During last year's autumn and winter, we monitored birds in selected locations of USSK – on the body of the Suchá heap and the Sokolany WWTP, where the highest diversity and importance for migrating and wintering birds was assumed.

The aim of the monitoring was to evaluate the diversity of birds in the non-breeding season and thus obtain initial data for determining the diversity of birds in these industrial, but potentially important habitats for biodiversity.

During this period, we visited the areas 14 times and recorded a total of 77 species of birds on the Dry Heap, including accumulation reservoirs and 51 species in the Sokolany WWTP.

They also included several rare species such as the imperial eagle, the saker falcon, the marsh kite, the great hawk, the eagle owl, or rare species in Slovakia: the northern snowman, the northern buzzard, the red-throated buzzard and the red-throated swan.

It was the first attempt to get to know the ornithological fauna of a very little-explored area in a more systematic way, and it turned out that even such habitats can be very interesting for birds. Some species of birds use it for the sake of sufficient peace, as these are areas inaccessible to the public (imperial eagle, eagle owl, or even the black-necked grebe on the accumulation tanks near the heap), other species of birds prefer plenty of late-mowed weeds with seeds on the reclaimed slopes of the Dry Heap (goldfinches, finches), enough rodents (peregrine falcon, buzzards) and other species of birds may be reminiscent of the forest-free environment from their home countries (red-throated swan, Snow White). For some species, relatively high numbers were also surprising, which testifies to the importance of the areas as important gathering places: for example, 1,700 mallards on the reservoirs near Suchá halda, 4 kingfishers and 3 water rattlesnakes in the area of the Sokolany WWTP, 16 peregrine falcons and 7 mountain buzzards on Suchá heap.

Based on the current knowledge of the character of habitats in these areas, it can already be assumed that the nesting season may be just as interesting as the migration period, when the area will be occupied by field larks, house yellowtails, but certainly also crested pips and even rarer gray rockfish.

The question remains, however, what is the significance of the studied areas during the rest of the winter period, spring migration, but especially during nesting and rearing of young? Only long-term systematic monitoring can provide us with answers.

From the results of long-term monitoring with an emphasis on the nesting season, knowledge of the territory, but also the biology and ecology of species, it will then be possible to propose measures that will increase the biodiversity of sites. Seemingly destroyed and significantly altered by heavy industry, non-native habitats can thus be important for the protection of nature and biodiversity in the future thanks to the environmentally responsible business of USS Košice.

The cover photo is from November 7, 2024 - Nordic snowmen, heap.