Mlschenko& Sukhanova.Waders of theNovogorod region. distribution and important breeding areas

Wadersof the Novgorodregion: peculiarities of their distribution and importantbreeding areas A.L. Mischenko & O.V. Sukhanova

Mischenko,A.L. & SukhanovaO.V. 1998.Waders of theNovgorod region: peculiarities of their distributionand importantbreeding areas. International Wader Studies 10: 285-290.

Surveysundertaken in the Novgorodregion in May - July1991 and 1992,demonstrate that the two mostimportant habitats for wadersare the vast raised bogs where there are unafforested areas, and thelarge expanse of flood-plainmeadows in theLake Ilmen' basin. The largest populations recordedon a singlepeat-bog system were 1,400-1,800 pairs of CurlewNumenius arquata, 150 pairs of WhimbrelN. phaeopusand 200-250 pairs of GoldenPlover Pluvialis apricaria. Lapwing Vanellus vanellusand Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa breed on the most swampy parts of thebogs where thereare areas of openpeat (mires). Thus, human activities such as drainage and the development of industrialpeat production are serious threats to thewader populations on peat-bogs. Human activityon theflood-plain meadows is notnecessarily so damaging. Indeed, the suitability of this habitatfor breeding waders is closelyconnected with man'sagricultural activities; cessation of cattle-grazingand hay-mowing leads to thevegetation becoming overgrown and the disappearenceof suitable breeding areas. The flooded meadows which were not usedas pastures at all duringthe breeding period were the best for wadersand held the highest densities of RedshankTringa totanus, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis and TerekSandpiper Xenus cinereus. Flooded meadows with moderatedaily grazingof 35-55cattle/km 2 heldthe highest breeding densities of RuffPhilomachus pugnax. Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatusalso bred here, and the rather dry, irregularly flooded meadows with moderate grazing supportedthe highest densities of Lapwingand Great Snipe Gallinago media.

A.L.Mischenko & O. V. Sukhanova,All-Russian Research Institute of Nature Conservation and Reserves VILAR,Sadki-Znamenskoye, Moscow, 113628, .

M•ule•o, A. A.,Cyxauosa, O. B. t998. Ky;m• Hosropo•,c•o•o6aacr•: oco6½uuoct• pacnpocrpaue• • na•uefim•eMecra r•ea•,onau•. International Wader Studies 10: 285-290.

I/lccaeaosausaM•,npo•eaen•a•m s Hosro•acaofio6aacrs s •ae - s•ae t•t s t992rr.6•o

sepxos•x•aor, • o6m•pn• n•crpancrsonOfiMenn•x ayros s 6accefineoaepa

•aor, nac•r•aa• t4•-t8• nap•abm•x •ponmnenosNumenius arcata, t50 nap •,mneno• • p•eo•s • •-• nap•aor•cr• p•a,o• Plu•alisap•cana. q•6•c Vanellusvanellus • •a•mofi ae•renn• Limosalimosa rneag•rc• Haca• ron•x •acr•x •aor, r•e ecr• or•p•e y•acr• TO•HHHHKOB.H•TOMy ra•e Ae•TeAbH•T•qenoBeKa, •a• •ymea•e • •a•r•e n•aeHn•x paapa6oro•top,a, n•cra•aa•r c•fi yr•ay nonya• •ya•oa na ro•nu• 6oaorax.Anr•norenna• •e•rea•n•r• • nofi•enn•xayrax ne •aarea•no ra• onacna.B •eficra•rea•n•r•, np•ro•nocr••roro M•T•TaH•g AA•rHeaA•xc• KyA•KOBT•HO cB•Ha c AegTenbHOCTb• •enoBeKa; n•K•eH•e B•aca CKoTa • CeHoK•a BeAeT K •pacTaH• •ecrn•refi • • •e•no•n• np•ro•nu• •a• rnea•osan• y•aer•os.3aa•r•e ayra,•orop•e

KyA•KOB,rAe 6•a or•e•ena•a•c•aa•na• naornocr•TpaBH•Ka T•nga totals, •Kaca Galli•go galli•go, nopy•efin•a Tnngastag•alis • •o•yn• Xenuscinereus. Ha ayraxc y•epenn•me•e•nean• a•aco• •-55 roaoac•ora nat •2 6•aa•per•erp•poaana •a•c•aa•na• naorn•r• rnea•osan• rypyxranaPhilo•chus pugs. Ta• •e rnea•ac• •pyraon• naaayn• P•laro•s lobams,ror•a •a• na or•rea•no cyx•x,ne•rya•no •a•e• ayraxc y•e•nn• s•aeo• e•ora •a•c•aa•nofi naorn•r• rnea•osan• •r•raa• •6•c • •ynea• •llinago media.

