Berkut. Vol. 6. Is. 1-2. P. 67-69.

PHENOLOGY OF AUTUMN MIGRATION OF THE MALLARD IN UKRAINE

V.N. Grishchenko

Фенология осенней миграции кряквы в Украине. - В.Н. Грищенко. - Беркут. 6 (1-2). 1997. - Данные собраны при помощи фенологической анкеты, использованы также литературные сведения и личные наблюдения. Полученные материалы охватывают период в 25 лет (1970–1995 гг.). Фенодаты группировались по областям. По средним многолетним данным построены карты начала и окончания осеннего пролета. На них выделяются два широких фенологических русла пролета и две области запаздывания. Расположение их во многом сходно на обеих картах. Фенологические русла указывают на размещение основных пролетных путей. Направление миграции к концу пролета смещается больше к юго-западу. Это может быть связано с миграцией в разные сроки двух популяций.

Key words: Mallard, Ukraine, migration, phenology, map, flyway.

T.P. Shevareva (1968) according do ringing data has identified 9 geographical populations of the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) on the territory of the former USSR. Ducks of the South population breed in Ukraine. For them considerable season movements are not characteristic. Through Ukraine pass also flyways of the Central population that breeds to the south from the Upper Volga. Its wintering area includes the Balkan Peninsula, northern part of the Azov-Black Sea basin, eastern coast of the Black Sea. A lot of mallards remain to wintering on non-freezing waters on the whole territory of Ukraine. D.A. Scott and P.M. Rose (1996) recognized 5 population in Western Eurasia based on the main wintering regions. The territory of Ukraine is in limits of the west Mediterranean population and the Black Sea — east Mediterranean population.

Material and methods

The main material for this article was collected with the help of special phenological questionnaire (Grishchenko, 1994a). The department of zoology of Kiev university have been sending it on the all territory of Ukraine since 1975. This work have been carrying out under the direction of Dr. V.V. Serebryakov. The literature data (Knysh, 1994; Krivitsky et al., 1996) and own observations were used too. Collected thereby dates cover the period in 25 years (1970–1995). They were grouped by regions. For them average dates of start and end of migration were calculated (Table). Phenological maps of migration were built on the ground of these data (Fig. 1, 2). We have used the territorial method of phenological mapping (Grishchenko, 1994b). Prominences of isophenes on maps show the direction of migration and some its peculiarities. With the help of phenological maps may be recognized main flyways of the species (Serebryakov, 1978).

To speak about exact times of start and end of migration of the Mallard is not possible. On one side, movements of males begin already at May and June. On other side, a lot of these ducks winter in all parts of Ukraine. Therefore, following the standpoint by Yu.A. Isakov (1952), we will understand by the autumn migration only the time of passage of the main part of population. Records of obviously wintering birds in December were not considered.

Results and discussion

First migrating flocks of mallards appear already in the first half of September, but in some places the start of passage can be delayed till November. Mean times of the start of migration are end of September — first half of October (Table). The passage ends in different points during the period from end of September till end of November and beginning of December. Mean times of the end of migration are end of October — first half of November. Variation of migration times is identical at the start and the end of passage. Average standard deviation makes accordingly 18,4 ± 0,6 and 18,8 ± 0,6.

