An Atlas of Movements of Southwest Siberian Waterbirds

An atlas of movements ofSouthwest Siberian waterbirds

J. Veen1, A.K. Yurlov2, S.N. Delany3, A.I. Mihantiev2, M.A. Selivanova2 & G.C. Boere4

Wetlands International – 2005

1 VEDA consultancy, Wieselseweg 110, 7345 CC Wenum Wiesel, The Netherlands2 Institute for Systematics and Animal Ecology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,11 Frunze Street, Novosibirsk 91, Siberia, Russian Federation

3 Wetlands International, Droevendaalsesteeg 3A, PO Box 471, 6700 AL Wageningen, The Netherlands4 Dorrewold 22, 7213 TG Gorssel, The Netherlands

Copyright Wetlands International

ISBN 9058829529

This publication should be cited as follows:Veen, J., Yurlov, A.K., S.N. Delany, Mihantiev, A.I., Selivanova, M.A., Boere, G.C.2005. An atlas of movements of Southwest Siberian waterbirds. Wetlands International, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Published by Wetlands Internationalwww.wetlands.org

Drawings: Dick Visser (maps) and Jos Zwarts (birds). All rights reserved.

Cover photograph: Common Teal. Jan van de Kam. All rights reserved.

Layout: Dick Visser

Printed by: Drukkerij Van Denderen BV, Groningen

Names used for geographical entities do not imply recognition by Wetlands International, or organisations funding thispublication, of the political status or boundaries of any particular territory. Names of territories used (and anyalternatives) are included solely to help users of this publication apply these data for waterbird conservation purposes.

An atlas of movements ofSouthwest Siberian waterbirds

This atlas was produced in the framework of the project “Conservation of wetlands and wetland species in SouthwestSiberia (Russian federation)”. The project was co-ordinated by Wetlands International and carried out in co-operationwith the following organisations:

Institute for Systematics and Animal Ecology (ISAE), Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russian federation

Institute for Water and Environmental Problems (IWEP), Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russian federation

Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment (RIZA), Lelystad, The Netherlands

VEDA consultancy – research, advice and training in ecology and geography (VEDA), Wiesel, The Netherlands

The project was financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofThe Netherlands, as part of the Programme for International Nature management/PIN-MATRA Fund, of TheNetherlands.

Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Netherlands

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands

ISEAInstitute for Systematics and

Animal Ecology, Russia

VEDA consultancy

Institute for Water andEnvironment Problems, Russia

Tabel of contents

Executive summary 7

Introduction 9

Study area, material and methods 13

Ecological characteristics of the species described 16

Species accounts 19Grey heron - Tseraya Tsaplya - Ardea cinerea 19Bean Goose - Gumennik - Anser fabalis 20White-fronted Goose - Beloloby Gus - Anser albifrons 21Greylag Goose - Sery Gus - Anser anser 22Mallard - Kryakva - Anas platyrhynchos 23Gadwall - Seraya Utka - Anas strepera 25 Northern Pintail - Shilokhvost - Anas acuta 26Northern Shoveler - Shirokonoska - Anas clypeata 28Eurasian Wigeon - Siyaz - Anas penelope 30Common Teal - Chirok-svistunok - Anas crecca 32Garganey - Chirok-treskunok - Anas querquedula 34Common Pochard - Krasnogolovy Nyrok - Aythya ferina 36Tufted Duck - Khokhlataya Chernet - Aythya fuligula 38Common Goldeneye - Gogol - Bucephala clangula 40Common Coot - Lysukha - Fulica atra 41Northern Lapwing - Chibis - Vanellus vanellus 42Wood Sandpiper - Fifi - Tringa glareola 43Marsh Sandpiper - Porucheynik - Tringa stagnatilis 43Common Snipe - Bekas - Gallinago gallinago 44Ruff - Turukthan - Philomachus pugnax 45Black-headed Gull - Ozernaya Chayka - Larus ridibundus 46Common Gull - Sizaya Chayka - Larus canus 47Yellow-legged Gull - Hohotunij - Larus cachinnans 48Great Black-headed Gull - Chernogolovy Khokhotum - Larus ichthyaetus 49Black Tern - Chyornaya Krachka - Chlidonias niger 50