285 International Wader Studies 10. 285-290

Introduction (31,400ha), Mironovskoye(15,800 ha), Nevij Mokh (18,000ha), and Spasskiye Mkhi (37,000ha). The birdsof the Novgorodregion are rather poorly studied,in comparisonwith neighbouringareas of The bogsof the Novgorodregion have been EuropeanRussia (Leningrad and Tver regions).No includedby specialistsin the eastBaltic bog inventoriesof the avifaunaor areasimportant for province(Boch & Mazing 1979). They are waderswithin the Novgorodregion have been characterisedby a raisedsurface and centralareas compiled,despite the factthat the Novgorodregion whichare naturally unafforested; a few stunted containsvast raised bogs and flood-plainmeadows pinesgrow on ridgeswhich form concentriccircles whichare extremelyimportant for waders. The aroundthe centralparts of the bogs. The ridgesare purposeof our studywas to find outwhich areas interspersedwith poolsor, occasionally,with pond supportthe largestwader populations, as well asto evaluate the level of human influence on these complexes.The sloping sides of thebogs are habitats and work out measures that could be used coveredwith plant communitiesconsisting of Pinus silvestrisf. litwinowii,Eriophorum vaginatum and for boththe optimisationof agriculturalactivities Sphagnummagellanicum. The mostcharacteristic and the protectionof breedingwader communities. plantsof thesebogs are Sphagnumfuscum, Chamaedaphnecalyculata and Ledumpalustre (Boch & Study area Mazing 1979). Eutrophicand mesotrophicparts are The Novgorod administrativeregion is situatedin usuallylocated on the edgesof largebog areas. north-westEuropean Russia between 29037 ' to 36ø15'E, and 56055' to 59ø25'N and covers an area of On the Valdaiupland in the easternpart of 55,300km 2. The regionis dividedinto two parts Novgorodregion there are no largebogs, except the which have different environmental conditions: a IgorevskiyeMkhi bogarea (19,200 ha, Figurela), westernpart - the LakeIlmen' lowland, and an locatedin the low north-westernpart of the upland. easternpart - the Valdaiupland (Figure 1). The The otheroligotrophic pine-Sphagnum bogs are not Ilmen' Lake lowland is between 18 and 50 m above as large(several tens and hundredsof hectares)and sea level; Lake Ilmen' itself is at the lowest altitude. are distributedthroughout the forests.

Lyingwithin the southerntaiga and subtaiga Flood-plain meadows subzones,the Novgorodregion is a typicalforest The mostextensive meadows, like the bogs,are area, where areas suitable for waders were locatedin the LakeIlmen' lowland. They coverthe extremelysmall and restrictedin numberbefore largestareas and aremost diverse in the flood- intenseagricultural development took place. The plainsof LakeIlmen' and largetributary rivers mostimportant natural areas for breedingwaders (,' and SheIon').The largefluctuations in are the vastraised bogs with largedeforested areas. water level which occur in Lake Ilmen' are not known for any othersimilar water body. Thislake The regionhas been a centreof agricultureand is the only onein Russiawhere the water levelcan cattle-breedingsince ancient times, and evenin the increaseduring spring floods by asmuch as 7 m; its 13thand 14th centurieslarge areas of forestwere cut water surfacearea varies by as much as threeand a down roundLake Ilmen' and alongthe tributary half-foldin differentyears, from 660km 2 up to rivers. By the beginningof the 19thcentury less 2,230km 2. Thevast flood-plain meadows of Lake than 40% of Lake Ilmen' lowland was still covered Ilmen',which occupy about 50,000 ha, supportthe with forests(Zhekulin 1982). Characteristic largestwader populations (see Results). Within populationsof breedingwaders have formed on the thesemeadows three levels, low, middle and upper, largepastures and hay meadowsin the flood-plain canbe recognised;the mostimportant for waders of Lake Ilmen', a hydrologicallyunique water body arethe upper meadows that areunflooded by May in EuropeanRussia. or are onlypartly-flooded in spring. Grasswith leguminousherbs, sedge-grass and Deschamps- More recently,forests and shrubsaccount for about ietumplant communitiesprevail on thistype of 68%of the area,agricultural landscapes about 16%, meadow. Dry meadows,both in the LakeIlmen' other habitats about 3% and more than 13% of the lowlandand in the regionas a whole,cover rather regionis occupiedby bogsand water-bodies small areasand arenot as importantfor waders. (Serovaet al. 1988). Most of the peat-bogsand meadows are situated in the Lake Ilmen' lowland Methods and sothe main breedinggrounds of wadersare concentratedin the westernparts of the region. Data were collectedfrom May-July1991 and 1992, and countswere made in May and June. Wader censuses were carried out on transects and all birds Peat-bogs recordedup to the distanceat whichthey couldno The vastareas of raisedbogs, which have longerbe accuratelydetected, usually up to 300m developedin the post-glaciallake depressions, are from the observer;later, densities were calculated characteristic of the Lake Ilmen' lowland. The for a 1 km 2 standard unit. In some cases,when the largestbog systems (Figure la) arethe Polistovo- deforestedareas were surveyed,easily detected Lovatskaya(111,000 ha includingthe areain Pskov speciessuch as CurlewNumenius arquata, Whimbrel region),Polistovskoye (43,000 ha), Belebelkovskoye N. phaeopusand GoldenPlover Pluvialis apricaria

