Population trends of the White-tailed Eagle in Ukraine during XX century and probable their reasons. - M.N. Gavrilyuk. - Berkut. 13 (2). 2004. - P. 205-225.
During the first half of the XXth century the White-tailed Eagle was distributed wide in Ukraine and nested not only near large rivers and lakes (Fig. 1). Numbers of the White-tailed Eagle decreased in Ukraine rapidly during the XIXth century and the first half of the XXth century (Fig. 4). There were up to 150 pairs nested in the 1925–1950 and only 20–30 pairs in the 1950s–1970s (Fig. 2). Main reasons of number’s decline were systematic persecution (destruction of adult birds, its eggs and nestlings); cutting down of forests; creation of the cascade of Dnieper reservoirs. The productivity was stable during 1950s–1970s – the average number of nestlings in nests was 1,70 ± 0,15 (n = 20). Therefore organo-chlorine pesticide’s use was not the main reason of population’s decline in Ukraine. Population began increasing on the Middle Dnieper from the 1970s, but on the south of Ukraine – only from the middle of 1980s. The number was rapid increasing during the end of the 1980s and in 1990s. There were 30–40 pairs nested in the 1980s and 80–100 pairs in 2000. Near 70 % of the population is nesting in the Dnieper valley and its environs (Fig. 3). Main factors which promote number’s increasing were stopping pay bounties for the destruction of “harmful raptors” in 1969; adaptation of eagles to the changing environment; creating a lot of fish ponds; growing of artificial planting of pines along Dnieper reservoirs were eagles can nesting. [Russian].
Key words: White-tailed Eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla, Ukraine, population trends, distribution, protection.
Address: M.N. Gavrilyuk, biology faculty, Cherkasy National University, Shevchenko str., 81, Cherkasy,
18000 Ukraine; e-mail: gavrilyuk@cdu.edu.ua.