Doi: https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.72.2.2025.sc3
Authors: Kristina R. PANOVA, Martin P. MARINOV and Boris P. NIKOlOV
E-mail: panova.krisstina@gmail.com
Published: Volume 72.2, July 2025. Pages 297-309.
Language: English
Keywords: automated sound recorders, Belasitsa, bird monitoring, bioacoustics, forest management and habitat characteristics
Summary:
The Semi-collared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata is a rare little-known species and a habitat specialist that breeds in old-growth deciduous forests. In this study, we deployed autonomous sound recorders during the breeding season in three types of beech forests, affected to varying degrees by human activities: pre-mature managed, mature managed, and old-growth forests. This was in order to evaluate passive acoustic monitoring as a potentially effective tool for monitoring the Semi-collared Flycatcher and to investigate the relationship between its singing rate and key forest structural attributes. The Semi-collared Flycatcher was not detected in the prematurely managed forests and there was no significant difference between the vocal activity in mature managed forests and old-growth forests. The detected vocal activity rate was higher at places with sparser canopy cover and a higher density of trees with cavities. A consistent increase in singing activity throughout the season and a higher rate in the morning than in the afternoon was only detected in the old-growth forests. Our results demonstrate that the detected vocal activity rate is associated with key forest features at breeding sites and that passive acoustic monitoring can be successfully used for long-term monitoring of the Semi-collared Flycatcher in hard-to-access mountainous regions.