286 Mischenko& SukhanovaßWaders of theNovogorod region: distribution and important breeding areas were recordedup to a distanceof 500m. Wader evenlyover mostof the bog areas,with the numbersfor the whole areaof bog or meadow exceptionof the edgesor thevicinities of ponds complexwere extrapolatedfrom thesefigures using with ratherdense pines and unvegetated areas of 1:100,000scale maps; only habitats suitable for a barepeat. The largestdensities of the specieswere specieswere usedin the calculations.In total recordedin moderatelywet ridge-poolcomplexes surveyswere carried out on 30.8km 2 of bogsand on (Table1), while in pine-Sphagnumareas the densities 11.6 km 2 of meadows. On the latter, the influence of were lower. grazingintensity for thebreeding period was also estimated;it is representedhere as the daily average Thelargest local breeding population of Curlewin numberof cattleper km2. the Novgorodregion (and probably in Europe) occuredon the Polistovo-Lovatskayabog system. Results In thisarea, including the part in Pskovregion, at least1,400-1,800 pairs of Curlewwere estimated to Peat-bogs be breeding;the densityof thespecies there Eightwader species were foundbreeding on the (5.1birds km -2) was larger than on anyother bogsof the Novgorodregion: Curlew, Whimbrel, surveyedbog in the region. GoldenPlover, Greenshank Tringa nebularia, Wood SandpiperTringa glareola, Common Sandpiper Largelocal populations of Curlewwere also found Gallinagogallinago, Black-tailed Godwit Limosa breedingon the SpasskiyeMkhi, Neviy Mokh and limosaand LapwingVanellus vanellus. Densities of IgorevskiyeMkhi peat-bogs(Figure la). It was also all thesespecies, except Greenshank, are shownin foundbreeding in smallnumbers on mostof the Table 1. Curlew was the most characteristic and otheroligotrophic and mesotrophicbogs in both numerouswader of the oligotrophicand westernand easternparts of theregion. mesotrophicbogs. Breeding birds were distributed Unlike Curlew, Whimbrel and Golden Plover avoid

"•'•..""""-.,: VologdaRegion

d2 7 :...... :..:'.....

.v- 58ON

•'•"• CmmrlewRed-necked places ot Phalarope O 1000-1500pairs O NestingDunlin placesot mira Curlew O 500-1000pairs {• localonmeadows populations o• ....t TverRegion O •00-•50pairs • Directionofflow O 100-200pairs km 30øE ...•'? 32øE • :34ø E 36 ø E

Figurela. Distributionand sizeof themain breeding populations of Curlew,Red-necked Phalarope and Dunlin in the Novgorodregion. Numberedlocations are somepeat-bogs mentioned in the text:1 - Polistovo-Lovatskaya; 2 - Polistovskoye;3 - Belebelkovskoye;4 - Mironovskoye;5 - Neviy Mokh;6- SpasskiyeMkhi; ? - IgorevskiyeMkhi. Table1. Densitiesof waders(individuals km -2) on 30.8km 2 of differentpeat-bog habitats of Novgorodregion. i•-S•ies :pine-Sphagnum eutrophicfens peat,bogs ridge-pond peat-bogs withoutopen withmires and pools peat-bog water complexes

