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A preliminary overview of monitoring for raptors in Belarus
Predhodni pregled monitoringa populacij ptic roparic v Belorusiji
Valery Dombrovski 
Laboratory of Ornithology, Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences, Academichnaia str. 27, BY–220072, 
Minsk, Belarus, e−mail: valera@biobel.bas-net.by
In total, 29 diurnal raptor species and 13 owl species have been registered in 
Belarus. Of these, 20 and 10 species, respectively, are regular breeders in the 
country. Nine birds of prey and six owl species have been monitored during 
the past 40 years with variable degrees of intensity. Now, at the beginning 
of 2012, monitoring of seven diurnal raptor (Osprey Pandion haliaetus, 
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, Greater 
Spotted Eagle A. clanga, Lesser Spotted Eagle A. pomarina, White-tailed Eagle 
Haliaetus albicilla, Kestrel Falco tinnunculus) and four owl species (Tawny 
Owl Strix aluco, Tengmalm’s Owl Aegolius funereus, Great Grey Owl Strix 
nebulosa, Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum) is about to be continued at the 
same level. The population of the globally threatened Greater Spotted Eagle is 
in the process of most careful monitoring in comparison with other species. 
The main users of the data obtained through monitoring are the Ministry of 
Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, 
the Institute of Zoology (National Academy of Sciences), administration of 
the Strictly Protected Areas and NGO APB - BirdLife Belarus. Since 2006, 
monitoring of certain raptors has been included into a scheme of the National 
System of Environmental Monitoring in the Republic of Belarus. This national 
monitoring programme was fully funded during 5 years (2006–2010). Owing 
to the economic crisis and lack of sufficient financial support for research, this 
programme has eventually been reduced to monitoring of the Greater Spotted 
Eagle only. All other monitoring studies carried out in 2011 were only partial, 
as personal initiatives by some dedicated ornithologists on voluntary basis.
Key words: raptor monitoring, birds of prey, owls, Belarus
Ključne besede: monitoring ptic roparic, ujede, sove, Belorusija
1. Introduction
Belarus is the country in which fairly large populations 
of some rare and threatened European raptor species, 
i.e., Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga, Lesser 
Spotted Eagle A. pomarina, Short-toed Eagle Circaetus 
gallicus, Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus, can still be found 
due to the presence of a large number of natural mires 
and swampy forest tracts. In total, 29 diurnal raptor 
species and 13 owl species have been registered in the 
country. Of these, 20 and 10 species, respectively, are 
regular breeders (Nikiforov et al. 1997). 
Development and strengthening of monitoring 
studies will allow to respond efficiently to emerging 
threats in order to promptly prevent decline of raptor 
population or degradation of their habitats.
2. Main players
Bulk of the work on raptor monitoring was conducted 
by scientists from the National Academy of Sciences, 
university professors, staff members of national 
parks and several amateur ornithologists, members 
of NGO “Akhova ptushak Bat’kaushchini” (APB - 
BirdLife Belarus). In total, not more than 10 persons 
participated in birds of prey and owls monitoring in 
Belarus during each field season.
Main targets of birds of prey and owl monitoring 
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V. Dombrovski: A preliminary overview of monitoring for raptors in Belarus
are as follows: (1) to obtain scientific data on the 
contemporary population status and numbers of birds of 
prey and owl species, (2) to make management decisions 
for environmental purposes, (3) to revise and update 
the Belarusian Red Data Book and Action Plans for 
protection of threatened birds of prey and owl species.
The main users of the data obtained from this 
monitoring are the Ministry of Natural Resources 
and Environmental Protection of the Republic of 
Belarus, the Institute of Zoology (National Academy 
of Sciences), administration of the Strictly Protected 
Areas and NGO APB - BirdLife Belarus.
3. National coverage
First targeted studies of birds of prey were carried out 
in the mid-20th century in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in 
western Belarus (Golodushko 1965). Then, from 
the beginning of the 1980s, most of such studies 
shifted to Poozer’e (northern Belarus) (Tishechkin 
& Ivanovski 1992, Ivanovsky & Tishechkin 1993, 
Ivanovski 2012). Since the mid-1990s, monitoring 
of forest birds of prey has been also carried out in 
one study plot in Minsk Region (central Belarus) 
(Vorob’ev & Mindlin 1994). Monitoring of 
Montagu’s Harrier C. pygargus has been initiated 
in the Grodno region (western Belarus) during the 
same period (Vintchevski & Yasevitch 1998), the 
same as monitoring of Marsh Harrier C. aeruginosus 
populations in the Minsk region.
