ORNITHOLOGICAL MONITORING AND WETLAND MANAGEMENT IN MATSALU

Since the establishment of the Matsalu Nature Reserve in 1957 nesting avifauna of major habitats has been monitored. the total bird counts on Moonsund islets have been most systematic and comprehensive, but nesting birds of the open meadows of Matsalu wetland have also been monitored with little interruption. On the islets and in open landscape the bird species with increasing breeding numbers are the Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Mute Swan Cygnus olor, Greylag Goose Anser anser, Common Eider Somateria mollissima, Reed – Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Sedge Warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus, Skylark Alauda arvensis, Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava, Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus and Curlew Numenius arquata. At the same time several duck and wader populations are decreasing in numbers. The changes are partly attributable to what happens outside the wetland inter alia on wintering sites and partly to stochastic processes. However quite obviously they are at least partly caused by change of wetland habitats in the area itself, especially overgrowth of meadows. This has serious implications for wetland management practice and planning. Among other measures, keeping meadow communities open is of major importance. Matsalu Nature Reserve, 90305 Penijoe, Lihula, Estonia