Nightingales are disappearing in Kyiv due to active mowing of grass and cutting down of bushes, ecologists claim

In recent years, Kyiv residents have hardly heard the singing of nightingales in parks, where their voices used to be an integral part of the spring urban landscape.

The director of the Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Center, Volodymyr Boreyko, reported this.

According to the ecologist, the reason is the large-scale mowing of grass and cutting down of bushes, which destroys the birds’ natural habitat.

“Nightingales build nests on the ground or in low bushes, and when mass mowing begins in May, their nests are destroyed. There have been cases when workers walked along the masonry with a trimmer. What Kyivzelenbud, Pleso, and housing offices are doing in Kyiv with the help of mowing is a real ecocide,” Boreyko notes.

In addition, due to the regular mowing of lawns in the city, insects that nightingales and other birds feed their chicks are rapidly disappearing. As a result, even if the male survives, it becomes impossible to feed the offspring. Another problem is the destruction of bushes and old hollow trees during the so-called “glamorization” of parks.

“Look at the KPI park – it is all bald, without bushes,” adds Boreyko.

According to the KEKC, the number of bird species in Kyiv parks has decreased by 10-15 species over the past decade, and the total number of birds has halved. Sparrows have been particularly affected—their number has decreased dozens of times.

Ecologists cite the former “Nightingale Grove” in the Hydropark as an example of the loss of avifauna. There, dozens of nightingales used to sing in the spring. After municipal workers cut down the bushes, nightingales no longer appear there.

Environmentalists are calling on the city authorities to stop the anti-ecological practice of excessive grass cutting during the nesting season, to preserve the natural environment in parks, and to refrain from “pseudo-reconstructions” that turn green areas into sterile concrete locations.

Let us recall that spring frosts destroyed a significant part of the upcoming fruit harvest. Apricots and peaches were most affected, and cherries and sour cherries were partially affected. Prices for these fruits will increase.