From ring recoveries to flyway populations 51

Conclusions and discussion 55

References 58

Annex I and II 59

This Atlas of movements of Southwest Siberian water-birds is a contribution to the knowledge of the migratorymovements of Siberian waterbirds, with special refer-ence to the Central Asian Flyway Action Plan, which wasadopted in New Delhi in 2005, and which aims at a bet-ter protection of Central Asian waterbirds, and their habi-tats, based on sound ecological knowledge. The ‘study area’ measures about 1700x1200 km and issituated in Southwest Siberia (figure 2). It covers fourimportant vegetation zones (taiga, mixed and broadleafforest, forest steppe and steppe), includes the cities ofNovosibirsk, Tomsk and Omsk, and is characterised bynumerous lakes, rivers and other water bodies. The atlas depicts and analyses data of birds ringed inthe study area and recovered elsewhere (direct recover-ies) as well as birds ringed in other parts of the worldwhich were recovered in the study area (indirect recover-ies). Altogether, 25 species are included belonging to thefollowing species groups: herons (1), geese (3), ducks(10), coots (1), waders (5), gulls (4), terns (1).

The results section starts with a tabulated overview ofthe ecological characteristics of the various species(Table 1). All species appear to be ‘true waterbirds’,which means that they depend for the main part of theirlife on marshes, creeks, rivers, lakes, or other wetlands .They nearly all arrive in the study area in the month ofApril (some in May) and disappear in October (some inSeptember or the beginning of November). The timing ofarrival and departure are directly related to the harshSouthwest Siberian winter with severe frost and heavysnow fall.

The species accounts show maps of both direct and indi-rect recoveries. During autumn migration most speciesmigrate in a predominantly southwest to southerly direc-tion, but some species take an almost westerly course. Asmall number of recoveries (only Northern Pintail,Eurasian Wigeon and Common Pochard) were situatedeast of the study area. It is assumed that birds migratingin a south-easterly direction are strongly underrepre-sented in the material analysed. No recoveries at all (outof a total of 4525) were obtained from Mongolia and

China, whereas it is likely that a number of species domigrate to these countries. It is important to rememberthis bias in the ring recovery data when interpreting theinformation presented. For most duck species mapshave been drawn showing details of the distribution ofindirect recoveries within the study area. For all species,the west to east position of wintering sites appears tocorrelate with the west to east mean position of recover-ies within the study area.Finally, the distribution of direct and indirect recoverieshas been related to flyway populations. To this end theposition of recoveries has been compared with differentflyways as distinguished by Scott and Rose (1996) forducks and by Wetlands International 2002 for the otherspecies. Data are given in Table 2.

The conclusions and discussion section pays specialattention to the extent to which the various species makeuse of different flyways (figure 43). Most species usemore than one flyway (variation between species from 1to 5) and it is concluded that Southwest Siberia is in facta crossroads of flyways. The distribution of indirectrecoveries of ducks is summarised (figure 44). Is con-cluded that the geographical positions of wintering areascorrelate with the mean geographical positions of recov-eries in the study area. However, there is still a consider-able degree of mixing within the breeding area of birdsmigrating in different directions.Special attention is given to the importance of moultingareas for ducks. At Lake Chany and Lake Mai-Sor, num-bers of moulting ducks decreased considerably in thecourse of the twentieth century. This may have beencaused by an overall population decline of ducks in theRussian Federation and/or intensive harvesting by man.It is suggested that the function of the moulting areas atlake Chany and Lake Mai-Sor may (partly) have beentaken over by lakes in northern Kazakhstan and/or theVolga Delta (northern Caspian Sea). Large moultingareas are unusual and need appropriate protection, asthey are shown to attract breeding birds from an enor-mous area.

Atlas of movements of Southwest Siberian waterbirds

7

Executive summary


8

Waterbirds and wetlands

Most waterbird species depend on wetlands throughoutmuch of their life cycle. These habitats are often sepa-rated from one another by vast areas of non-wetlandhabitat. Besides they are very much threatened, all overthe world, having suffered losses of more than 50% inmany countries.

