The Russian home of British-wintering ducks

Abstract

The account of some summer recoveries of British-ringed ducks appearing elsewhere in this report (pp. 47-51) helps to confirm what has long been suggested, that most of our commoner winter immigrants breed in the north-west of the U.S.S.R. Anyone wishing to assess the prospects of British wildfowl must concern himself with the situation on their breeding grounds. This essay reviews the effects of recent changes in human activity in north-west Russia and attempts to predict the consequences of developments in the next 20 years or so. Written by an ornithologist, and dealing with a region not accessible to detailed study by western geographers, it is rather unlikely to attain either goal. It seems inappropriate to burden such a crude sketch with full documentation, or even a discussion of sources.