No titmouse in hand, no crane in the sky: why birds are dying out in Moscow

The drainage of Lake Vladimirskoye in eastern Moscow, for example, turned into an ecological disaster.

Irina Mishina

From an appeal to the editorial office of Novye Izvestia by local residents: “BIRDS ARE DYING ON Vladimirsky pond, next to the Shosse Entuziastov metro station!!! Seagulls, ducks, fires were left without a home and food. The nests, chicks, are probably already dead. At the beginning of spring, “Pond protection works” began, which turned into the destruction of all living things. This pond was always there, alive, with fish, seaweed, ducks. Was it possible to simply collect the trash that had accumulated near the coast? Instead, everything was turned upside down and it is not clear what they were planning to arrange".

Users of social networks also write about this situation.

The landscape in the area of the former Vladimirsky pond really reminds one of the "Zone" from "Stalker". On the site of a picturesque pond there is an empty place with rare muddy puddles, around - the corpses of birds and abandoned equipment. The "landscaping workers" are not hiding, next to them there is a poster: "Behavior of the complex of measures for the protection of the Vladimirsky pond. Customer of works: State Unitary Enterprise Mosvodostok. Contractor: LLC SU Inzhseti. Responsible VG Arshakyan".

Unfortunately, we did not get through to Mr. Arshakyan, so we sent a request to GUP Mosvodostok to its head Mr. Ishkhanyan. At the time of publication, Mosvodostok did not reveal to us the secret of the sudden drainage of the Vladimir reservoir. If we do get an answer, we will certainly publish it. However, we still managed to get some explanations from the executors of the works.

“We are carrying out on-site work to clean up silt deposits. No fish were found in the lake at the time of the descent. The work was initiated by the State Unitary Enterprise Mosvodostok. We clean the bottom, make a waterproof layer. The bottom will not be poured with concrete. Compensatory planting of algae will be carried out. Plants will be planted. All work is carried out at the request of local residents", - said Novye Izvestia the contractor's representative Marat Burganov.

The picture turns out to be tragicomic: the pond was drained in order to then again fill with water and fill with algae and vegetation, which had been successfully destroyed before. These works are generously paid from the budget. As for "at the request of the workers", in general, it is not entirely clear either: the residents asked to clean the coastline from garbage, but no one asked the State Unitary Enterprise Mosvodokanal to drain the Vladimirskoye Lake to the bottom of the state unitary enterprise Mosvodokanal.

“Such works as drainage of reservoirs should not be carried out during the brood-nesting period. Mosvodostok, when planning such works, considers ponds and rivers as hydraulic engineering objects. Nobody takes into account the biotic component. It is not right. At the same time, the Department of Nature Management is rather negligent in the supervision of such situations, more often than not it turns a blind eye to them. But this can lead to the complete disappearance of birds in Moscow. Officials, who are always on the side of the construction complex, are increasingly giving away meadows in New Moscow, floodplain lands where birds settle for the construction of residential complexes. As a result, the birds disappear. They simply die out most often. This happened with a part of Losiny Island, which was given to the building of the residential complex "Fairy Forest". The same fate befell the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain. An electric depot is being built in the Brateevskaya floodplain, as a result a rare bird species - a small bittern - perishes. If a forest, a river valley, a lake does not have the status of a Specially Protected Area, a nature reserve, they are mercilessly built up. Increasingly, houses are being built in the immediate vicinity of protected areas and nature reserves. As a result, rare species of birds are simply dying out”, - ecologist and ornithologist Kirill Ivanovsky told Novye Izvestia.

According to ornithologists, the situation with Moscow birds is a consequence of thoughtless building, cutting down trees and the so-called “rejuvenating pruning” of trees. Have you noticed, for example, that there are fewer sparrows in the city? Their number, according to ornithologists, is now sharply decreasing due to the destruction of bushes in Moscow. In addition, the new Moscow buildings have deprived the sparrows of their usual niches. It would seem, what will the Muscovites get from the disappearance of the sparrows? First, there will be more mosquitoes that sparrows feed on, saving the townspeople from annoying blood-sucking animals. The number of harmful insects that will destroy the foliage of trees will increase, and the ecosystem will be disrupted.

Sparrows are not the only ones disappearing in Moscow. “The threat of extinction is now hanging over several species of birds that traditionally lived in Moscow. There are fewer larks, yellow-headed wagtails, quails and corncrakes are disappearing. The reason is the widespread mowing of grasses that birds feed on and in which they live, as well as the development of valleys and river floodplains. There are fewer waterfowl in Moscow. Teals, gogol duck, and red-headed duck are disappearing. They are afraid of man, they need little-visited places, vast thickets. These species are now massively destroyed in Brateevo, on the Yauza. How are we? Even in protected areas, in protected areas, it is necessary to master the state order, lay tiles, asphalt everything, build playgrounds. At the same time, no one thinks that the flora and fauna will simply disappear after such an improvement, and this territory will lose its uniqueness”, - ecologist and ornithologist Kirill Ivanovsky told Novye Izvestia.

They may object to me: well, there will be no birds in Moscow, and what of this?

Each of us has our own small homeland, which we love and to which we have become accustomed from childhood. Moscow birds have always been a part of the capital. However, they are part of any healthy city. If the city gets sick, all living things leave it. Gradually. It probably starts with birds.