Spatial dataset of breeding bird territories in East-Estonian forested landscapes, 2020-2022
Description
Please cite this dataset as: Lõhmus, A. 2024. A high-precision dataset of breeding bird distributions in forested landscapes in Estonia. Data in Brief, 57, 111012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.111012
The dataset depicts the distribution of all breeding bird pairs across a 14.3 km2 area in East Estonia, along River Ahja. The area comprises three adjacent, mostly forested landscape plots (forest land 81%), of which one plot (A) was mapped in three years (2020-2022) and the others once (plot B in 2021; plot C in 2022). The bird data includes the most likely centroids of each nesting territory of each species (ideally, nest location) as interpreted from multiple records; all the field data have been collected and interpreted by the author. The fieldwork included standard multi-visit mapping of nesting territories (on average, 7–8 visits from April to July), and each bird data point (5398 in total) includes a spatial accuracy assessment. In total, 98 bird species were detected. The bird data are accompanied with map layers depicting the study area borders and forest stand descriptions to facilitate habitat and landscape analyses; the available formats are MapInfo 10.5, ESRI Shape File, and csv; the co-ordinates are WGS84. Detailed descriptions of the data are included in a separate uploaded text file. The data have been used for several publications as indicated in the Reference list, notably for habitat analyses of woodland birds (Certhia familiaris; Cuculus canorus; Lophophanes cristatus; Turdus viscivorus) and for assessing forest management impacts on bird assemblages.
NOTE 19.07.2024: The following corrections are to be made (v2 coming soon; thus far please consider). 1) Birddata – one TETURO record missing in Plot C. 2) Birddata – one BONBON record (Pair ID 4379) under the species code TETBON. 3) Birddata_explanations – codes for field Type missing; should read as follows: Pinus = Pinus sylvestris dominated; Picea = Picea abies dominated; Con = Mixed conifer forest (≥80% in total); Mix = Conifer-deciduous mixture (neither ≥80%); Bet = Betula sp. dominated; Ainc = Alnus incana dominated; Aglu = A. glutinosa dominated; Ptre = Populus tremula dominated; Dec = Other deciduous forest (≥80% in total).
Files
Bird_area_borders.zip
Additional details
Funding
- Estonian Research Council
- Ecosystem resilience in hydrologically transformed and managed catchment areas PRG1121
References
- Lõhmus, A. 2023. The Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus in a production forestry context: a territory mapping study. Ornis Fennica 100(1): 51–60. https://doi.org/10.51812/of.120604
- Lõhmus, A. 2023. Porri (Certhia familiaris) pesitsemisest Eesti metsamaastikel [Breeding of the Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) in Estonian forest landscapes]. Hirundo 35(2): 1–16.
- Lõhmus, A. 2022. Käo (Cuculus canorus) arvukus metsamaastikul: kaardistusmeetodi võimalused ja probleemid [Breeding density of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in forest landscapes: opportunities and problems of the territory mapping method]. Hirundo 35(2), 1–18.
- Lõhmus, A. 2021. Lage- ja harvendusraiete esmane mõju haudelinnustikule [Short-term impacts of clear-cutting and thinning on breeding birds in forests]. Hirundo 34(2): 1–19.
- Lõhmus, A. 2020. Haudelinnustiku asustustihedus kuivendatud Kripsi soo ümbruse metsades [Population densities of breeding birds in forests surrounding the drained Kripsi mire (East Estonia)]. Hirundo 33(2): 30-52.
- Yatsiuk, Y., Lõhmus, A. 2024. Habitat niche of the Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus) in the central and peripheral parts of its range. Journal of Ornithology 165: 591–602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-024-02152-5
- Lõhmus, A. 2022. Absolute densities of breeding birds in Estonian forests: a synthesis. Acta Ornithologica 57(1), 29-47. https://10.3161/00016454AO2022.57.1.003