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Copyright of Acta Zoologica Lilloana is the property of Fundacion Miguel Lillo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The phenomenon of White storks forgoing migration and wintering in the region is documented since 1909. In Armenia, Ararat valley provides suitable wintering conditions for the species due to various dynamic agricultural landscape changes, especially, development of fisheries and poor waste management, which leads to food availability. To understand the current state of the wintering population of White storks as well as to describe population trends and wintering habitat choices, systematic surveys were conducted in eight chosen locations of Ararat valley. The results show, that the median number of wintering White storks in Armenia during 2020-2024 is -2114 individuals. The wintering population of White stork in 2023-2024 is about 87.36% of the population in 2020 and the main habitat choices are anthropogenic habitats, such as chicken farms, landfills and fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha) rely on wetlands for the majority of their life cycle and respond to the environmental conditions during the wintering period. Future conservation planning should be driven by an understanding of how cranes respond to environmental factors at degraded wetland sites and the changes in their spatio-temporal distribution. In recent years, the spatial and temporal distribution of waterbirds and determinant factors have become a research focus. However, research on the specific factors influencing the relative abundance of Hooded Cranes from multiple perspectives in the different habitat patches at Shengjin and Caizi Lakes is lacking. Therefore, from 2021 to 2022, we investigated the quantity and distribution of Hooded Cranes in the upper part of Shengjin and Baitu Lake part of Caizi Lakes. We considered multiple habitat variables, including patch size, food biomass, food availability, and human disturbance, and analyzed the dynamic changes in the distribution of the population in different wintering periods. We used model selection and averaging to select the best model and identify key variables. During different wintering periods, the spatio-temporal distribution of the crane population differed in the upper part of Shengjin Lake, but the crane was mainly distributed in the northern part of the Baitu Lake part of Caizi Lake. The model that included food biomass and patch size was the best for predicting the relative abundance of Hooded Cranes. Cranes foraged in areas with large patches and abundant food resources. Therefore, we suggest reserving patch integrity and availability in the current habitats and protecting and restoring the main food resources to provide high-quality habitat patches and plentiful food resources for wintering populations of Hooded Cranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science can represent an effective tool for large-scale data collection and can be used to improve scientific knowledge and define species distribution ranges before proper planning of related conservation strategies. A regional census of wintering Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus in Sicily, never achieved before, was organized by GAM (Gruppo Aquila Minore - Booted Eagle Group) on 12 January 2020, involving 90 people from several organizations. A total of 112 wintering individuals have been recorded for the whole region, collecting related data about their colour morph, habitat preference and altitude. A regional estimate of 180-220 wintering individuals was calculated, also considering previous data collected during counts carried out in some selected sample areas during December 2019 and January 2020.

