LlaberiaMountains

Birds in the shaded forests

A project is underway in the Llaberia mountain range and other natural areas in Catalonia, to preserve yew trees and their habitat. The members of this project are the Technological Forestry Centre of Catalonia and in Terres de l’Ebre, the Llaberia Mountain Range Committee and Rasquera Town-hall, and it is being financed by the European Commission through the LIFE+ programme.
Different action is being taken, of which one area is to evaluate the role of birds as dispersers of seeds from trees such as the yew (Taxus baccata), holly (Ilex aquifolium), whitebeam (Sorbus aria) and the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). This research is being carried out within the framework of the TAXUS project, and its main aim to significantly improve the knowledge and preservation of yew trees in Catalonia. This is a LIFE programme financed by the European Commission. For more information go to www.taxus.cat

To evaluate the role of birds as good dispersers, a study of the Llaberia yew trees bird community has been carried out during the weeks when the yew trees bear most fruit. There were 11 listening stations of 10 minutes, separated by more than 500m in areas with a lot of yew trees and 7 listening stations in nearby forest areas without yew trees. In this way it was possible to evaluate the difference in abundance of birds present and of species which could probably be dispersers.

Results

Shown as follows are the species which have been detected and which form a diverse community. Among them are the song thrush (Turdus philomelos), blackbird (Turdus merula), European robin (Erithacus rubecula), Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) and possibly the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) and great tit (Parus major). This is a list of all of the species observed.

Species	Scientific name	Biology	Period
Common chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs	Low-disperser	I-XII
Red crossbill	Loxia curvirostra	Non-disperser	I-XII
Common serín	Serinus serinus	Non-disperser	I-XII
European robin	Erithacus rubecula	Medium- disperser	I-XII
Common firecrest	Regulus ignicapilla	Non-disperser	I-XII
Common linnet	Carduelis cannabina	Non-disperser	I-XII
Eurasian jay	Garrulus glandarius	Medium-disperser	I-XII
Meadow pipit	Anthus pratensis	Solely migratory	X-IV
Water pipit	Anthus spinoletta	Solely migratory	X-IV
European goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis	Non-disperser	I-XII
Blackbird	Turdus merula	Medium disperser	I-XII
European greenfinch	Chloris chloris	Non-disperser	I-XII
Short-toed treecreeper	Certhia brachydactyla	Non-disperser	I-XII
Song thrush	Turdus philomelos	High disperser	X-IV
Great tit	Parus major	Low disperser	I-XII
White wagtail	Motacilla alba	Non-disperser	I-XII
Eurasian siskin	Carduelis spinus	Non-disperser	I-XII
European crested tit	Lophophanes cristatus	Non-disperser	I-XII
Eurasian wren	Troglodytes troglodytes	Non-disperser	I-XII
Eurasian blue tit	Parus caeruleus / Cyanistes caureleus	Non-disperser	I-XII
Common chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita	Non-disperser	I-XII
Common wood pigeon	Columba palumbus	Medium disperser	I-XII
Dunnock	Prunella modularis	Non-disperser	I-XII
Coal tit	Parus ater Periparus ater	Non-disperser	I-XII
Long-tailed tit	Aegithalos caudatus	Non-disperser	I-XII
Wood lark	Lullula arborea	Non-disperser	I-XII
Brambling	Fringilla montifringilla	Low disperser	IX-III
Common raven	Corvus corax	Non-disperser	I-XII
Chough	Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax	Non-disperser	I-XII
Eurasian green woodpecker	Picus viridis	Non-disperser	I-XII
Tree pipit	Anthus trivialis	Solely migratory	III-X

These are all quite common species and can be observed throughout the year, although the best times to watch them are in the spring and autumn.

The role of carnivores as dispersers should also be mentioned, especially the Beech marten (Martes foina), and the Common genet (Geneta genetta), which could be significant and even as important as that of the birds.