Resolution

IX International Conference on the Study and Conservation of Birds of Prey of the Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia “Birds of prey of the Northern Eurasia: Research and Conservation”, dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Galushin

Astrakhan Order of the Red Banner of Labor State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Damchik settlement, Astrakhan Region, September 24-27, 2024

From September 24 to 27, 2024, the IX International Conference of the Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia (WGBP) “Birds of prey of the Northern Eurasia: Research and Conservation”, dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Galushin, was held at the Astrakhan Nature Biosphere Reserve. The conference materials in the form of 91 articles, which were prepared by 150 ornithologists from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Hungary, Spain and the UK, were published in two collections "Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia: Study and Conservation" and "Owls of the Palearctic: Study and Conservation". Electronic versions of these collections are posted on the website of the Russian State Hermitage University (https://raptors.ru).

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55 people took direct part in the work of the Conference, making 44 reports. Another 10 authors presented poster reports. Among the participants of the Conference are well-known and novice specialists from academic institutes, universities, reserves and national parks, biological museums, zoos, nurseries, falconry societies. During the Conference, the following symposiums were held: “Results of the Study and Protection of Birds of Prey”, “Rare Species of Birds of Prey and Their Protection”, “Current State of the Fauna and Population of Birds of Prey and Owls of Northern Eurasia”, as well as a special symposium “Biology and Ecology of Owls of Northern Eurasia”. In addition, a round table was organized “White-tailed Eagle in Russia: Issues of Study, Research Coordination, Creation of a Working Group on Study and Protection”. The IX Conference of the WGBP allowed discussing many current issues of studying and protecting diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey in Northern Eurasia.

The Conference was dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Galushin, a world-famous Scientist and remarkable Teacher, founder and Honorary President of the Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia, who made a huge contribution to the study and protection of birds of prey in Russia and other countries. All conference participants noted its large, important role in the development of ornithology, zoology and ecology in Russia and in neighboring countries, in educating a large galaxy of students and followers.

The Conference noted the important role of the Astrakhan Reserve in preserving the species diversity and number of diurnal birds of prey in the Lower Volga region, in promoting the need for their comprehensive protection. On the last day of the Conference, the Reserve staff conducted a boat excursion for its participants along the river channels on the coast to the borders of the Astrakhan Reserve and an excursion along the Ecological Trail on the Damchiksky section in the Volga delta, and upon returning to Astrakhan, an excursion around the territory of the Astrakhan Kremlin was also organized. Despite the busy schedule, the Conference was held in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Many participants expressed a desire to visit the Astrakhan Reserve again for scientific and excursion purposes.

Having heard and discussed the reports, all participants of the IX Conference of the Russian State Hermitage Plant noted the very high level of organization and great importance of the past forum for the further development of scientific research and protection of birds of prey in Northern Eurasia. Over the three years that have passed since the VIII Conference in the Voronezh Reserve, specialists in birds of prey have collected new important materials on the distribution, population dynamics, ecology, genetics, vocalization and migrations of birds of prey in Northern Eurasia. Some features of the evolution and taxonomy of diurnal birds of prey and owls of the world fauna were clarified. Up-to-date data on the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on birds of prey were obtained, which are necessary for understanding the dynamics of their numbers and organizing protection. Many important features of the distribution and ecology of owls in Northern Eurasia have been identified, remaining one of the most vulnerable, difficult to study and insufficiently studied, problematic groups of birds of prey in this vast region.

Following the results of its work, the IX Conference of the RPG:

