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This article traces the evolution of childcare policies in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom during the period 2005–15 in order to observe changes possibly related to economic crisis. Applying the concept of degenderization and the method of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA), the study examines: (1) equality of parental leave entitlements, (2) generosity of parental leave-related benefits, (3) accessibility of childcare services, and (4) length of all available leave schemes, at six points in time. The argument is that changes within this period did not lead to a radical transformation in childcare policy, while those shifts that took place could be more often characterized as degenderizing, contrary to expectations. Finally, the study identified policy clusters: four types of genderization (strong genderization, with care payment, with care parity, and with activation), strong and weak versions of degenderization, as well as a mixed case. HIGHLIGHTS This study traces the evolution of childcare policies across nine EU countries during the period of recession between 2005 and 2015. It uses the concept of "degenderization" to develop a typology of childcare policies. A dynamic analysis reveals that despite austerity measures, policies usually remained stable over time. Moreover, despite the crisis, policies tended to promote gender equality in care. Small steps toward degenderization in care policies over time signal that the gender revolution is not "stalled." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we aim to understand the development dynamics of a specific area of social investment (SI), that is, childcare policies, in the context of postcommunist politics and the recent right‐wing turn that took place in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. This article identifies varieties of channels for promoting SI. First, in taking the perspective of the "mixed economy of welfare," we argue that attempts made to introduce elements of SI to the childcare policies involved various leading roles available for either the private sector or state/public domain. Second, it is important to distinguish between implicit/unintended and explicit/intended projects both in relation to cases in which SI strategy is applied via marketization/privatization and when it involves a government‐led project. Third, we take into account the politics of SI implementation that might involve applying certain principles central to policy concepts (such as "investment") in justifying policy instruments incompatible with original ideas. Although arguments about SI have been extensively used by Eastern European leaders, their goal has been to justify welfare reforms that were implicitly or explicitly directed towards the middle class while excluding the "nondeserving" often based on ethnic identity. We characterize Poland as a case of "implicit marketization," the Czech Republic as a case of "explicit privatization," and the Hungarian version of SI as a case of "explicit public dualization." In this, we show that in some cases, the implementation of SI approaches by right‐wing populist parties might rear its "ugly" head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among Arctic-breeding waterfowl species, spring stopovers are critical to individuals as a means to accumulate fat and nutrient stores to invest in both migration and their breeding attempt in the tundra zone. We studied the influence of possible factors (age, sex, progress of migration season) on the stopover duration of one such species, the Eurasian Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons albifrons), by analysing records of 1,115 neck-banded birds spotted at their Biebrza Basin stopover site on spring migration in Po-land. As expected, because most mature birds are paired, there were no differences between the sexes in stopover duration. Generally, adults stayed for shorter periods than immatures and stopover duration was shorter later in the season. Data from individuals of known age showed that the rate of decrease in stopover duration with season was faster among older than younger geese. Immature birds, still not ready to breed, do not face the pressure to attain breeding condition and therefore may stay longer in the stopover areas. We think these patterns may reflect the greater experience of older birds, as well as the stronger pressure on them to reach the breeding grounds as early as possible. As the breeding season approaches and foraging opportunities at migration sites further up the fly-way become more accessible and of higher quality, geese stay for shorter periods later in the season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many birds are advancing their migratory phenology and arriving earlier at their spring staging areas in response to climate warming. The duration of the spring migration of geese depends on the interaction between feeding conditions and dates. We studied White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons and Bean Geese A user fabalis in north-eastern Poland (one of the coldest areas in the country lowlands), where one of the main central European stopover sites for staging geese is the Biebrza Basin White-fronted Goose and Bean Goose first arrival dates (FADs) in north-eastern Poland were negatively related to local mean spring temperature in January-March during 1996-2015, but FADs of both species (median 28 February) neither differed nor advanced significantly. Total numbers of birds in 10-day periods during 2008-2014 were also analysed. The stay duration of both goose species at the Biebrza stopover site (based on 10-day periods during 2008-2014) varied horn 5 to 10 10-day periods. Numbers of geese were positively correlated with local mean temperature and depended on ice cover: both these factors govern accessibility to water and foraging grounds. We suggest that, given the area's prevailing harsh weather conditions, temperature seems to be the crucial factor affecting the