Branta Issues > Issue №14 (2011)

Breeding of the Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) in planted forests of Zaporizhzhia region

E. A. Diadicheva, A. S. Nadtochiy

The work is based on the data of field investigations of breeding avifauna in planted forests collected in 2005-2009 in the south of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The most thoroughly it was examined the territory of Altahyr Forest (planted in 1880-1899, the area is about 1,500 ha) at the right bank of Molochnyi Lyman (Yakymivka district of Zaporizhzhia region), which is one of the oldest and southernmost planted forests in Zaporizhzhia region. The results proved breeding of the Wood Warbler in its territory (29.05.2007 there were found 2 nests with clutches of 4 and 5 eggs), which is the southernmost point (46° 37’ N) of the species breeding in the steppe zone of the Left-Bank Ukraine. Totally, there were discovered (by voice and visually) 10 territorial pairs and 10-11 singing males. We estimated the overall breeding number of the species in the study area as 15-20 pairs. Basing on the given review of publications for the last 70 years, it can be assumed that in the 1950-1970s the Wood Warbler did not breed in Zapororizhzhia region. The nearest known regions of its breeding are the south of Kharkiv region and northern areas of Dnipropetrovsk region from the north, the Rocky Crimea from the south, and Volodymyrivske Forestry at the Ingulets riverbank in Mykolaiv region from the west (and further to the west – the Dniester floodplains). The Wood Warbler appeared in Altahyr Forest as it was getting older, and only in old planted sections with remained sites of trees aged 60-90 years. Thus, for this species (similar to many other forest species of birds) ageing planted forests play a role of ecological corridors which until now provide diffusion of birds to the south arid steppe zone.