Branta Issues > Issue №9 (2006)

Molochnyy Liman as a stopover for Anseriformes

Diadicheva E.A., Koshelev A.I.

Being a Ramsar site of international importance and an IBA of Ukraine, Molochnyy Liman (Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine) demands for regular and long-term monitoring. This paper describes species composition, numbers and distribution of Anseriformes and factors, influenced on them during migration 1975-2006 on the territory of Molochnyy Liman. During migratory period at Molochnyy Liman there were recorded 32 species of Anseriformes, of them 19 are common or numerous, 4 species are scanty breeding and migrating, 2 are rare migratory species, and 7 are rare species of passage (Table 1). Among them 7 species are included in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The largest aggregations of Anseriformes (up to 45-50 thousand of birds) are formed in March and October, chiefly at the upper and lower liman and on the liman islands. Seasonal dynamics of numbers of some species are described in relevant species essays. During recent decades numbers of Greylag Goose, Gadwall, and Smew are decreasing; numbers of Goldeneye, Scaup and Mute Swan are characterized by a big range of fluctuation.