During 1995–1999, the project “Raptors of 
Belarus: Entering into New Century” has been carried 
out in Belarus with APB - BirdLife Belarus as the main 
beneficiary. Many new breeding sites of rare raptors 
were discovered in Belarus during the implementation 
of this project. In the majority of cases, researchers 
were not associated with permanent study plots and 
attempted to collect representative samples of data by 
finding a maximal number of nests. As a result, data 
such as regional lists of birds of prey species, breeding 
biology and reproductive indices were well known for 
most of raptor species by the end of the 20th century. 
At the same time, there was a lack of data on such 
important monitoring components as population 
numbers and densities of birds of prey within specific 
study plots (Tishechkin et al. 2000).
Monitoring of birds of prey species in the Chernobyl 
nuclear accident zone (south-eastern Belarus) begun 
in 1998 within the framework of the Institute of 
Zoology (National Academy of Sciences).
During 1999–2002, special counts of birds of prey 
were carried out within the APB - BirdLife Belarus 
project on Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles status 
in Belarus, which was supported by the Royal Society 
for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Although the 
counts covered the entire area of Belarus, they were 
concentrated in the southern part of the country. 92 
plots were studied with a total area of about 9,000 km2. 
Data collected during these studies have allowed us 
to estimate population numbers of most birds of prey 
species for the whole area of Belarus (Dombrovski & 
Ivanovski 2005a).
The owls are less studied in Belarus. By the end 
of the 20th century, Ural Owl Strix uralensis, Eagle 
Owl Bubo bubo and Great Grey Owl S. nebulosa 
were intensively but relatively short-term monitored 
within local areas in different parts of the country 
(Tishechkin & Gritschik 1994, Tishechkin et 
al. 1997, Tishechkin & Ivanovsky 1998 & 2003, 
Gritschik & Tishechkin 2002). At the beginning 
of the 21st century, regular monitoring of four owl 
species was initiated locally in south-western Belarus 
(Great Grey Owl) as well as in northern and central 
Belarus (Tengmalm’s Owl Aegolius funereus, Pygmy 
Owl Glaucidium passerinum and Tawny Owl S. aluco) 
(Shamovich & Shamovich 2005, Abramchuk 2009). 
Nearly all these studies were carried out on private 
initiative of amateur or professional ornithologists 
belonging to different organisations.
Since 2006, raptor monitoring has been included 
into a scheme of the National System of Environmental 
Monitoring in the Republic of Belarus. A sector 
of Monitoring and Cadastre was established in the 
Belarusian National Academy of Sciences in 2006 in 
order to coordinate wildlife monitoring in our country. 
Within this project, model species were selected, study 
methods and approaches for different species selected 
and monitoring initiated. The Greater Spotted Eagle, 
Lesser Spotted Eagle, Golden Eagle A. chrysaetos, White-
tailed Eagle Haliaetus albicilla, Buzzard Buteo buteo and 
Eagle Owl were defined as species to be monitored. The 
monitoring scheme includes assessment of numbers, 
breeding success and several environmental parameters 
(as for the Greater Spotted Eagles, for example, we also 
annually count small mammals and record groundwater 
levels within their breeding sites).
This national monitoring programme was fully 
funded during five years (2006–2010). Due to the 
economic crisis and lack of sufficient financial support 
for research, the programme was eventually reduced 
to monitoring of the Greater Spotted Eagle only 
(as a globally threatened species) at four permanent 
study plots in Pripyat Polesie (southern Belarus). All 
other monitoring studies carried out in 2011 were 
only partial, as personal initiatives by some dedicated 
ornithologists on voluntary basis.
