COMITETUL DE REDACŢIE - Facultatea de Biologie

Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii „AL. I. CUZA” Iaşi, s. Biologie animală, Tom LII, 2006
SILIŞTIOARA MARSH – POTENTIAL IMPORTANT BIRD AREA
NARCISA ORZAŢĂ
University of Craiova, Str. Al. I. Cuza 13, 200585 Craiova, Romania;
e-mail: narcisaorzata@yahoo.com
Abstract. The Siliştioara Marsh, located on the outskirts of Corabia, on the Danube border, is one of the few
marshes remaining in the Danube valley between the Rivers Jiu and Olt. The marsh is an important resting place,
visited by numerous passage visitor bird species and also by bird species that nest here or in the adjacent areas.
The vast majority of these are included in the local and global protection and conservation plans. The purpose of
this paper is to present the area’s bird fauna spectrum, in order to declare it Important Bird Area (I.B.A).
Keywords: Siliştioara Marsh, Danube Meadow, Important Bird Area, bird fauna
Rezumat. Balta Siliştioara – potenţială Arie de Importanţă Avifaunistică. Balta Siliştioara, situaţă în
imediata vecinătate a localităţii Corabia, pe malul Dunării, este una dintre ultimele bălţi naturale existente în
lungul văii Dunării între văile râurilor Jiu şi Olt. Adăpostind un număr total de cel puţin 106 specii de păsări
inventariate până în present, balta reprezintă un important loc de refugiu pentru păsări fiind vizitată de
numeroase specii în pasaj; totodată, balta Siliştioara constituie arie de cuibărit pentru păsări acavtice şi
semiacvatice, majoritatea fiind incluse în anexele unor convenţii internaţionale şi legi prvind protecţia speciilor
şi a habitatelor în care acestea trăiesc. Dintre speciile de păsări înregistrate de noi, 86 constituie criteriu pentru
desemnarea Ariilor de Importanţă Avifaunistică (A.I.A.).
Cuvinte cheie: Balta Siliştioara, lunca Dunării, Arie de Importanţă Avifaunistică, avifaună
Introduction
Siliştioara Marsh is perhaps the only marsh left in the Danube meadow between
the Rivers Jiu and Olt, after there were achieved important hydrotechnics arrangements
and improvement actions for the decrease of the flood risk and also for the enlargement of
the agricultural areas, in the 60s and 70s.
The marsh is located on the outskirts of the town of Corabia, on the Danube
banks, right below the first terrace, at about 100-300 meters from the road. Although it
isn't a large body of water, it continues eastwards (in Gârcov village) in a stretch of 150-
200 m of reed and club rush (100 hectares). The marsh has its own springs, but the water
level is influenced by the Danube, as well as by rainfall. Water depth is of about 0.5 m.
The southern part of the marsh consists of pastures, which are partially wet, and are used
by local people for grazing. There is no protection dyke in the area, and the tree cordon is
a bit further away. In front of the marsh, on the Danube, there is the Băloi Islet (200 ha),
covered by riverside coppices of willow, acacia and poplar trees. Around the marsh,
especially on the southern bank, but also in the marsh itself, there is rich paludous
vegetation.
The marsh has not been studied before 2002 (Orzaţă, 2002) and the bird fauna
observation have been done during the period 2002-2005. These allow us to conclude that
the marsh and its neighbouring areas are populated by numerous bird species, especially
during migration periods and during the nesting periods, too.
Material and Methods
Ornithological observations were taken during 2002-2003, covering the all
phenological aspects. The methods used were the transect method and the observation
from fixed point, the identification of the birds being made by direct observations with the
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10x50 binoculars. Transects and observation points were established from the first visits
and were kept for the entire period of study. The census of bird populations was done by
direct counting of all observed individuals.
Results and Discussion
This paper analyzes the bird fauna spectrum of the Siliştioara Marsh from the
Danube Meadow, in Olt County, and the status of the identified species, with the purpose
of including this area on the list of Romanian Important Bird Areas.
During the four years of observations (Orzaţă, 2002, 2002a, 2003, 2003a, 2005,
2005a), 106 species have been identified in this area (Table 1), belonging to 12 orders and
34 families. Aquatic and semi-aquatic bird species of the Ciconiiformes Order have a
strong presence (12 species), as do those of the Anseriformes Order (15 species) and
Charadriiformes Order (26 species). Best represented are birds from the Passeriformes
Order with 31 species (29.24% of whole recorded bird fauna), belonging to 10 families.
It is certain that inside or nearby the marsh (especially on the Băloi Islet), the
following bird species are breeding: the Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos), the
Garganey (Anas querquedula), the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), the Little Bittern
(Ixobrychus minutus), the Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), the Eurasian Coot (Fulica
atra), the Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), the Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), the
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), the Little Tern (Sterna albifrons), warbler
species (Acrocephalus sp.), the Savi' s Warbler (Locustella luscinioides), the European
Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), but the number of breeding pairs is not large. One of the
possible causes is the location of the marsh in the vicinity of the town of Corabia (the
Siliştioara neighbourhood). In the area, the birds are permanently confronted with the
pressure of several perturbing factors: fishing, grazing, reed burning and harvesting, and
the presence of domestic animals. Aquatic bird species react differently by behavioural
changes of their life regime: leaving the marshes area, renouncing breeding in the
perimeter of a particular marsh, reducing their activities to certain parts of the aquatic
basin.
