| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
average
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Breeding conditions:
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Arctic Hares were recorded twice in the Kenitkay River valley. Arctic and Red foxes were not observed, but Brown Bears were common in the Kenitkay River valley and on islands with gull and eider colonies. Rough-legged Buzzard and Gyrfalcon were recorded once each, and Short-eared Owls were seen twice on 6 and 14 July the Kenitkay River valley.
Large gulls, primarily Herring Gulls, were numerous in particular on the sea coast, on shallow waters and islands of lakes. The larges aggregation of gulls containing 700 birds was observed near Dlinny Island, while chicks were found on Ptichy Islands and Lakhtak Island. Long-tailed Skuas were observed in groups of 30-50 birds on Molchalivy Island, and 5 territorial pairs of Arctic Skuas were recorded. Ravens nested on a tower on Molchalivy Island, and a Hooded Crow was seen once on spit.
Among waterfowl Greater Scaups, Common Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks were numerous, European Wigeons, American Scoter and Velvet scoter were common. Breeding was confirmed for Red-throated, Pacific and White-billed divers, White-fronted and Emperor geese, Pintail, Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, American Scoter, Willow Grouse, Sandhill Crane, Grey and Ringed plovers, Red-necked Phalarope, Spoon-bileed Sandpiper, Temminck's Stint, Dunlin, Arctic Tern. Red-necked Grebe, Teal, Wood, Common and Terek sandpipers were alleged breeders, while Common Snipe, Common Gull and Common Tern could also breed. Among passerines breeders or alleged breeders included Sand and House martins, Barn Swallow, Red-throated and Pechora pipits, Yellow and White wagtails, Willow and Dusky warblers, Wheatear, Bluethroat, Rubythroat, Redpoll, Little and Lapland buntings.
Up to 75-80% of clutches of gulls and eiders on islands were destroyed by predators. We found remains of eggs of White-billed Diver, Emperor and White-fronted geese. Chicks of White Wagtail were eaten by Ermine. A clutch of Grey Plovers perished on spit perished during an adverse weather period. Broods of White-fronted Geese were not numerous and occurred mainly on the Kenotkay River and in northern part of the Kainupilgen Lagoon. Broods of eiders became common by 25 July, although records of replacement clutches at this time confirmed substantial predation pressure by Brown Bears. Brood size in eiders varied from small (2-5 chicks) with a single female to aggregated broods with one female (11-18 chicks) or two females (7-10 chicks).
Predation pressure was the strongest in the vicinity of gull and eider colonies. Clutches were also destroyed by dogs and suffered from egging by local people. Breeding success varied between species, but was probably average overall.
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