Breeding habitat of sparrowhawks, Accipiter nisus on spoil heaps after coal mining

Natural succession of spoil heaps after brown coal mining leads to the development of rich plant and invertebrate communities and therefore has been considered a proper alternative to conventional reclamation practice. Little is known, however, about the effects of these alternative approaches on vertebrate predators. This study analyses nest-site choice of the sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus on afforested spoil heaps in the brown coal basin of north-west Bohemia, Czech Republic. Nest places of sparrowhawks, numbers of their main prey (small birds) and habitat attributes were investigated in 2007 and 2008 on 28 individual spoil heaps that were either reclaimed by silviculture or spontaneously afforested. Our results revealed preferences of breeding sparrowhawks for spontaneously developed birch growths with diverse mosaics of tree clumps, open patches and edge structures, all providing for opportunities to hunt. In addition, the proximity of large forests positively influenced nest-site choice of sparrowhawks. Although small birds were more abundant on Successions than Reclamations, our results did not suggest that numbers of this main prey were of higher importance for the sparrowhawks than habitat components of prey availability. These results highlight the importance of spontaneous succession as a rehabilitation alternative in post-mining landscapes.