Central Russia could see a serious decrease in bird numbers as a result of this summer's wildfires, a senior ornithologist said on Thursday.

Some 80-90 percent of the Kama-Bakaldinskiye bogs in the Nizhny Novgorod region, a key ornithological territory, were burnt, causing the death of a third of the local crane population, President of the Russian Bird Conservation Union Viktor Zubakin said.

Bird populations in the Moscow region have also been badly affected.

Zubakin said the scope of the disaster would only be known next spring when all the migratory birds return from the south.

The worst wildfires in decades engulfed much of central Russia, including scores of wildlife reserves, in July and August as result of temperatures of up to and above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

At least 52 people were killed in the fires, and over 2,500 were left homeless.

MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti)