Population sizes and migration times of the White-headed Duck, Oxyura leucocephala (Scopoli, 1769), in Turkey

Abstract

A study on migration times and population sizes of the white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), which is one of Europe’s rarest birds, was conducted between January 2007 and August 2010 at Lake Burdur, the Lake Van Basin (Lake Erçek, Lake Sodalı (Arin), Lake Norşin) and the Sultan Marshes in Turkey. It was determined that the reason for the species to prefer Lake Burdur as a wintering area was the lack of dense reeds at the share of the lake and not freez completely. The results of our study showed that the maximum individual number was 1220 and an increase in the ratio of adult male during the last years was observed at Lake Burdur. Especially in the recent years, the species was not observed in the Sultan Marshes, because of the habitat degredation. The breeding period was about seven month (AprilOctober) in the Lake Van Basin. During this period it was determined that the species prefers to breed in habitats that have tall and dense reed beds (Phragmites spp. and Typha spp.) and which are far from human effects, providing shelter against wind and precipitation.