ИСТИНА

The Moscow region is the most populated area in the Russian Federation and well-studied by ornithologists. In 1999 one of the first national birdwatching programs, called «Birds of Moscow and the Moscow Region», was founded. Now the organization unites hundreds of members, submitting their observations to a common database. However, our knowledge about species abundance and multiyear dynamics is still scarce. In 2010, M.V. Kalyakin and O.V. Voltzit started a monitoring program which meets the requirements of European scheme (PECBMS). Its participants annually conduct line-transect censuses on free-chosen plots. For six years the censuses were made on 30 plots, and the total number of volunteers exceeded 23. We are aware that this numbers are not sufficient for an area of 44,379km2 and the monitoring period is short, but we have already obtained pilot populations trends for the common birds and also multispecies trends for two ecological groups (woodland species, open-landscape species). In total, 141 species were registered, and 16 of the common ones showed significant population trends. For 11 species positive trends were obtained: most of them are woodland birds, accordingly the group indicator exhibited an increase of 38%. The other 5 species, all associated with open habitats, showed negative trends, so the open-landscape group decreased by 13%. For 11 of 16 species trend signs are consistent with tendencies in the EU: it may indicate the influence of some continentalscale factors, but also local factors can play a role. The increase of forest birds probably reflects population restoration after several harsh weather events in 2009- 2011. Some of this species could also benefit from the subsequent outbreak of bark beetles, which provided affluent food resources and increased the proportion of early-succession shrub habitats. The reasons causing the dynamics of open-landscape species are unclear. Further investigations are needed to reach any firm conclusions.