Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVI, Issue 2
Written by Stilyana YANEVA, Gradimir GRADEV, Tatyana BILEVA
Lesser Kestrel often nests in urban areas, where is provided nesting sites and the level of threat of predation is lowland. Demolition of older buildings where the birds nested is the problems of the breeding range. Due to the drastic reduction of natural habitats, the placement of artificial nest boxes provides reliable nesting sites with a low risk of predation. Over 70 artificial nest boxes were installed on the territory of SPA 'Sakar' part of NATURA 2000 where the Lesser Kestrel has been successfully recovered as a breeder. The installed artificial nest boxes are different types providing more breeding opportunities. In this survey our goal is to process which factors affect the occupation rate of provided artificial nest boxes. The results showed that artificial nest boxes performances (type of the nest boxes, height above ground and etc.) significantly influenced the occupancy. We conclude that artificial nest boxes are of great importance in providing safe nesting sites.
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