Spotted Crake habitat use 133
©Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Wildfowl
(2013) 63: 115–134
maintain for Spotted Crakes would seem to
be consistent shallow water areas that do not
dry out during April–September, and which
retain relatively open vegetation, although
the type and height of the vegetation seems
less crucial. It would seem advisable, for this
reason, to remove the most rank and
aggressive vegetation, and grazing by
livestock of peripheral areas late in the
season may be an advantage, although it is
difficult to see how cutting machinery or
grazing stock will affect the wettest core
areas that Spotted Crake seem to favour.
The data presented here are initial results
from a pilot one-year study. We advocate
further similar studies of the species,
covering birds breeding at other sites whilst
maintaining monitoring activity at Lille
Vildmose, to determine between-year and
between-site patterns of habitat occupancy
and home range assessment. This should
lead to more definite conclusions about
habitat choice and the role of water levels,
for developing a sympathetic management
programme for the species.
Acknowledgements
We are deeply grateful to the Danish Nature
Agency for the active support and funding
to carry out this project, and to them, the
Municipality of Aalborg and the Aage V.
Jensen Fond for kindly granting permission
to work on the area during the Life+ Nature
restoration programme on Lille Vildmose.
We are very grateful to the many experts
that shared their knowledge about the
site and Spotted Crakes, but especially
acknowledge the contributions made by
John Mallord, Thorkil Lund, Jan Skriver, Ian
Francis, David Stroud, Eileen Rees and an
anonymous referee and our thanks also to
Lars Dalby and Kevin Clausen for assisting
with the capture of crakes.
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