Acrocephalus 2.6 (124): 41 – 44, 2005 The presence of the Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus on Ulcinj saltpans (Montenegro) Pojavljanje kodrastega pelikana Pelecanus crispus v Ulcinjskih solinah (^rna gora) Darko Savelji} 1 &Borut Rubini} 2 1 National Institute for Nature Conservation, Tr g Be}ir bega Osmanagi}a 16, P.O. Box 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro, e-mail: dasav@cg.yu 2DOPPS-BirdLife International, P.O. box 2990, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: borut.rubinic@dopps-drustvo.si 1. Introduction In this work, the literature and field data on the presence of Dalmatian Pelicans in Ulcinj saltpans and Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus is classified as a Zoganj Mud for the period between 1999 and 2004 globally threatened species by BirdLife International. are reviewed. The historical data are also presented. It is also classified as vulnerable even though the population has increased due to active preservation, 2. Study Area and Methods particularly at its largest colony of 500 pairs on Mikri Prespa lake in Greece (Crivelli et al. 2000, BirdLife 2.1 Study Area International 2001 & 2004a). The species’ nesting population is local and confined to SE Europe, the The Ulcinj saltpans are one of the largest saltpans on Middle East and Central Asia. The world population the Adriatic coast. They are situated at the very SW end of Dalmatian Pelican is estimated to be stabilised of Montenegro, east of the town of Ulcinj. Together between 15,000 and 20,000 individuals. (BirdLife with its surroundings, the Bojana / Buna river mouth International 2004b). Latest estimates of the complex, the Ulcinj saltpans are, ornithologically, one nesting population are between 4031 and 5196 pairs of the most important areas in Montenegro (Puzovi} (Crivelli et al. 2000, Wetlands International & Gruba~ 2000). Its value is enhanced by the marshy 2002). Only about 15% of the population breeds in habitats and the vicinity of the sea. It is a completely the Mediterranean region: 15 - 20 pairs in Albania, anthropogenically guided ecosystem, in which all 7 - 11 pairs in Montenegro, 500 pairs in Greece and factors significant for the birds are controlled by 120 pairs in Turkey (Hoffman et al. 1996, Wetlands man. The area has no legal conservation status, but is International 2002, Bino 2004, Savelji} et al. classified as an IBA (Important Bird Area) by BirdLife 2004). The Mediterranean population is however International (Heath & Evans 2000). considered to be stable (Perennou et al. 2000). The saltpans originated in the area of the former The first comprehensive data on Dalmatian Zoganj Mud, a 25 km2 marshy area with brackish Pelicans in Montenegro date from the late 19th century water. The oldest saltpan basins were built between (Brusina 1891) and further observations were made 1926 and 1934. From the mid 20th century they were in the same period (Führer 1894 & 1895, Reiser & gradually extended and in the beginning of the 1980s Führer 1896). After a gap of more than 70 years, during they were enlarged by 60% and today cover 14.5 km2. which there was hardly any ornithological research Of the total area some 10 km2 are currently active. The on Montenegrin water bodies, intensive studies were average depth of the pans’ basins is 30 cm (Gazivoda begun in the 70s by Ondrej Vizi (Vizi 1975, 1979a, b, 1998). c, 1981a, b, 1991, 1995a, b & 2002). Nevertheless, he was occupied only with the Pelicans of the Skadar Lake. 2.2 Methods The Ulcinj coastal area thus remained ornithologically unresearched, with the exception of rare and sporadic Literature and field data from 1999 to 2004 have been visits (Vasi} 1979, Ham 1986). Dalmatian Pelican is used in this study. During our field research (1999 - a protected species in Montenegro (Vizi 1982) and 2004) we were visiting the saltpans at irregular intervals Skadar Lake is nowadays the species’ only nesting area for one to three days per month. The fieldwork was (Savelji} et al. 2004). carried out mostly during the whole day but, during 