Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus diet and hunting habitat selection in the breeding season: implications for lowland breeding waders ...

• Main Authors: Upcott, Emily V., Mason, Lucy R., Bagguley, Emma, Cooke, Sophia C., Drewitt, Allan L., Gooch, Hannah L., Meadows, Michael C., O’Dowd, Rowan, Smart, Jennifer
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2024
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Ecology; FOS: Biological sciences; Inorganic Chemistry; FOS: Chemical sciences; Infectious Diseases; FOS: Health sciences; Plant Biology; Vanellus vanellus; black-tailed godwit; Limosa limosa
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.26510111; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Marsh_Harrier_i_Circus_aeruginosus_i_diet_and_hunting_habitat_selection_in_the_breeding_season_implications_for_lowland_breeding_waders/26510111

A temporal mismatch between peak Marsh Harrier hunting activity and wader chick availability means that in most years waders contribute a negligible component of Marsh Harrier breeding season diet when nesting adjacent to lowland grassland, despite a spatial overlap in their habitat use. To examine the potential for conservation conflict with breeding waders by assessing spatio-temporal patterns in Marsh Harrier hunting activity and examining historical and recent data on Marsh Harrier breeding season diet. We monitored Marsh Harrier hunting behaviour in relation to time-in-season and habitat characteristics, and examined nest hatching records of Marsh Harrier and wader nests (Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus , Common Redshank Tringa totanus , Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa ) for evidence of temporal overlap between hunting peaks and predicted wader chick availability. We also recorded prey provisioning to Marsh Harrier broods using nest cameras (2013–2015) and combined this with Marsh Harrier diet ...