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RESPONDENT
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Nikolay Yakushev
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SITE NAME
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Kanchalan River lower reaches, Chukotsky peninsula, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 8(8452)515738 // taksidermia@yandex.ru // Zoological Museum, Biological Faculty, Saratov State Univ., Astrakhanskaya 83, Saratov, 410012 Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Arctic Expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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6.06
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3.07
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2
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| According to reports of local people spring was average in timing. Snow completely melted on flat surface by the start of our observations on 6 June, but remained until late June on shadowy slopes and in ravines. Ice cleared before our arrival in the upper reaches of the Kanchalan River, and on 8 June in the settlement vicinity (solitary ice-floes were seen until 10 June). Flood was average in spread and water level, and short-term (water level dropped more than 1 m during 10 days in the middle reaches). Small relatively shallow lakes became free from ice by mid June, when water just appeared near shores on large deep lakes. Maximum daily air temperature averaged +23.5øC in June (maximal +31.4øC), while minimum daily air temperature averaged +5.8øC (minimum +3.0øC), which indicated very warm weather. There were 6 rainy days in the period of observations until 3 July, while weather was clear or with few clouds on 11 days. Strong north-western wind was recorded on 6-7 June, while other days were calm. Mosquitoes were solitary before 20 June, but then appeared in high and every day increasing numbers. Flowering of Rhododendron started on 11 June, and became mass event since 15 June. Generally, weather conditions were favourable for reproduction by birds.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
8.06
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
high
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Breeding conditions:
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Neither Arctic Foxes, nor Red Foxes were seen. Brown bears were to recorded, and a single old track of bear was observed.
Solitary Northern Goshawks were recorded. One nest of Rough-legged Buzzrds and one nest of White-tailed Sea Eagles were found, while most of 9 encountered specimens of the latter species were non-breeding immature birds. Herring Gulls were common breeders across the whole surveyed area, while wandering birds were not numerous. We did not observe depredation of gull clutches. Short-eared Owls were relatively common and apparently bred. Long-tailed Skuas were common and bred, while the number of territorial pairs of Arctic Skuas did not exceed 10. Non-breeding skaus gathered in flocks up to 30-40 birds and wandered in a limited area. Ravens were rare, and three nests of these birds were found only in the vicinity of the settlement, while the rest of the area was inhabited by wandering birds. Abundance of Ravens has increased considerably during the recent years according to observations by local people. Magpie was rare across the whole surveyed area.
Red-throated and Pacific divers were common breeding birds, while Pintail, Teal, European Wigeon, Greater Scaup and American Scoter were the most numerous breeders among ducks. White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and Red-breasted Merganser bred in lower numbers, while the Whooper Swan was a rare breeder with only 3 territorial pairs found. Bean Geese bred in slope tundra, White-fronted Geese prevailed in flat tundra at low altitudes, and Lesser White-fronted Geese occupied patches of tundra with sparse shrubs on large islands of the Kanchalan River. Among geese Bean Geese and White-fronted Geese were the most and the least abundant species, respectively, according to approximate evaluation. Willow Grouse and Rock Ptarmigans were common, and Sandhill Cranes were extremely abundant.
Whimbrel was one of the most numerous waders in moss-sedge-tussock tundra. Red-necked Phalarope was also numerous, while common species included Wood Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Ruff, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher and Common Snipe. Bar-tailed Godwits, Spotted Redshanks and Ringed Plovers were common locally. Numbers of Common Sandpiper and Terek Sandpiper increased along the Kanchalan River valley in the northward direction in accordance with the change in floodplain habitats. We observed hatching of chicks in Spotted Redshank, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wood Sandpiper and Ruff, while chicks of other species presumably appeared after the end of our studies.
Species diversity of passerines increased northward. Dusky Thrush and Gray-checked Thrush were found numerous and common species, respectively, 50 km to the north of Kanchlan settlement. Little Bunting, Siberian Rubythroat, Bluethroat and Brown Shrike were common breeders in floodplain shrubs, while Rustic Bunting, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Brambling were rare breeders. Yellow Wagtails were numerous in open tundra, while Arctic Redpolls occurred at sites where at least some shrubs grew. Only Arctic Redpolls were recorded in the first half of June, while Common Redpolls appeared en masse in the second half of month. Sand Martins bred in small numbers on the river bluffs, while 15 pairs of House Martins nested on the settlement buildings.
Generally, the weather was very favourable for reproduction of birds and predation pressure relatively low in June 2006. Successful breeding could have been anticipated, although data on hatching success were not available for most species of waterfowl and waders.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| According to observations in several floodplain localities of the Kanchalan River in its lower and partly middle reaches voles were abundant, particularly in sites with shubs. Lemmings were not recorded. Arctic Ground Squirrels bred, but they occurred locally and their numbers were not high due to deficit of suitable habitats.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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