During summer time numerous birds have been observed, but the majority do not
breed there: the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the Purple Heron (Ardea
purpurea), the Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), the Little Egret (Egretta
garzetta), the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), terns and seagull species.
During spring and autumn, have been noted the presence of duck species (Anas
penelope, Anas clypeata, Anas acuta), shorebirds (Tringa sp., Numenius arquata, Calidris
sp., Gallinago gallinago), this area being an important resting place for these species
during migration period.
We recorded 86 bird species that represent IBA criteria using to identify
Important Bird’ Area (81.13% from the whole bird fauna). These species belong to the
following IBA criteria (table 1):
A1 – 4 species of global conservation concern (4.65%): Phalacrocorax
pygmaeus, Pelecanus crispus, Anser erythropus, Aythya nyroca. Its entire have been
observed while passing in the area. Pelecanus crispus became a constant presence in the
area during the last years (30.03.2002 – a single individual; 18.12.2003 – single
individual; February 2004 – maximum 31 individuals; 27-28.09.2005 – 13 individuals).
Phalocrocorax pygmaeus was noted during passage period, with few numbers. Aythya
nyroca could have been breeding in the area during the summer of 2003.
A3 – 5 biome-restricted species (5.81%): Anser albifrons, Calidris temminckii,
Tringa erytropus, Tringa nebularia, Fringilla montifringilla. These birds pass through
there, finding optimal conditions for feeding and resting. Anser albifrons was observed
only once (2 individuals) on March 9 th 2002. The shorebird species (Calidris sp. and
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Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii „AL. I. CUZA” Iaşi, s. Biologie animală, Tom LII, 2006
Tringa sp.) appear during passage in numbers of tens of individuals. Fringilla
montifringilla was observed in the winter of 2004-2005.
A4/B1 – 60 gregarious species (69.77%) are represented by aquatic and semiaquatic
species (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis, Pelecanus onocrotalus, Ardea cinerea,
Egretta alba, E. garzetta, Ciconia nigra, Plegadis falcinellus, Platalea leucorodia, species
of the Anseriformes, Gruiformes and Charadriiformes Orders), or connected to aquatic
environments (Riparia riparia, Merops apiaster), as well as species of raptors
(Falconiformes Order). The Great Cormorant (Phalocrocorax carbo sinensis) does not
breed in the area, but some individuals stop and feed often in the marsh. The Great White
Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) was observed only once, on November 1 st 2003 (two
individuals). Ardea cinerea breeds next to the Egretta garzetta in the marsh forest, staying
and feeding in the area. Egretta alba stays even during winter time (maximum 15
individuals), together with Ardea cinerea. The Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a
passage species, the largest number of individuals observed being 37, on April 14 th 2005.
The Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) was frequently seen in the area, between April and
October 2002, with a peak population of 57 adult and juvenile individuals in July-August
2002, and from March in 2003 until the end of September that year, breeding probably in
the Băloiu Islet and often crossing the Danube into Siliştioara Marsh. In 2004, the
maximal number was recorded on July 15 th 2004. Most of the Anseriformes of this
category are passage species, as breeding species we noticed the Anas platyrhynchos and
Anas querquedula, and like probably breeding species the Anas strepera and Aythya
ferina. The Common Teal (Anas crecca) is a winter visitor, present from autumn time
(October) till spring (March), with effectives about 150-200 individuals. The Common
Coot (Fulica atra) breeds in the Siliştioara Marsh with about 30 pairs. The Common
Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a regular breeding species, but it effective was not
estimated. Like breeding limicoline bird species have been noticed Himantopus
himantopus, Charadrius dubius, Vanellus vanellus and also the Little Tern (Sterna
albifrons), but not in very large numbers (10-20 pairs for each of them), most of the
limicoline birds being passage species in the marsh perimeter.
B2 – 31 species with an unfavourable conservation status in Europe (36.05%).
From these species, the area is a nesting place for Ixobrychus minutus, Ciconia ciconia (7
nests counted in town, two of these in the neighbourhood adjacent to the marsh),
Chlidonias hybridus (observed on the nest in 2004 and 2005, Merops apiaster (its nests
located in the high bank on the left of the marsh), Riparia riparia (in 2002 – 2003, there
was a colony about several hundreds individuals in the Danube bank, which was
destroyed in the following years due the high levels of the river and flooding, only few
nests being reconstructed in the high bank after this moment), Hirundo rustica, Lanius sp.
B3 – 12 species with favourable conservation status in Europe (13.95%) –
aquatic and semi-aquatic species like Aythya ferina, Porzana parva, Recurvirostra
avosetta, and also passerines: Locustella luscinioides, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus,
Acrocephalus scirpaceus, Corvus monedula, Fringilla montifringilla, Carduelis chloris,
Miliaria calandra, Emberiza citrinella and Emberiza schoeniclus.
