An international project grant of 18,000 Euros from the Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust (WHCT) will be presented to the public non-profit organisation OMPO Vilnius to assist conservation efforts to protect the habitat and breeding grounds of the Common Pochard in Lithuania in 2018 – 2020.

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Paul Williamson, Secretary to the WHCT, said:

“On behalf of the WHCT Trustees I would like to thank Dr Svazas for his thorough and comprehensive application. Once again the WHCT is pleased to assist this vital conservation work on the Nemunas River Delta and wish the team every success as they strive to sustain the habitats of not only the Common Pochard but also the safeguarding of other wildfowl species.”

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Over the last ten years trustees of the WHCT have made grants totalling over £80,000 to international projects. These include habitat restoration projects on stopover sites for migratory wildfowl in Lithuania, Belarus and Kaliningrad Region of Russia. These projects have proved extremely successful as they have improved the habitat significantly. Established in 1986 by members of the UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) to date the WHCT has awarded grants totalling £181,775.

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A rapid decline of the European population of Common Pochard was recently recorded in Europe. Recent changes of key nesting habitats was identified as one of main causes negatively affecting population trends (Fox et al., 2016). The species is included into the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (category “vulnerable”) since 2015.

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Common Pochards breeding in Lithuania belong to Northeast/Northwest Europe population and they migrate mostly to wintering grounds located in the United Kingdom. In Lithuania the decline of the local breeding population by up to 40 - 50% was recorded during the last decades. The local breeding population was estimated at about 5,000 pairs in the 1990s at about 3,500 pairs in 2006 while at present it is estimated at about 2,500 pairs though the exact population size is unknown. Therefore one of main objectives of this project is to provide reliable data on breeding numbers of Common Pochards in Lithuania and to identify the territories which are the most important for this species. Country-wide field surveys of Common Pochards will be implemented during their breeding seasons in 2019 and 2020.

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Common Pochard prefers eutrofic shallow lakes, also artificial wetlands (mostly fishponds) with abundant food resources. The largest breeding densities of Common Pochards in Lithuania were recorded in coastal floodplains of the Nemunas River delta (up to 20 pairs/100 ha) and in certain wet inland meadows (up to 30 pairs/100 ha). Many habitats of such types have been lost or degraded in Lithuania during the last decades. It was mainly caused by recent land-use changes. Restoration of natural open habitats and re-introduction of traditional sustainable farming is the only way to maintain the key breeding sites for Common Pochards in Eastern Europe. Its important to restore certain key habitats of breeding Common Pochards in Lithuania and to grant their long-term sustainable management. It is the second main objective of this project. Small-scale restoration works implemented in selected sites particularly important for breeding Common Pochards are necessary for evaluation of effectiveness of planned major restoration activities.

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Up to 100 breeding pairs of Common Pochard were recorded in Vorusne floodplain of Rusne Island in the 1990s but the carrying capacity of the site has recently declined due to lack of traditional cattle grazing/hay making and a rapid overgrowing of abandoned land with shrubs/bushes. The restoration activities during this project will include the total clearing of the selected area from bushes/small trees/shrubs during winters 2019 - 2020 and partial re-establishment of the regulated cattle grazing and hay-making in restored plots. Local farmers will receive compensations and reduced taxes for long-term implementation of ecological agriculture in the restored site.

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Up to 70 breeding pairs of Common Pochards were recorded on open Zemaitiskes meadows and on islands of adjacent Lake Kretuonas in the 1980s. The site has recently lost its importance for breeding wildfowl due to abandonment of agricultural land and its further overgrowing with shrubs and dense reed beds. The restoration activities planned in selected plot will include the total clearing of shrubs/bushes/dense reed stands during winters 2019 - 2020 and re-establishment of the regulated cattle-grazing in selected plots of the site. Local farmers will receive certain compensations and tax reduction for long-term implementation of sustainable agriculture in the restored site.

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It is also very important to designate the key moulting sites of Common Pochards in Eastern Europe and to perform analysis of important habitats in such sites, as conditions of important moulting sites supporting large numbers of ducks can impact the overall population trends. The only known major moulting site of Common Pochard in the eastern Baltic region was designated in the Nemunas River delta, with up to 22,000 individuals counted in early August. New field surveys of moulting Common Pochards will be implemented in the Nemunas River delta area in July – August 2019/2020. During this project it is planned to designate other important moulting sites of Common Pochards (breeding in Lithuania) using several small (10 g) GPS/GMS transmitters. It is expected that the use of telemetry methods will enable to identify important but currently unknown moulting sites of Common Pochard in the Baltic region. This information is critically important for effective sustainable management of the species in Europe.

 

The results of this project will contribute to enhancement of the European population of Common Pochard.