Pluvialisapricaria - 0.7 1.0 Vanellus vanellus 9.3 1.4 - Tringaglareola 3.3 - 0.1 Gallinagogallinago 6.0 - - Numeniusarquata 3.3 5.0 5.3 Numeniusphaeopus - 3.6 0.7 Limosa limosa 2.7 3.2 -

- speciesnot present

287 International Wader Studies 10: 285-290

smallpeat-bogs of lessthan 1,000 ha. Whimbrel Greenshank was found to be a common wader in were distributedmuch more sporadically than the Novgorodregion, occupying a variety of bog Curlew and neverreached such high densities types,although preferring the interfacebetween (Figure.lb).They also avoided pine-Sphagnum areas pine-Sphagnumbogs and open peatlands. In of bogsand were restrictedto openand very moist contrast,the WoodSandpiper was distributed areaswith Sphagnumand Scheuchzeriaaswell asto sporadicallyand wasrestricted to unafforested areaswith openpeat (mires), and locallyalso to the mossyareas with cottongrasses Eriophorum spp. pondcomplexes of thepeat-bogs. The largest and withoutan openwater surface (Table 1); such concentrationof Whimbrelwas found on the Neviy habitatsoccupy rather small areas in the peat-bogs Mokh bog (150pairs) and on the Polistovo- of the Novgorodregion. CommonSnipe Lovatskayabog system, where its numberswere particularlyavoided raised bogs, but bred at their more than 10 times lower than Curlew - i.e. no more edgeson the swampyeutrophic and mesotrophic than 100-150breeding pairs. GoldenPlover parts. It is interestingthat when Lapwingand

LeningradRegion •t . •'% • %•%,t'"'"'..,,-:V01ogda Region

dl h>,,0pair,•60-100p,r,

• • • •,•'*"*%• )100-200 p•rs 20-60pairs •--• • [ •• •.t"½ - • Direrionofflow g •'••'••""•" TverRegion

Figurelb. Dis•ibuaon •d s•e of thema• breed•g populaaomof •brel.

LeningradRegion ø'•"%,•'"%"o,,.: VologdaRegion ::::%

•;- Novgorod

58øN

Golden Plover >200pairs O 50-100pairs 100-200pairsI 25-50 pairs ß• Direction of flow

ß Tver Region

30 ø E •' "'• 32øE I 60km , 34 ø E 36 ø E I I Figurelc. Distributionand sizeof themain breeding populations of GoldenPlover. abundanceon raisedbogs was similarto that of Black-tailedGodwit, which are usually species of Whimbrel. Thiswader occupieda wide habitat dry meadows,were found breeding on peat-bogs, spectrum,which was generally similar to thatof they were on themost swampy and inaccessible Curlew. However,Golden Plover also bred on open places(mires) - areaswith openpeat as well as moistareas with Whimbrel. The largestcolony (200- eutrophicedges (Table 1). However,these sites 250pairs) was recorded on the Polistovo-Lovatskaya superficiallyresembled their dry meadowbreeding peat-bogsystem, large colonies also inhabit the habitats.Lapwing occupied the partswith low SpaskiyeMkhi, Neviy Mokh and IgorevskiyeMkhi clumpsof Eriophorumand Scheuchzeria and patches bogsystems (Figure lc). of bareand dry hummocksof peat. Black-tailed

288 Mischenko& Sukhanova:Waders of theNovogorod region: distribution and important breeding areas

Table2. Densitiesof waders(number .kin 2 on 11.6km 2 of the flood-plainmeadows of the Lake11men' lowland*

...... •iq•ded •m-•adow s •UnflOOdedmeadoWS

/.. ,,.• .. • ., •,•½•a,,,, .... :...•: ** ,..• ... ,, • .?,...:;..•, :; •, .:.,•,;;;.•: .. Grazing intensity intense moderate none in none in moderate none in (70-80 (35-55 breeding breeding (35-55 breeding head/day/km2) head/day/km2) season season head/day/km•) season

