Transnational and long-term monitoring of indicator species to be established by DANUBEPARKS - First activities started!
A preliminary survey of breeding colonies of Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) along the Danube was carried out this spring at the Duna-Ipoly National Park. Two new colonies were found, one in the region of Szob near to the Slovakian-Hungarian border, and another one south of Budapest. As it can be seen on the pictures, these sites in both places are extremely exposed to high water conditions; floods during the breeding season could easily damage whole colonies. Especially in the latter site (south of Budapest), there are several suitable sand banks for nesting, which should be preserved in the future.
The pilot monitoring is part of a network activity for monitoring bird species that are indicators of a natural and dynamic river – Sand Martin and Little Ringed Plover – along the whole river. At the moment, the methods are being developed by the Duna-Ipoly National Park, in cooperation with experts of several other Protected Areas. DANUBEPARKS works for the establishment of these two bird species as indicators for transnational and long-term monitoring.
