242 Á. Kiss et al.
cultivated lands, primarily rice fields (Fig. 1). Because of the requirements of rice cultivation, each year . 1,500 ha of farmland is flooded, providing important habitats for breeding and migrating shorebirds (Kiss et al., 2017). In Nagykunság, the estimated number of collared pratin- coles fluctuated between 13 and 56 breeding pairs dur- ing 2012–2021 (mean 32.4 ± SE 5.3; data from the data- base of the Hortobágy National Park Directorate).
Methods
Data collection Starting in 2012, we collected data on breeding sites, includ- ing nest-site location, nesting success and behaviour.Were- corded the data using a handheld digital assistant and then transferred the data to ArcMap 10.1 (Esri, Redlands, USA). Wealso collected observations in croplands used by collared pratincoles and in shallow wetlands. Using nest points and various agricultural variables we created a map of nest points and shapefiles of arable lands and shallow water bodies. We prepared maps of nest locations and polygons of
croplands and water bodies for further analyses using ArcMap. We carried out monitoring activities of birds on potential nesting sites, location and revisiting of nests using binoculars and spotting scopes. We always ap- proached nests to a distance of 8–10 m using four-wheel drive cars (even within agricultural fields) to limit any possible disturbance to incubating birds. In addition to the locations of nests, we identified the agriculture habitat types used for nesting (Plate 1, Supplementary Table 1). We identified these using Calvo’s(1994) methodology based on the planting patterns of crops: we classified fields with crops planted in rows at least 60 cm apart as rowcrops, areas where crops were sown without leaving any row gaps as spring cover crops and areas that were left unsown after tilling as fallow. After locating the nests, we recorded the clutch size, nest cover and location coordinates for each nest and then placed a small stick c. 1 m from the nest to mark the nest location in the field. After locating a new nest, we consulted the owner or manager of the land. To prevent nest destruction by farming activities, we marked a buffer zone around the nests using 1.5 m-tall wooden poles. However, to avoid attracting the attention of poten- tial nest predators, we only placed the nest markers during periods of active agricultural work (Zámečník et al., 2018). The sizes of these oval-shaped nest protection zones were 100 m2, which is sufficient to ensure adequate protection from agricultural machinery (Plate 2). During the incubation period, we checked all of the nests
remotely using a spotting scope every other day. The incu- bation period was 18 days (based on Myhrvold et al., 2015, and our field observations supplemented with use of the egg-floating methodology; see details in Székely et al.,
PLATE 1 Main breeding habitats of collared pratincoles Glareola pratincola in Hungary: (a) row crop, (b) spring cover crop, (c) fallow land.
2006), and after the last nest visit, we classified each nest as hatched, predated, abandoned, unknown, flooded or destroyed by agricultural machinery. To identify the fate of each nest, we used the methods of Green et al. (1987)to identify potential nest predators in addition to our field observations (Kiss et al., 2018). We established successful hatching if there were small eggshell fragments or small chick droppings in the nest cup, predation if we found predator tracks or signs of predation by mammals or birds near the nest, desertion if the pair was not nearby and the egg was cold and abandonment because of rainfall if the egg was stuck in mud. We determined a nest successful if at least one chick hatched.
Oryx, 2024, 58(2), 240–249 © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605323000911
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