Near the “Everyone Can Help” public center in Berehove, Leonid Pokrytyuk, an ornithologist of the Interreligious and Civil Environmental Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF), conducted a workshop on “Owl Research” for students from the Berehovo gymnasium “Opre Roma”. Students got the opportunity to closely observe wild long-eared owls via binoculars and learn about bird biology and monitoring procedures while working with Ukrainian language teacher Svitlana Shvydka. The primary objective of the workshop was to raise awareness about long-eared owls and engage young people in monitoring the birds’ winter habitats. This data collection initiative spans all countries in the Carpathian Euroregion, aiming to formulate a strategy for the protection of barn owls and preserving known wintering sites. During the workshop, Leonid Pokrytyuk highlighted that long-eared owls tend to gather in winter at their daytime resting spots.
“The wintering grounds of long-eared owls in Ukraine span almost the entire territory, excluding the mountainous regions of the Carpathians and Crimea. The distribution of hibernation sites is somewhat uneven, with individuals primarily concentrating in cozy, wind-protected areas within settlements and less frequently outside them. Consequently, the presence of such places largely determines the number of resting places,” elaborated the ornithologist.
Mr. Leonid also drew the students’ attention to factors contributing to variations in the number of long-eared owls. The primary factor is weather conditions, as severe frosts pose challenges for both the birds and their main food source—rodents. The ornithologist underlined to the students the value of monitoring owls throughout the winter months and the guidelines for doing so to help these birds overcome the difficulties of wintering and increase their chances of surviving.
The event was held within the framework of cooperation between the Interreligious and Civil Environmental Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF) headed by Olexander Bokotey) and the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU Bundesverband, NABU International), project coordinators Ivan Tymofeiev (NABU), and Nataliya Kulya (IRCEF).
Informational Service of IRCEF
