GPS data shows that more birds of prey are avoiding conflict zones. The war in Ukraine has made the eagles' migration more dangerous, forcing the birds of prey to fly far from their usual route in order to avoid conflict zones and to give up their customary resting and feeding places.
A team of researchers had already been monitoring the migration of the greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) for years before the fighting began; when the war broke out, this allowed biologists to document the impact of war on migrating birds for the first time.
“None of this was planned in advance,” said Charlie Russell (Charlie Russell), a doctoral student at the University of East Anglia and lead author of the study published in the journal Current Biology. “We did not expect to be following birds through an active conflict zone during their migration. It was unexpected.”
Researchers from the University of East Anglia, the British Trust for Ornithology and partners in Estonia and Belarus have been tracking the eagles' migration since 2017. The greater spotted eagle, which the International Union for Conservation of Nature (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has placed on its list of vulnerable (endangered, vulnerable) species, has disappeared from most of Europe. Polesia – a biologically rich region of forests and wetlands near the border between Belarus and Ukraine – is still a large enough home for these birds.
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