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The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is the largest eagle in Kazakhstan, breeding in almost all mountainous and forested areas of the country. In Karatau and the Chu-Ili Mountains, there are large breeding groups of this species, which have been threatened by the development of a network of wind power plants (WPPs) since 2021 since both of these breeding groups are concentrated in powerful wind corridors that are promising for wind energy generation. During the work, we modelled the distribution of the Golden Eagle in Karatau and the Chu-Ili Mountains using the Random Forest image classification method, calculated its numbers in this area and assessed the threats to its breeding groups from both existing and prospective WPPs. The area of breeding biotopes for the Golden Eagle is 18209.9 km2, and the area of habitats is 67602.43 km2. The Golden Eagle population in Karatau as of 2024 is estimated at 434–645, on average 466 breeding pairs (80 breeding territories are known), and 1126–1674, an average of 1209 ind., taking into account fledglings of the current year and immature eagles, in the Chu-Ili Mountains – at 163–292, on average 222 breeding pairs (40 breeding territories is known), and 422–757, on average 575 ind. The number of Golden Eagles migrating through Karatau is estimated at 7276–11423, with an average of 8386 ind. In the zone of influence of the Zhanatas and Shokpar windfarms, which has a radius of 4.5 km, three pairs of breeding Golden Eagles disappeared over 3 years. Some of the birds from the disbanded pairs died due to collisions with the blades of wind turbines, which is confirmed by the remains of 2 Golden Eagles under the turbines. Based on calculations in the CRM “Band”, a risk map with a cell step of 5 km was created, representing an assessment of the probable mortality of eagles during the construction of wind farms in these cells. The results of this study apply to the conservation planning efforts of the Golden Eagle, analysing the risks of developing not only wind energy but also other land uses, including mining and even recreation, and implementing compensatory measures for human intervention in the Goolden Eagle's habitat.

The range and abundance of Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) in Russia and Kazakhstan are systematically declining. It is no exaggeration to say that the Saker Falcon is by far the most endangered raptor species in the Palaearctic. A compilation of literature data shows the species’ estimated abundance in 1970s Russia was at least 9,000–10,000 pairs (Galushin, 2004; Karyakin, 2008), while it appears over 15,000 pairs nested in Kazakhstan – in the 1990s their abundance there was estimated at 5,218 (4,808–5,628) pairs.

Rapid sex determination of Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) nestlings without laboratory diagnostics is necessary for a variety of tasks. When working directly on a nest, it is important to know the sex of nestlings during population monitoring, ringing and tagging with GPS transmitters. Sex determination is also necessary when working with sick and injured birds, in rehabilitation centers, which do not always have the opportunity and time for genetic analysis. Experienced ornithologists in most cases can quite accurately determine the sex of nestling by eye, but this does not always work, and not all researchers have sufficient experience. The Steppe Eagle has a noticeable sexual dimorphism in size, which is well manifested even in 45-day-old nestlings.

According to the Red List of IUCN, Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) is a globally Endangered (EN) species, included in the Red Data Book of Russia and protected throughout the country. Steppe Eagle breeding range in Russia covers semi-desert and steppe areas from Kalmykia in the west to Dauria in the east. The Altai-Sayan Ecoregion (ASER) is key for Steppe Eagle: about half of the entire breeding population of the species in Russia is concentrated here. Therefore, monitoring Altai-Sayan Steppe Eagle breeding groups is very important.

