More than one in two upscale in Switzerland comes from the Wauwil (LU) marsh. This year, in the largest colony of this very threatened bird nesting on the ground, 88 chicks have taken off, a record since the launch of the conservation project.
The marsh of Wauwil, in the north of the canton of Lucerne, is home to 56 couples of upscale valves, or more than a quarter of the Swiss nesting population, indicates Tuesday the Swiss ornithological station of Sempach (LU). The latter draws a positive assessment from the species conservation project launched in 2004.
Until the 1970s, the upscale valve was a regular nesting bird, with at least 1000 couples. But the drainage of wetlands, the destruction of its habitat and the intensive agricultural exploitation, among others, led to a brutal decline. In 2005, only 83 couples reproduced throughout Switzerland.
Thanks to protection and conservation efforts, the species was saved from extinction. Since 2005, its workforce has more than doubled and nearly 200 couples now nest in the country.
Reported nests
This stung with the curved fine hoopoe niche on the ground, which is why its nests are reported in the fields and meadows of Wauwil so that farmers can bypass them. To keep the foxes away, the nesting surfaces are closed.
The revaluation of the habitat is essential to the long -term conservation of the upscale valve in Switzerland. This includes the creation of special fallows, floodplates and meadows and wet fields.
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