Densities of the Eurasian Threetoed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus calculated from sap row surveys are on par with estimates from fixed route bird censusing

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v31.22416

Keywords:

population size, bird surveying, methodology, forestry, montane forest, northern Sweden

Abstract

Species-specific tracks animals can be an effective way of mapping species that are hard to find even if they are present. We used observations of sap rows on trees to calculate densities of Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers Picoides tridactylus. We surveyed 14 fixed routes in northern Sweden below the montane forest for sap rows during the autumn of 2020. We used our observations of fresh sap rows together with average home range and proportion of active territories per year derived from the literature, to calculate large-scale woodpecker population density. The density based on sap rows was 0.19 pairs per km2. Densities from fixed route bird observations for different parts of Västerbotten County below the montane forests were 0.13–0.14 pairs per km2, in relative agreement with the estimates from sap rows. We also calculated the population density from fixed route observations in the montane forests, and these were almost three times higher. Our density calculations correspond to 7,900 pairs in Västerbotten County. These results indicate that systematic counts of sap rows can quickly provide credible population density estimates of Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Amcoff M & Eriksson P. 1996. Förekomst av tretåig hackspett Picoides tridactylus på bestånds- och landskapsnivå. Ornis Svecica 6: 107–119. https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v6.22986 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v6.22986

Artdatabanken. 2019. Artfakta. Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet. Available at https://artfakta.se/artbestamning/taxon/picoides-tridactylus-100109.

Bailey TN. 2008. Sap feeding on birch trees by American Three-toed Woodpeckers. Western Birds 39: 171–175. Available at https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wb/v39n03/p0171-p0175.pdf.

Bütler R, Angelstam P, Ekelund P & Schlaepfer R. 2004. Dead wood threshold values for the Three-toed woodpecker presence in boreal and sub-Alpine forest. Biological Conservation 119: 305–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.11.014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.11.014

Cramp S. (ed). 1985. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Volume IV. Terns to Woodpeckers. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Enemar A. 1959. On the determination of the size and composition of a passerine bird population during the breeding season. Vår Fågelvärld, Supplement 2. Sveriges Ornitologiska Förening, Stockholm.

Fayt P. 1999. Available insect prey in bark patches selected by the Three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus prior to reproduction. Ornis Fennica 76: 135–140. Available at https://lintulehti.birdlife.fi:8443/pdf/artikkelit/386/tiedosto/of_76_135-140_artikkelit_386.pdf

Fayt P, Machmer M & Steeger C. 2005. Regulation of spruce bark beetles by woodpeckers—a literature review. Forest Ecology and Management 206: 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2004.10.054 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2004.10.054

Glutz von Blotzheim UN & Bauer KM. 1980. Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Band 9. Columbiformes–Piciformes. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Wiesbaden.

Green M, Haas F & Lindström Å. 2020. Övervakning av fåglarnas populationsutveckling. Årsrapport för 2019. Biologiska institutionen, Lunds Universitet. 96 pp. Available at https://www.fageltaxering.lu.se/resultat/publikationer.

Hagemeijer WJM & Blair MJ (eds). 1997. The EBCC atlas of European breeding birds: their distribution and abundance. T & AD Poyser, London.

Hess R. 1983. Verbreitung, Siedlungsdichte und Habitat des Dreizehenspechtes Picoides tridactylus im Kanton Schwyz. Ornitologische Beobachter 80: 153–182.

Hogstad O. 1970. On the ecology of the Three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus (L.) outside the breeding season. Nytt magasin for zoologi 18: 221–227.

Järvinen O & Väisänen RA. 1983. Correction coefficients for line transect censuses of breeding birds. Ornis Fennica 60: 97–104.

Lehikoinen A, Honkala J & Sirkiä P. 2014. Maalintujen alueelliset kannanarviot. [Regional population estimates for land bird species in Finland] Pp 68–77 in Linnut-vuosikirja 2014. Birdlife Finland, Helsinki.