Орёл-могильник (Aquila heliaca) – редкий гнездящийся вид Казахстана. Ранее предполагалось, что одна из крупных гнездовых группировок этого вида, причём самая юго-восточная в ареале, сосредоточена в песках Мойынкум и прилегающих полупустынных районах на юге Казахстана. По результатам исследований 2022–2023 г. мы подтвердили наличие крупной гнездовой группировки орла-могильника в Мойынкумах (было выявлено 38 занятых гнездовых участков) и смоделировали его распространение в Google Earth Engine используя метод классификации изображений – Random Forest (вероятность + регрессия). Площадь гнездопригодных для орла-могильника биотопов в Мойынкумах определена в 4971,09 км2, площадь местообитаний – 55073,86 км2. Численность орла-могильника на рассматриваемой территории оценена в 79–275, в среднем 150 пар. Несмотря на затяжную депрессию численности грызунов, численность орлов остаётся стабильной. Размер выводков до вылета варьировал от 1 до 3 птенцов, составив в среднем (n=5) 2±0,71 птенца на успешное гнездо и (n=9) 1,11±1,17 птенцов на активное гнездо, после вылета – от 1 до 2 слётков, составив в среднем (n=4) 1,75±0,5 слётков на успешное гнездо и (n=9) 0,78±0,97 слётков на активное гнездо. Общий успех размножения по всем проверенным гнёздам составил 44,44%, а эффективность размножения – 58,33%. Основными антропогенными угрозами гнездовой группировке орла-могильника в Мойынкумах являются консервация скважин, ведущая к ликвидации ферм и прекращению выпаса скота, а также добыча урана.

Installing artificial nests is a widely used method of managing wild bird populations around the world that allows to increase their numbers and/or productivity and breeding success. Among raptors this method is mostly used for small falcons and owls; however, artificial nests are also repeatedly used to attract such a rare species as the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) for breeding. We deployed a system of artificial nesting to restore the Saker Falcon population in former agrocenoses of Siberian mountain steppe and forest-steppe, which had not been used for agriculture since the collapse of theSoviet Union in 1991. Since 2006 our experiment showed a systematic increase in the Saker Falcon numbers from 1 to 47 pairs. Before 2018 we only used open platforms, and after 2018 we began to install nestboxes, so in the article we can compare birds' response to open and closed nests. We evaluate the artificial nesting impact on Saker Falcon population growth, as well as a number of other raptor species. We also describe the phenomenon of a sharp increase in the number of all raptor species in 2020–2021, attributing this to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October of 2022, 419 km of 6-10kV powerlines were inspected in the Altai Republic and Altai Kray of Russia. The most favorable situation was found in Ulagan District of the Altai Republic. In other districts – Ust-Kan (Altai Republic), Uglovskiy, Solonesh, Rubtsovsk and Petropavlovsk (Altai Kray), numerous violations were observed. In total, 211 dead birds were found killed by electrocution. Nine out of them belong to species enlisted in the Red Data Book of Russia including one Saker Falcon enlisted as Primarily Valuable Species. Along this work we revealed the most dangerous lines required immediate retrofitting with Bird Protection Devices (BPDs) or renovation of already existing ones. The highest priority status was assigned to 6 powerlines or parts of them with a total length of 60 km, that got in total 401 unsafe utility poles. Those line were the cause of death of all Red-listed individuals and caused maximum damage to wildlife expressed in financial equivalent. The total damage to wildlife from all powerlines inspected was equal to 4 463 840 rubles (around $58 735 / €54 000) without approximation on previous season. A scheme of bird-dangerous parts of powerlines / single poles with coordinates was developed for all inspected lines.

In September 2021, 126 km of 6-10 kV power lines were surveyed in Altai Kray, Russia. The survey encompassed different types of habitat from pine forests to the foothills of Altai mountains. Out of 126 km, 27.94 km of power lines were equipped with bird-protection devices to prevent bird death from electrocution. We uncovered 515 cases of bird death on unsafe lines. Raptors make 21% and endangered species – 1.94%. The density of dead birds was equal to 5.6 ind./km of non-safe power lines, and of raptors – 1.18 ind./km. The observed damage to the ecosystem was estimated as 6.1 million of Rub (equal to $83 350 or € 73 600), and the damage calculated per one electric pole was 3 925 Rub. The estimation of the death rate of birds on the observed length of power lines through the whole migration and breeding seasons makes 8.63 ind./km. Approximation to the presumptive total length of bird unsafe power lines in the Altai Kray makes 50 700 birds possibly die every year in the region from April till October. The highest level of bird mortality was observed on power lines stretching through open undisturbed habitats (i.e. steppe biotope). We also noted 2.9 times higher mortality on push brace poles compared with intermediate ones for all species, and 4.9 times higher for raptors only.