4I D. Savelji} & B. Rubini}.: The presence of the Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus on Ulcinj saltpans (Montenegro) Table 1: Historical data on the presence of Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus at Ulcinj saltpans Tabela 1: Histori~ni podatki o pojavljanju kodrastega pelikana Pelecanus crispus v Ulcinjskih solinah Date / Datum No. individuals/ [t. osebkov Behaviour/ Obna{anje Locality / Lokaliteta Source / Vir 1.02.1895 6 Swimming Zogaj Mud Führer (1895) 29.03.1895 39 pairs Nesting Zogaj Mud Führer (1895) 1895 20 pairs Nesting Zogaj Mud Reiser & Führer (1896) 24.07.1975 “few” Saltpans Va si } ( 19 79 ) 15.07.1984 1 Resting Saltpans Ham (1986) 20.09.1998 1 Flying Saltpans Simi} (2003) the summer months, between 5.00 and 10.00h and from 17.00h until dawn. 3. Results and Discussion The first data concerning the Dalmatian Pelicans from the Ulcinj saltpans date from the end of the 19th century (Führer 1895). Führer (1895) found 39 Pelican nests, mostly with one egg, in the area of the former Zogaj Mud during March 1894. Two years later more than 20 nesting pairs were found in the same area (Reiser & Führer 1896). From 1924 until 1936 hydro-melioration works were carried out and part of the swamp was transformed into saltpans. There is no data in the literature covering the period from the end of the 19th century (Reiser & Führer 1896) to the late seventies (Vasi} 1979), when, in July of 1975, a 'few’ Dalmatian Pelicans were recorded. A further, single young Dalmatian Pelican was observed resting on one of the salt pan basins in 1984 (Ham 1986; Table 1). The number of Dalmatian Pelicans recently observed in the Ulcinj saltpans has varied from 1 to 56 individuals. They were present mainly from August to February, during the non-breeding period (Figure 1). When feeding in the saltpans, they were observed exclusively in the basins with a salinity equal to that of the sea — around 3.8%o . Saltpans provide an ideal feeding place for ichthyophagic birds, due to the large, shallow water surface and to the fact that strong pumps (3000 lit/sec) bring large amounts of food, predominantly fish (A. Hegedi{ pers. comm.), from the sea into the saltpans (Gazivoda 1998). This process starts from the first half of April and lasts until the middle of May. The 29 fish species observed in the salt pan basins (A. Hegedi{ pers. comm.) cannot survive later than the first half of June, when the water starts to warm up to over 40°C, with the salinity rising above 12%o . It is interesting that, in the period from April to June when saltpans are full of food, appearances of the Dalmatian Pelicans are least and the Pelicans were not observed to be actually feeding in the saltpans during this period. This is not the case with the other ichthyophagic species, such as Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus, Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, and Little Egret Egretta garzetta, which are commonly observed feeding in saltpans at this time of year (personal observations). The Dalmatian Pelicans in Montenegro (Skadar lake) start nesting in the second half of February (Vizi 1975), and the period of hatching thus overlaps with the process of water inflow in the saltpans. During this period the Pelicans are not usually far from their colonies (Vizi 1975), explaining their absence from the saltpans, which are not the species’ breeding site. The largest numbers of pelicans in the Ulcinj saltpans have been observed in the postbreeding period, between August and November (Figure 1). These are presumably adult and semi - adult birds that have finished nesting in nearby breeding areas and are foraging in the vicinity of these areas. The nearest Dalmatian Pelican breeding area is Skadar Lake, some 40 km away, where the pelicans, with a break from 1993 to 2000, have been regularly observed to breed (Savelji} et al. 2004). Presumably, individuals from the same breeding area are commonly seen also in Velipoja lagunas, on the Albanian side of the Bojana/ Buna river mouth complex (T. Bino pers. comm.). The