Annual Report 2024 – Population dynamics of Hoopoes Upupa epops and Wrynecks Jynx torquilla in the Valais

The fieldwork for the hoopoe and wryneck population ecology project continued, following the protocol of previous years, to monitor the population of the two species breeding in the more than 600 nest boxes installed in the Rhone Valley between Martigny and Sierre.
In 2024, 121 hoopoe broods were recorded, of which 99 were successful. From these 99 broods, 491 chicks fledged (average: 5.0 chicks / successful brood). After temporary lows in 2018 and 2019, the number of successful broods has increased steadily (except in 2022). 138 different breeding adults were identified, of which 89 had already been ringed with an alphanumeric colour ring and could therefore be identified on photos taken by a camera trap installed at the nest box entrance.
13 wryneck broods were recorded, of which eleven were successful. From these eleven broods, 76 chicks fledged (average: 6.9 chicks / successful brood). 2024 was the year with the lowest number of broods in our nest boxes since 2002. 18 different breeding adults were identified. Prior to the breeding season, 28 wrynecks were captured with playback equipment, of which 4 were already marked. Two of these subsequently bred in our nest boxes.