The breeding distribution and numbers of the Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) in Kharkiv City, Ukraine

The counts of breeding Jackdaws were made in Kharkiv City, Ukraine in April – early June of 2016–2017. We estimated the breeding density among different habitat types. For such a purpose the city area was divided into 0.25 km² squares (n = 1354) and we estimated the numbers of pairs within the boundaries of 40 squares (QGIS program was used to choose randomly these squares). The surveys were made in April–May (19 squares) and early June (4 squares) in 2016 and April–May (10 squares) and early June (7 squares) in 2017. The surveys were made within main habitat types such as area of residential blocks of flats, residential area (1–2-storey buildings), industrial area, forest zone, park zone and undeveloped urban areas. The data on the area occupied by every major habitat type (in km²) were calculated by QGIS program. The 90 % of the territory of Kharkiv City was analysed, except water reservoirs and traffic way areas. The data of the surveys were extrapolated across areas of the same habitat types. Also we have searched for Jackdaw colonies within the boundaries of Kharkiv City to take these data into account. According to the collected data the Jackdaw prefers to nest in crevices of old 3–5-level buildings at built-up districts or in round cross-sections of posts at blocks-of-flats areas. Thus the mean density here was 22 pairs/km². The mean density of Jackdaw in industrial areas was 15 pairs/km², in undeveloped urban areas – 1.2 pairs/km², and in residential area (1–2-storey buildings) – 0.7 pairs/km². The total number of breeding Jackdaws in Kharkiv City was estimated at 2325 to 2630 pairs. The mean density of Jackdaws was 7.5 pairs/km². Taking into account the moderate decline in the population of the Jackdaws in some European countries (although in general the population trend remains stable within the continent), and the lack of the surveys of the breeding distribution and numbers of Jackdaws in large cities of the Eastern Ukraine, it’s reasonable to use our data as an optimal starting point for the monitoring of the regional population trend of the species. The data of 2016 year survey were used in European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2) programme (square 37UCR2).