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Breedingconditions for in the tundras of the USSR in 1990

A.K. Yuvlov(ed.) (translatedby JadwigaGrornadzka)

Yurlov,A.K. 1993. Breedingconditions for wadersin the tundrasof the USSR in 1990. Study GroupBull. 67: 57- 62. J. Gromadzka,Ornithological Station, 80-690 Gdansk40, Poland

3. Kolquyev Island Informationconcerning the 1990 breedingseason for arcticwaders in northernUSSR is presentedas for the previoustwo years (WSG Bulletin57:40-41 and WSG Springwas cooland prolongedwith many snow Bulletin64:51-54 respectively).Each of the following patchesremaining in the northernpart of the Islandto numberedsections refers to an area shown in Figure 1. the end of June. The weather at the end of June/ At the end of each section the name of the relevant beginningof Julywas cold,with muchwind, rain and informantis given. mist. The developmentof vegetationwas 1.5 - 2 weeks later than in the previousseason. Lemmingswere Giventhe very lowlemming populations over most of absent. There were average densitiesof ArcticFox, the tundra in summer 1989, coupledwith the low ArcticSkua, SnowyOwl Nycteascandiaca and . reproductivesuccess of the ArcticFox (WSG Bulletin The most common waders were Dunlin, 65:51-54) it was predictedthat fox numberswould be Calidrisminuta and Grey PloverPluvialis squatarola. low in 1990 creatingfavourable conditions for tundra Less numerousspecies were RingedPlover Charadrius breedingbirds. The actualsituation for the 1990 breed- hiaticula,Turnstone Arenaria interpresand Red-necked ing season is as follows, PhalaropePhalaropus Iobatus. Oystercatchers were breedingin sandyareas. The overallbreeding success 1. Kola Peninsula - northern coast was considered as moderate.

Springstarted exceptionally early with snow and much ( T.S. Ponomareva) of the lake ice meltingin April.However, cold weather in May and June delayedproceedings, stormy weather 4. Eastern Bol'shezemel'skaya Tundra throughoutthe summer. abundance was very low.Very few wadersand otherbird were Between the latitudes of 66030 ' and 67030 ' snow cover breedingin thisarea of the tundra. meltedexceptionally early, and between67ø45'N and 68ø30'Nit meltedslightly earlier than normal.River ice (J. V. Krasnov) broke-upearlier, by the end of May/beginningof June. The summerwas very hot and dry; between22 June 2. Kanin Peninsula - western coast (Shoyna vicinity) and 28 Julythere were onlythree rainydays with temperaturesreaching 28-35øC between 7 and 21 July. Springweather conditions were average in 1990. The abundanceof lemmingswas very low. ArcticFox, Lemmingswere however,not presentthough voles Rough-leggedBuzzard Buteo lagopus and Short-eared were commonin some places. Large gullsand the Owl Asio flarnrneus did not breed, their overall numbers ArcticSkua Stercorariusparasiticus had normal-sized beinglow. Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus, Long-tailed broods.The densityof mostcommon waders was high, Skua StercorariusIongicaudus did breed. Harrier i.e. OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus, Temminck's numberswere howeverextremely low, and most Long- Stint Calidristemminckii, Dunlin Calidris alpina and tailed Skuas onlyhad one egg - despitenormal nesting Philomachuspugnax. Predation by gullsand skuason density.This dearthof predatorsenabled waders to wader broodswas average. ArcticFoxes Alopex achieve high breedingsuccess. lagopusdid not occur. ( V.V, Morozov) ( V.V. Leonovichand A. V. Filchagov)

