The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary)
Between 1995 and 2017 we carried out surveys on the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Battonya town and Kevermes village in southern Békés county. In 2007 and 2017 we have surveyed nesting sites in the village and the outer areas of Kevermes. The population of the species was estimated at the beginning...
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doaj-73f8f5f511574bcfa960bbe5ec651e612021-09-05T20:51:26ZengSciendoOrnis Hungarica2061-95882017-12-01252233310.1515/orhu-2017-0013orhu-2017-0013The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary)Bozó László0Csathó András István1Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C., HungaryKörös-Maros National Park Directorate, 5540Szarvas, Anna-liget 1., HungaryBetween 1995 and 2017 we carried out surveys on the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Battonya town and Kevermes village in southern Békés county. In 2007 and 2017 we have surveyed nesting sites in the village and the outer areas of Kevermes. The population of the species was estimated at the beginning of the breeding season and in early summer with field observations. Between 1995 and 2017 we collected road-kill data within the entire administrative area of Battonya. We registered each fiund road-killed Little Owl. We found 64 road-kills in Battonya. The number of casualties of the species has increased unambiguously over the studied 23 years. Most of the road-killed Little Owls (53 individuals, 82.81% of the total) were found in summer (June–August). 51 road-killed individuals (79.69%) were noted in the outer areas of Battonya, and 13 specimens (20.31%) in the town. Our results highlight that vehicle traffic is an important mortality factor for the population. The Little Owl has a large population in this landscape, and the population size has increased over the last decade. In the background of this increase is most likely the rise in the number of abandoned houses because of the unfavourable economic and social situation in the region. The local pairs nested only on attics and roof structures in Kevermes, often in residential buildings. The buildings of modern agriculture do not meet the needs of the species. A large part of the population breeds in the village, because with the disappearance of the farms the breeding pairs of the outer areas of Kevermes have disappeared. However, in Battonya the species regularly breeds in the outer areas of the town. Finally, we also collected some ethnoecological data on how local people relate to the species.https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2017-0013road-killroad mortalitypopulation surveysagricultural landscapefarmland birdstrigiformesethnoecology |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Bozó László Csathó András István |
spellingShingle |
Bozó László Csathó András István The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary) Ornis Hungarica road-kill road mortality population surveys agricultural landscape farmland bird strigiformes ethnoecology |
author_facet |
Bozó László Csathó András István |
author_sort |
Bozó László |
title |
The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary) |
title_short |
The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary) |
title_full |
The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary) |
title_fullStr |
The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The status and population changes of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in the south of Békés county (Hungary) |
title_sort |
status and population changes of the little owl (athene noctua) in the south of békés county (hungary) |
publisher |
Sciendo |
series |
Ornis Hungarica |
issn |
2061-9588 |
publishDate |
2017-12-01 |
description |
Between 1995 and 2017 we carried out surveys on the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Battonya town and Kevermes village in southern Békés county. In 2007 and 2017 we have surveyed nesting sites in the village and the outer areas of Kevermes. The population of the species was estimated at the beginning of the breeding season and in early summer with field observations. Between 1995 and 2017 we collected road-kill data within the entire administrative area of Battonya. We registered each fiund road-killed Little Owl. We found 64 road-kills in Battonya. The number of casualties of the species has increased unambiguously over the studied 23 years. Most of the road-killed Little Owls (53 individuals, 82.81% of the total) were found in summer (June–August). 51 road-killed individuals (79.69%) were noted in the outer areas of Battonya, and 13 specimens (20.31%) in the town. Our results highlight that vehicle traffic is an important mortality factor for the population. The Little Owl has a large population in this landscape, and the population size has increased over the last decade. In the background of this increase is most likely the rise in the number of abandoned houses because of the unfavourable economic and social situation in the region. The local pairs nested only on attics and roof structures in Kevermes, often in residential buildings. The buildings of modern agriculture do not meet the needs of the species. A large part of the population breeds in the village, because with the disappearance of the farms the breeding pairs of the outer areas of Kevermes have disappeared. However, in Battonya the species regularly breeds in the outer areas of the town. Finally, we also collected some ethnoecological data on how local people relate to the species. |
topic |
road-kill road mortality population surveys agricultural landscape farmland bird strigiformes ethnoecology |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2017-0013 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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