Monitoring of Aquatic Warblers

In Lithuania, farmers who have declared their pastures as part of the “Sustainable agriculture and climate” program working on the project “Protecting the threatened aquatic warbler’s natural and semi-natural grassland habitat” have to adjust their mowing time based on if brooding aquatic warblers were found on their fields the previous year. This is determined by ornithologists who have conducted evaluations of the aquatic warbler population in the area, and inform the responsible specialists in municipalities by June 15th. This information is declared in an official system, in the National Payment Agency.

The aquatic warbler population is counted based on singing males. Counting occurs twice a year:

• The first recording occurs until the middle of June

• The second recording occurs in the beginning of July

After the second recording of the population, the population count is updated. Farmers who have aquatic warblers sighted for the first time in their fields are informed.