7th Conference of the European Ornithologists' Union Abstracts E u r n o io pe n a n s’ U 21–26 August 2009, Zurich O rnithologist Umschlag EOU.indd 1 06.08.2009 08:09:45 7th Conference of the European Ornithologists' Union 21–26 August 2009, University of Zurich, Switzerland Abstracts Edited by Verena Keller & John O'Halloran Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach 2009 2 EOU Conference Zurich 2009 7th Conference of the European Ornithologists' Union Zurich, 21–26 August 2009 Conference Organisers Ala, Swiss Society for the Study and Conservation of Birds Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach University of Zurich, Institute of Zoology SVS/BirdLife Switzerland Local Organising Committee Verena Keller, Ala and Swiss Ornithological Institute (Chair) Gilberto Pasinelli, Ala and Swiss Ornithological Institute (Organisation Zurich) Christa Glauser, Ala and SVS/BirdLife Switzerland (Excursions) Barbara Schaller, Ala (Conference office) Johann Hegelbach, Ala and University of Zurich Lukas Jenni, Ala and Swiss Ornithological Institute Werner Suter, Ala Scientific Programme Committee John O'Halloran, University College Cork, Ireland (Chair) Andrew Gosler Verena Keller Marcel Lambrechts Esa Lehikoinen Erik Matthysen Liz Pasztor Simon Verhulst Tomasz Wesołowski Main Sponsors Swiss National Science Foundation SNF Federal Office for the Environment FOEN Zürcher Kantonalbank Sponsors and Exhibitors Biotrack* Nos Oiseaux Bird Uganda Safaris* Ornithologische Gesellschaft Zürich Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft DO-G* Schwegler Vogel- und Naturschutzprodukte* Ecotone* Stiftung für Suchende Ficedula* Taylor & Francis Group (Bird Study)* Haupt Verlag* Telenax* Heiniger Wiley-Blackwell (Journal of Avian Biology, Journal Leica* of Field Ornithology, Ibis) Naturforschende Gesellschaft Zürich * present with stand Conference website: Swiss Ornithological Institute, Stefan Weingartner, Reguel Wermelinger Programme website: University College Cork, Sandra Irwin Cover layout: Marcel Burkhardt, Swiss Ornithological Institute, photograph: Verena Keller Printed by: Studentendruckerei, Universität Zürich Printed on 100 % recycled paper Programme 3 Contents Welcome ..........................................................................................................................................4 Programme.......................................................................................................................................5 Overview..................................................................................................................................5 Symposia.................................................................................................................................6 Abstracts ........................................................................................................................................11 Plenaries................................................................................................................................11 Symposia and Contributed orals ...........................................................................................13 Workshops.............................................................................................................................95 Posters ..................................................................................................................................97 Author index .................................................................................................................................149 4 EOU Conference Zurich 2009 Welcome to the EOU's 2009 conference Birds have wings and they use them, so their lives are often lived at an international scale. Ornithologists must be equally international in their outlook, not only being aware of the work of their colleagues in other countries but actively discussing and collaborating with them. The promotion of such interactions in Europe is the role of the EOU and conferences are the most important means by which it achieves its objectives. The abstracts in this book show that the formal side of the Zurich conference will certainly fulfill that purpose, with a rich and varied set of talks and posters. For that we have to thank not only the speakers and the authors of the posters but the symposium organizers and the Scientific Programme Committee (under the chairmanship of John O'Halloran), who have solicited contributions from across Europe and drawn them together into an exciting programme. We also have to thank our Swiss hosts (under the leadership of Verena Keller) for the excellent arrangements that they have made to ensure that the conference runs smoothly and effectively. This will allow us to get the most out of both