Vartanyants O.A., Sharikov A.V., Volkov S.V., Karvovsky D.A., Ivanov M.N. Black kite (Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783)) Breeding Ecology in the North of Moscow Region // Ecosystems: ecology and dynamics. No 2. 2024. P. 42-56. | Abstract | PDF | Reference
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- Nest of a black kite in a black alder forest (photo by O.A.Vartanyants)
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- Ringing of a black kite chick (photo by A.V.Sharikov)
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- Black kite chicks in the nest (camera trap photo by M.N.Ivanov)
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- O.A. Vartanyants with a ringed chick of a black kite (photo by E.Y.Lobischeva)
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- R.Kh. Ataullin climbing up to the nest of a black kite (photo by E.M.Shishkina)
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- Bedding inside the nest of a black kite (photo by M.N.Ivanov)
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- Ringed chicks of a black kite in the nest (photo by M.N.Ivanov)
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- Black alder forest (photo by O.A.Vartanyants)
The black kite (Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783)) is a species of birds of prey that is poorly studied in the European part of Russia and Eastern Europe. Therefore, in this work we analyze the long-term observations of black kites in the north of Moscow Region, and present the results of an analysis of the species’ phenology and nesting.
We discovered that black kites arrive at the study area from the 5th to the 17th of April, and leave from the 17th of August to the 7th of September. There is a connection between arrival and departure dates, as well as between them and some abiotic parameters. We found the nests of black kites in the tree species that were predominant in the study area. Each clutch had an average of 2 eggs; egg and chick mortality were 3.3%, which is less than that in other parts of the species’ range. In 2022, we discovered an aggregation of 7 nests of black kites in the area of 210 ha.
Keywords: black kite, (Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783)), breeding ecology, Moscow Region.
Acknowledgments. We would like to thank every biologist and volunteer of the Crane Homeland Nature Reserve for a long-term contribution of their observations to the Books of Facts of the reserve. The recent field data would have not been possible to collect without the help of students and postgraduate students of the Moscow Pedagogical State University and A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of RAS. We would also like to thank O.S. Grinchenko, the Chairman of the Moscow Branch of BirdsRussia, for the opportunity to conduct our research on the base of the Ecological Education Center “Dmitrovka Biostation”, and T.S. Massalskaya for assistance in statistical processing of our data.
DOI: 10.24412/2542-2006-2024-2-42-56
EDN: SQHBBJ