Region Start of migration End of migration

Область Начало пролета Конец пролета

n M SE SD lim n M SE SD lim

1. Vinnitsa 37 4.10 3,1 19,1 1.09 – 17.11 54 7.11 2,3 16,9 5.10 – 6.12

2. Volynia 19 6.10 3,9 16,8 6.09 – 29.10 20 4.11 3,6 16,0 25.09 – 2.12

3. Dnipropetrovsk 25 5.10 3,2 16,0 5.09 – 14.11 26 28.10 4,0 20,6 17.09 – 30.11

4. Donetsk 20 28.09 3,9 17,4 3.09 – 2.11 15 7.11 5,1 19,7 5.10 – 3.12

5. Zhitomir 19 26.09 4,7 20,6 3.09 – 13.11 28 30.10 3,9 20,5 25.09 – 27.11

6. Transcarpathian 5 27.09 10,2 22,8 8.09 – 3.11 1 2.12 – – –

7. Zaporizhzhya 18 5.10 4,6 19,7 2.09 – 10.11 12 8.11 5,0 17,2 10.10 – 29.11

8. Ivano-Frankivsk 16 7.10 4,6 18,3 4.09 – 30.10 18 31.10 3,8 16,0 28.09 – 30.11

9. Kyiv 26 27.09 3,5 18,1 2.09 – 12.11 34 31.10 3,3 19,2 21.09 – 1.12

10. Kirovograd 32 4.10 3,6 20,5 6.09 – 18.11 32 31.10 4,1 23,3 21.09 – 9.12

11. Crimea 17 15.10 5,6 23,1 12.09 – 18.11 7 5.11 7,0 18,6 15.10 – 1.12

12. Lugansk 21 5.10 3,8 17,3 7.09 – 10.11 19 4.11 3,8 16,7 10.10 – 2.12

13. Lviv 29 3.10 3,8 20,3 2.09 – 15.11 37 30.10 2,7 16,7 27.09 – 29.11

14. Mykolayiv 12 4.10 6,8 23,5 3.09 – 22.11 15 28.10 5,2 20,2 1.10 – 29.11

15. Odesa 12 11.10 4,2 14,5 14.09 – 26.10 6 10.11 9,1 22,2 16.10 – 15.12

16. Poltava 26 30.09 3,0 15,3 4.09 – 28.10 29 2.11 4,1 22,1 23.09 – 6.12

17. Rivne 49 4.10 2,7 18,9 2.09 – 20.11 43 7.11 2,6 17,1 1.10 – 3.12

18. Sumy 35 1.10 2,6 15,5 5.09 – 15.11 50 31.10 2,4 16,7 18.09 – 6.12

19. Ternopil 20 3.10 3,8 17,2 2.09 – 6.11 36 24.10 3,0 18,1 22.09 – 29.11

20. Kharkiv 17 17.09 2,9 11,9 3.09 – 20.10 11 26.10 6,4 21,2 1.10 – 1.12

21. Kherson 8 6.10 7,7 21,9 9.09 – 5.11 12 6.11 7,0 24,3 29.09 – 1.12

22. Khmelnitsky 31 4.10 3,3 18,4 3.09 – 8.11 35 31.10 3,7 21,7 24.09 – 5.12

23. Cherkasy 32 13.10 3,5 19,6 6.09 – 11.11 37 9.11 2,2 13,2 14.10 – 30.11

24. Chernigiv 34 29.09 2,5 14,4 3.09 – 25.10 40 29.10 2,6 16,3 25.09 – 27.11

25. Chernivtsi 11 5.10 5,9 19,5 5.09 – 13.11 11 1.11 5,0 16,7 7.10 – 3.12

Total: Всего: 571 18,4 628 18,8

Migration starts and ends unevenly. On phenological maps we see areas with earlier and later times (Fig. 1, 2). They have called phenological streams (Grishchenko, 1994a, 1994b) and lagging areas (Serebryakov, 1979). Two broad phenological streams and two lagging areas are distinguished on maps of migration of the Mallard in Ukraine. Their disposition is alike on the both maps. Phenological streams show the location of main flyways. In Ukraine they are directed mainly to the south-south-west and the south-west. Till the end of passage the direction of migration displaces still more to the south-west. It may be connected with migration of two populations in different times.

Fig. 1. Phenological map of the start of autumn passage of the Mallard in Ukraine (1970–1995).

Рис. 1. Фенологическая карта начала осеннего пролета кряквы в Украине (1970–1995).

1 — isophenes изофены;

2 — supposed isophenes предполагаемые изофены.

Fig. 2. Phenological map of the end of autumn passage of the Mallard in Ukraine (1970–1995).

Рис. 2. Фенологическая карта окончания осеннего пролета кряквы в Украине (1970–1995).

1 — isophenes изофены;

2 — supposed isophenes предполагаемые изофены.

The map of Mallard’s populations in the book by D.A. Scott and P.M. Rose (1996) shows that directions of its flyways in Ukraine have to be in sector from the south to the south-west. The general direction of migration is the south-west. Our phenological maps are well coordinated with these conclusions.

REFERENCES

Grishchenko V.N. (1994a): Phenological regularities of the bird autumn migration on the territory of Ukraine. - Diss. ... cand. biol. sci. Kyiv. 1-230. (in Ukrainian).

Grishchenko V.N. (1994b): Phenological mapping in the study of bird migration. - Berkut. 3 (1): 30-37. (in Russian).

Isakov Yu.A. (1952): Subfamily ducks. - Birds of Soviet Union. Moscow. 4: 344-635. (in Russian).

Knysh N.P. (1994): Materials on the phenology of the bird autumn migration in the forest-steppe part of Sumy region (according to observations in 1966-1993). - Berkut. 3 (2): 136-140. (in Ukrainian).

Krivitsky I.A., Kalchenko Yu.A., Kalchenko A.Yu., (1996): Birds of ponds of the Pechenigy fish-farm. - Birds of basin of the Seversky Donets. Kharkiv. 3: 17-24. (in Russian).

Scott D.A., Rose P.M. (1996): Atlas of Anatidae Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands International Publication 41. 1-336.

Serebryakov V.V. (1978): Isophenes and flyways of birds. - Second All-union confer. on bird migration. Alma-Ata: Nauka. 1: 23-24. (in Russian).

Serebryakov V.V. (1979): Some phenological regularities of the bird spring migration on the territory of Ukrainian SSR. - Diss. ... cand. biol. sci. Kyiv. 1-259. (in Russian).

Shevareva T.P. (1968): Geographical populations of the Mallard in the USSR. - Ornitologiya. Moscow: Moscow University. 9: 249-269. (in Russian).

V.N. Grishchenko

Kaniv Nature Reserve

258300 Kaniv

Ukraine