UBPRC – Ukrainian Birds of Prey Research Centre

Migrations of Saker Falcons with satellite transmitters: results of June – September 2011

We bring to your attention the first results of tracking the Saker Falcons, marked with satellite transmitters in the south of Ukraine in 2011. About the previous expedition on searching Saker’s nests and marking the birds read here.

As you probably remember from the earlier article, eight Saker’s chicks were marked in their nests, each of them got its own name.

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Authors of photos: M.Gavrilyuk, M.Prommer, V.Vetrov, Yu.Milobog

The male, named «Gagarin» was marked 1 June 2011 on Kerch Peninsula. Why ‘Gagarin’? There are several reasons of it. Yury Gagarin was the first spaceman and we wanted the chick’s flight to be distant and successful, and also the name of our leading saker’s expert in Ukraine is Yury (and he was born exactly on the Cosmonautics Day). So, could we give the chick any other name? Gagarin flew out of the nest already 5 June, but not far away; 11 June he flew for the distance of 100 m. At first he was staying in the vicinity of the nest and often returned into it. About a month he was keeping within the nesting area; after 10 July extended the territory of his flight over Kerch Peninsula; on 22 June went on an eastward trip around the Sea of Azov. It took for him a total of 5 days to fly over the sea and realize that ‘east or west the Crimea is best’. From late July until now he has chosen for himself rather a limited area on Tarkhankut Peninsula and stay there (map of movements).

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Results of spring counts in the alienated zone of Chornobyl Atomic Power Station (CAPS) in March 2011

This work continues of our studies of birds of prey fauna in the alienated zone of Chornobyl Atomic Power Station.

The Chornobyl alienated zone always attracts researches with its wild surroundings almost deprived of traces of human activity, and with abundance of various groups of animals and birds. We used a chance to realize our old desire for searching Strigiformes birds in this region, and carried out counts 21 to 25.03.2011.

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For this purpose we applied a well-known method of provoking owls by records of their voices. In forest sites we played voices of the Pygmy and Tengmalm’s Owls, Great Grey Owl, in open areas – those of the Eagle Owl. Records of the Tawny Owl we used only occasionally since the species is numerous in forest areas and frequently responses voices of the above-mentioned owl species.

Information on availability of owls in the alienated zone is very poor. Data on the Great Grey Owl is limited by 6 encounters, mainly in the western part of the zone (Gashchak et al. 2006; Domashevsky 2004; pers. comm. A.V. Yastremsky). A Pygmy Owl was observed in twilight at Belorus border by S.P. Gashchak 30.06.2009 (pers. comm.) In addition, there were several records of the Eagle Owl including a fledgling found nearby the atomic station (Gashchak et al. 2006).

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Counts of White-tailed Eagles at Kremenchuhske Reservoir during autumn 2010

In autumn 2010 we continued monitoring works in areas of autumn concentration of the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) at the Middle Dnieper. Results are presented below.

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The counts were carried out in key territories of concentrations of these eagles. They were fishponds, sites with high numbers of waterbirds discovered by us in previous years. We controlled the ponds near the village Irkliiv (Chornobai District of Cherskasy Region), ponds between the villages Lypove – Bugaivka (Hlobine District of Poltava Region), and also shallows of Kremenchuhske Reservoir near the Lypove Ornithological Reserve. The counts were participated by Aleksandr Ilyukha, Yury Sumskoy, Nikolay Borisenko; results of one of their expeditions together with Sergey Domashevksy and Roman Vatrasevich were presented in the previous materials of the website. In a total 8 counts were done, the automobile route amounted to approx. 1000 km. In addition, the ponds near Irkliiv in October were visited by Odesa birdwatchers A.Arapov and V.Malinoshevsky who gave us a number of photos with the White-tailed Eagle.

An adult White-tailed Eagle on the drained pond, in the background you can see about 40 sitting White-tailed Eagle.

