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The fact that Lake Neusiedl is a very special bird paradise was already recognized in the 19th century. Anton Jukovits (1810 to 1873), pastor of Apetlon, was one of the early pioneers. He was “not a professional zoologist” and in 1852 he presented a list of 110 birds. Seven years later he listed 182 species. It seemed easy back then to observe and count all the birds. "As long as the water in Lake Neusiedl was high, the area where I lived, Apetlon, was rich in water, marsh and beach birds, [...] and I was able to observe many rare specimens every year or acquire them for my collection." Also interesting in this context are the comments by the first author, Michael Dvorak, who writes about the increasing interest of international ornithologists in the region from the middle of the 20th century. Bird watching or birdwatching was a particular fascination here, in the global political border area, right on the border of the Iron Curtain. Finally, it was the diversity of birds that provided important arguments for various protected areas, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites (from 2001).
Who would be more qualified to write the foreword than the renowned zoologist Antal Festetics, who has many personal memories associated with Lake Neusiedl? He knew and researched with greats such as the later Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz (1903 to 1989) and considers it lucky to have served Lorenz as a "driver, goose feeder or aquarium cleaner." Festetics' text is a piece of authentic scientific history. Together with Hungarian colleagues, he played a leading role in establishing the two-state Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park. The Hungarian part was realized in 1991, the Austrian part two years later. Looking back, Festetics sums up: "It has become a national park, which offers a backdrop for ornithology or scientia amabilis, the 'kind science', in a way that cannot be found anywhere else."
The publisher of the book, published by the Natural History Museum of Vienna, is Birdlife Austria. The large format was written by an eight-person Austro-Hungarian team of authors led by Michael Dvorak. Since the 624 pages not only describe all 371 bird species, but also devote a lot of space to the habitat, whose development and change, the book is more than "just" a work of the century in the field of ornithology in the Pannonian region.
The heart of the book is the species chapter, starting from page 128 to page 588. The 371 species are ranked according to the World Bird List. Each bird is listed with German, Hungarian, English and finally Latin species names.
On March 29, 1936, Konrad Lorenz brought a clutch of gray goose from Seewinkel from which his first gray goose, Martina, hatched. Nomenclaturally, Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758), Nyári lúd (in Hungarian) or the Greylag Goose in English. Read more on pages 135ff. Each bird is also pictured with a photo from the region, with information about the location and day it was taken. With rare birds, it was a big challenge to get them in front of the camera lens.
Information about occurrence, distribution and habitat, such as population, seasonal occurrence, migratory behavior and ring finds, as well as source information, can be found as recurring points for well-documented species. Tables and graphics show developments over time. While the gray goose was not yet listed as a breeding bird in the middle of the 19th century, the animals that breed in the reed belt soon settled there. In the 21st century, around 2,300 couples (2015) are reported. Bird ringing shows that many greylag geese from the Czech Republic, Poland and East Germany overwinter here, while the birds from the Lake Neusiedl area have been recorded at Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian fish ponds or in northern Italy. Some native greylag geese also prefer the north as migratory birds and visit southern Bohemian or southern Polish fish ponds or the region around Berlin.
If you want to know what the stork is all about around Lake Neusiedl, whose nests can be found on numerous chimneys, especially in Rust, you will be well informed with the information on pages 324 to 328. It has been documented here as a breeding bird for over a hundred years.
A wealth of knowledge and many details about this fascinating migratory bird can be found in the monograph "The White Stork" by the Swiss author Lorenz Heer (managing director of Pro Natura Bern). He dedicated 256 pages exclusively to the white stork. The migratory bird, which weighs 2.7 to 4.6 kilos and has a wingspan of around two meters, is fascinating as a cultural follower. “Near humans, it found ideal conditions for building nests on houses covered with shields,” says biologist Heer. Nevertheless, the stork became extinct in Switzerland in 1949. After successful reintroduction measures, over 900 breeding pairs are now counted in the Swiss Confederation.
A total of ten richly illustrated and beautifully laid out chapters illuminate the stork from every angle. Habitat and habitat requirements are described according to characteristics, distribution, occurrence and population development. The further ranking takes place chronologically, starting with nest occupancy, pair formation, through clutches, youth years, up to the migration of the storks and the question of whether the proximity of humans is a blessing or a curse (from page 203). Finally, the future of the elegant migratory bird is examined, with the effects of climate change also being addressed.
Storks with transmitters provide incredible data. A white stork made it from northern Germany via Türkiye, Syria and Egypt to the south of Chad in just over three weeks without any rest days. In other words: up to 400 kilometers a day via the eastern route. Alternatively, other storks choose the western route via the Iberian Peninsula. Many fly on to South Africa. This results in route lengths of over 13,000 kilometers. Such distances are possible through clever use of thermals. With suitable updrafts, storks spiral up to 4,000 meters and glide to the next updraft zone, where they once again use the rising air.
Who would have thought that landfills could be an important factor for storks? In Spain, more than half of storks nest near open dumps and raise their offspring on human food scraps; On the other hand, the plastic waste there represents a constant threat. No wonder that humans, be it indirectly or directly through hunting (!), are the elegant bird's greatest enemy. When it comes to the effects of climate change, the stork proves to be adaptable. This means, among other things, that there are storks that no longer make the long flight south and spend the (mild) winter in Central Europe. If you look at the population, it is stable in Central Europe, while in Western Europe the stork population doubles every few years. As a cultural follower, the stork is closely linked to humans; the preservation of biodiversity is an important basis for the (survival) of storks.
Conclusion: Anyone who has not yet discovered their love for ornithology could become a bird lover after reading the books. The diversity of native birds around Lake Neusiedl is just as fascinating as the comprehensive representation of the stork, which is one of the most popular birds. (Thomas Hofmann, May 10, 2024)