Many waterbird species are migratory, depending on anetwork of sites throughout their range to complete theirannual cycle. This network of sites may extend overthousands of kilometres, being situated in a large num-ber of countries. Very often, individual sites play a crucialrole in enabling the birds to rest and feed before movingon to the next site in the network. The conservation of a migratory waterbird speciesshould consider all key sites within the network used bythat species. This implies that protective measuresshould be taken in an international framework. A numberof international conventions specifically focus on the pro-tection of (migratory) waterbirds and their habitats, suchas the Convention on Wetlands of InternationalImportance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, Ramsar,1971 (Ramsar Convention) and the Agreement on theConservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds(AEWA) under the Convention on Migratory Species(Bonn Convention).Measures to protect waterbirds must be based on soundknowledge of the biology of the species concerned.Firstly, the geographical area in which a particular popu-lation completes its life-cycle should be designated. Thisis mainly done on the basis of visual observations of thedistribution of the species and on an analysis of ringrecoveries and/or other migration studies. Secondly, thesize of the population should be established, which canbe done by carefully considering the results of censusprogrammes. An important tool for this is theInternational Waterbird Census, carried out in all parts ofthe world in January each year, under the auspices ofWetlands International. Thirdly, the importance of wet-lands used by the species should be quantified in rela-tion to population size, in order to be able to identify keysites. The Ramsar Convention provides the most widelyused criteria for designating wetlands which qualify forthe list of “Wetlands of International Importance”. Itstates that “a wetland should be considered internation-ally important if it regularly supports 20,000 or morewaterbirds” (Criterion 5), or that “a wetland should beconsidered internationally important if it regularly sup-ports 1% of the individuals in a population of one speciesor subspecies of waterbird” (Criterion 6). Ramsar hasalso developed a further seven detailed criteria to iden-tify Wetlands of International Importance.

Flyway populations

Migratory waterbirds breeding in arctic and temperateregions of the northern hemisphere usually move in apredominantly southerly direction after the breeding

season in northern latitudes. They often use importantstaging areas before they reach their winter quarters.While breeding distribution is often characterised by dis-persion, staging and wintering areas may host large con-centrations of birds. The geographical area encompass-ing a species’ breeding, staging and wintering areas isoften referred to as its flyway or flyway area. In manycases a particular species may use various routes lead-ing to different wintering areas. This has led to the dis-tinction of different flyway populations with importantimplications for conservation. (see also Text and inter-pretation of results in Methods section below.) Each waterbird population has its own flyway charac-terised by specific geographical boundaries. However,many of the larger wetlands which are used for stagingand wintering are exploited by a variety of waterbirdspecies. Consequently, species specific flyways oftenoverlap to a great extent. This has led to the identifica-tion of generalized flyway areas commonly used by alarge number of species. Figure 1 gives a worldwideexample for the waders (Charadriidae andScolopacidae) which is also to a large extent valid forother groups of waterbird such as geese and ducks(Anatidae), though the latter usually travel shorter dis-tances. On the African-Eurasian continents 5 main fly-ways are distinguished: the East Atlantic, BlackSea/Mediterranean, West Asian/East African, CentralAsian and East Asian/Australasian flyways.

Our knowledge of the species making use of the flywaysmentioned differs to a large extent. Many species usingthe East Atlantic Flyway have been studied in greatdetail with respect to breeding, migration and winteringecology. Good data are also available for species migrat-ing along the Black Sea/Mediterranean Flyway. However,our knowledge of birds migrating along the other flywaysis still poor. This can be illustrated by the proportion offlyway populations of waders with unknown trend, whichis only 6% (n=47) for the East Atlantic Flyway, 24%(n=33) for the Black Sea/Mediterranean Flyway andbetween 65% and 85% for the flyways situated inCentral and Eastern Asia (Stroud et al. 2005). Lack ofknowledge means lack of goal directed protection meas-ures. Therefore, considering the very considerable lackof knowledge on distribution, numbers and populationtrends of Central Asian waterbirds, action has recentlybeen taken to negotiate the terms of a Central AsianFlyway Action Plan to be followed by governments in theregion.

