The Ukrainian conflict has strangely affected the behavior of migratory birds

Birds were forced to change their routes

The conflict in Ukraine has affected migratory raptors: birds were forced to deviate from their usual flight plan to avoid active combat zones, a study shows. Before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, birds migrated from Southern Europe and East Africa to Belarus. After February 2022, they were forced to significantly deviate from their routes.

Photo: Alexander Astafiev

Each spring, thousands of Greater Spotted Eagles (a type of hawk-like bird) make the arduous journey from East Africa and Greece to southern Belarus to breed, writes the Daily Mail.

Now a study has revealed for the first time the impact of the conflict on Ukraine for this annual migration.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia found that shortly after fighting broke out in Ukraine, birds' usual migration routes changed.

«Our findings provide rare insight into how conflict is affecting wildlife, improving our understanding of the potential consequences of exposure to such events or other extreme human activities that are difficult to predict or monitor,” – comments Charlie Russell, lead author of the study.

During the study, scientists set out to understand whether the armed confrontation between Ukraine and Russia affected the migration of the Greater Spotted Eagle.

The team of scientists had already studied this species and equipped the birds with GPS tracking devices.

This made it possible them to compare movements and migration before and shortly after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis in February 2022.

Analysis of GPS data showed that, before the conflict, the birds made a migratory route from southern Europe (females) and East Africa (males) to the key nesting site in the south of Belarus.

However, after February 2022, the birds were forced to deviate significantly from their traditional routes, traveling an additional 52 miles (85 km) on average.

This meant their migration took longer, notes the Daily Mail.

The migration of female birds took 246 hours, compared to 193 hours before the conflict, while male birds took 181 hours to complete the journey, compared to 125 hours before the conflict.

Fewer migratory birds stopped in Ukraine overall, and only 30% of the birds analyzed made stopovers, compared to 90% in 2018-2021.

Some important stopover sites, such as Ukrainian Polesie, in 2022 «This kind of disruption could have a significant impact on the behavior and possibly the fitness of eagles,» Charlie Russell warned. – For individuals that nest in these areas, or for other species that are less able to respond to disturbances, the consequences are likely to be much greater.»

Researchers are alarmed that this change in migration course could have long-term consequences for Greater Spotted Eagles.

Dr Adam Ashton-Butt, senior research ecologist at the British Trust for Ornithology, added: 'The numbers of migratory birds such as Greater Spotted Eagles are declining sharply around the world and it is vital that so that we can better understand and mitigate our impact on these charismatic species.»