In Tatarstan, a place where artificial nests for red Book Saker falcons will be installed has been specified
Today, employees of the Ministry of Ecology together with leading ornithologists conducted an on-site survey of the territory of the Kamsko-Ustinsky district. The purpose of the survey is to choose a place to install artificial nests (hakes) for Saker falcons and discuss the organization of a volunteer camp to monitor the chicks.
The Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan Olga Manidicheva, President of the NGO Union of Falconry Lovers and Protection of Birds of Prey "Russian Falcon" Ildar Enaleev, Executive Director of the A. I. Shchepovskikh Regional Public Foundation Andrey Agarkov, head of the Kamsko-Ustinsky district Nail Vazikhov, ornithologists arrived to the future site.
Let us recall that the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan, with the support of SIBUR, is launching a project for the reintroduction of Saker falcons in the Republic of Tatarstan. The project is supposed to be implemented with the scientific support of the scientific community with the involvement of volunteers. The project became the winner of the SIBUR grant competition "Formula of Good Deeds". An agreement on the implementation of this project has already been signed between the company and the Anatoly Ivanovich Shchepovskikh Regional Public Foundation.
As Deputy Minister of Ecology Olga Manidicheva noted today, the Saker falcon is a rare bird species that is listed in the Red Books of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan. "The last time the nesting of the Saker falcon in our republic was recorded in 1974 on the territory of the Saralinsky section of the Volga-Kama State Natural Biosphere Reserve. That is why it is so important to revive the population of this rare bird. The Ministry of Ecology together with scientists have prepared a project for the reintroduction of falcons, and we are already starting to implement it. Today we have chosen the place where the hacks will be placed. This is the Kamsko-Ustinsky district."
The selected area has a ravine-hilly terrain, partially covered with forest plantations and is located far from populated areas and highways with heavy traffic.
"The place here is ideal for this bird – hilly terrain, near the river, there are forest plantations and open areas. The first batch – 10 fledglings will be ringed – said the scientist-practitioner, representative of the center "Holzan" Yuri Pavlov.
The Tatarstan project is being implemented with the support of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Birds of Prey "Holzan". The Holzan Center is the largest Center in Russia for the maintenance, rehabilitation and breeding of birds of prey. It has 2 nurseries located in the Republic of Crimea and the Sverdlovsk region.
The chicks of the saker falcon will be delivered to the Tatarstan Center from the nurseries of this Center.
"This is a Tatarstan project," says Ildar Enaleev, a representative of the NGO, Doctor of Sciences, professor of the Timiryazev Academy. – We are selecting a place to install hacks, where adult chicks will be delivered in a month and a half. These birds will be adapted to the local natural conditions. This process is called reintroduction or restoration of a species in its historical range. The Saker falcon used to live here. But at the end of the last century, for many factors, the population came to naught. Our task is to restore the number of Saker".
Andrey Agarkov shared the plan for the implementation of the project in the Kamsko-Ustinsky district. The Executive Director of the A. I. Shchepovskikh Regional Public Foundation said that the project for the reintroduction of falcons in the Republic of Tatarstan involves the delivery of chicks (pairs) from the Holzan Center, the installation of hacks for birds, the organization of a tent camp of volunteers to ensure the feeding and preservation of birds for 3 months, and then release them into their natural habitat.
As a result of the detour, two places were chosen for the installation of hacks. The project is short-term and delivery of saker falcon chicks to the territory of the Republic is planned in late May and early June.