closest Albanian nesting area, Karavasta lagunas (up to 62 pairs; Heath & Evans 2000) lies about 110 km to the South. The origin of the birds seen in the Ulcinj saltpans should be investigated. During the winter months Dalmatian Pelicans have been observed mainly in the empty basins, mostly resting. They were also seen in smaller numbers a few 42 Acrocephalus 2.6 (124): 41 – 44, 2005 g 60" 56 * "S 50 - 48 (O 0 44 IS 40- V 32 30 J2 30- (B | 20- 20 "5 10 ¦S 10-6 Z n . - 3 1 ¦ C - JFMAMJ JASOND Months / meseci Figure 1: Maximum monthly counts of Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus observed from 1999 to 2004 in Ulcinj saltpans (authors’ data and from Simi} 2003) Slika 1: Maksimalno {tevilo osebkov kodrstega pelikana Pelecanus crispus po posameznih mesecih med leti 1999 -2004 v Ulcinjskih solinah (avtorjevi podatki in Simi} 2003) kilometres from Skadar Lake, at the river Drim delta, Albania (Bego et al. 1998). Ulcinj saltpans are an important post-breeding area which the Dalmatian Pelicans from the nearby colony at Skadar lake use frequently as a feeding and resting area between August and November. The importance of this area for Dalmatian Pelican, and for many other waterbirds, thus clearly indicates an urgent need for its legal protection. The need for efficient protection is even greater because of constant heavy pressure by local hunters. Acknowledgements: We thank the EURONATUR research team, with whom we participated in the research on the Ulcinj coastal region during 2003: Dr Martin Schneider - Jacoby, Borut [tumberger, Jakob Smole and Dr Peter Sackl. Meto Zenka contributed to the observation of Dalmatian Pelican from 2002 onwards. We thank Aleksandar Hegedi{ for observations on fish in the salinas. Summary Before the melioration works were carried out, between 1924 and 1936, Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus were nesting in the Zogaj Mud marshy area, the location of the present Ulcinj saltpans. In this large, marshy area 39 pairs of Dalmatian Pelican were recorded during the nesting period. Since Reiser & Führer (1896), there are no data on the birds until the mid–seventies, when “a few” Dalmatian Pelicans were recorded in the saltpan areas. During the last two decades of the 20th century only two records of Pelicans’ presence on the saltpans could be found. As a result of intensified research activity since 1999, significant data have been gathered on the presence of Pelicans on the saltpans. Between 1999 and 2004, Dalmatian Pelicans have been observed in the Ulcinj saltpans throughout the year. The largest numbers are present in the postbreeding period, when birds from the nearby Skadar lake colony are regularly resting and feeding in the saltpans. The area is important for resting and, to a lesser extent, for feeding of the species. Being an IBA and an area of regular presence for Dalmatian Pelican, as well as many other Annex 1 and SPEC 1, SPEC 2 species, and still under extreme hunting pressure, it is our firm belief that the Ulcinj saltpans are in urgent need of effective protection. Povzetek Pred melioracijskimi deli v letih 1924 in 1936 so kodrasti pelikani Pelecanus crispus gnezdili v mo~virnem obmo~ju Zogaj, kjer se danes raztezajo Ulcinjske soline. Na tem velikem mo~virnem obmo~ju je bilo pre{tetih 39 parov kodrastih pelikanov. Po Reiser & Führer (1896) ni podatkov o pticah tega obmo~ja vse do sredine 70 - ih let 20. stoletja, ko je bilo opa`enih nekaj teh ptic. Iz zadnjih dveh dekad 20. stoletja pa obstajata le dva podatka o pojavljanju kodrastih pelikanov v obravnavanem obmo~ju. Pri~ujo~e delo temelji na bolj intenzivnih raziskavah avifavne obmo~ja med letoma 1999 in 2004. Kodrasti pelikani so bili opazovani v Ulcinjskih solinah prek celega leta, najve~ v pognezditvenem obdobju, ko se ptice iz kolonije na Skadarskem jezeru hranijo in klatijo po solinah. Obmo~je je pod hudim pritiskom lova, kljub temu da gre za IBA in se tu poleg pelikanov zadržuje `e veliko drugih vrst glede na Annex 1, SPEC 1 in SPEC 2. 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