By consulting the Red List of Vertebrates in Romania (Botnariuc & Tatole,
2005), it results that 21 of the species identified on the Siliştioara Marsh are included on
the list, as vulnerable or endangered species.
The human pressure in the area is determined largely by intensive grazing and
the presence of small size livestock (ducks, geese). Also in the area is practiced individual
fishing, both on the marsh and on the Danube banks. Reed is cut and used in households,
or is even burned down (Orzaţă, 2005).
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Table 1. Avifauna of the Siliştioara Marsh (Olt county).
SPECIES RED
IBA CATEGORIES
LIST A1 A3 A4/B1 B2 B3
Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis (L) *
Phalacrocorax pygmaeus (Pall) * * *
Pelecanus onocrotalus(L) * *
Pelecanus crispus (Bruch) * * *
Botaurus stellaris (L) *
Ixobrychus minutus (L) *
Nycticorax nycticorax (L) * * *
Ardeola ralloides (Scop) * * *
Egretta garzetta (L) * *
Egretta alba (L) * *
Ardea cinerea (L) *
Ardea purpurea (L) * *
Ciconia nigra (L) * *
Ciconia ciconia (L) * * *
Plegadis falcinellus (L) * *
Platalea leucorodia (L) * *
Cygnus olor (Gmel) *
Cygnus cygnus (L) *
Anser albifrons (Scop) * *
Anser erythropus (L) * *
Anser anser (L) *
Tadorna tadorna (L) * *
Anas penelope (L) *
Anas strepera (L) *
Anas crecca (L) *
Anas platyrhynchos (L) *
Anas acuta (L) *
Anas querquedula (L) *
Anas clypeata (L) *
Aythya ferina (L) * *
Aythya nyroca (Guldenst) * * *
Circus aeruginosus (L)
Accipiter nisus (L)
*
Buteo buteo (L) *
Falco tinnunculus (L) * *
Falco subbuteo (L) *
Perdix perdix (L)
Phasianus colchicus (L)
*
Porzana parva (Scop) *
Gallinula chloropus (L) *
Fulica atra (L) *
Haematopus ostralegus (L) * *
Himantopus himantopus (L) * *
Recurvirostra avosetta (L) * * * *
Glareola pratincola (L) * *
Charadrius dubius (Scop) *
Vanellus vanellus(L) *
Calidris temminckii (Leisl) * *
Calidris ferruginea (Pontopp) * *
Philomachus pugnax (L) * *
Gallinago gallinago (L) *
Limosa limosa (L) *
Numenius arquata (L) * *
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Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii „AL. I. CUZA” Iaşi, s. Biologie animală, Tom LII, 2006
Tringa erytropus (Pall) * *
Tringa totanus (L) * *
Tringa nebularia (Gunn) * *
Tringa ochropus (L) *
Tringa glareola (L) * *
Actitis hypoleucos (L) *
Larus minutus (Pall) * *
Larus ridibundus(L) *
Larus canus (L) * *
Larus argentatus (Pall) *
Sterna hirundo (L) * *
Sterna albifrons (Pall) * *
Chlidonias hybridus (Pall) * *
Chlidonias niger (L) * *
Columba livia domestica
Streptopelia decaocto (Friv)
Cuculus canorus (L)
Athene noctua (Scop) *
Alcedo atthis (L) *
Merops apiaster (L) * *
Coracias garrulus (L) *
Upupa epops (L) *
Galerida cristata (L) *
Alauda arvensis (L) *
Riparia riparia (L) * *
Hirundo rustica (L) *
Delichon urbica (L)
Anthus campestris (L) *
Motacilla flava flava (L)
Motacilla flava feldegg
Motacilla alba (L)
Locustella luscinioides (Savi) *
Locustella naevia (Bodd)
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus (L) *
Acrocephalus scirpaceus (Herm) *
Acrocephalus arundinaceus (L)
Phylloscopus collybita (Vieil)
Lanius collurio (L) *
Lanius minor (Gmel) *
Garrulus glandarius (L)
Pica pica (L)
Corvus monedula (L) *
Corvus frugilegus (L)
Corvus corone cornix (L)
Sturnus vulgaris (L)
Passer domesticus (L)
Passer montanus (L)
Fringilla montifringilla (L) *
Carduelis chloris (L) *
Carduelis carduelis (L)
Miliaria calandra (L) *
Emberiza citrinella (L) *
Emberiza schoeniclus (L) *
TOTAL: 106 21 4 4 60 31 12
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Conclusions
Siliştioara Marsh is one of the last marshes remaining in the Danube Meadow
between the Rivers Jiu and Olt, an unprotected area where the human factors influence the
repartition, biology and ecology of birds present there.
The bird fauna of the Siliştioara Marsh is represented by 106 species belonging
to 12 orders. 86 of the species are representative criteria for identifying important bird
areas, which means 81.13% of the whole identified bird fauna.
According to the Red List of Vertebrates in Romania, 21 species present here are
included in this list as endangered and vulnerable, both locally as well as globally.
For these reasons, we propose this area to be included or at least considered for
inclusion on the list of Romanian Important Bird Areas, its bird fauna spectrum being rich
and representative for this purpose.
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