57 Figure1 Numbersrelate to locationsdescribed in text

5. Yugorskiy Peninsula average, mostprobably because of the activityof raptors. Springwas a littleearlier with snow cover lost between the 8 and 15 June, and river ice breakingup between 9 ( V.N. Kalyakin) and 12 June. Summerwas hot and dry;favourable conditionsfor blood-suckinginsects, in particular, 7. Middle Yamal - lower Seyakhi-Mutnoyand Mordy- Simulidaewere numerous.The abundance of yakhi rivers was low.Rough-legged Buzzard, and skuas (threespecies) did not breed.Only few pairsof Springwas one to two weeks earlierthan usual.The GlaucousGull Larushyperboreus attempted breeding. summerwas very warm (rivertemperatures reached ArcticFoxes did not reproduce;generally the inhabited 24øC)and dry. However,the weatherchanged for the inlandareas of the Peninsula,with only solitary worseat the beginningof August.Compared to the individuals encountered near the coast. As a result of previousyear, densitiesof Ruff,Red-necked Phalarope the favourableweather and low predation,breeding and RingedPlover were high,but in contrast,densities successof waders and duckswas high. of Dunlin,Little Stint, Common Snipe Gallinagogalli- nago,Pintail Snipe Gallinagostenura and Jack Snipe ( V.V. Morozov) Lymnocryptesminimus were lower.Generally, the breedingsuccess of waderswas normalor a little 6. NovayaZemlya - southernisland (near Sakhanin higherthan normal.Wader lossesdue to weatheror and vicinity of Krest-to lake) predationappeared to be minimal.

Springwas veryearly. Ice haddisappeared from the ( S.P. Paskhal'ny/} BarentSea and Kara Sea by the end of April,2.5 months earlier than normal. The summer was very 8. Middle Yamal - lower Yuribey river warmand dry.There were lowlemming and ArcticFox numbers,and SnowyOwl did not breed.Skuas Springwas early and relativelydry, with heavy rains appearedin tundrain flocksof non-breedersup to mid- appearingfrom mid-August. The SnowyOwl did not July.Breeding success of waderswas lowerthan on breed. Breedingsuccess of raptorsand their impacton

58 11. Northern Gydan - Mamonta Peninsula breedingwaders were lowerthan usual.However, wader numberswere notsignificantly higher in com- parisonto the previousyear, although Grey Plover were In the vicinityof the Matyui-Saletrading-post, weather a littlemore abundantand CommonSnipe were much conditionsand ecologicalprocesses on the tundra took more numerous than usual. placeas normal.Ice had meltedon the Dalem-Lekab- tambda River by 31 June. Summerweather was ( V.G. Shtro) generallyfavourable, though an adversechange in the weatherduring hatching reduced some wader broods. 9. Middle Yamal (station "Khanovey"68 ø 40'N) and The number of lemmingswas very low but a small Northern Yamal (station "Yaybari" 71ø 00' N) increasewas noticedby the end of the summer.Arctic Fox, SnowyOwl and Rough-leggedBuzzard were all Springwas very early butquite cool, yet snowcover scarce, but they bred. The numberof skuaswas highto and ice melted 1 to 1.5 weeks earlier than usual. The mid-August,though only a few Long-tailedand summerwas warm, withoutheavy rainsor cold snaps. PomarineSkuas were breeding.Breeding success of Thus, the weather conditionsfor breedingbirds were waderswas lowerthan 1988 but much higherthan veryfavourable. As in 1989, the abundanceof lem- 1989. The most numerous breeders were Little Stint, mingswas very low,with only a few SiberianLemming RingedPlover and Tumstone.Temminck's Stint, Lemmus sibiricus encountered. The abundance of the CurlewSandpiper Calidris ferruginea and Grey Plover ArcticFox seemed to be lowerthan on average. Only a were quitecommon, and Dunlinand LesserGolden few Rough-leggedBuzzards were breeding.Non- Plover Pluvialisfulva were rare. Only single pairsof breedingPomarine Skua Stercorariuspomarinus and Ruff, Bar-tailedGodwit Limosa lapponicaand Red- Long-tailedSkua were relativelynumerous. Breeding necked Phalaropewere breeding. attemptsof Arcticand Long-tailedSkuas were unsuc- cessful.General breedingsuccess of waders (as ( V.S.Zhukov, E.S. E#movand V. Kan) measuredby egg hatching)in the NorthernYamal was 56%. In more detail, chicks hatched from 74% of Dunlin 12. Sibiryakov Island - southern coast eggs;from 59% of Grey Plovereggs; and from47% of LittleStint eggs. The breedingsuccess of waderswas Springwas earlierthan normal,and by 19 Junethe vast similarin the MiddleYamal; Wood Sandpiper Tringa majorityof the tundrawas free from snow cover. glareolaand Ruffwere the mostsuccessful breeders. However lakes were still frozen and snow remained in rivervalleys. The ice coveron the Kara Sea malted ( V.K. Ryabitsevand N.S. Alekseeva) around5-10 July. Weatherwas favourablethroughout the relativelywarm, thoughrainy, breedingseason. 10. Southern Yamal - basin of Shuch'ey river There were no snow-stormsduring incubation,but it rained heavilyduring the hatchingperiod of Dunlinand The tundrawas free of snow by mid-Juneand river ice firstpeak of LittleStint (around 7 July).Weather was has brokenup by the end of May (i.e. ca. two weeks generallysuitable during the whole chick-rearingperiod, earlierthan usual). Summerwas dry and hot, and only and there were severalwarm (over 20øC), sunnydays at the end of June was there some rain. Around 20 after 20 July. Lemmingswere certainlyrare in terms of June the temperatureduring the day raisedup to 20øC, visual observation. The clutches of the Pomarine and and from mid-July,for almosttwo weeks, the tempera- Long-tailedSkuas, bothspecies which do not breed ture raisedup to 35øC.The numberof lemmingsand when lemmingsare scarce, may howeversuggest that other rodents was low. Arctic Foxes were not visible lemmingswere locallyabundant. Very few ArcticFoxes and did not reproduce.Owls did not appear, skuas were presentin the studyarea, most probablyas a were met sporadically,Rough-legged Buzzard did not resultof heavy huntingat this vicinityduring preceding breedand onlygulls were presentin usualnumbers. winter.As a result,egg-losses resulted mostly from The low numberof predatorsand favourableweather tramplingby domesticReindeer Rangifer tarandus and createdsuitable breeding conditions for ducks,Willow predationby skuasand gulls.Overall the seasonwas GrouseLagopus lagopus, Ptarmigan L. mutusand goodfor waders. Nest successof the mostabundant waders. Temminck'sStint and Ringed Plover bred in species,Grey Plover,Little Stint and Turnstone,was as highernumbers than normal,but Pintail Snipe, Golden highas 80%-90%. Consequently,considerable num- Plover Pluvialisap#caria, Red-necked Phalarope and bersof juvenilewaders (mainly the CurlewSandpiper Wood SandpiperTringa glareola were less numerous. and LittleStint) were observedon the tundra and coast from early August. (A.N. Pegova,S.A. Mechnikova,P.S. Simakin,K.V. Byelyakovand V.I. Ermolayev) ( P. Chylareckiand A. Sikora)

