New findings on woodlark

The woodlark (Lullula arborea) is a migratory bird that also nests in the Natura 2000 site Goričko. In the last 20 years, its numbers in Goričko steeply declined from 180-240 pairs in 1997 to 20-30 pairs in 2016. The decline was strongly influenced by the intensification of agriculture, overgrowing and changing meadows into fields. Therefore, the woodlark is one of the target species of the Gorička krajina project. As part of the project, the project partner DOPPS conducted a point census at 120 random points in the 2018 breeding season. More pairs were detected in unconsolidated (10 pairs) than in land consolidatied areas (7 pairs).

They also determined its habitat use for the purpose of determining feeding or nesting areas that would be suitable for concluding conservation agreements. Woodlark nested in dense and higher vegetation, hiden from predators. Fields with winter grains, fallow land and plowed fields, where the nest can be hidden in clump, have proven to be important nesting sites. The latter in some cases poses a problem after the start of nesting, as the nest may be endangered by different works. Woodlarks preferred to feed on areas with a high proportion of bare soil and on extensive dry meadows. According to the obtained data, in 2018, we can conclude that there are 40 breeding pairs in Goričko. The most important areas for the species are Budinci, Dolenci, Fokovci, Lončarovci, Panovci, Kukeč, Kančevci, Krplivnik, Šulinci and Ženavlje.