On the basis of data obtained from ARGOS/GPS and GPS/GSM tracking of 34 eagles (4 Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis) from Central KZ, 1 Steppe Eagle from Southern Ural region, 22 Steppe Eagles, 5 Eastern Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) from the ASR and 2 Greater Spotted Eagles (Aquila clanga) from the from the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion), we have defined the main flyways, terms, and other parameters of migration of eagles through Eastern Kazakhstan. We have outlined the borders of the migration corridor and estimate the number of migrants passing through it. The study highlights the importance of the Karatau ridge for eagles from the vast territories ofRussia andKazakhstan. But we are also concerned about the development of wind farms with horizontal-axis wind turbines that expose ultimate danger for raptors in the Karatau migration corridor. One of them already exists – the Zhanatas Wind-Power Station. Here we calculated the possible negative impact on the eagle population from the existing and projected wind farms of the Karatau ridge and give our recommendations for neutralizing the damage from the development of the electric power industry in Karatau.

В статье приводятся результаты обследования линий электропередачи (ЛЭП) на предмет гибели птиц в Минусинской котловине Республики Хакасия в 2020 г. В ходе работы проведена оценка того, насколько сильно изменилась ситуация с гибелью птиц на ЛЭП за последние 10 лет, посчитан ущерб, от незаконной эксплуатации ЛЭП, не оснащённых ПЗУ, а также даны предложения по минимизации ущерба. Выяснено, что в Хакасии сохраняется высокий уровень гибели птиц на ЛЭП 6–10 кВ – в среднем 8,21 ос./км линий за гнездовой сезон (от 5,26 до 25,22 ос./км линий сезон). Наиболее опасными являются ЛЭП с бетонными опорами, оснащёнными заземлёнными металлическими траверсами со штыревыми изоляторами, расположенные в открытых местообитаниях вдали от населённых пунктов – на них высокое видовое разнообразие и высокий процент пернатых хищников. Особенно опасны короткие линии, выдающиеся в окружающий ландшафт и отрезки линий, идущие по холмистому рельефу. Среди гибнущих на ЛЭП птиц доминируют врановые (66%), доля хищных птиц составляет – 28%, среди которых в первую очередь гибнут обычные виды, такие как пустельга (Falco tinnunculus) – 17,7% от общего числа погибших птиц и коршун (Milvus migrans) – 6,5%, что характерно в целом для лесостепной зоны России. Ущерб от гибели птиц на осмотренных 111,5 км ПО ЛЭП составил 18,1 млн. руб. Общий уровень гибели птиц на ПО ЛЭП Хакасии превышает 3252 ос. в год, а общий ущерб – 64 171 440 руб. в год. Средний ущерб на одну опору по результатам фактических проверок составил 10 485,6 руб., что как минимум в 10 раза выше, чем стоимость комплекта ПЗУ на одну опору.

В статье приводятся результаты прослеживания с помощью GPS/GSM-трекеров 19 ювенильных степных орлов (Aquila nipalensis) из России и Казахстана в 2013–2019 гг. Послегнездовой период до распада выводков длился от 30 до 82 дней, в среднем (n=18) 58,4±16,5 дней, причём он был короче у самок (в среднем 48,8±14,2 дней) и длиннее у самцов (в среднем 66,2±13,6 дней) (T=0, Z=2,37, p=0,018). Площадь индивидуальных участков, определённых как минимальный конвексный полигон (MCP) 95%, варьировала от 0,5 до 28,4 км2, составив в среднем (n=18) 6,94±8,95 км2, причём она была меньше у самок (в среднем 1,64±1,88 км2, n=8) и больше у самцов (в среднем 11,18±10,20 км2, n=10) (T=1,0, Z=2,55, p=0,01). Старт миграции степных орлов приходился в разные годы на период с 24 августа по 12 октября. Раньше начинали мигрировать птицы из Оренбургской области, позже – из Республики Алтай. Максимальная линейная дистанция от гнезда до места зимовки составила 4222 км. Для молодых птиц на первом году жизни показано отсутствие возвратов в натальную область, для орлов на втором году жизни доказана смена зимовок с Индо-Пакистанских на Аравийские и с Аравийских на Африканские.

