6.1
Selection of personnel and running of the survey
As a general comment, the efficiency of the 1999
survey could have been significantly increased if the following issues had been
considered in advance and avoided:
(i) All personnel should be totally committed to the
project, with a genuine interest in carrying out the survey to their maximum
ability. There should be a preparedness and an enthusiasm to do more than is
asked – the survey must come first for everyone.
(ii) It should
be absolutely clear and agreed by all team members at the start of the survey
who is ultimately in charge of the survey. Someone must have an overview of the
work being done and the data being collected in relation to the final goal, and
be prepared to identify and implement changes on a day to day basis which would
improve the survey (such as starting the morning surveys earlier in response to
the rise in temperature as the season progresses). This does not rule out
discussion of suggestions and input of ideas from all team members, but the rest
of the team must be prepared to respect the team leader's decisions.
(iii) All personnel should be able to devote 100% of
their time to the survey and not have to compromise survey work in order to
fulfil other commitments. Alternatively, the survey should be allowed and able
to continue without the involvement of personnel who have other commitments.
This conflict of interests during the 1999 survey resulted in unscheduled
changes to the agreed work programme, lost time in the field, and absorption of
two weeks allocated for report writing at the end of the survey into the survey
itself.
(iv) All personnel must be able to drive the survey
vehicle. Reliance on one, or at best two, team members for travelling around the
site resulted in missed opportunities to obtain almost 100% coverage of the
survey area as this could only have been achieved on an ad hoc basis
involving only some of the team members. It should be noted that if there had
been 100% commitment to the survey by all team members the lack of drivers would
probably have been less important.
(v) All equipment should be checked, in full working
order and available from the start of the project. Problems were encountered
with one of the GPS units which resulted in compromises needing to be made when
surveying some squares as personnel were not always sure of their position.
Similarly, delays were encountered in obtaining a tape recorder for playback
monitoring of owls so this part of the survey started later than was desirable,
and the tape provided only included two of the three species of owl breeding at
Wadi Rum.
These points should be borne in mind when planning and selecting
personnel for future work.
6.2
Additional baseline surveys
Whilst this survey has provided baseline information
on the majority of Wadi Rum's breeding birds and the spring migration, not all
species were surveyed comprehensively and information is still lacking for the
autumn and winter periods, therefore additional research and survey work is
suggested.
(i) Breeding species
(a)
Owls and nightjars
Neither of these groups were effectively surveyed in
1999. Survey work for both groups needs to be carried out after dark and to
obtain adequate coverage could only have been achieved by splitting the survey
team into daytime and night-time researchers. With the lack of experienced
observers and the need to provide all Jordanian team members with equal training
and experience, splitting the team was out of the question, yet the commitment
to four daytime survey visits – and the daily writing up and planning of the
next day's work this involved – made it physically impossible for all team
members to do everything. As Wadi Rum may support nationally important
populations of the former group, especially Hume's tawny owl, a dedicated survey
is suggested to address this situation.
The main calling period of the three owl species breeding in Wadi Rum is
likely to be January to March and the number of territory holding males could be
assessed during this period by using the tape playback technique outlined under Methods
and used successfully for sampling Hume's tawny owl during the current survey.
Breeding territories of the three species range from 0.5 square km for
little owl to more than 80 square km for eagle owl but with nests sites for all
of the species potentially being as close as 1 to 2 km, sampling using the 2 x 2
km survey grid used for the current survey could be used for this work. All of
the major wadi systems should be visited during a two to three hour period from
dusk onwards and tapes of calling males of each of the species played and
responses listened for. When sampling for the presence of Hume's tawny owl
during the current survey, territory holding males tended to respond almost
immediately the first sequence of calls ended and this is likely to be the case
in the other two species as well. If no response is obtained after five minutes,
the tape should be played again. If no response if obtained after two playings
of the tape, it is likely that the species is not present. Each species should
be sampled in turn, for example two sequences of little owl, followed by two
sequences of eagle owl, followed by two sequences of Hume's tawny owl. Sampling
should only be carried out on calm, dry evenings. Given a period of good weather
sampling of the whole Protected Area would probably take approximately three
weeks. Existing RSCN staff would be able to undertake this work.
Two species of nightjar, Nubian Caprimulgus nubicus and Egyptian C
aegyptius could potentially breed at Rum. The same tape playback technique
as outlined for owls could be used with surveys being carried out from mid-March
to late April. Existing RSCN staff should be able to undertake this work.