The Central Asian Flyway Action Plan

The Central Asian Flyway1 (CAF) Action Plan deals witha large continental area of Eurasia, between the Arcticand Indian Oceans. It includes important parts of allEurasian flyways as indicated in figure 1, except the EastAtlantic Flyway which is only marginally included. Thearea covers at least 274 migratory waterbird populationsof 175 species, including 26 globally threatened andnear-threatened species that breed, migrate and spend

Introduction

9

Introduction

the non-breeding period within the region. Furthermore,the migration routes of many species ending up in Africaand South-east Asia pass through the area. The CentralAsian Flyway region includes some 30 countries. Theplan builds on international co-operation in the regionwhich started in the 1970s and which led to a formal con-vention between the former USSR and India on the pro-tection of shared migratory bird species (Boere 2003).The Action Plan has been developed during meetings inTashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2001 and New Delhi, India, in2005, during which representatives of most countriesinvolved were present. One of the main outputs of theDelhi Conference was the endorsement of the CentralAsian Flyway Action Plan to Conserve MigratoryWaterbirds and their Habitats which had been preparedby Wetlands International on behalf of the Convention onMigratory Species (CMS). The Action Plan sets theagenda for enhanced regional environmental coopera-tion among the CAF states to promote the conservationof migratory waterbirds and their habitats. The ActionPlan builds on and completes actions taken by nationalgovernments to promote conservation. In addition itbuilds on and complements programmes and actionsthat are being undertaken by various international con-ventions, including CMS, AEWA, Ramsar and theConvention on Biological Diversity, development agen-cies and international NGOs. The Delhi Conference

stressed the need to implement projects to (a) prepare adirectory of sites of international importance, (b) developa monitoring strategy, (c) prepare a flyway statusoverview of national and international conservationaspects of migratory waterbirds and their habitats as abasis for cooperative conservation action, (d) prepare aflyway overview of the status and trends of waterbirdpopulations to determine future monitoring and conser-vation priorities, and (e) establish a flyway network ofkey contacts and collate an international register ofwaterbird and habitat projects.

The scope of this study

The production of this atlas has been carried out in theframework of international co-operation between theRussian Federation and The Netherlands funded by theDutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Qualityand part of a global programme of support for flywayconservation by the Dutch Government. It is a projectwith a focus on the protection of waterbirds and theirhabitats in Southwest Siberia. The project concentrateson two large lake systems, Lake Chany and LakeKulundinskoye, situated in the Novosibirsk and AltaiRegions. For both wetlands, nature values and economicvalues are described and analysed, and recommenda-tions for sustainable development and better protection


10

East Asia/Australian

flyway

East AfricaWest Asia

flyway

PacificAmericas

flyway

AtlanticAmericas

flyway

EastAtlanticflyway

MississippiAmericas

flyway

CentralAsia

flyway

Black Sea/Mediterranean

flyway

Figure 1. Example of generalized flyways. In this case flyways of waders (shorebirds) are depicted, as compiled by the WaderStudy Group. Courtesy Rodney West.

1 The CAF area as defined in the framework of the Action Plan has been shaped to include a wide range of waterbird species.Moreover, its boundaries have been adapted to suit the purpose of co-operation between countries. As a consequence, it issomewhat different from the Central Asian Flyway area as depicted for waders in figure 1.

are given. At present only part of Lake Chany is aRamsar Site, whereas Lake Kulundinskoye has no pro-tection status.

This atlas describes the migratory movements of a num-ber of waterbird species occurring in South-west Siberiabased on ring recoveries. The area under study is situ-ated in the middle of the Central Asian Flyway region asdefined by the CAF Action Plan. It covers part of threeflyways as distinguished for waders in figure 1 (see areaindicated in the figure). In Southwest Siberia there is a long tradition of ornitho-logical research on waterbirds, which has often includedringing activities. Spread over a period of about 80years, more than half a million birds have been ringed inthe region. Although parts of the ringing data have beenanalysed for different purposes (see e.g. Pavlov et al.

1978, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1997), for most waterbirdspecies the data available have never been analysed orpublished in detail. The goal of this atlas is to contributeto the designation of flyway populations of migratorywaterbirds in the CAF region. Through this we also hopeto facilitate the conservation of these wide rangingspecies by informing national governments and natureconservation agencies in the CAF region , as well asinternational policy instruments such as the RamsarConvention and AEWA.

