Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola ringing in Belarus
Dimitri Zhuravliev
Institute of Zoology NAS, Turov Bird Ringing Station, Belarus
Aquatic Warbler biology study started in 1995 and was supported by Otto Foundation (Germany), Darwin Initiative (Great Britain), UNDP in Belarus. We have been working at discovering nest places of the species from 1995 to 1997. Breeding biology studies were carried out from 1998. Ringing of the Aquatic Warbler has been conducted along with this work.
The investigation was carried out at 5 sites, most of them situated in SW Belarus. Most intensive surveys were conducted at Dikoe, Peschanka and Zvanets study areas.
During studies on breeding biology of the Aquatic Warbler, we have to find all nests at sample plot. We have controlled all nests till fledgling period. Nestlings were ringed at 8-10 days old. Males were lured with a tape-recorder and caught in the mist-net, females – with special method near a nest: three mist-nets were put in a triangle around the nest. Catching of females was carried out during feeding of nestlings.
507 nestlings and 167 full-grown birds were ringed during the studied period (tab. 1).
Three local and 4 foreign ring recoveries were noted during this study (tab. 2). Only birds ringed as adults were found next time in the same place. Among them two males were controlled next year and a female was caught in two years at 7 km distance from a ringing place. Three birds ringed as nestlings were controlled the same year in France and Spain. A female ringed as immature in France was breeding at Zvanets next year.
Institute of Zoology NAS, Turov Bird Ringing Station, Belarus
Aquatic Warbler biology study started in 1995 and was supported by Otto Foundation (Germany), Darwin Initiative (Great Britain), UNDP in Belarus. We have been working at discovering nest places of the species from 1995 to 1997. Breeding biology studies were carried out from 1998. Ringing of the Aquatic Warbler has been conducted along with this work.
The investigation was carried out at 5 sites, most of them situated in SW Belarus. Most intensive surveys were conducted at Dikoe, Peschanka and Zvanets study areas.
During studies on breeding biology of the Aquatic Warbler, we have to find all nests at sample plot. We have controlled all nests till fledgling period. Nestlings were ringed at 8-10 days old. Males were lured with a tape-recorder and caught in the mist-net, females – with special method near a nest: three mist-nets were put in a triangle around the nest. Catching of females was carried out during feeding of nestlings.
507 nestlings and 167 full-grown birds were ringed during the studied period (tab. 1).
Tab. 1. Number of ringed Aquatic Warblers
| Years | pull | juv | ad |
Total
|
|
| male | female | ||||
| 1997 | 5 | 5 | |||
| 1998 | 16 | 16 | |||
| 1999 | 107 | 55 | 24 | 186 | |
| 2000 | 100 | 11 | 27 | 14 | 152 |
| 2001 | 86 | 3 | 16 | 5 | 110 |
| 2002 | 43 | 2 | 45 | ||
| 2003 | 69 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 76 |
| 2004 | 69 | 1 | 70 | ||
| 2005 | 12 | 2 | 14 | ||
| Total | 507 | 16 | 104 | 47 | 674 |
Three local and 4 foreign ring recoveries were noted during this study (tab. 2). Only birds ringed as adults were found next time in the same place. Among them two males were controlled next year and a female was caught in two years at 7 km distance from a ringing place. Three birds ringed as nestlings were controlled the same year in France and Spain. A female ringed as immature in France was breeding at Zvanets next year.
Tab. 2. Recoveries of Aquatic Warblers
| Species | Ringing | Control | ||
| ringing date | place | finding date | place | |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, m | 20.06.99 | Dikoe, Belarus | 27.06.00 | Dikoe, Belarus |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, m | 11.06.99 | Dikoe, Belarus | 27.06.00 | Dikoe, Belarus |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, f | 11.07.00 | Peschanka, Belarus | 10.06.02 | Kostuki, Belarus |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, pull | 10.06.02 | Dikoe, Belarus | 17.08.02 | Villeton, France |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, pull | 24.07.03 | Zvanec, Belarus | 22.09.03 | Palencia, Spain |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, pull | 13.06.04 | Zvanec, Belarus | 01.09.04 | Le Massereau, France |
| Acrocephalus paludicola, f | 05.09.03 | Finistere, France | 21.07.04 | Zvanec, Belarus |




