AnE has a long-standing tradition of field based studies on individually known animals, using hole-breeding passerines and water birds as model species.

Hole-breeding Passerines

The research on hole-breeding Passerines pre-dates not only the NIOO but also the IOO, one of the three Institutes that merged into the NIOO. Already in 1910 the first long-term population study was put up at Oranje Nassau Oord (a forest near Wageningen) by Wolda, and later taken over by Kluyver. When the IOO was founded in 1954, Kluyver (see picture below) became the first director. Already in 1955 nestbox studies were initiated in four study populations, and these are still ongoing.

The Hoge Veluwe study population is in the south of the National Park De Hoge Veluwe and is mixed forest that is part of a larger area. The population on Vlieland is also in a mixed forest but isolated. The other two areas are both rich decideous forests, with Liesbos being part of a larger wood land area and Oosterhout being an isolated forest.

Within these populations great tits, blue tits, pied flycatchers, coal tits and nuthatches are individually marked with rings and we have been following these populations with individualy known birds since 1955, under the directorships of Kluyver (1955 - 1968), van Balen (1968-1991; see picture below), van Noordwijk (1991-2002, see picture) and Visser (2002-present).

To celebrate the 50th breeding season we organised the Hole Breeding Passerines meeting at Vlieland in 2004 (see Logo and group picture).

Waterbirds

One part of the research of waterbirds is catching Bewick Swans and band them with yellow neckcollars. We started with it in 2005 and at the moment we have banded almost 200 birds with yellow neckcollars. Some of these neckcollars are equipped with GPS loggers. These loggers store up till 8 times per day the exact position. They also store more parameters; like height and temperature. It is possible to download these loggers via a Bluetooth connection at three certain times per day and then for exact 4 minutes. It is important to be within a 400 m range of the bird, otherwise the signal will not reach the logger and it is impossible to make a Bluetooth connection.


A neckcollar with GPS logger


Two swans with GPS neckcollars
(photo: Colin Butters)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


An example of a download: one year of the life of a Bewick Swan

 

 

​ ​

 

 

​ ​