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4. Key species and issues
Nine birds of prey and six owl species have been 
monitored in Belarus during the past 40 years with 
variable degrees of intensity (Table 1). Now, at the 
beginning of 2012, monitoring of seven diurnal 
raptor and four owl species is about to be continued 
at the same level. As the Table 1 shows, basically, we 
are dealing with several rare species included into the 
Red Data Book of the Republic of Belarus. Only two 
species (Marsh Harrier and Tawny Owl) are widely 
distributed and common locally. Such attention to 
Table 1: Status of raptor and owl monitoring in Belarus during past 40 years
Tabela 1: Status monitoringa ujed in sov v Belorusiji v zadnjih 40 letih
Species / Vrsta
No. of 
controlled 
pairs / Št. 
spremljanih 
parov
% national 
population/ 
nacionalne 
populacije
Locality of 
monitoring in 
Belarus / Lokacija 
monitoringa v 
Belorusiji
Researchers/ 
Raziskovalci
Duration of 
monitoring/ 
Trajanje 
monitoringa
White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla 6 6 Chernobyl zone 
(south-east)
V. Yurko 2006–
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 10–50 0.4 Centre A. Vintchevski 1990–
Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus 13–36 0.6 West D. Vintchevski 1993–2010
Buzzard Buteo buteo 55–105 0.4 Centre, South V. Dombrovski 2006–2010
Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina 9
20
11
1 Centre
South
North
G. Mindlin
V. Dombrovski
V. Ivanovski
1991–
2000–
2000–
Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga 30–70 29 Centre, South V. Dombrovski 1999–
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos 4 89 North V. Ivanovski 1982–
Osprey Pandion haliaetus 10–30 17 North A. Tishechkin
V. Ivanovski
1976–
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 38–65 3 Urban  
population in 
two western 
towns
D. Vintchevski
A. Minich
A. Kivachuk
D. Tabunov
2005–
Eagle Owl Bubo bubo 9–11 5 South A. Tishechkin
V. Gritchik
G. Mindlin
V. Vorob’ev
1991–1996
13 South V. Dombrovski 2006–2010
Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum 7
20
2 Centre
North
G. Mindlin
D. Shamovich
2003–
2004–2009
Tawny Owl Strix aluco 10–23 0.3 Centre
North
D. Pisanenko
G. Mindlin
D. Shamovich
1995–
1999–20047
Ural Owl Strix uralensis 18–40 2 North A. Tishechkin
V. Ivanovski
D. Shamovich
1986–2009
Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa 5–7 6 South
South-West
A. Tishechkin
V. Gritchik
G. Mindlin
V. Vorob’ev
A. Abramchuk
1992–1996
2–5 2000–
Tengmalm’s Owl Aegolius funereus 12 0.3 Centre G. Mindlin 2000–
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V. Dombrovski: A preliminary overview of monitoring for raptors in Belarus
monitoring of rare species is associated with a priority 
of environmental conservation for ornithological 
research in Belarus.
From the global point of view, the most important 
Belarusian raptor to be monitored is the Greater 
Spotted Eagle. The key European population (150–
200 breeding pairs) of this species inhabits southern 
Belarus (Dombrovski & Ivanovski 2005b). As can be 
seen from the Table 1 and Figure 1, the population 
of the Greater Spotted Eagle is undergoing most 
careful monitoring comparing to other species. This 
is thanks to the implementation of several projects 
by APB - BirdLife Belarus (funded in different years 
by the RSPB, British Ornithologists’ Union, Club 
300 Sweden, BirdLife International and Frankfurt 
Zoological Society), which were aimed at the 
identification and protection of the Greater Spotted 
Eagle nests.
Main negative factors impacting the raptor species’ 
populations and breeding habitats in Belarus are as 
follows: direct destruction of natural habitats as a 
result of drainage, habitat degradation caused by 
disruptions in the hydrological regime, canalization 
of rivers, loss of biotopes suitable for nesting as a 
result of overexploitation of forests, environmentally 
unbalanced economic activities, arable farming on 
drained fen mires, allotment of summer house plots 
in river floodplains and on wetlands potentially 
suitable for rare birds of prey, poaching, disturbance 
in the breeding season, no management units in some 
of the protected areas, no protection status of some 
of the habitats, lack of awareness of the value of fen 
mires and wet alder forests for conservation of the 
globally important biodiversity among local people, 
loss of genetic purity of the Greater Spotted Eagle 
populations as a result of hybridization with Lesser 
Spotted Eagle (Dombrovski 2012).
Monitoring has never been carried out for nine 
birds of prey species from 18 regularly breeding 
ones in Belarus. Moreover, populations of two such 
species (Short-toed Eagle and Hen Harrier) represent 
significant numbers for our region. Four species from 
10 breeding owl species have also never been covered 
by monitoring. 