In 2018, atotal of 30 ornithologists and birdwatchers participated in the work of the RaptorRingingCenterof the Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network and ringed 615 individuals of 24 species of Birds of Prey and Owls. The leading species that have maximum ringed individuals is Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) – 118 individuals; it followed by Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) – 88 ind., Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) – 85 ind., Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) – 62 ind., Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) – 50 ind., and White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) – 47ind. During the last 8 months of 2018 and the first 4 months of 2019 we got an information about 37 ringed raptors (38 recoveries), 36 of them were possible to read and identify. The highest number of recoveries we got from Saker Falcon (12 ind. – mainly they are fledglings), White-Tailed Eagle and Peregrine Falcon (6 ind. recoveries per species).

The article presents the results of the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) surveys in the Krasnoyarsk Kray, the Republic of Khakassia and Republic of Tyva in 2018, specifies the population dynamics based on the comparison of the data obtained with the records of 2011 and 2000–2001 years, estimates the number of species in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation under examination and in the Russian part of the Altai-Sayan region as a whole.

This article represents the results of tracking by means of GPS/GSM-trackers and Argos transmitters of 17 juvenile Sakers (Falco cherrug) originated from the Altay-Sayan Ecoregion of Russia in 2002-2018. Duration of post-fledging dependence period varied from 26 to 50 days, mean 40±8.6 days, and it was considerably shorter for males (mean 32.2±4.55 days) and longer for females (mean 43.91±7.42 days): t=-3.23, p=0.006). Home ranges defined as minimum convex polygon varied from 2.5 km2 to 1,831 km2, average 430.43±606.97 km2, and was smaller for males (mean 162.87±379.84 km2) and bigger for females (mean 576.38±671.52 km2: T=1.0, p=0.05). The period when juveniles begun to disperse beyond the boundaries of natal area lasts from 23 of July to 19 of August (males dispersed 10 days earlier than females on average). The onset of migration in different years varies from 27 of July to 14 of October. The maximum linear distance from the nest to the wintering site was 1,885 km. The main losses of juvenile birds were caused by illegal trapping (41.18%). We proved a wintering of a 2CY falcons in the natal area located on the north of the breeding range (harsh climate, permanent snow cover during winter).

In 2017, a total of 36 ornithologists and birdwatchers participated in the work of the Raptor Ringing Center of the Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network and ringed 498 individuals of 23 species of Birds of Prey and Owls. The leading species that have maximum ringed individuals is Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) – 146 individuals; it followed by White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) – 53 individuals per species, Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) – 45 individuals, and Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) – 42 individuals. During the last 7 months of 2017 and the first 4 months of 2018 we got an information about 37 ringed raptors, 32 of them were possible to read and identify. The highest number of recoveries we got from Eastern Imperial Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle (6 recoveries per species).

This article represents the results of Saker Falcon’s (Falco cherrug) population monitoring in the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion (ASER), as well as results of satellite research of the species including population genetical research. The study area includes Krasnoyarsk Kray, Khakasia, Tuva and Altai Republics, and mountainous part of Altai Kray of Russia. In 2016–2108, 129 breeding territories of Saker were checked (that makes 35.44% from all known breeding territories of the species in the region). Ninety out of 129 territories were occupied by Sakers and 47 territories represented sights of successful breeding. Estimation of population size in ASER in 2018 was 1103–1216 (mean 1163) breeding pairs, but 592–650 (mean 623) pairs that succeed in breeding. Through the last 20 years, the population declined by 43.43%. The woodland population inhabited plain part of Alyai Kray become completely extinct despite the diminished load of poaching in this region. We revealed a rapid loss of falcons belong to a so known “Altai” form of Saker (altaicus) and of nominative subspecies (F. ch. cherrug). The main reason that leads ASER population of Sakers to decline is a selective capturing of females for the purpose of falconry that is traditional in the countries of the Middle East. Our longstanding observations showed that a male could be found in his breeding area for about 10 years average, but females in pairs change regularly and occupy the breeding territory no more than 2 years before vanishing. Poachers aimed to capture females of “cherrug” and “altaicus” phenotypes or the most similar ones, thus other phenotypes like “progressus” and “milvipes” with intense spotting on the back are less exposed to poaching.

