The Red Data Book Waterbirds in the Coastal Wetlands of the Azov-Black Sea Region of Ukraine — the Results of the August Counts 2018 and 2021

The article analyses data from the August Counts of 2018 and 2021, which covered the 40 most important wetlands on the Azov-Black Sea coast of Ukraine. Of the 106 wetland bird species recorded during the censuses, 35 species are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The number of them was about 50 thousand individuals or 7.6 % of the total number of counted birds: in 2018 — 24.1 thousand individuals and in 2021 — 25.8 thousand individuals. Detailed information on the number of bird species and the list of the most important sites for each species can be found in the publication. The comparison of the current data with the previous survey period 2004‒2015 (Chernichko et al., 2018) showed that the abundance of 17 waterbird species decreased, and 7 species increased their abundance. It is assumed that these changes are caused by the aridification of the climate, leading to the drying out of the shallow parts of the region's wetlands in the second half of the summer

Characteristics of Sex and Age Composition of Calidris Alpine (Aves, Charadriiformes) Migrating Across Sivash

The paper shows features of distribution based on regular captures and measurements since 1986 on two sites of Sivash (Central and Eastern), which are different in their hydrological regime and composition of forage macrozoobenthos. Shorter-billed males reliably prefer Central Sivash for storage of fat reserves at the expense of feeding on larvae of chironomids and possibly the brine shrimp. For longer-billed females it is more profitable to concentrate on Eastern Sivash, where they prefer to feed on polychaete worms. On basis of size characteristics of the captured birds and their time dynamics, the paper considers suggested terms of passage of different subspecies and populations of the Dunlin across the Azov-Black Sea coast of Ukraine. Also differences in age composition of migratory waders on different sites of Sivash are shown compared to other water bodies of the near Black Sea area.На основании регулярных отловов и промеров чернозобика (Calidris alpina L.) с 1986 г. на двух участках Сиваша (Центральном и Восточном), различающихся своим гидрологическим режимом и составом кормового макрозообентоса, показаны особенности размещения самцов и самок во время сезонных миграций. Самцы, обладающие более коротким клювом, достоверно чаще избирают Центральный Сиваш для накопления жировых запасов за счет питания личинками хирономид и, возможно, артемией. Самкам, более «длинноклювым», выгоднее концентрироваться на Восточном Сиваше, где они предпочитают поедать полихет. На основании размерных характеристик отловленных птиц и их динамики во времени, рассматриваются вероятные сроки пролета на Азово-Черноморском побережье Украины разных подвидов и популяций чернозобика. Показаны различия и в возрастном составе мигрирующих куликов на разных участках Сиваша в сравнении с другими водоемами Причерноморья