5. Strengths, weaknesses and future priorities
The lack of an integrated scheme for raptors is among 
the main weaknesses of birds of prey monitoring in 
Belarus. Almost all monitoring plots are located in 
several regions (southern and northern Belarus). 
There are no monitoring plots in eastern Belarus, 
while monitoring plots in central parts of the country 
are distinctly insufficient. For many species we can 
control only very small, non-representative parts of 
national populations (Table 1), or monitoring plots 
do not cover all typical habitats. There is practically no 
monitoring of threats for raptors in Belarus.
So, weaknesses of birds of prey monitoring in 
Belarus are as follows: (1) small numbers of professional 
and amateur ornithologists who would be ready and 
qualified to do this job, (2) low living standards of 
people do not allow us to carry out monitoring without 
a financial support even by volunteers, (3) insufficient 
amount of funding targeted to monitoring studies.
Ceasing of monitoring for several species is closely 
associated with either lack of financial support 
(Buzzard, Eagle Owl), or with changing of interests 
and/or research priorities of qualified ornithologists 
(Montagu’s Harrier, Osprey Pandion haliaetus, Ural 
Owl).
The priorities for strengthening raptor monitoring 
in Belarus are as follows: (1) to establish a working 
group for monitoring birds of prey and owls in Belarus 
in order to exchange the experience and to coordinate 
the activities, (2) to involve new participants, (3) 
to search for funding the monitoring of key raptor 
species in key areas, (4) to initiate or re-establish 
monitoring for the Osprey, Ural Owl, Eagle Owl, 
Short-toed Eagle and Hen Harrier, (5) to expand the 
Figure 1: Actual distribution and number of known Greater 
Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga pairs (first number) and number 
of regularly monitored pairs of this species (second number) 
at separate monitoring plots in Belarus
Slika 1: Dejanska raz{irjenost in {tevilo znanih parov 
velikega klinka~a Aquila clanga (prva {tevilka) in {tevilo parov 
te vrste, deležnih rednega monitoringa (druga {tevilka) na 
razli~nih ploskvah, dolo~enih za monitoring vrste v Belorusiji
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Acrocephalus 33 (154/155): 167−172, 2012
network of monitoring plots for Lesser Spotted Eagle, 
White-tailed Eagle, Grey Great Owl and Pygmy Owl.
6. Povzetek
V Belorusiji je bilo doslej zabeleženih 29 vrst ujed in 
13 vrst sov. Od teh jih 20 oziroma 10 tudi gnezdi. 
V zadnjih 40 letih je bilo devet vrst ujed in šest vrst 
sov deležnih različno intenzivnega monitoringa. V 
začetku leta 2012 se je na približno isti ravni nadaljeval 
monitoring sedmih vrst ujed (ribji orel Pandion 
haliaetus, planinski orel Aquila chrysaetos, rjavi lunj 
Circus aeruginosus, veliki klinkač A. clanga, mali klinkač 
A. pomarina, belorepec Haliaeetus albicilla, postovka 
Falco tinnunculus) in štirih vrst sov (lesna sova Strix 
aluco, koconogi čuk Aegolius funereus, bradata sova 
Strix nebulosa, mali skovik Glaucidium passerinum). 
Populacija globalno ogroženega velikega klinkača je 
v procesu najtemeljitejšega monitoringa v primerjavi 
z drugimi vrstami. Glavni uporabniki podatkov, 
pridobljenih z monitoringom, so Ministrstvo za 
naravne vire in varstvo okolja Republike Belorusije, 
Inštitut za zoologijo (nacionalna Akademija znanosti), 
administracija strogo zavarovanih območij in 
nevladna organizacija APB - BirdLife Belorusija. Od 
leta 2006 je monitoring nekaterih vrst vključen v 
shemo Nacionalnega sistema za okoljski monitoring 
Republike Belorusije. Ta nacionalni programme 
monitoringa je bil v celoti financiran v letih 2006–
2010, zaradi gospodarske krize in pomanjkanja 
zadostne finančne pomoči pa je bil pozneje skrčen na 
monitoring zgolj velikega klinkača. Vse druge študije 
v okviru monitoringa v letu 2011 so bile le delne, in 
sicer kot osebne pobude nekaterih pticam roparicam 
posvečenih ornitologov na prostovoljni osnovi.
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Arrived / Prispelo: 27. 3. 2013
Accepted / Sprejeto: 1. 7. 2013