Pshenychnyi S. The ecological aspects of waterfowl and waders winterings on innerwaters of Ukraine

The species composition, numbers, territorial and biotopical distribution of birds on the innerwaters are a regular and common phenomenon, in some years up to 25 % of all wintering waterfowl in Ukraine aggregate in continental waters. The sex, age and spatial structures of populations in separate wintering aggregations were ascertained. The degree of complex ecological factors impacting the process of formation and development of innerwater bird wintering was also evaluated. It was shown that the continental winter aggregations have smaller numbers of individuals in a single gathering and greater dispersion compared to Azov-Black Sea ones. The wintering waterfowl numbers and territorial distribution depend substantially on anthropogenic impacts in the area. This study also shows no correlation between bird numbers and climate change near Kyiv. At the same time a correlation between numbers and socio-economic factors is recorded. It is shown that wintering on innerwaters is a key stage in the process of the enlargement of breeding area and synurbization of some species, namely Mute Swan, Mallard, Herring Gull and Sea Eagle.