Installing artificial nests is a widely used method of managing wild bird populations around the world that allows to increase their numbers and/or productivity and breeding success. Among raptors this method is mostly used for small falcons and owls; however, artificial nests are also repeatedly used to attract such a rare species as the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) for breeding. We deployed a system of artificial nesting to restore the Saker Falcon population in former agrocenoses of Siberian mountain steppe and forest-steppe, which had not been used for agriculture since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since 2006 our experiment showed a systematic increase in the Saker Falcon numbers from 1 to 47 pairs. Before 2018 we only used open platforms, and after 2018 we began to install nestboxes, so in the article we can compare birds' response to open and closed nests. We evaluate the artificial nesting impact on Saker Falcon population growth, as well as a number of other raptor species. We also describe the phenomenon of a sharp increase in the number of all raptor species in 2020–2021, attributing this to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is a globally threatened species. The northernmost limit of its breeding range is located in Kazakhstan and is fragmented into three large enclaves. The Karatau range is one such enclave. It was previously assumed that a small number of Egyptian Vultures nested here; however, research showed the fallacy of such ideas in 2010. In 2022, Karatau was surveyed in more detail to detect Egyptian Vultures. Based on the results of studies in 2010 and 2022, we modeled Egyptian Vulture distribution in Google Earth Engine using the image classification method — Random Forest (probability + regression) and calculated its possible abundance in Karatau utilizing several methods, including Distance Sampling. The area of Egyptian Vulture breeding biotopes is calculated to be 10,378.85 km2, habitat area – 34,576.8 km2. The Egyptian Vulture population in Karatau for 2022 is estimated at 171–298 breeding pairs (average of 278 breeding pairs), and 43–74 successful pairs (average of 69 successful pairs) (91 breeding territories are known). Based on obtained data and publications analysis, we assume that the Karatau Egyptian Vulture population is stable despite deterioration in habitat quality and reduction in breeding success of the species in recent years.