59 16. Central Taymyr - basin of Shrenk river (bigger 13.Taymyr - Piasina delta tributary of Yuzhnaya Taymyra) Springand summerweather was warmerthan normal, with averageday temperaturesreaching 0øC on 8 June, Snow meltedas usualand by the end of June the and with few rainyand mistydays. Snow coverdisap- tundrawas almostfree of snow. Apartfrom some cool peared between10 and 20 June,a littleearlier than and stormyweather in late July, weather conditions usual.Lemmings were very scarce.Arctic Foxes were were favourablefor breedingbirds. The abundanceof absent,but the HerdngGull Larusargentatus and three the SiberianLemming was extremely low. However, Skua specieswere very common.Rough-legged some neststhe Long-tailedSkua, ArcticSkua and Buzzardand SnowyOwl were breedinglocally in low Rough-leggedBuzzard was discovered.Arctic Fox and numbers,perhaps due to smallconcentrations of SnowyOwl were absent.Breeding and non-breeding lemmings.High densities of somewader species were HerringGulls were quite numerous.Also flocks of non- noticed,in particularLittle Stint and CurlewSandpiper. breedingLong-tailed Skuas appearedfrom time to time. Generallybreeding success of waderswas high:e.g. Nestsof somewader specieswere found:Grey Plover, chicks of the Little Stint hatched from 74% nests in the Lesser Golden Plover, Dotterel Eudrornias rnorinellus, study area. Turnstone, LittleStint, Red-necked Stint Calidris ruffcol/is, and Sanderling.General (H. HOtkerand V.L Kokorev) breedingsuccess of waders was not high,and the main factor limitingtheir success seemed to be predationby Taymyr - central part of northern coast (76øN, HerringGulls. 98ø30'E) (I.I. Chupin) Lemmingswere absent.Raptors did notbreed and their numberswere very low. A similarsituation also pre- 17. Western and Central Taymyr vailedfurther west, in the regionof SterlegovCape (P. Prokoschpers. comm.). Snow meltwas late due to the The SiberianLetoming was presentin the east onlyto deep snowcover and coolsummer (it may be typicalfor the westernbanks of the Taymyr Lake. The appear- this area). As a result,waders bred only on hill-topsand ance duringautumn of relativelylarge numbersof on some hill-sideswhere snow disappearedearliest. Snowy Owl was thereforelimited to these areas. The Wader abundance was therefore low and the distribu- distributionof the ArcticFox was similarlydependent on tion patchy.The summerwas characterisedby winds, the letomings,but they were less numerous,no more with much rain and mist; there was only one warm than 13% of potentialburrows were occupied.The week at the end of July. Breedingsuccess was highin weather was generallyfree from adverse conditions specieswhose nests are well hidden,such as the Little and waders bred successfully. Stint (chickshatched from 81% of eggs) and in species activelydefending their nests,such as Grey Plover ( Y.I. Kokorev,V.A. Kuksovand N.A. Logvinenko) (also81%) and Tumstone(four broods were foundand all hatchedsuccessfully). Breeding success of waders 18. Central and South-eastern Taymyr havingmore open nests were lower;Curlew Sandpiper (61%), SanderlingCalidris alba (68%) and KnotC. Springwas a littleearlier than usual. On the Khatanga canutus(45%). The Long-tailedSkua appearedin July River the ice startedto break-up on 7 June and on the in largenumbers and, togetherwith cool weather, this LogataRiver, on 10 June. Duringfirst ten days of June, predatorwas responsiblefor the lossesof mostwader when all breedingwaders arrived,the tundrawas clutches.Generally, the breedingsuccess for wadersin almostfree of snow,with many temporarysurface that season was estimated as moderate. water pools.The densityof waderson breedingareas was higherthan in the previousyear. For example,the (P.S. Tomkovich,M.Y. Solovyev,E.E. Syroechkovskiy maximumdensity of Bar-tailedGodwit near the Logata (jr) and E.G. Lappo) mouthin 1990 was 11.6 individuals/kin2 compared to only 5.5 in previousyear in the "Ary-Mas"plot. The 15. Western Taymyr - basin of Pura river breedingseason for most speciesseemed very good.Families of geese with4-6 youngwere encoun- Letomingnumbers were moderatein mostof the tered, and wadersattending chicks behaved very region,yet were low in the south.The summerwas very quietlyand were thereforenot felt to be disturbedby hot and dry. raptors.