Foragecrops absent absent absent present absent absent

ß . Pluviatissquatarota - 3.0 - - - Charadrius dubius - - 0.5 - - Vanettus vaneltus 11.6 12.6 14.5 5.5 16.5 Tringagtareola 4.1 - - - 4.3 - Tringa nebularia 0.8 0.4 0.6 - - Tringatotanus 2.5 7.2 10.8 - 7.0 Tringaerythropus - 0.6 - - Tringastagnatitis 0.8 0.4 5.4 0.9 1.7 Xenus cinereus 0.4 7.2 - - Phataropuslobatus - 2.5 - - - Philomachuspugnax 6.6 36.9 13.9 - 3.5 - Calidrisalpina - 1.6 1.2 - 2.6 - Catidrisspp. 0.8 - Gatlinagomedia - 2.7 - 29.6 - Gallinagogalinago 8.3 9.5 13.2 1.8 29.6 Numeniusarquata 4.6 - - Limosa timosa 0.8 0.7 0.9 - 2.6

TOTAL 36.3 74.9 70.4 14.2 94.8 2.6

*Only flood-plainmeadows were surveyed during the study;meadows analysed in Table2 werewithin 1.5km fromthe edgeof LakeIlmen' and the river. Duringthe surveyswe did not separatemeadows with or withoutmoderate pasturingfrom hay meadows,because mowing took place on all of themduring the second half of the summer.

Godwitsoccupied similar places but with more region (Figure la). dense,mosaic vegetation. With theexception of CommonSnipe, waders of the Flood-plain meadows LakeIlmen' lowlandgenerally avoid grassfens and, Elevenspecies of waderswere found breeding in the apartfrom Lapwing, they also avoided agricultural flood-plainhabitats of the Novgorodregion: Little fields;the majoritypreferred flooded and unflooded RingedP,over Charadrius dubius, Lapwing, meadowswith moderatepasturing (Table 2). Apart RedshankTringa totanus, Marsh Sandpiper Tringa fromthe breeding species, other waders which stagnatitis,Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus, Red- regularlyoccurred there during the breeding period neckedPhalarope Phalaropus lobatus, Ruff are includedin Table2: Grey PloverPluvialis Philomachuspugnax, Great Snipe Gallinago media, squatarola,Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank CommonSnipe, Curlew and Black-tailedGodwit. It Tringaerythropus and smallCalidris sandpipers, is quitepossible that Dunlin Calidrisalpina schinzii which were not positivelyidentified. alsobreed on theLake Ilmen' flood-plain (Figure la), sincewe recordedsong-flights in severalterritorial Unfloodedmeadows without pasturing quickly pairs,but it hasnot yet beenconfirmed. becomeovergrown with dense,tall grassesand thus arenot suitablefor breedingwaders even at the Ruff andRed-necked Phalarope were only found beginningof the season.Only Black-tailedGodwit, breedingon the flood-plainsof LakeIlmen' and the whichwere rare in theLake Ilmen' flood-plain, Volkhovriver. All the otherspecies mentioned were sometimesnested there in areasof low grasscover distributedmore widely in the regionalthough, with where,if anything,its breeding density was slightly the exceptionof Curlew,they were presentin the largerthan on othertypes of meadow.Unflooded highestdensities on the flood-plainmeadows of meadowswith a mixtureof foragecrops Phleum Lake Ilmen'. pratense,Dactylis glomerata and Tr•Coliumhybridum were the only typewhere Curlews bred. In the Thefirst case of breedingin Red-neckedPhalarope LakeIlmen' flood-plain the numbers were not high in Novgorodregion was confirmed on the south- andthe birds only bred locally. Larger colonies, westernshore of Lake Ilmen' in 1991 (Sukhanova& consistingof 25-30pairs, existed in unflooded Mischenko1992). In total,four smallbreeding meadowswith an admixtureof foragegrasses in the coloniesof the speciesare currentlyknown in the Polomet'river flood-plain(Figure la). However,the