This article describes our experience obtained during the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) reintroduction conducted in the summer of 2018 in the Tuva Republic of Russia. Nineteen captive-produced nestlings of “Altaic” morph of the Saker were placed into nests of wild foster parents of the same species. In total, we engage 10 wild foster pairs of Saker who had 31 native nestlings. All native nestlings were left in nests and grew together with adoptive ones. One captive-produced nestling out of initial 19 nestlings was withdrawn from the project because of trauma. No case of nestling mortality was observed – all 49 young birds successfully fledged. During post-fledgling period, the known losses among juveniles were 5 birds (10.2%): 2 captive-produced birds were killed by another raptor, and 3 native nestlings from different breeding pairs died under the extreme weather conditions happened in Tuva in July of 2018. Two captive-produced and 2 native young Sakers were tracked via GPS/GSM transmitters.

Развитие и доступность дистанционных методов слежения за птицами, в частности спутниковой и GSM-телеметрии, а также кооперация с зарубежными коллегами, позволили более детально изучить миграционное поведение, места зимовок и постювенильную дисперсию орлов-могильников (Aquila heliaca) из Волго-Уральского региона и российской части Алтая, а также выяснить основные причины смертности и лимитирующие факторы молодых орлов из этих регионов. В 2014 г. GSM/GPS даталоггерами польской компании Ecotone и Argos/GPS трансмиттерами компании Microwave Telemetry, Inc. были помечены 6 орлов-могильников в Усть-Канском р-не Республики Алтай (17, 19, 20.07.2014), Солонешенском (20, 21.07.2014) и Алтайском (22.07.2014) р-нах Алтайского края. В 2016 г. ещё 6 орлов были помечены аналогичными устройствами в Самарской области (17.07.2016), Оренбургской области (19, 21.07.2016), Республике Татарстан (2 птицы 24.06.2016) и Ульяновской области (25.07.2016). В 2017 г. 1 орёл был помечен в Татарстане 23.09.2017.

Первая попытка изучения миграций степных орлов (Aquila nipalensis) из российских популяций с помощью GPS/GSM-трекеров была предпринята в 2013 г. Тогда в Республике Алтай благодаря поддержке компании Aquila и проекта «Орлы России» Российской сети изучения и охраны пернатых хищников, Русского географического общества и МБОО «Сибирский экологический центр» были помечены 3 орла трекерами компании Aquila (к сожалению два трекера вышли из строя в течение недели, а орлица по имени Дуся с рабочим трекером была убита в самом начале миграции на территории Казахстана). В 2014 г. при поддержке MME / BirdLife Венгрии, проекта «Алтай» и ООО «Сибэкоцентр» в Республике Алтай был помечен ещё один степной орёл по имени Степаша, который успешно начал миграцию, но погиб на ЛЭП в Прибалхашье в Казахстане). Наконец в 2016 г. при содействии MME / BirdLife Венгрии, компании Aquila и ООО «Сибэкоцентр» две самки степных орлов Ада и Ева были помечены в Оренбургской области, от которых удалось получить интереснейшие сведения.

On summer 2017 a pilot project on population recovery of Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) was conducted in Altai-Sayan region of Russia. Ten 20-days old falcons of “Altaic” morph from a breeding center were placed in nests of wild falcons of other color morphs. Sequence of control region (D-loop) of mitochondrial genome from 414 to 1417 bp (1004 bp) proofed that in particular cases haplotypes of non-native nestlings from the breeding center were similar to those of native falcons that acted as adoptive parents. Analysis also revealed that haplotypes of nestlings matched the previously determined western and eastern haplogroups. Ten nestlings from a breeding center were placed in 6 nests of wild Sakers with 24 native nestlings. Video-recording revealed no aggression between native and no-native nestlings, as well as no aggression from adult birds towards non-native nestlings. The losses before fledging amounted to 4 nestlings. One native and one non-native nestlings were killed on a nest by an Eagle Owl in Altai Republic, and 2 native nestlings died for an unknown cause in Tuva Republic. In total, 9 non-native nestlings and 21 native nestlings successfully fledged and left the nests. The known losses after fledging amounted to 2 young birds – one native and one non-native, both were killed by bigger raptors. The youngest female from the nest in Altai Republic tagged with GPS-GSM tracker successfully migrates and winters now in Mongolia.