extent of ice cover as well as plant growth, which in turn affects goose migration phenology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate conditions may determine the foraging strategy of migratory birds at spring stopovers. For geese, this period is a crucial time for acquiring energy to fuel onward migration and ensure future breeding success. Our study, analysing the influence of weather factors on numbers of geese and foraging sites, was conducted in the Biebrza Basin (north-eastern Poland) during the spring migration period in 2007-2013, when a total of 116 counts were carried out. A total of 741,865 White-fronted Geese and 20,871 Greylag Geese were counted. Numbers of geese differed among habitat types; Greylag Geese used arable lands more frequently than Whitefronted Geese, which in turn preferred grasslands. Two climate factors affected numbers of the latter: the impact of mean 10-day temperature was positive but that of snowfall was negative. Neither of these factors affected the former. We conclude that changeable climate conditions in the temperate climatic zone may force a more flexible response in terms of habitat use during stopovers from short-distance migrants like Greylag Geese than from longer-distance migrants like White-fronted Geese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migratory behaviour of a subpopulation of Whooper Swans breeding in highlands of southern Poland was studied over a 17-year period, from 1997 to 2013. Birds ringed in their breeding area spent winters and moulting periods in the vicinity of their natal sites, and the mean distance between breeding area and wintering sites was only 149.1 ± 11.7 km. Moreover, 57.0% of all winter re-sightings were obtained within 100 km of the study area. There was an increase in winter site fidelity by individual Whooper Swans over their life-time (R2 = 0.09, p = 0.019), reflected by a linear decrease in the distance travelled between two consecutive winters (β = -0.22 ± 0.09). We did not find any association between winter severity and the birds' migratory behaviour, neither in the distance travelled nor the location of winter recoveries. The mean distance between the study area and the moulting site was 142.7 ± 34.6 km and c. 66.6% of ring re-sightings during the moulting period were within 100 km of the study area. During autumn many immature birds were observed close to their parents' breeding territory and this could help them reunite with parents or siblings from other seasons. The apparent reduction of migratory behaviour compared with representatives of northern populations indicates behavioural plasticity in the Whooper Swan, which may facilitate further southward expansions of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, is a widespread waterfowl species that commonly winters in urban areas. The abundance of mallards wintering in four Polish cities: Warsaw, Biaystok, Kielce and Szczecin was analyzed for a 10-year period, between 2003 and 2012. The highest mean number of mallards was recorded in Warsaw (> 18,000) and the lowest in Kielce (approximately 600). In Warsaw, Bialystok and Szczecin, where wintering of this species was documented over the period of 1950-1960, the number of birds fluctuated considerably during 2003 - 2012 but showed no significant trend. In Kielce, where mallards only began wintering in the 1990's, there was an increase in their numbers over time. Moreover, the number of mallards wintering in Szczecin was not correlated with mean temperature. In much more severe winter conditions, such us Warsaw and Biaystok, the number of mallards increased when the water bodies outside the urbanized areas were frozen. Thus, as cities offered suitable conditions for wintering, part of the mallard population moved to urbanized areas instead of moving towards regions of milder weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the known major bottlenecks on European flyways are yet insufficiently explored and require more intensive study. On the basis of raptor counts on the Vistula Spit (southern Baltic coast, Poland), from 15th August to 15th November 2008-2011, we consider this bottleneck to be important at a European scale. Every year we observed there almost 11,000 individuals of 22 raptor species. The flyway is especially important for Peregrine Falcons, Hen Harriers, Merlins and Eurasian Sparrowhawks. To analyse the species composition observed we related the mean annual number of raptors recorded on the Vistula Spit to the corresponding numbers at Falsterbo. The linear mixed model showed that the median migration date showed a significant effect on the species composition and the flight strategies a nearly significant effect. The southern Baltic coast seems to be the most important bottleneck in the autumn passage for late migrating raptors with flapping flight and differ in composition and numbers of species from the flyway at Falsterbo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper covers the issue of demographic changes in European countries and their impact on the state pension systems. This author first discusses the current demographic trends (decreasing fertility, increasing longevity, change of age structure) and their socioeconomic consequences. The next section is intended to address pension reforms adopted in several EU member states (United Kingdom, Italy, France, Sweden, Germany, Hungary), their rationale, aims and agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unusual mixed song of a River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis) was recorded in eastern Poland. The identified male used 2 types of songs recalling the River Warbler and the Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia) alternately, which was confirmed by the interpretation of the sonograms. The most likely explanation of this unusual song is vocal mimicry, caused by the exposure of the recorded individual to the song of the Grasshopper Warbler in its acoustic environment at an early stage of its life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]