A 2022. januári vízimadár-felmérés eredményei a Balatonon és a környező vizesélőhelyeken

Waterbird census was carried out on 52 survey plots around Lake Balaton and its surrounding wetlands on 29th January 2022, like in previous years (KOVÁCS, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c, 2013d, 2015, 2023a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d, 2023e; KOVÁCS & HAJDU, 2015a, 2015b; KOVÁCS & BRUCKNER 2022a, 2022b, 2022c, 2025a) by BirdLife Hungary South- Balaton Local Group. A total of 40 waterbird species from 8 orders and 8 families were observed (Table 1). More than half of the observed individuals were ducks and geese, and more than one-sixth were coots. The Eurasian Coot was the most numerous species (>10,200 individuals), followed by the Greater White-fronted Goose (>9,100), the Mallard (>6,600), the Great Cormorant (~6,400), the Common Pochard (~5,500), the Tufted Duck (~5,100), the Black-headed Gull (~4,600) and the Goldeneye (~4,400), all of which were also significant throughout the survey area. A notable count was also recorded for the Common Merganser, with a total of 267 individuals observed. In fishponds and marshes, the dominant species (those with a dominance value D > 5%) were the Black-headed Gull, Greater White-fronted Goose, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Yellowlegged/ Caspian Gull, and Mew Gull. On Lake Balaton itself, the dominant species were the Eurasian Coot, Greater White-fronted Goose, Great Cormorant, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye. The highest number of individual birds was counted at Balatonaliga (>15,000 individuals). Significant numbers were also recorded at Fonyód (~7,500 ind.), Balatonföldvár (>5,300 ind.) and Tihany Gödrös (~5,000 ind.). Additionally, more than 1,000 waterbirds were recorded at 17 other survey locations (Table 2 and Map 1). The highest species richness was recorded at Fonyód, with 19 waterbird species observed. Furthermore, at 28 additional locations, more than 10 species were recorded (Map 2). Several locally outstanding records were also made: 1,702 Great Cormorants at Balatonfenyves; 2,600 Greater White-fronted Geese and 1,857 Common Pochards at Fonyód; 2,000 Common Pochards and 1,500 Goldeneyes at Balatonföldvár; 1,000 Mallards at Szabadi- Sóstó; 2,600 Greater White-fronted Geese at Balatonkenese (Füzfő Bay); 4,700 Eurasian Coots at Tihany Gödrös and 1,104 Great Cormorants at Vonyarcvashegy. At Királyszentistván, 2,000 Black-headed Gulls were counted, while a flock of 15,000 wild geese was observed near Balatonaliga; due to the large distance, species-level identification was not reliably possible. Species occurring at more than half of the observation sites (constancy C > 50%) included the Mallard, Mute Swan, Goldeneye, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged/Caspian Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Mew Gull, Eurasian Coot and Tufted Duck, indicating their widespread presence in the study area. An interesting faunistic result was the occurrence of the following species: Greater Scaup (5-3-7-3-4-1-6 ind. at Bélatelep, Fonyód, Fonyódliget, Ordacsehi elágazó, Zamárdi, Tihany rév, Balatonudvari Fövenyes, and Badacsony); Velvet Scoter (5 ind. at Vonyarcvashegy); Common Scoter (2 ind. at Balatonboglár); Long-tailed Duck (1 ind. at Fonyódliget Ordacsehi elágazó); Common Merganser (at 17 plots, with a maximum count of 82 individuals at Balatonföldvár); Red-breasted Merganser (3 ind. at Tihany rév); Pallas’s Gull (1 ind. at Balatonboglár); European Herring Gull (1-2 ind. at Fonyódliget and Ordacsehi elágazó, Badacsony) and Black-throated Diver (1 ind. at Balatonakarattya).