There are more and more rare fish owls in the Kurilsky Reserve

Scientists of the Kurilsky Reserve recorded 38 pairs of fish owls in Kunashir. Thanks to the nesting sites, which are established by employees of the specially protected natural area, it was possible to increase the number of the Red Book bird, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia reported on its website.

“The fish owl is a rare species listed in the Red Books of Russia and the Sakhalin Region, as well as in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species has been given the status of endangered. One of the reasons for the decline in the island population of fish owls is the lack of suitable nesting sites. In the Kurilsky Reserve, they found a solution to this problem by installing artificial nests.

Since 2016, employees of the reserve have been working to increase the reproductive stability of the species. In winter, they determine nesting sites by mating (a special behavior of birds at the beginning of the mating season), feed them, check nests in spring and summer, ring chicks, and in autumn they make, place, repair and maintain artificial bird dwellings.

“Currently, 52 artificial nesting sites have been installed on Kunashir Island. Most of them were made by the staff of the reserve and placed in the area of nesting sites of fish owls. Such nests are made on the basis of plastic barrels, tanks, sea buoys, as well as non-standard structures in which birds can nest. Currently, more than half of the known nesting of the eagle owl in Kunashir takes place in artificial hollows,” the reserve said.

According to experts, birds evenly populate the entire island.

“In 2023, chicks were first discovered in two artificial nesting sites installed in 2018, which had been empty for four years. In all likelihood, they were occupied by young, newly formed couples. It is worth noting that not all of the known couples breed chicks annually. Some eagle owls miss a year, and sometimes even two, between nestings. But we know of one pair that nested for five years in a row, ”said Sergey Stefanov, an ornithologist of the reserve, quoted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

This year, out of 38 pairs, 14 nested. Four clutches died, nesting success of one pair is unknown. Twelve chicks flew out and left the nests, six of them were ringed by the staff of the reserve.

A total of 68 clutches were noted during eight nesting seasons, from which at least 63 chicks hatched and left the nest. Most of them are ringed, which means that specialists will be able to monitor their resettlement, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources noted.