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Studies of migration of birds of prey on Slovechansko-Ovruchskyi Ridge are continued (Zhytomyr Region)

We initiated the research on birds of prey migration in the eastern part of Slovechansko-Ovruchskyi Ridge at the permanent plot placed near the villages Barvinkove and Pokaliv (Ovruch District, Zhytomyr Region) at the altitude of about 260 m above sea level. In the autumn we had the opportunity to continue research in this area.

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Autumn observations were carried out from 16 to 22.10.2010. Taking into account the direction of raptor autumn migration to the south, south-west and west, we chose for observations the west of the ridge at the maximum altitude of about 316 m above sea level near the villages Gorodets and Antonovychi. According to our estimation, at the westernmost point of the ridge we expected to see the birds migrating to the south-west and west directions and were focused at the ridge, stretched from east to west. With different wind directions the terrain and changes of altitudes were to play a significant role in movements of birds of prey. The area where we made observations was represented by steep wooded ravines and sites open on the flattened terrain: arable lands, hay fields and pastures.

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Satellite tracking of the Short-toed Eagle migration

On our webpages we repeatedly raised the question of studying migration of birds of prey using satellite telemetry. This method has pluses and minuses compared to traditional ringing, colour marking etc. The review makes an attempt to reveal, at least partly, potential opportunities of the satellite telemetry on the example of studying migrations of the Short-toed Eagle.

Some researchers and birdwatchers oppose the direct installation of satellite transmitters on birds basing on ethic reasons. Their main argument: until the absence of negative impacts is proved the method cannot be used in researches. However, it is not an easy task to receive such proofs. It would require control observations of certain types of transmitters and certain bird species and further processing of results with the use of statistical analysis to minimize as much as possible the effect of random factors. Firstly, the sample of birds should be large enough for such processing, which means installation of a lot of transmitters, secondly we must conduct parallel observations of the control bird group without transmitters attached. But exactly the latter is impossible since nowadays there are no other effective methods designed for long-term tracking of birds in their natural environment. In addition, installation and monitoring of even a single transmitter is still fairly expensive, not to mention their dozens. This fact puts restrictions on the use of this method in favour of its opponents.

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Study of birds of prey migration in the north of Ukraine

In spring of 2010 we continued studies of migration features of raptors in various regions in Ukraine.

To observe migrations of birds of prey we have chosen three regions in the territory of Polissia in Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions. From 26 to 29.03.2010 investigations were carried out on Slovechansko-Ovrutskyi Ridge, located in Ovruch district of Zhytomyr region. This forest-covered ridge stretched from west to east for about 50 km, the maximum altitude is 316 m above sea level. The observations were done from two points, placed at the height about 260 m above s.l. near the villages Barvinkovo and Pokalev on abandoned agricultural lands. There, the open landscape prevails in the upper Ridge, resembling steppe areas with their gully systems. The southern wind dominated in the days of observation; the wind velocity changed from 3 to 12 m/sec. The bird passage went in eastern, north-eastern and north directions.

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In addition to observations we caught raptors to mark them with rings. The captured birds were measured and weighed. Two Goshawk females, one female of Sparrowhawk and one Corvidae (Raven) have been captured. That was the period when only juvenile Goshawks migrate with mass not exceeding 1200 g. The goshawks differentiated in coloration from those, for instance, captured in the vicinity of Kyiv (these were lighter). Apparently, these birds do not relate to ‘Ukrainian’ breeding population. Unfortunately our observations got into a drop of the migration wave, so with every day there was smaller and smaller number of migratory birds. Similar picture was seen for other species of hovering birds such as White and Black Storks, Common Crane. It was registered the appearance of first migratory birds in the region – Lesser Spotted Eagle (26.03), Osprey (28.03), Short-toed Eagle (29.03). Among local birds of prey we saw only the Common Buzzard, actively displaying, and also the Goshawk.
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Migratory concentrations of the White-tailed Eagle near Kremenchuhske Reservoir

In recent decades the number of White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) has increased across the European range. To provide effective protection of the species there is a need to understand the biology and characteristics of distribution in all seasons. That is why in the process of study and monitoring of the White-tailed Eagle in the Middle Dnieper we paid attention to the sites of autumn concentrations of these birds.

