Census of breeding birds in fragmented high-altitude mountain pine forests of the Central French Pyrenees in 1987

Résumé 0

197 point-count surveys of breeding birds (passerines and picidae) were conducted in 1987 in a high-altitude (1800 to 2400 metres) fragmented pine forest located in the Néouvielle National Nature Reserve in the central French Pyrenees. The altitude, the percentage of open areas, of stones, boulders and of herbaceous and ligneous plant cover at various heights, the canopy height and number of dead trees, along with landscape variables describing patch size and isolation from large pine stands or low-altitude forests, were assessed for each point count. Additionally, the presence of cones attacked by the Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and the Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), and Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) droppings were recorded at the point counts. These data provide valuable information on the breeding bird community and Red Squirrel occurrence in a typical high-altitude mountain pine forest in the Pyrenees in 1987, serving as a baseline for future comparisons to study population and community changes, the impact of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and conservation priorities.