The Bird’s Saucepan island on the Barzyniec pond in Ochaby, opened for bird use a year ago, a common tern found a safe breeding ground, marked during its migration from its East African wintering grounds to the Upper Vistula Valley.
On May 1, 2017, the bird came into the hands of ornithologists in the coastal lagoons near Haifa, on the Israeli coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In 2018, a tern was seen on the Adolfin ponds near Oświęcim. Currently, these ponds are devoid of water, so this Polish-Israeli traveler found a new and better place to build a nest, on a specially prepared island as part of the LIFE VISTULA project.
Ornithological research as part of LIFE.VISTULA.PL
Tracking the fate of the birds is possible thanks to a yellow, plastic ring with a three-letter code, which hides their interesting migration history.
In order to find out the exact number of common terns nesting on the islands built for them, observations are carried out at marked nests. Recording videos and taking photos confirms nest occupation and provides additional information. And it was on the Bird’s Saucepan on the Barzyniec pond that a wedding ring was read on an adult common tern during such an inspection.
The equipment purchased as part of the LIFE VISTULA project is used primarily in ornithological research to find feeding areas for night herons, but it is also used in research on the second flagship species of the project – the common tern.
Island Bird’s Saucepan with breeding success
Bird’s Saucepan island built on the Barzyniec pond turned out to be a great success already during the first breeding season. Data collected by ornithologists show that terns have built over 150 nests there. We will soon know the results of the ending season.
