Branta Issues > Issue №8 (2005)

Current data on the passage dynamics and breeding range of Corncrake in the Crimea

A.B. Grinchenko

In the second half of the 20th century the breeding area of Corncrake in the Crimea greatly decreased. Earlier the species breeding area had covered the whole peninsula excepting forests and yaila (Yu.V. Kostin, 1983), but to the end of the 20th century the Corncrake continued breeding only in the north-west foothill, small part of Kerchenskiy Peninsula and such yaila as Karabi-Yaila and Ai-Petri. At present the breeding numbers of the species do not exceed 20-30 pairs.

There still preserved a migratory route of the Corncrake across the Crimea with stopovers in a mountainous part of the peninsula. This route was mentioned in the works written by E.G.Spangerberg (1951) and Yu.V.Kostin (1983). At present during the migration along this route 40000-60000 corncrakes make a stopover in the mountains, and apart from this a lot part of birds passes through. Main quantities of corncrakes migrate in September. The altitude of their flight in the mountain is about 1,600 m and higher. During their stopovers in mountains the birds concentrate on a local area, where it is necessary to strengthen measures of the species protection, especially a hard control of poaching.

* yaila - local name of  Crimean mountain plateau