Sexual dimorphism among nestlings of the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) is poorly manifested. Thus, determining of sex by morphometric methods encountered many difficulties and could be completed only by the most experienced ornithologists who knows the species very well. This article presents a morphometric method for determining sex of nestlings of the Steppe Eagles from different breeding populations that belongs to different size classes. The method is based on classification formula obtained via linear discriminant analysis conducted for the data set of measurements of Steppe Eagle’s nestlings from Central Kazakhstan and Altai Republic in 2017. To control the sex determination of nestlings a molecular-genetics method was used.

This article summarizes data obtained during the 5 years nestboxing project aimed to multiply breeding population of the Ural Owl (Strix uralensis) in the basin of Izdrevaya river, Novosibirsk region, Russia in 2012–2016. From 2012 to 2015 a total of 38 nestboxes (NB) were installed. The distance between neighboring NBs vary from 0.58 to 1.80 km (n=24), 1.12±0.29 km average. From breeding season of 2013 to breeding season of 2015 the number of NB in project grows from 18 NB to 33 NB, however only 4–5 of them were occupied each year. Only in breeding season of 2016 we observed population growth when 8 out of 38 (21.05 %) NBs were found occupied by the Ural Owl. The average clutch size was 3.17±0.98 eggs (n=6; min 2, max 4 eggs). The average brood size was 2.00±0.58 nestlings (n=7; min 2, max 3 nestlings). The distance between neighboring pairs breed in nestboxes ranged from 0.92 to 6.25 km (n=15), 1.87±1.30 km at average. We used discriminant analysis to estimate the role of landscape on owl preferences when choosing NB and to make predictions on a future distribution of owls. The resulting discrimination function allows us to classify correctly between empty and occupied NBs with accuracy of 81.85%, Wilki’s Lambda = 0.67 (classification accuracy 81.58 %, р

За последнее десятилетие в АСЭР отмечена смена старых самок балобана (Falco cherrug) на молодых более чем в 100 парах, причём почти в половине случаев размножение у этих самок прошло успешно, а в 21 паре произошла смена самцов. Но успешное размножение при смене в паре самца на годовалую птицу отмечено только в одном случае – в Республике Тыва в 2018 г. Об этом случае и пойдёт речь в данном сообщении.

Алтае-Саянский регион является ключевым для степного орла (Aquila nipalensis) – здесь сосредоточено 43–51% от численности вида в России, при этом это единственный в стране регион, в котором численность вида последнее десятилетие не сокращается. Поэтому мониторинг за Алтае-Саянскими популяциями степного орла крайне важен. К осени 2018 г. в Алтае-Саянском регионе без Алтайского края выявлено 598 гнездовых участков степных орлов – это около 48% от предполагаемой численности вида в регионе (351 гнездовой участок выявлен в Республике Алтай, 146 – в Республике Тыва, 85 – в Республике Хакасия, 16 – в Красноярском крае).

В данной работе мы постарались обобщить опыт применения ПЦР и секвенирования по Сэнгеру в рутинных исследованиях, которые ведутся с 2015 г. на базе ИБР РАН при пополнении и использовании Коллекции линных перьев редких и особо ценных видов хищных птиц ИБР РАН и ООО «Сибэкоцентр».

В результате анализа 10 образцов ДНК от птенцов «алтайского» фенотипа, выпущенных в природу в 2017 г., было показано, что птицы данного фенотипа также могут принадлежать к обеим гаплогруппам (Рожкова, 2018). Анализ последовательности D-петли 10 музейных образцов балобана Алтае-Саянского региона из коллекции Зоомузея МГУ 1924–1970 гг. подтвердил, что при стабильном состоянии популяции там также встречались особи, принадлежащие к обеим гаплогруппам (3 птицы восточной и 7 птиц западной). Таким образом, последовательность D-петли не отражает популяционной принадлежности балобанов Алтае-Саянского региона, и, напротив, «алтайский» фенотип может служить признаком соответствия реинтродуцируемых особей природной популяции.