the formal programme and the informal part of the conference, the discussions and making of new contacts that are so important a part of our meetings. A significant part of the organization of this conference has been to provide modest financial support for young ornithologists and for those from lower income countries, to help them to participate in the meeting. EOU will continue to develop such support in future and to expand the ways in which it is supporting ornithological interactions and collaborations in Europe more generally. It will do so under a new team of officers and Council members to be elected at this conference. The elections will take place at the General Meeting on Sunday, to which all conference participants are invited. Please give the EOU and their officers your support, so that European ornithology continues to flourish and to grow in strength and effectiveness. Enjoy the conference! Jeremy Greenwood EOU President Welcome to Zurich On behalf of the local organisers we warmly welcome you to the 7th EOU Conference in Zurich. 2009 is a special year for Swiss ornithologists. The Ala, the Swiss Society for the Study and Conservation of Birds, can look back on 100 years of active engagement in ornithology. The society has always promoted scientific research as well as practical conservation. Its journal Der Ornithologische Beobachter is one of the leading ornithological journals still published in German and an important channel to disseminate scientific knowledge to the scientific community and beyond. The two pillars of Ala are reflected in its connections to the two main ornithological institutions in Switzerland. The Ala founded the Schweizerische Vogelwarte Sempach in 1924, which grew to become an independent private research institute, the Swiss Ornithological Institute as we know it today. The Ala also promoted the collaboration between the local and regional conservation societies and has become a member of SVS/BirdLife Switzerland. Ala, Vogelwarte and SVS/BirdLife Switzerland have always had strong connections with other ornithological institutions in Europe. The Ala supported the EOU in its first years, as ornithologists in Switzerland, living in a small country in the heart of Europe, were particularly aware of the necessity to promote contacts across the continent. The 100th anniversary is therefore an ideal time to invite the EOU to hold its conference in Switzerland, to enable ornithologists from across the continent to meet and exchange their ideas. The Irchel campus at the University of Zurich with its park provides excellent facilities for formal presentations as well as an environment that we hope will stimulate the contact between sessions. This conference would not have been possible without the help of many people, from the main organisers Ala and Vogelwarte as well as SVS/BirdLife Switzerland and the University of Zurich. We are also grateful to our sponsors, who enabled us to put together a programme which we hope you will enjoy. Verena Keller Gilberto Pasinelli President Ala 2001–2009 President Ala since 2009 Programme 5 Programme Overview Friday 21 August 2009 14:30–21:00 Registration 15:00 R course 18:00 Welcome evening Saturday 22 August 2009 07:30 Registration 08:30 Opening ceremony Jeremy Greenwood, EOU president Michael Hengartner, University of Zurich, Dean Faculty of Science Verena Keller, Chair of the Local Organising Committee 09:00 Plenary: Michael Schaub 10:30 Parallel sessions: Symposia S1–S5 13:45 Plenary: Barbara Helm 14:45 Poster session 16:30 Parallel sessions: Contributed orals C1–C5 20:00 Swiss evening: Lukas Jenni & Verena Keller Sunday 23 August 2009 08:30 Plenary: Anne Charmentier 09:30 Poster session 10:30 Parallel sessions: Symposia S6–S9 13:40 EOU General Meeting 14:45 Parallel sessions: Contributed orals C6–C10 16:55 Parallel sessions: Symposia S10–S13 20:15 Workshops Monday 24 August 2009 From 07:00 Excursions 17:45 Social evening Tuesday 25 August 2009 08:30 Plenary: Juliet Vickery 09:30 Poster session 10:30 Parallel sessions: Symposia S14–S17 13:40 Parallel sessions: Contributed orals C11–C15 15:45 Plenary: Kees van Oers 16:45 Closing ceremony 17:00 End of conference 6 EOU Conference Zurich 2009 Symposia Symposium S1: Birds and climate change: can current research reveal the future? Key note 1 Willis, S.G.: Observed recent changes and modelled future changes in European bird ranges and populations as a result of climatic change Key note 2 Newson, S.E.: A review of climate change effects on migratory birds Ropert-Coudert, Y., Kato, A. & Chiaradia, A.: Do not think only globally: the impact of small- scale environmental perturbations on marine predators Matthysen, E., Adriaensen, F. & Dhondt, A.A.: Multiple changes in breeding phenology of Great and Blue Tits in relation