• approved the Regulation on the Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia, regulating its activities, defining its goals, objectives and structure;
• decided to name the Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia after Vladimir Galushin, the founder and permanent head of the Working Group;
• decided to celebrate June 1 as “Birds of Prey Protection Day” to mark the 60th anniversary of the ban on their shooting in Russia, established by the Order of the Main Directorate of Hunting and Nature Reserves under the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR dated June 1, 1964 No. 173 “On the streamlining of regulation of the number of birds of prey”, which was prepared on the initiative of G.P. Dementyev, S.P. Naumov, V.M. Galushin and other leading Russian scientists. The draft of this order was prepared directly by Vladimir Mikhailovich Galushin based on a broad discussion in the journal “Hunting and Hunting Economy”;
• recommends that Moscow State Pedagogical University, where V.M. Galushin worked, digitize and post on the website of the Russian State Agricultural University the materials of the 1st meeting on the ecology and protection of birds of prey, held in 1983 in Moscow, where the Working Group on Birds of Prey was created, and also collect on this website an electronic bank of V.M. Galushin's main publications on birds of prey;
• notes the special importance of ensuring the ornithological safety of power grid facilities, including equipping bird-hazardous 6-10 kV power transmission lines with modern bird protection devices, and therefore recommends that the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation continue research on the topic of “Comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of bird protection devices used for overhead power transmission lines and substations in places of flight and nesting of rare bird species”, which is being conducted by the subordinate Federal State Budgetary Institution “All-Russian Research Institute of Ecology”;
• notes the increased danger of the 10 kV Akkuduk - Tulep power line passing through the flat part of the southern Ustyurt, which causes regular deaths of nesting and migratory large, specially protected birds of prey (golden eagle, imperial eagle, steppe eagle, short-toed eagle, long-legged buzzard, eagle owl, etc.), in connection with which the Conference of the Russian State Nature Reserve appeals to the Association of Birds of Kazakhstan and the administration of the Ustyurt State Nature Reserve with a request to find ways to equip this power line with modern bird protection devices along its entire length;
• discussed the Strategy for the Conservation of the Peregrine Falcon in the Russian Federation and took note of its main provisions. The Conference recommends relying on them when developing regional programs for the conservation of the peregrine falcon and implementing these provisions in practice with regard to regional specifics;
• supports the Strategy for the Conservation of the Steppe Eagle in the Volgograd Region developed by the Bird Conservation Union of Russia and the Volgograd Regional Nature Protection Committee and recommends preparing similar documents in other regions where the steppe eagle lives, up to the boundaries of the species' range. In order to intensify work on the implementation of the steppe eagle conservation program in the Volgograd Region, the Conference considers it appropriate to hold a regional meeting on the protection of the steppe eagle with the involvement of the Bird Conservation Union of Russia and other interested organizations;
• notes the particular relevance of individual marking of birds of prey for studying their migrations and organizing their practical protection, and in this regard suggests asking the Ministry of Natural Resources, the All-Russian Research Institute of Ecology and the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences to help find opportunities in Russia to establish the production of high-quality color rings and trackers for marking birds;
• supports the initiative of the Darwin Nature Reserve to organize and conduct practical training on its territory for members of the Russian State Hermitage National Park on methods of marking birds of prey and examining their nests in trees;
• notes the very important role of protected areas in preserving birds of prey and recommends asking the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation to provide practical assistance to projects aimed at studying and protecting birds of prey in Russian protected areas;
• notes the acute problem associated with the uncontrolled use of various pesticides in modern agriculture, which causes cases of mass death of many species of birds of prey. In this regard, the Conference considers it important to study the experience of neutralizing the negative impact of chemicals on birds accumulated by the Working Group on Cranes of Northern Eurasia, and also recommends preparing a review report on this problem for the next 10th Conference of the WGBP (A.A. Abushin, Chernye Zemli Nature Reserve). It is advisable to organize a centralized collection of biological material from birds of prey (molting feathers; tissues of dead individuals) using uniform methods to study the level of their contamination with toxic pollutants on the basis of specialized chemical laboratories available in Russia; decided to create a Working Group on the White-Tailed Eagle under the leadership of R.Kh. Bekmansurov (Kazan Federal University) and M.V. Babushkin (Darwin Reserve) with the aim of developing a program and methods for studying and protecting this species in Northern Eurasia, as well as for preparing a monographic review with an analysis of the current distribution, population dynamics and ecology of the white-tailed eagle in Russia and for collecting regional data on this species in a separate thematic collection on the white-tailed eagle, planned for the next X Conference of the WGBP.
• notes that due to the absence of some species essays on birds of prey, work on which was delayed for objective and subjective reasons, the preparation of the corresponding volume of the summary on birds of prey of Russia and adjacent regions was impossible. By now, half of the 56 species essays have been received, including our esteemed colleagues who have left us, V.A. Nechaev (1936-2018) (short-toed hawk, crested eagle, Amur falcon), E.A. Bragin (1954–2020) (steppe eagle, imperial eagle, kestrel, red-footed falcon, lesser kestrel), A.I. Shepel (1953–2018), etc. However, some colleagues were unable to prepare some of the promised essays on time. In this regard, the Conference recommends that authors who have completed their species essays send them for publication to the journal Ornitologiya, which has begun publishing species essays on waders, the situation with the preparation of a separate volume of the summary for which turned out to be in a similar situation.

The Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia gratefully accepts the invitation of the Kislovodsk National Park and the Kislovodsk Young Naturalists Station to hold the next, jubilee X International Conference on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia in 2028 in Kislovodsk in the North Caucasus, where 30 years ago, in 1998, the tradition of regular scientific forums of the WGBP was revived.

The Conference delegates the right of the final decision on the place and time of the next X Conference to the WGBP Bureau. The participants of the IX International Conference of the Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia express their sincere gratitude to all its organizers - the Astrakhan State Nature Reserve, its management, all its employees, as well as assistants for the excellent preparation and holding of the IX International Conference on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia.

09/26/2024
Astrakhan State Nature Reserve, Russia