In this article we made a revaluation of a number of the Saker (Falco cherrug) on the Crimean Peninsula based on data obtained in an expedition conducted in May 9–26 of 2015. During this expedition Sakers were observed on 58 sites (31 times they were seen on pylons of power lines, 14 – on cliffs in the foothills of Crimean Mountains, 8 – on the coastal cliffs and 4 on the coastal precipices, and one adult male was seen in the forest shelter belt near Syvash lagoon. We revealed 49 breeding territories of Saker including 42 occupied nests with successful breeding. The estimation of the total number of breeding population on peninsula is 145–184 (mean 165) breeding pairs, including 125–159 (mean 142) pairs which breeding attempts were successful in 2015. The distance between the neighboring pairs is 1.95–15.21 km (mean 6.56±3.37 km), n=43. Pylons of power lines were used by 30 breeding pairs (61.22%) out of 49, and 29 successful nests (69.05%) out of 42 were built on pylons. Supposedly, 63.83% of all breeding pairs in Crimea are bred on pylons, and the percentage of successful nests out of the total number of nests in population is 71.89%. From the 34 nests that were built on pylons, 24 (70.59%) were located on the concrete pylons and 10 (29.41%) on the metal ones. On cliffs and precipices we found 24 nests in total. Eighteen (75%) of them were built on a bare ground, while the others were found in the nests built by other bird species (most of them were made in the former nests of the Raven (Corvus corax), and one pair occupies a nest of the Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) located on cliff. The percentage of successful nests out of occupied ones was 85.71%. We found broods of 1–4 nestlings, which in average (n=23) makes 2.83±0.78 nestling per successful nest. The majority of broods (65.22%) consisted of 3 nestlings. On 20 breeding territories (90.91%) male birds were older then 2 years old, and two breeding territories (9.09%) were occupied by males of 1st or 2nd calendar-year; females on 16 breeding territories (47.06%) were older then 2 years old, on 13 territories (38,24%) were of one year old and on 5 (14,71%) territories of two years old. We suppose a population decline in a range from 4.1% to 17.7% in the coming 5 years.

In work of the Raptor Ringing Center of the Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network in 2014 participated 39 ornithologists-researchers and birdwatchers who have ringed in total 889 individuals of 23 species of birds of prey (Falconiformers) and owls. From colour marked birds the leaders are Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) – 154 ind., Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) – 110 ind., Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) – 95 ind., Long-Legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) – 87 ind., White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) – 78ind. For 2014 and the first 5 months of 2015 the information was received about the registration of 50 birds with rings from which 39 birds were identified . Among returns the leaders are Eastern Imperial Eagle (14 ind.) and White-Tailed Eagle (9ind.).

Based on author’s research in 2014 the paper contains information on distribution, numbers and breeding biology of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) in the Altai-Sayan region. A total of 112 breeding territories of the Saker Falcon (28.9% of the territories already known in the Altai-Sayan region) located in the Krasnoyarsk Kray, Khakassia, Tyva and Altai Republics were visited in 2014: 94 territories were occupied and 44 territories were successful. Six new territories were discovered in 2014, 7 – recovered within borders of an old empty territory and 11 – were noted as abandoned in 2014. A total of 25 breeding territories of the Saker Falcon located in the Altai Kray were visited in 2014: 4 territories were occupied and 3 territories were successful. Considering the expert estimation a total of 1237–1473 pairs (averaging 1355 pairs) breed in the Altai-Sayan region in 2014, and 618–736 pairs (averaging 677 pairs) are successful. The population trend was noted as negative and was -26% per past 12 years of the census conducted. The positive population trend for the Saker Falcon has been recorded for the last 3 years due to the growth of its population in Tuva – 2% for the region. Estimation a total of 34–45 pairs (averaging 39 pairs) breed in the Altai Kray in 2014, and 17–22 pairs (averaging 19 pairs) are successful. The population trend was noted as negative and was -67% per past 12 years of the census conducted (Saker Falcon population in the pine forests has virtually been extinct).