Phenologycal Aspectsof Croatian Breeding Birds; Contribution To Regula tory and Planning Aspectsof Wind Energyprojects
Abstract:
So far, 240 species of breeding birds have been recorded in Croatia, out of a total of 403 recorded species. A large part of the species is classified in one of the endangered categories. Thus, 90 species of breeding birds are endan gered at the national level, according to the Red Book of endangered bird species in Croatia. Given that the authors have been working on various projects for many years, during which birds and the human influence on them were researched, there was a need for an appendix that would summarize data on the nesting period of breeding birds in Croatia. The nesting period of all breeding birds is shown in the table. The target species of the ecological network, 100 of them, are especially highlighted. Due to the diverse and valuable types of habitats and increasingly frequent interventions in nature, the nesting phenology for each species is shown in order to reduce the risks of planned interventions that will takes place in nature. The table shows the most sensitive time periods, which refer to the be ginning and end of the nesting season in Croatia. The beginning of the nesting season is defined as the approximate earliest date of the start of breeding behavior on the chosen territory, nest building and egg laying, and the end of the nesting season is defined as the period during which the young leave the nesting area. Due to constant changes in nature and increasingly pronounced climatic extremes, there will probably be smaller deviations and less vari ability in the nesting season of certain species. The months are divided into periods of 10 days each, so each month consists of 3 decades. The aim of the contribution is to adapt interventions in nature to the nesting season of target species of birds important for the ecological network, and especially for rare and endangered species of nesting birds at the national level, but also for stable species that could become endangered due to various interventions in nature in the near future.