289 International Wader Studies 10: 285-290

role of meadowsas breeding habitats for Curlewsin influence.The mosturgent need is the creationof a the Novgorodregion was much less important than Polistovo-LovatskyNature Reserve. that of peat-bogs. A differentapproach should be adoptedfor the Unfloodedmeadows with moderatepasturing conservation of meadow wader communities. (mostlyby cows)in the LakeIlmen' lowlandand the Beforethe economicdevelopment of theLake Ilmen' - Volkhovriver valleywere thebest habitats for lowland, the area was covered with forestsand, in Lapwingand GreatSnipe. The densitiesof wet places,with fensdominated by Alder Alnus CommonSnipe shown in Table2 do not reflectthe glutinosabushes. Almost all the presentlyavailable, real situation in this habitat, as most of the Common open,non-mire areas around Lake Ilmen' and in the Snipethere were recordedclose to the edgesof Volkhovriver flood-plainare man-made and exist Carex-Glyceriaswamps. onlydue to traditionalagricultural practices: husbandry,pasturing and haying. As concludedby In all typesof floodedmeadows, the four most Morozov (1990),the health of meadow bird numerousspecies were Lapwing, CommonSnipe, communitiesis connectedmostly with the Ruff andRedshank; only the proportion of eachof expansionof meadowhabitats and the thesespecies varied between areas. maintainanceof particularstages of succession there,due to pasturingand hay-mowing.

The highestdensities of Redshank,Common Snipe, Traditionalforms of agricultureused in theLake MarshSandpiper and TerekSandpiper occurred in Ilmen' lowland,moderate pasturing (35-55 head of meadowsfrom which floodshad mostrecently cattle/day/kin2) andlate hay-mowing (not earlier drainedand wherepasturing had yet to occurthat than 1 July),keep the bird communitiesstable. spring.These meadows had an evensward of low Overgrazing(more than 80 headof cattle/day/kin2) vegetationwith a prevalenceof low sedges(mostly leadsto impoverishedwader communities.The Carexnigra). regularpassage of cattleand the erectionof cattle fencingwithin 300m of the water'sedge is Thehighest densities of Ruff occurredin moderately especiallyharmful in the coastalzone of LakeIlmen' pastured,slightly tussocked meadows with mosaic and the Volkhovriver. However,complete vegetation(Table 2). Red-neckedPhalarope bred abandonmentof agriculturalactivities in these only on thistype of meadow.The totalwader habitats is an undesirable action for conservation,as densitythere was similarto that on meadows the developmentof densegrass cover will make without pasturing. thesehabitats unsuitable for breedingwaders. Whenintense pasturing occurred (70-80 head of cattle/day/kin2),the totalwader densitywas half of Acknowledgements that on meadows with or without moderate Thisstudy was financiallysupported by the pasturing;on theseintensely pastured meadows, NovgorodRegional Nature Conservation GreatSnipe, Red-necked Phalarope and Dunlin did Committee.The authorsare grateful to Dr. V.I. not breedat all. If thepasturing was even more Nikolayevfor valuablecomments and remarks. intense,almost all the wadersdisappeared; only References Lapwingremained and bred locally in the extremely overgrazedplaces, even where herds of cattlepassed Boch,M.S., & Mazing, V.V. 1979. Bogecosystems of the throughregularly. USSR. Nauka, Leningrad. In Russian. Zhekulin,V.S. 1982. Historicalgeography: subject and Discussion methods.Nauka, Leningrad. In Russian. Morozov,V.V. 1990.Rare breeding waders of theflood- Analysisof the datacollected during this study in plainmeadows of theMoskva and Klyazma rivers. the Novgorodregion demonstrated that two main In: V.T.Butiev (ed.), Rare bird species of the breedinghabitats are important for wadersthere; Nechernozemiyecetre, pp. 144-149.Moscow. these habitats differ in their environmental In Russian. characteristicsand thusrequire different Nikolayev,V.I. 1988. Birdsof the transformedpeat-lands conservationstrategies. On raisedpeat-bogs, of the Kalinin region. In: L.V. Viktorov(ed), Animal maintainanceof thepresent wader species diversity worldof the forest zone of European part of the USSR, is possibleonly if thesehabitats remain in their pp. 60-74. Kalinin. In Russian. virgin state;this is still possible,since the human Serova,V.N., Barysheva,A.A. & Zhekulin,V.S. 1988. populationin the regionis not very large. The Geographyofthe Novgorod region. Lenizdat, inclusionof bogsin economicdevelopment schemes Leningrad. In Russian. (drainageand industrial peat production) leads to Sukhanova,O.V. & Mischenko,A.L. 1992. Breedingof the completedisappearance of breedingwaders, Red-neckedPhalarope in Novgorodregion. In: shownby Nikolayev (1988,and this volume)for the V.K.Ryabitsev (ed), Information of the Working Group neighbouringTver region. Therefore, the main on Waders,pp. 45-46. Nauka,Ekaterinburg. strategyfor protectionof wader communitiesmust In Russian. be the establishmentof protectedareas - nature reserves and sanctuaries - with minimal human

29O