Сurrent state of the Saker Falcon population in Ukraine
The Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) − is a rare breeding species of birds of prey, listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. Its number has sharply declined in the first half of the 20th century. Then a gradual restoration of the population started in the 1980s, and in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (Milobog, 2009) the bird number was estimated as 250-300 pairs. As a result of the population growth in Europe BirdLife International in 2010 revised the conservation status of this raptor and moved it from the category «endangered» (EN) to «vulnerable» (VU). This fact caused many negative responses of birds of prey experts (see, for instance, articles of O.V.Belyalov, A.V.Moshkin in the journal “Raptors Conservation” (2010)).
The Saker population in Ukraine is extremely vulnerable. Major threats are poaching (includes taking out birds for falconry), inadequate food supply, lack of breeding sites. Therefore, we support a reasonable position to return the status «endangered» for the species.
At the Saker International Conference in Hungary, September 2010, there was presented a report by Yu. V. Milobog and V.V. Vetrov on the current state of population of this species in Ukraine and adjacent territories. As a result of more detailed studies conducted in recent years, the number was estimated as 315-345 pairs. The report is available here:
Milobog Y., Vetrov V. Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) in Ukraine and adjacent areas // Conservation of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) in Europe – Sharing the results of the life06nat/h/000096 “Conservation of the Falco cherrug in the Carpathian Basin” Project (Bukk National Park Directorate Eger, Hungary, 16-18 September 2010)
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