Lundmark H, Josefsson T & Östlund L. 2013. The history of clear-cutting in northern Sweden – driving forces and myths in boreal silviculture. Forest Ecology and Management 307: 112–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.07.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.07.003

Nilsson P, Roberge C & Fridman J. 2020. Aktuella uppgifter om de svenska skogarna från SLU Riksskogstaxeringen. SLU, Umeå. Available at https://www.slu.se/globalassets/ew/org/centrb/rt/dokument/skogsdata/skogsdata_2020_webb.pdf.

Ottosson U, Ottvall R, Elmberg J, Green M, Gustafsson R, Haas F, Holmqvist N, Lindström Å, Nilsson L, Svensson M, Svensson S & Tjernberg M. 2012. Fåglarna i Sverige – antal och förekomst. Sveriges Ornitologiska Förening, Halmstad.

Pakkala T, Hanski I & Tomppo E. 2002. Spatial ecology of the Three-toed woodpecker in managed forest landscapes. Silva Fennica 36: 279–288. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.563 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.563

Pakkala T, Piiroinen J, Lakka J, Tiainen J, Piha M & Kouki J. 2018. Tree sap as an important seasonal food resource for woodpeckers: the case of the Three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) in southern Finland. Annales Zoologici Fennici 55: 79–92. https://doi.org/10.5735/086.055.0108 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5735/086.055.0108

Pechacek P. 2004. Spacing Behavior of Three-toed Woodpeckers (Picoides Tridactylus) During the Breeding Season in Germany. Auk 121: 58–67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/4090055

https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/121.1.58 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/121.1.58

Pechacek, P. & Krištín, A. 2004: Comparative diets of adult and young Three-toed Woodpeckers in a European alpine community. Journal of Wildlife Management 68: 683–693. https://doi.org/10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[0683:CDOAAY]2.0.CO;2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[0683:CDOAAY]2.0.CO;2

Rajasärkkä, A. 2010. 30 vuotta suojelualueiden linnuston linjlaskentoja. In Linnut-vuosikirja 2010. Birdlife Finland, Helsinki.

Ruge, K. 1968: Zur Biologie des Dreizehenspechtes Picoides tridactylus. 1. Beobachtungsgebiet, Aktionsgebiet, Nahrungserweb, Trommeln, Pendelwegungen. Ornithologische Beobachter 65: 109–124.

Schmitz F, Polley H, Hennig P, Kroiher F, Marks A, Riedel T, Scmidt U, Schwitzgebel F & Stauber T. 2015. The Forests in Germany: Selected Results of the Third National Forest Inventory. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, Berlin. Available at https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Publications/ForestsInGermany-BWI.html.

Skogsstyrelsen 2020. Gräns för fjällnära skog – produktbeskrivning. Available at https://www.skogsstyrelsen.se/globalassets/sjalvservice/karttjanster/geodatatjanster/produktbeskrivningar/grans-for-fjallnara-skog---produktbeskrivning.pdf.

Stenberg I. 1996. Nest site selection of six woodpecker species.

Fauna Norvegica, Series C Cinclus 19: 21—38.

Svensson S. 2016. Improving population estimates of Swedish birds using the Breeding Bird Survey fixed routes and correction factors from Finnish line transect surveys. Ornis Svecica 26: 177–190. https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v26.22504 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v26.22504

Svensson J, Andersson J, Sandström P, Mikusiński G & Jonsson BG. 2018. Landscape trajectory of natural boreal forest loss as an impediment to green infrastructure. Conservation Biology 33: 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13148 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13148

Turcek F. 1954. The ringing of trees by some European Woodpeckers. Ornis Fennica 16: 33–41. Available at https://lintulehti.birdlife.fi:8443/pdf/artikkelit/1326/tiedosto/of_31_33-41_artikkelit_1326.pdf.

Downloads

Published

2021-09-10

How to Cite

Ferry, B., Ekenstedt, J., & Green, M. (2021). Densities of the Eurasian Threetoed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus calculated from sap row surveys are on par with estimates from fixed route bird censusing. Ornis Svecica, 31, 94–106. https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v31.22416

Issue

Section

Research Papers