( V.A. Zyryanov) (A.A. Gavrilov)

60 lg. Yakutia- lower Kolyma region torquatus)was moderate.Arctic Foxes, Snowy Owls and PomerineSkuas were breeding,though their Springwas early and warm. Snowcover meltedbefore numberswere average. Breedingsuccess of waders waders arrived. However,the weather changedfor the was good. worse on 10 June:the temperaturewas low and it reinedalmost every day apartfrom five days of better ( M.S. Stishov) weatherat the beginningof July.The abundanceof letomingswas relativelyhigh (the maximumnumber 21. Chukotka - Arctic coast was expectedto occurin 1991), but ArcticFoxes were not numerous.Relatively high numbersof Long-tailed Springand summerwere coolerthan normal,often with Skua were present,but not all were breeding;big flocks wind, mistand rain,though without heavy snow-falls. of non-breederswere observedin the tundraduring the Aroundthe Yakan Cape (150 km to the west of the whole June. Waders arrivedthree to four days earlier SchmidtCape) the abundanceof rodentswas low: than usual,and manycommenced breeding at densi- SiberianLemmings were found sporadically only. The ties higherthan normal,e.g. SpottedRedshank Tringa SnowyOwl and PomerineSkua did notbreed, though erythropus,Common Snipe, PintailSnipe, Red-necked were quite numerous.In sub-mountainand lowland Phalarope,Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus regionsup to 25 SnowyOwls and 70-80 Pomerine scolopaceusand Bar-tailedGodwit. The following Skuaswere found along a 10 km transect.The density speciesoccurred at average densities:Lesser Golden of the ArcticFox was moderatewith 2-3 individualsper Plover,Grey Plover,Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris 10 km transect.In the western part of the Vankarem melanotos,Ruff, Grey PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius, Lowland,in the lowerEkvyvatap region (30 km to the Sharp-tailedSandpiper Calidris acuminata and Tem- east of the SchmidtCape), lemmingswere completely minck'sStint. The mainlosses incurred by wader absent.Only 1-2 SnowyOwls and 2-5 PomarineSkuas broodswere causedby bad weatherand raptors were recordedalong a 10 km transectin this area. (particularlyLong-tailed Skuas). Breeding success was Arctic Foxes did not reproduceand were scarce. lowestin small speciessuch as; Temminck'sStint, Grey Phalaropeand PectoralSandpiper. Therefore, the ( M.S. Stishovand P. V. Maryuchnich) combinationof highdensities of some breedingwaders coupledwith low breedingsuccess for somespecies 22. Chukotka - north-eastern part resultedin an overallmoderate breeding season. In the tundra to the south of Uelen and in the basin of ( V.V. Gavrilov) the Chegitunriver, the summerwas warm:July was hot and dry, and Augustwas wet. The abundanceof rodentswas extremelylow. Arctic Foxes and Snowy Owlswere absent.Rough-legged Buzzard bred in low numberson the Chegitun,feeding on ,rabbits and groundsquirrels. Breeding success of waderswas considered to be moderate.

