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RESPONDENT
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Nikolai Konyukhov
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SITE NAME
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Vaigach Island, Dolgaya Guba, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (499)135-9802/(499)135-9802(fax) // konyukhov@gmail.com // Bird Ringing Center, Moscow, 117312, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Weather conditions of the summer were highly unfavourable for breeding birds. The spring arrived rather late with the average daily temperature crossing over the freezing mark only by 25 June. Mean minimal (+-SE) June temperature was -0.65^ (+-0.31)C, July +2.01^ (+-0.38^) C. The average maximum temperature in June was +4.54^ (+-0.54^) C, July +7.57^ (+-0.73^) C. Heavy blizzards were recorded on 28 June and 3 July and a cold spell with some snow occurred on 25 July, i.e. during the time when Temminck's Stint chicks were hatching.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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Arctic Fox numbers were high: one, sometimes two animals could be seen almost on every excursion. Arctic Foxes were more numerous in June, then their numbers dropped and only some territorial individuals remained, however, they did not breed.
Little and Temminck's Stints nested only in river valleys and were absent on hill slopes. Few Dunlin were present. Only singles among Dotterels Eudrimias morinellus nested. In many of them the spring migration apparently transcended into the summer nomadic movements. No territorial Purple Sandpipers were recorded, however, single birds were constantly seen along river banks. The breeding season in many waders was very delayed: the first full clutch of the Little Stint was found only on 27 June while the first chick was located on 24 July. In the Temminck's Stint first chicks were seen on 25 July while on the north coast of the island (Bolvanski Nos cape) a clutch was found on 9 August.
Most wader nests were lost due to non-breeding skuas - Pomarine Stercorarius pomarinus and mostly Long-tailed. Rough-legged Buzzards and Snowy Owls did not breed. Only 4 out of 16 Little Stint nests survived till hatching. Out of 7 Temminck's Stint clutches 5 hatched but in three of those 7 chicks died immediately after hatching. The overall wader breeding success was low.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Siberian Lemming numbers were low: during season only 2-3 individuals were seen. Apparently, most lemmings died during heavy rains in December 1996 and as a result even the traces of their winter activities were absent.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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