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| << Globally threatened species WHITE-TAILED EAGLE* General Information * Project: Conserving Wintering Sites of White-tailed Eagle in Ukraine *
General InformationWhite-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla was classified by BirdLife International (the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN) as Least Concern species in 2006 IUCN Red List. It is listed in Appendix I and II of CITES, in Appendixes I and II of the Convention on Migratory Species (or Bonn Convention), Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, and Annex I of the EC Birds Directive. However, in Ukraine, this species is included under category II in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (1994); therefore information about White-tailed Eagle is placed on the web-page dedicated to threatened species. Description. White-tailed eagle has brown body plumage with a conspicuously pale head and neck and distinctive white tail and yellow bill and legs. In juvenile birds the tail and bill are darker, with the tail becoming white with a dark terminal band in sub-adults. Range & population. White-tailed Eagle has been downlisted to Least Concern, as a recent reassessment of its European population suggests that it no longer approaches the thresholds for the IUCN Red List criteria. Following a large recovery in many European countries during 1970-1990, the species continued to increase virtually everywhere during 1990-2000, including key populations in Norway and European Russia (which together hold >55% of the European population). A few small populations in extreme southeast Europe continued to decline, but these losses were outweighed by large increases farther north and west. The European population is now estimated at 5,000-6,600 pairs, encompassing 50-74% of the global population. Although some losses may be taking place in Asian Russia due to increased logging and oil industry development, these are outweighed by increases in Europe. Populations in Kazakhstan are also increasing. The species has its strongholds in Norway and Russia, and important populations in south-west Greenland (to Denmark), Sweden, Poland and Germany. Smaller numbers breed in Iceland, United Kingdom, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, the former Yugoslav states, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, mainland China, and Japan. It formerly bred in Algeria and may still do so in Iraq. White-tailed Eagle requires large and open expanses of lake, coast or river valley, within the boreal, temperate and tundra zones, nearby to undisturbed cliffs or open stands of large, old-growth trees for nesting. Its food is vertebrates (fish, mammals and especially birds), from marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. It is mainly migratory in the north and east of its breeding range, but sedentary elsewhere. Threats that affect this species include loss and degradation of wetlands, human disturbance and persecution, environmental pollution, collision with wind generators, and indiscriminate use of poisons. Modern forestry methods reduce the availability of suitable nesting habitat. White-tailed Eagle in UkraineEstimated number of Ukrainian breeding population is 100-120 pairs. As in Europe, White-tailed Eagle considered to be widespread breeding species in Ukraine in 19th - early 20th centuries. However, population number has dramatically declined since early 20th century and achieved the lowest figures in 1950-70’s. Since 1980’s the population has started to increase. White-tailed Eagle widely distributes within Ukraine. It breeds in Dnipro river valley, in North-Western Black sea coastal area, as well as in eastern and western part of Ukraine. The species may occur in all part of the country during the migration season. Woodlands and forest ranges near rivers and large lakes are the main habitats of White-tailed Eagles. The species is protected within reserves and protected areas. According to the national legislation, the birds might be used for limited purposes, including scientific research, breeding, and dispersal; this requires licenses from the Ministry for Environmental Protection of Ukraine. Birds can be taken from the wild also based on the licenses. However, poaching is one of major reasons of population decline. Wintering White-tailed Eagle is protected in many regions of Ukraine as its wintering grounds are located within protected areas, including Danube Biosphere Reserve, Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, Kanivsky, Dniprovo-Orilsky, and Roztochya Reserves, Shatsky and Azovo-Syvashsky Nature Parks and Kinburnsky Landscape Park. There were up to 300 individuals recorded in the latter park in February 2006. ThreatsThere are a number of problems associate with conservation of the wintering population of the White-tailed Eagle in the Ukraine, and the most urgent issues are the following ones:
Wintering population of White-tailed Eagle in UkraineAccording to preliminary data, 400-500 White-tailed Eagles wintered in Ukraine in 2005-2006. Their major wintering grounds located mainly in Southern Ukraine, in Azov-Black seas region and along Dnipro river. Wintering White-tailed Eagles occur also near rivers and large lakes in eastern, central and northern regions on Left bank of Ukraine, as well as in western regions. The spotty distribution of the species within Ukrainian part of the wintering ground is determined by availability and distribution of feeding resources. In winter, White-tailed Eagle feeds mainly on waterfowls. That is why raptors concentrate near water-bodies, where assemblages of waterfowls (ducks, geese, coots and swans) stay. These usually are ice-free parts of waters (deep areas of sea bays and large rivers, ponds near hydropower plants, cooling water ponds, water-treatment plants, etc.). Their winter diet also includes fish; therefore White-tailed Eagles concentrate at sites where fishing recourses are available. Illegal hunting on White-tailed Eagle is the main threat at wintering grounds in Ukraine. During 1973-2001, there were 20 officially registered cases of the species persecution in Ukraine. Illegal hunting was registered in Crimea, Kherson, Poltava and other wintering regions. In order to protect Ukrainian wintering population of the White-tailed Eagle, Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds started to implement a project “Conserving Wintering Sites of White-tailed Eagle in Ukraine”.
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Sponsored by Birdlife/Vogelbescherming |
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© The Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds |
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