Eastern Imperial Eagle in Agricultural Lands in Kharkiv Region of Ukraine: the Results of Seventeen Years of Monitoring

Abstract

A study on the population of Eastern Imperial Eagle (EIE) (Aquila heliaca) in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine was begun in 2003. About 40% of the region was surveyed during this study. In 2018-2020 an EIE counting was done on our study plots covering suitable nesting habitats of the species and 78 individuals of EIE were recorded. Comparing with 2005–2012 count when 81 EIEs were recorded and the population size was estimated as 50 breeding pairs it is possible to conclude that the population nowadays is stable. However, in some local breeding groups, the number is tending to decline. For instance, in the pine forests in the valley of the Siversky Donets river, the decline is caused by habitat destruction and human disturbance during the breeding period due to woodcutting. To prevent the future decreasing, since 2016 a new legislation prohibits logging activity in woodlands of Ukraine from the 1st of April till 15th of June. On the contrary, in the agricultural area in the south and southeast of the Kharkiv region, population growth was observed. In 2018–2020 we found 29 inhabited nests of Eastern Imperial Eagles located in agricultural open lands (16 nests), in vast oak forest (1 nest), and in pine forests of the Siversky Donets river valley (12 nests). In 2019, a significant difference was found in the breeding success of pairs inhabited agricultural lands (100% successful cases) that in pine forests (40%).