This communication presents the results of research for the autumn 2009. To study distribution of the White-tailed Eagle we surveyed the sites, potentially attractive for feeding: shallows of Kremenchuhske Reservoir and surrounding fishponds. The total length of the automobile route was approx. 1000 km. The counts were also participated by N.Borisenko and A. Ilyuha.

In autumn White-tailed Eagles distribute unevenly in the Middle Dnieper. Adult birds in most cases remain in areas of breeding sites; frequently young birds stay with them. However, majority of immature birds concentrate in the area where feed reserves are more abundant. These are such areas as fishponds as well as shallows of reservoirs, where waterfowl concentrate. The results of counts of 2009 surpassed the number of birds observed in previous years and all of our wildest expectations.

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Migrations of birds of prey in Ukraine: what do we know about them?

Seasonal migrations are an important stage in the annual life cycle of birds. They are characteristic for most species of Ukrainian birds of prey. However by the present time migratory routes and sites of mass concentrations are still poor known. Except for scientific importance this knowledge is essential for planning and organization of conservation of birds of prey. Also, sites of mass migration are of obvious interest for all birdwatchers.

Nowadays, the majority of migrants in Ukraine is considered to pass the country by a wide front, though with the reservation accepted that migrations pass not evenly everywhere but mainly follow “ecological routes”, or, at least, ecologically favorable places (Sevastyanov 1992). Therefore migration of birds of prey can be observed over all the territory of Ukraine. However its intensity differs in different regions and separate places.
There are several reasons of it. Birds with specific trophism (the Osprey, White-tailed Eagle) have to keep usual habitats, and for them migratory “corridors” are expressed more distinctly. Thus, the White-tailed Eagle and Osprey in Ukraine can be much more often met along the Dnieper and other large rivers. However even for these species a part of individuals flies during migration time over all the territory of Ukraine.
The more eurytropic are migrants in terms of their trophism, the more similar to the continuous is their migration front. Thus, the majority of birds of prey pass the country in a broad front. The narrowing of their front of migration is caused by landscape or weather and climate barriers.

To analyze the intensity of migration of birds of prey in the territory of Ukraine we have used the data on the maximum number of the individuals met for one day at one observation point during autumn migration (picture).
Despite small quantity of the data, results confirm that the migration goes by a broad front. Essential influence on the migration intensity is caused everywhere by weather conditions. In peak days of passage the number of migrants can increase in dozens times.

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Common Kestrel with the individual marker

On July 19^th V. Kucherenko has taken a photo of the Common Kestrel adult female in the lower part of Kuyalnik Liman (Odessa Region). Anybody who knows something about the object put on the bird’s foot, please give the information right as a comment on this post.

Heartfelt thanks to O. Formanyuk for the photo!

Migration of raptors in the vicinity of Kyiv in autumn 2008

Weather conditions of autumn 2008 have caused mass and intensity passage of Falconiformes, which allows us to treat this migration season as unusual.

We carried out observations on a permanent plot near the village of Pogreby (Brovary district of Kyiv region) located in the floodplain of Desna River (Domashevsky, 2003). Compared with previous counts an observation point was moved 4 km closer to the mouth of Desna River, which connects with the Dnieper floodplain (earlier, observations in this area were of rare periodicity). Thus, we have tried to cover as comprehensively as possible the coalescence of two migratory streams of the birds, which migrated across these rivers floodplains. Downstream the Desna mouth the floodplains merge into one floodplain of the Dnieper (see the map).

The observation point (OP) was located in the area, well-visited with people, especially at weekends. The suburb of Kyiv, bordered with high-rise new buildings, stretched 2.5 km toward the south-east of OP, cottage buildings were even closer. Territory near OP was of open type (abandoned agricultural lands, haymakings and pastures) with small islets of forests, forest belts and solitary trees. In depressions there were small lakelets.

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