Birds of prey over Kiev
(by Sergey Domashevskiy)

By its geographical location Kiev is situated in confluence of two migratory ways, actively using by migrants in spring and autumn periods. One of the most powerful ways, which is using by birds, is Dniester River with Kiev water reservoir situated in its upper part and wide floodland (Poluda, 1983; Domashevskiy, 1996). The second migratory flyway comes and joins from the north-eastern part of the Kiev town edge, which goes along the Desna River floodplain. In autumn, after confluence of migration flyways, the birds continue to follow over city, being concentrated within limits of Dniester River-bed, the small part of migrants is separating in the south-western direction.

In spring the passage goes by wider front, and all migratory raptors fly over river floodplains, without seeing an obstacle when they fly out over (above) the territory of big city. According to our observations, entering the city’s territory, directly in the floodland region, some raptors followed along buildings (Troenshchina massif) on the previous height in the first time, increasing it together with process of deepening (penetration) into the city. In other cases, flying out directly to constructions (buildings), birds increased their height of flight, and after climbing at the safe distance, they continued migration. Practically without changing the height or changing the height in the side of insignificant increase, raptors flyover park resting zone, represented by network of islands on the Dnieper River.

Index of the fact that in the period of passage the floodland is saturated by migrating raptors within town borders is the fact, that one of the constant and favourite sites of falconers from Kiev for trapping of birds of prey is the Park “Druzhby narodov”, located on island in the northern part of Kiev city. Here for the period since beginning of the 1980’s till the end of the 1990’s, falconers trapped the following species: Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Rough-legged Buzzard, Common Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Hobby, Merlin, Red-footed Falcon, Common Kestrel. In other districts, located in the central part of the city, raptors fly at big (great) heights, from 300 m and over 1000 m.

Since the special collection of material considered at this articles was not carried out only fragmentary data were used in this communication and there these data are underestimated. Data in this article were used on the base of observations since 1992 till spring 2000: deeper (in detail) observations were carried out in 1997-1998 at the edge of living massif Troeshchina, located in the Desna River floodland. Over the Kiev territory 21 species of migrating raptors were registered.

For the period of observations the quantitative indices were the following:
Osprey – 5; Honey Buzzard 215; Black Kite – 3; Hen Harrier and Montagu’s Harrier – 67; Marsh Harrier – 33; Goshawk – 56; Sparrowhawk – 191; Rough-legged Buzzard – 147; Common Buzzard – 304; Short-toed Eagle – 5; Booted Eagle – 1; Spotted Eagle sp. – 42; Golden Eagle – 2; White-tailed Eagle – 7; Saker Falcon – 10; Peregrine Falcon – 2; Hobby – 14; Merlin – 8; Red-footed Falcon – 7; Common Kestrel – 29.

Domashevskiy, S.V. 2001. Prolet khishchnykh ptits nad territoriei g. Kieva [The birds of prey passage over Kiev city territory]. // Aktual’nye problemy izucheniya i okhrany ptits Vostochnoi Evropy i Severnoi Azii [Actual problems of the study and conservation of birds of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia]. Materials of Intern. Conference. Republic of Tatarstan, 29 January – 3 February 2001. Kazan, “Matbugat jorty” Press. P.216-217. In Russian

Translated by Jevgeni Shergalin with support of Acopian Center for Conservation Learning

Drawing by Igor Zemlyanskih

© The Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds 2003