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Just some articles containing basic facts on distribution, biology and ecology of Short-toed Eagles in Poland, Ukraine and Bulgaria:

• J. Hordowski, 2015 – Gniazda i lęgi ptaków Polski [Polish birds’ nests and broods]: Gadożer Circaetus gallicus – pp. 515-522. – (Pl).

• С. Домашевський, К. Письменний, 2009 – Змієїд Circaetus gallicus // Червона книга України. Тваринний світ [Red book of Ukraine. Animals]: p. 425. – (Uk).

• B. Tonchev, T. Petrov, S. Stoychev, E. Stoynov, K. Velev, 2007 – Орел змияр Circaetus gallicus // Атлас на гнездящите птици в България [Atlas of the breeding birds in Bulgaria]: pp. 138-139. – (Bg)(En).

The northern part of Chernihiv Region, so-called the Chernihiv Polissya /map/, is one of the best regions of Ukraine for Short-toed Eagles’ habitation. These lands, rich in Grass Snakes, Vipers, other reptiles and also in old pine forests, provide the eagles with good conditions for foraging and nesting. An expert in Ukrainian birds of prey, Sergey Domashevsky, during the expedition in 2009 has recorded several probable territorial pairs of the eagles there. Some of them were observed between the Sozh, the Dnieper rivers and Zamglay Bog /map/.

This year a local birdwatcher, Artem Skeeter, has found Short-toed Eagles’ nest at a place where he saw them during a few years before. Artem has discovered the nest just after finding of one old tail feather under a perch at the breeding site. He has managed to take a video of feeding the juvenile eagle by its father on a pine within the site. Also photos of the birds have been taken there in 2011-2012 and this year by Artem and by Andrew Simon, Viktor Moroz and me. This year’s juvenile could already fly on August 9. The date is the earliest known in Northern Ukraine for the last 10 years. On September 9 another juvenile Short-toed Eagle, judging by all, an offspring of the neighbour pair, was observed in the hovering flight over typical hunting grounds far from forests, that is unusually early for this region too.

A website of the Ukrainian Birds of Prey Research Centre (Український центр досліджень хижих птахів) exists since 2008. Posts dedicated to Short-toed Eagle have also been published on it. They contain texts, tables and photos. The main of them are represented below:

• К. Письменный, 2014 – Спостереження за змієїдами біля їхніх гніздових ділянок [Observations of Short-toed Eagles at their breeding sites] (Uk).

• К. Письменный, 2013 – Некоторые результаты десятилетнего мониторинга змееяда на севере Украины [Some results of ten years monitoring of Short-toed Eagle in the North of Ukraine] (Ru) {related post}.

• С. Прокопенко, М. Бескаравайный, 2013 – Встречи змееядов в Крыму зимой 2013 года [Records of Short-toed Eagles in Crimea in winter 2013] (Ru) {related post}.

• К. Письменный, 2010 – Спутниковое слежение за миграциями змееяда [Satellite tracking of the Short-toed Eagle migration] (Ru)(En).

• С. Домашевский, М. Дравецки, М. Легоцки, М. Олекшак, 2010 – Результаты украинско-словацкой экспедиции на севере Украины [Results of Ukrainian-Slovac expedition to the north of Ukraine] (Ru)(En) {related post}.

• К. Письменный, С. Домашевский, Р. Ватрасевич, 2010 – Практика установки защиты от куниц на гнездовых деревьях хищных птиц [The practice of installing protection against martens for nesting trees of birds of prey] (Ru)(En).

• 2011 – Создание онлайн-определителя возраста и пола змееяда [Creation of online handbook for aging and sexing of Short-toed Eagle] (Ru) {related post}.

• 2010 – Опыт спасения гнезда змееяда [The experience of saving Short-toed Eagle’s nest] (Ru).

Rough translations from the original languages are available on the UBPRC website; please, use the special button in the top menu.

This gallery consists of photos taken by Sergey Domashevsky in period of 2010-13 during his expeditions to some regions of Ukraine and of Central Asia. Sergey is an expert of Ukrainian Birds of Prey Research Centre, his main activity is aimed at research and conservation of birds of prey in Ukrainian Polesie such as Spotted, Short-toed Eagles and other species of raptors and owls. As always, some explanatory comments can be found below the presented images.

These photos of Short-toed Eagle nest were taken by Sergey Domashevsky this year during an expedition to Eastern Kazakhstan /map/. You can read about the expedition in detail on the UBPRC website. The photographed Short-toed Eagle nest was situated very low above the ground on the saxaul, that is typical for the semi-desert zone. The parents were still incubating their egg at the end of June.

Some data on spring arrival of Short-toed Eagles to Ukraine is available now on the map. The first dates are: 28^th and 29^th (in display flight) of March – observations of Sergey Domashevsky in Mizhrichynskyi Regional Landscape Park /map/ (Chernihiv Region); 4^th of April – observations of Konstantin Pismennyi (Kiev Region /map/, in display flight), Maxim Gavrilyuk and Nikolay Borisenko (Cherkasy Region). Also you can see the comparative data of the records in Bulgaria – observations of Dimitar Ragyov near Plovdiv.

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See photos (© Sergey Domashevsky) made while ringing a young Short-toed Eagle in nest in Kiev Region (Central Ukraine) /map/ on July 27^th: