Nesting preferences of common buzzard Buteo buteo and goshawk Accipiter gentilis in forest stands of different structure (Niepolomice Forest, Southern Poland)

Abstract Studies on nesting preferences of common buzzard and goshawk were carried out in two distinctly different parts of the Niepolomice Forest (S Poland): deciduous (oak-hornbeam wood) and coniferous. Characteristics of nest sites were determined on three spatial scales, separately for: (1) nest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biologia
Main Author: Bielański, Wojciech
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0096-7
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/biolog.2006.61.issue-5/s11756-006-0096-7/s11756-006-0096-7.pdf
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Summary:Abstract Studies on nesting preferences of common buzzard and goshawk were carried out in two distinctly different parts of the Niepolomice Forest (S Poland): deciduous (oak-hornbeam wood) and coniferous. Characteristics of nest sites were determined on three spatial scales, separately for: (1) nest tree; (2) nest tree area (0.07 ha circle centred at nest tree) and (3) nest stand (15 ha circle centred at nest tree). Nesting preferences discovered for the nest tree and its surroundings, included height and diameter of trees, age of the forest stand, distance to the nearest open area or forest road and occurrence of open areas in the vicinity of the nest. In the diverse habitat of oak-hornbeam wood, more similar to natural woods, nest site selection operated on several levels, possibly starting at the most extensive end of the scale before narrowing to the selection of a particular nest tree. In the more homogeneous habitat of commercially exploited coniferous forest, the surrounding of the nest were found to be insignificant, and the nesting decisions were likely to be based principally on individual characteristics of a tree i.e. its shape and size, being suitable for nesting.