(b) Sooty falcon
Due to their late breeding strategy, sooty falcons
were only just arriving in Wadi Rum at the end of the survey period and
therefore the size of the breeding population remains unknown but could be of
national importance. As with other breeding raptors the most effective census
technique is to visit all suitable areas and record the presence of birds and
look for evidence of nesting. Therefore it is suggested that a two to three week
visit be made to the site during July/August to look for nest sites which would
be located on ledges on the jebels. Existing RSCN staff should be able to
undertake this work.
(ii)
Wintering species
Although data is limited, the current survey
suggests that Wadi Rum may be an important wintering site for Cyprus and desert
warblers and possibly Syrian serin.
For the two species of warbler, systematic visits should be made to all
areas with good vegetation cover, principally Retama and Haloxylon
stands around the bases of the main jebels and in the side wadis. Syrian serins
are more likely to be restricted to the gardens around Rum village or areas of
permanent water where vegetation is denser and feeding is better. However,
records should be made of all bird species encountered as the site may prove to
be important for other species. Four to six weeks, to allow for periods of
adverse weather, should be allowed for survey work during the period late
December and January. This work may require a more experienced birdwatcher than
is currently available within RSCN, working alongside one or more Jordanian
counterparts.
As an alternative to attempting to cover the whole site, this survey
could concentrate on the same survey squares used in the current survey to give
60% coverage of the whole site and obtain an index of wintering bird
populations.
(iii)
Raptor migration
As mentioned, observations of migrating raptors
during the current survey were largely opportunistic rather than systematic,
completion of the main bird survey taking precedence. Therefore more detailed
work in both spring and autumn is still required to determine the true
importance of Wadi Rum for migrating raptors. The lack of a well defined route
for migrating raptors makes achieving an accurate count difficult but given a
project dedicated solely to monitoring the migration it may be possible to
determine the best observation site(s) and to obtain more meaningful counts.
A spring migration study should cover the period mid-February to mid-May,
and an autumn study early September to the end of October, a total of 22 weeks.
A minimum of two experienced observers would be required.
(iv)
Autumn migration
Wadi Rum is clearly an important migration route for
a large number and variety of species in spring and it is likely that the site
is of equal importance in the autumn. It is proposed that a repeat of the
current survey, using the same techniques and survey squares, be made during
late August to early October to assess the number and species of birds passing
through the site.
Given the experiences of the survey team working at Azraq, consideration
should be given to establishing one or more regular ringing sites as part of
this study to gain additional information on skulking species and on the
subspecies of birds moving through. Potential locations for ringing sites are
the gardens in Rum village and the two extensive stands of Retama in
square 3468 at the northern end of Khazali (one immediately north of the
entrance to the siq and the other at the north-west corner of the jebel) both
sites being readily accessible and known to attract good numbers of migrant
passerines. Personnel required would be similar to this survey, together with an
experienced, qualified bird ringer if ringing were to be included.
6.3
Detailed research
(i)
Breeding
bird success
Although an estimate of the population size and
distribution of all breeding bird species has been determined from the current
study, there is no data available on breeding bird success. This is important to
determine as species may be being adversely affected by grazing and tourism
through nest destruction and/or disturbance.
Based on the data collected in the current survey, it is suggested that a
series of 1 km x 1 km sample plots be established in a range of habitats
throughout the Protected Area to give coverage of differing habitat types and in
areas of high and low human use. Within each study plot, breeding bird numbers
should be determined by territory mapping (as detailed in section 3 –
Methods) combined with nest finding in order to monitor chick survival
rates. Field work should be carried out during April and May and would require
one or two experienced birdwatchers. If the survey were restricted to a
representative selection of the commoner species such as desert lark, scrub
warbler and white-crowned black wheatear, this work could be carried out by
existing RSCN staff.
(ii)
Breeding bird densities
The results of this survey show the majority of
breeding species to occur in the main wadis and their margins, so it is now
thought feasible that bird densities could be determined by using line transects
– see section 3 – Methods for details of carrying out transects.
Transects should be carried out in each of the main wadis during March to May.
By concentrating on the commoner species this work could be carried out by
existing RSCN staff. Bird density information would allow more accurate
estimation of breeding bird populations within the more accessible habitats
occurring within the Protected Area, though only for the more numerous species.
(iii)
Repeat of current survey
In order to assess the effects of any changes in
habitat or visitor management resulting from implementation of the Management
Plan (or continued and accelerating uncontrolled use), it is suggested that the
current survey be repeated, using the same techniques and survey squares, 3 to 5
years after the introduction of the Plan (or in five years time if no change in
management of the area has taken place).
Whilst all of the suggested additional work will add
significantly to the understanding of the ornithological importance of Wadi Rum,
detailed planning and prioritisation of future work should be made with
reference to any proposed habitat and visitor management at the site in order to
ensure that the most appropriate work is undertaken at the correct time to
provide the information required to monitor the success of any changes in human
use of the area.
