settlements (Fr a n c o et al. 2005) (KM e t o v a 2010). (Ba r o v 2002; si M e o n o v et al. 1990), and foraging The model was applied onto an area compris- on adjacent areas close to roads within a particu- ing 3076 km2 and 97 settlements in 13 municipalities lar distance from the colonies (ga r c i a et al. 2006; in South-eastern Bulgaria. li v e n -sc h u l M a n et al. 2004; ne g r o et al. 1993). Therefore a total of 2000 km were covered and 115 Results settlements in Turkish Thrace were visited in search of foraging or nesting birds. Same survey method During the 7-day field visit the team located and was utilized by PA rr (1995), whose team visited counted a total of 5 colonies of Lesser Kestrels in the 369 settlements and spent an average time of 21 min European part of Turkey, at an aggregate number of per settlement (PA rr et al. 1995). minimum 68 pairs. Two of the colonies were found In the settlements where colonies of Lesser after shared information about birds feeding in these Kestrels were found, additional information on the areas (de M e r d z h i e v pers.comm), another one was 48 Natural Colonies of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in European Turkey and Discussion on the Chances... Fig. 1. Location of the Lesser Kestrel active colonies in European Turkey (2010). confirmed after data provided by a colleague in Colony 3 is located in the village of Hacisungur Turkey (Bo l y a , pers. comm.) (Fig. 1). (41° 0’ N, 27° 1’ E). It was found following a former Colony 1 is located in the village of Alacaoğlu, observation of 25 Lesser Kestrels foraging over Lüleburgaz (41°17’ N, 27°18’ E). It was located fol- some arable land 1.4 km to the west of the village lowing former observations of some 20 foraging (de M e r d z h i e v pers.comm). The estimated size of the birds, seen 4.8 km on the north and an observation colony, based on the number of observed males, is of a single male seen 8 km on the south of the colony assessed at some 10 pairs. located (de M e r z h i e v in press). The estimated size of Colony 4 is located in the town of Keşan the colony, based on the number of observed males (40°51’ N, 26°37’ E), at an altitude of 130 m a. s. l. It and the interviews of the local people, is assessed at was located following the observation of two groups some 23 pairs. of foraging birds recorded at 7.6 and 9.3 km to the The examination of all other settlements in di- south-west of the city.

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