Seasonal and interannual dynamics of the bird population of the Nizhny Novgorod International Airport

Abstract

Ninety-nine bird species has been registered on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod International Airport in 2013–2014 and 2017–2018, 10 of which are listed in the regional Red List and 10 – in its Annex. There were changes in the bird population after carrying out construction work on the site improvement. The dominant species have changed; particularly, common whitethroat Sylvia communis Latham, 1787 was replaced by white wagtail Motacilla alba L., 1758 in the nesting period, and the Eurasian tree sparrow Passer montanus (L., 1758) became the dominant species instead of great tit Parus major L., 1758 in the post-nesting period. Birds feeding in shrubs and tall grasses have been replaced by land-feeding species, which was especially noticeable during the post-nesting period. The dynamics of bird abundance in summer has changed from emigration to equilibrium-dynamic. The interannual similarity of the summer ornithocomplexes of the airport and its similarity with other meadow avian communities in the region is low. The bird population of the airport stands out as a separate group, but is close to ornithocomplexes of different mosaic coppice meadows, as evidenced by cluster analysis. The characteristics of the airport bird population are preconditioned by several factors such as afforestation, development, and human activities.

Keywords

• bird population
• species richness
• cumulative abundance
• interannual similarity
• meadow habitats
• factors