Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 33() 1990
Dynamics of the abundance and consumption of birds of prey in the Niepołomice Forest
Abstract:
Sixteen species of bird s of prey from the orders Falconiformes and Strigiformes wore recorded from the Niepołomice Forest in 1977-1987, twelve of them belonging to its breeding avifauna. The Tawny Owl, Buzzard and Goshawk were distinctly numerically dominant. The most interesting fact was the nesting of the Ural Owl and Tengmalm´s Owl in the Forest. In 1978 and 1983 breeding pairs censuses were made and the data thus obtained were used to compute the annual dynamics of biomass and consumption of the whole community of birds of prey for these two years and to evaluate their influence on the prey population in habiting the wooded areas. It was found that distinct pressure was exerted by the birds of prey on two rodent species, the bank vole and the field vole. No effect of their predation upon other small mammals and birds was proved.
