Brutbestandsentwicklung des Graureihers Ardea cinerea in Bayern unter Berücksichtigung seines Managements

摘要: Following the establishment of hunting regulations for Grey Heron in Bavaria in 1983, the development of the breeding population has been regularly recorded. The latest count of the breeding population in Bavaria was performed in 2019 and 2020. A total of 1.990 breeding pairs and 164 colonies were documented. Compared to the previous count in 2008, the number of breeding pairs slightly decreased, although the number of colonies stayed almost unchanged. By using linear mixed models (LMMs) we showed that the growth in hunting bag had no significant influence on the development of the number of breeding pairs. However the current development of the breeding population is most likely affected by other regional parameters such as loss of nest sites. Therefore it is assumed that the recorded hunting bag also consists of a large number of individuals that are not breeding but only overwintering in Bavaria. In order to preserve larger colonies, interference in breeding habitats should be avoided. In addition, the breeding bird counts should be continued and loss of breeding habitat should be prevented. An adaptive European approach seems a promising solution for the management of this migratory bird species.