<< Globally threatened species

Red-breasted Goose

* General information * Summarised results of wintering inventory of Red-breasted Goose in Ukraine in 2003-2006 * 4th annual Red-breasted Goose winter counts in Ukraine, season 2006-2007 *

Summarised results of wintering inventory of Red-breasted Goose in Ukraine in 2003-2006

In general, seven field teams coordinated by leading Ukrainian ornithologists participated in the winter inventory of red-breasted Goose in Ukraine during three years. Inventory areas for each team were as follows:

• Danube region and delta, Odessa region — M. Zhmud;
• Black Sea coastal zone from Odessa city to Lake Sasyck, Odessa region — I. Rusev;
• Black Sea coastal zone and estuaries in Mykolayiv region — Z. Petrovich;
• Black Sea coastal zone in Kherson region — O. Yaremchenko;
• Continental area in Kherson region and coastal zone of the Carkinit bay — V. Havrylenko;
• Coastal area in Zaporizhya region, Eastern Syvash — V. Popenko;
• Western and Central Syvash, Steppe Crimea — O. Hrinchenko.

Teams used both point and route methods of counts. They counted geese at the key sites where birds fly off in the morning and then continued work at the most important sites of region. Combination of methods allowed to cover previously identified main roosting sites and other irregular groups with considerable number. Unlike methodological approaches applied in Romania and Bulgaria, Ukrainian ornithologists didn’t use point method as a basic, because geese in the Azov and Black Sea region are very dynamic in utilizing feeding sites and roosting waters. Apart from the Red-breasted Goose, teams also counted other species that occurred along the routes, namely, the White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons, the Greylag Goose Anser anser and the Lesser White-fronted goose Anser erythropus.

Results of the winter inventory indicate instable character of the wintering groups of the Red-breasted Goose in the Azov and Black Sea region of Ukraine. Main factors of instability are as follows:

• Unusual weather conditions;
• Poor feeding resources on the field with winter cereal crops;
• Disturbance of the population by hunters and poachers during hunting season; and
• Disturbance of the birds by poachers during other seasons

Considering the summarised data for 2003-2006 the highest number of the Red-breasted Goose is registered in Ukraine in January.

Number of Red-breasted Goose by the seasons, 2003-2006

Project results have an important scientific value mostly for understanding the mechanism of establishment of wintering groups of birds, analysis of weather impact upon distribution of wintering birds in the region, and terms of stay and time of geese departure from the Azov and Black Sea region. Project plays significant role since results of inventory in 2003-2006 can be used for revision of an Action Plan on the Conservation of the Red-breasted Goose in Ukraine and in the whole species habitat as well.

© The Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds  
2002-2010