(A. B. Savineckiy)

23. Chukotka- southern coast

Snowcover had almost completely melted by the end of Apdl, i.e. two-threeweeks earlierthan usual. However,at the end of May, nighttemperatures fell downup to -3øCto -4øC,with snowfalls.Raptor activity was minimal.Breeding success for waderswas good.

20. Vrangel Island ( N.B. Konyuchov)

Springwas coolerthan normal,though without snow- CONCLUSIONS stormsand heavy snow-falls.The summerwas particu- larlywet butwith an unusuallywarm Augustand Basedon the aboveinformation, an astonishingsimilar- September.The abundanceof bothlemming species ity of breedingconditions for waders (albeitwith small (SiberianLemming and CollaredLemming Dicrostonyx variations)occurred over a vast area of northernUSSR

61 in 1990 (fromthe KolaPeninsula in the west,to the of the SiberianLemming on the SibiryakovIsland has Chukotkain the east). Yakutiawas the only regionwith been increasingSlowly but steadilyfor threeyears with poorinformation. Practically everywhere the springwas the same trend in the Lower Kolymaarea, but with a early,although in someregions (Kola Peninsula, fasterincrease in numbers.The patchylemming KolguyevIsland, Kolyma and Chukotka)it was pro- distributionremained in the mountainregion of the longeddue to cooltemperatures. In the westernpart of Chukotka.High numbersof lemmingshave been the SovietArctic (excluding Kola Peninsula,Kolguyev occurringfor some years on the Vrangel Island.Only in Islandand mostnorthern territory of Taymyr)and in 1989 did their populationdecline sharply, but this trend eastern Chukotka,the summer was dry and very hot. was reversed in 1990. Conversely,in the lowerKolyma, Vrangel Island and on the arctic coast of Western Chukotka, the weather was Accordingto earlierpredictions, Arctic Foxes, the main chillyand wet duringthe waderbreeding period. predatorof waders in the tundra, were either not However, extreme weather conditionswere not noticed numerousor locallyabsent in the area. This generally in any regionand the weatherwas generallyfavourable resultedin good or very good overallwader breeding for birds in the whole area. successthough nowhere were maximal levels achieved.The activityof avian predators,especially Noneof the regionssupported high numbers of lem- skuas,were noticedin many regions.Even if breeding mings.Their abundancehad reachedminimal levels in did notoccur, they remainedin flocksof non-breeders almost all Palearctic tundras in 1989, and this situation throughoutthe season in many regions. persistedduring 1990, althoughin some regionsthe numberof lemmingsdid increasein 1990. Low lemming The existenceof a three-yearlemming abundance abundance was found in the Middle and Northern cycleon the Taymyrleads to the predictionthat peak Yamal, in the northernpart of the Gydan,on the Sibiry- numbersshould occur during the 1991 season. This akov Island,and locallyin north-westernChukotka. phenomenonalso seems apparentin manyother Moderatelemming abundance was foundall over the areas. In this situation,predators would feed mainlyon Taymyr(to the west of the TaymyrLake), in north- lemmings,thereby creating potentially very good eastern Yakutia, and on the Vrangel Island. conditionsfor breedingwaders, although breeding successwill always dependon weatherconditions in It is interestingto notethat, firstly,the low abundanceof the tundra to some extent. the NorwayLemming L. lemmuson the Kola Peninsula has persistedfor three years and secondly,the number (P.S. Tomkovich)

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