2022
Broedseloverlap bij bosbewonende Houtduiven Columba palumbus
Publication
Publication
Brood overlap in forest-breeding Woodpigeons Columba palumbus
An intensive study in a plot of 100 ha woodland in West-Drenthe in 2022 found 5 Woodpigeon pairs, which produced a total of 14 laying attempts (2x 2, 2x 3, 1x 4 clutches per pair), of which 7 failed (3x during incubation, 4x during nestling stage). These pairs formed distinctive clusters of nests (within-pair nest distances on average 36 m, range 16-72 m), which were clearly separated from nearest-neighbour pairs (on average 161 m apart, range 125-239 m). Nests were on average situated 468 m from the nearest forest edge (bordering farmland, range 310-600 m) and between 2.0 and 3.5 km away from the nearest farmland plot with cereals (winter rye and summer oat). Two clutches were initiated when the young of the previous nesting attempt were not yet fledged, showing overlap by 2 and 4 days respectively between new clutch and previous brood. The high incidence of repeat laying resulted in the production of 13 fledgling from 14 clutches initiated by 5 pairs, with an increase in success from May through September, with respectively 0.0, 0.3, 1.2, 1.23 and 2.0 chicks fledged per pair per starting month. The late summer peak in laying and breeding success was correlated with the short time span that spilled grain was available between harvest and land cultivation, i.e. between 18 August and 30 September. Brood overlap may be a strategy to profit from the restricted period when high quality food (cereals) is available in late summer. And even then, grain spillage has become rare, as shown by the annual count of spilled grain in 1 x 1 m plots on farmland after harvest: 96% out of 1320 plots checked in 1990-2022 had been empty; the highest number per m² was 55, i.e. well below the critical value of c. 100 grains to attract Woodpigeons in any numbers. In 2022, within the home range of the Woodpigeon pairs studied, only 1 out of 20 plots in stubble fields was found to contain some grains (just 28). Poor grain availability on stubble fields is exacerbated by the fact that cereals as a regular crop has all but disappeared from farmland on sandy soils in The Netherlands, to be replaced by – mostly – rye grass Lolium perenne, potatoes, maize and lilies.
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Drentse vogels | |
CC BY 3.0 NL ("Naamsvermelding") | |
Organisation | Werkgroep Avifauna Drenthe |
R.G. Bijlsma. (2022). Broedseloverlap bij bosbewonende Houtduiven Columba palumbus. Drentse vogels. |