Copyright of Ardeola is the property of Sociedad Espanola de Ornitologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus is listed globally as "Near Threatened". We used the results of the International Waterbird Census from 1998 to 2017 to find trends in wintering numbers. Of the 102 sites examined, 29 were classified as regular, 18 as irregular and 55 as occasional wintering habitats for the species. Both the population size and the geographical distribution increased in the second half of the study period. The Anzali Wetland Complex, Gomishan Marsh, Gorgan Bay and Miankaleh Wildlife Refuge, inlets and mangroves east of Jask, the east coast of Chabahar and inlets and mangroves west of Konarak were identified as the most important wintering areas of the Dalmatian Pelican in Iran. Wintering numbers increased from 300 to 1,100 in the 1970s and from c. 800 in the 1980s to c. 1,800 by 2006 and up to c. 10,000 in 2017. Thus, more than 37% of the global population of the species overwinters in Iran. A combination of a series of warm winters and delayed timing of cold spells appears to be responsible for the increase of the wintering population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring how suitable habitat and population size of Red-crowned crane Grus japonensis respond to long-term coastal reclamation plays an important role in species conservation and in related coastal management. Here, we combined field data for suitable habitats and wintering population size of G. japonensis with GIS-based information to elucidate the influence of long-term coastal reclamation on this species and related conservation efforts. During 1975-2013, the intensity and spatial extent of coastal reclamation exhibited a temporal change, increasing dramatically in 1975-2000 and lessening considerably in 2000-2013. Under the pressure of long-term coastal reclamation, the decline of suitable habitat of G. japonensis was affected by increasing levels of human disturbance and decreasing availability of natural habitat. Moreover, the wintering population size of G. japonensis exhibited a decreasing trend during 1975-2013 as a result of the decreasing availability of fish ponds, bare tidal flats, and increasing spatial extent of residential areas and P. australis habitat, which were indirectly affected by long-term reclamation. Our results highlight the importance of considering the long-term effects of coastal reclamation on both populations and suitable habitat of G. japonensis, which should be considered in future plans for coastal management and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite extensive conservation and management efforts, American black duck ( Anas rubripes) populations remain below desired population levels. Researchers have noted declines at a number of wintering areas, but indications are that wintering populations in the northern part of the range are increasing. Intermittently between 1970 and 1989, and annually since 1992, wildlife biologists have flown aerial surveys of the entire coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, to count wintering waterfowl. This survey counted the total number of ducks seen in predefined lengths of coastline. We analyzed those survey data using generalized linear mixed models, over the entire time period (1970-2015) and in the recent time period (1992-2015, when surveys were done every year), across five general regions of Nova Scotia. We fit models using Bayesian methods with uninformative priors; models with negative binomial response distributions performed well. Due to the large variation in mean numbers of black ducks across the predefined lengths of coastline, we treated these blocks of coastline as a fixed effect, while annual trend (slope) was modeled as a random effect to account for variation in annual trend across blocks of coastline. Results were similar between the entire time series (1970-2015) or the most recent and more complete time series (1992-2015). In general, numbers of wintering black ducks in Nova Scotia increased (1.0-16.0%/y) and increases were significant (Bayesian credible intervals did not bound 0) in four of five regions. Increasing numbers in Nova Scotia are consistent with other observations of increasing wintering numbers at the northern range of American black ducks and may indicate a shift in the wintering range that has been ongoing for decades. Future habitat management actions will benefit from consideration of regional trends and the distributional change of black duck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the condition and population growth of dalmatian pelicans or Pelecanus crispus in Turkey. The study collected unpublished data on the species' breeding in the country during the 20th and the early 21st centuries along with field surveys from 2009 to 2010, while wintering population data was gathered from census surveys from 1990 to 2010. Results show that the species' total breeding population has moderately increased from 352 to 2,344 individuals since 2000.

Since 1997, the North-east inter-regional delegation of the French National Institute for Water and Aquatic Ecosystems (ONEMA) has been running annual networked monitoring of the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) population in three French administrative regions: Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne. Changes in the wintering population are assessed by means of four monthly counts. Over the period 1997/2001, the population increased at a steady rate (average annual increase of 16%). Taking the population in January as the reference, the year 2001 shows a peak population of 13 000 birds. Since 2002, gradual decreasing in numbers has taken place (average rate of –4.5%). In January 2008, less than 10 000 birds were recorded. At the same time, nesting of the great cormorant was observed for the first time in Lorraine region in 1986. Then, the bird has been nesting in Champagne-Ardenne region and, since 2003, in all three regions. In 2008, ten nesting colonies were identified, composed of 512 couples (annual increase in population of 30.2%) and 1500 births were recorded in Spring. Parallel to nesting, 4605 great cormorants were killed during the winter of 2007/2008 for a population of 10 000 birds. Climatic conditions may cause significant changes in wintering movements of the species, while operations to regulate cormorant numbers do not seem to have significant impact on the level of frequentation in winter. Finally, the using conditions of certain artificial lakes seem to be favourable for the bird during particularly difficult periods.

Data on wintering population of white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla Linnaeus, 1758) presented in this report were synchronously sampled by experienced voluntary observers from 50 stationary points on 26. 1. 2013 since 9:00 till 14:00. Points were distributed along Danube banks between river km (rkm) 1863-1708 (with partially uncovered sections between rkm 1775-1764, 1741-1735, 1731-1727, and 1722-1714) and dikes of Gabčíkovo hydro power plant's (GHPP) storage lake and head- and tailwater canal. Points were arranged to provide optimal range of vision from each one. Census was realized in favourable weather conditions with good visibility. Totally, in whole investigated area of Danube River and water bodies of GHPP, 57 individuals of W-tSE were recorded. Among them, 20 adults and 23 immature birds were identified. Highest concentration of W-tSEs was found in river sections of the Danube river between RKM 1818-1808 (10 W-tSEs (4 adults, 6 immatures)), rkm 1828-1818 (7 W-tSEs (3 adults, 4 immatures)), rkm 1843-1835 (7 W-tSEs (2 adults, 1 immature)) and in upper part of storage lake of GHPP, rkm 1857- 1853 (4 W-tSEs (1 adult)). Highest density was in section of branch system with adjacent area (rkm 1843-1809) with 0.79 bird per 1 rkm) and storage lake of GHHP with adjacent area with 0.71 bird per 1 rkm). Lowest density (0.18 bird per 1 rkm) was found in section rkm 1766-1709 with highly urbanized right bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]