Acknowledgements

The authors express their thanks to Arie Spaans whocritically read the manuscript and to Rodney West whoprovided the wader flyway map depicted in figure 1.

Introduction

11


12

Study area

This atlas aims at describing the migratory routes ofSouthwest Siberian waterbirds. The area under study isdepicted in figure 2. It encompasses the AdministrativeRegions of Kurgan, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tomsk,Kemerovo, Altai and Gorno-Altaisk. The northern part ofthe area belongs to the taiga zone, with extensive pine-birch forests, marshes and peat bogs.

South of it is a relatively narrow zone with broadleaf andmixed forest, followed by the forest steppe zone, charac-terised by extensive grasslands, scattered patches ofbirch and poplar forest, and numerous lakes andmarshes. The southernmost part of the area partlybelongs to the steppe zone, sparsely covered with shortvegetation and with a small number of lakes with varyingsalinity. The south-easterly part is dominated by the AltaiMountains with different vegetation types largely influ-enced by altitude. The study area is intersected by twolarge rivers, the Irtysh and the Ob. Most large cities aresituated in or near the forest steppe zone. Tomsk, Omsk

and Novosibirsk all have a population of between700.000 and 2.600.000 inhabitants. Nearly all ringingactivities have been carried out in this zone. Ringinglocalities mentioned and/or depicted in this atlas usuallyrepresent birds ringed in a particular region, unless oth-erwise stated. In many cases such “ringing localities”refer to a relatively large area. Throughout this atlas, thearea defined above will be referred to as the “studyarea”. It forms only part of Southwest Siberia.Nevertheless it should be stressed that it covers a sur-face area of approximately 1700 km from east to westand 1200 km from north to south, an area about 50 timesthe size of The Netherlands.

Material

The present analysis of ringing data concentrates onthree groups of waterbirds: ducks, Anatidae, waders,Charadridae, Scolopacidae and gulls, Laridae. Onlythose species which commonly occur in the area and forwhich at least three recoveries were available have beenanalysed (some additional data are given in annex 1).

13

Study area, material and methods

Tyumen'

Kurgan

Omsk Novosibirsk

Tomsk

Barnaul

Kemerovo

taigabroadleaf and mixed forestforest steppemountains (different vegetation types)steppe and desert

SW Siberian study area

60∞ 65∞ 70∞ 75∞ 80∞ 85∞ 90∞ 95∞60∞

55∞

50∞Gorno-Altaisk

Lake Chany

500 km

Figure 2. Map of the study area showing different vegetation zones and administrative regions. Indicated are: the Oblasts(provincies) of Kurgan, Tyumen’, Omsk, Tomsk, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk (identified by their similarly named capital cities),the Altaisky Krai (capital Barnaul) and the Republic of Altai (capital Gorno-Altaisk). Lake Chany is indicated as well. Vegetationzones after Wild World Terrestrial Ecoregions, NationalGeographic.com


The following data sources have been used:● Database of the Institute for Systematics and Animal

Ecology (ISAE), which includes recoveries of ringed gulls, ducks and waders which were mainly ringed at the biological stations near Lake Chany and Karasuk (Novosibirsk Region) and in Omsk Region (main ring-ing period 1949-2002)

● Data of ringing activities carried out by Tomsk University (mainly Tomsk Region, main ringing period 1970-1990)

● Database of the Moscow Ringing Centre with respect to recoveries within the study area of birds ringed elsewhere. All recoveries are considered as far as they are included in the computer system of the Ringing Centre (whole study area, period 1926- 2004). Parts of the data which were missing in the Ringing Centre’s database were obtained from theliterature.

● Ringing data published by Lebedeva (1957), Mc Clure(1974), Shevareva (1961), Tamanseva (1955), Teplova (1957), Treus (1957 a and b), Vinokurov (1961a and b), Wuczeticz (1941) and Wuczeticz & Tugarinov (1937).

Data analysis

All ringing data mentioned above were first included inone large database, consisting of 4525 recoveriesspread over the period 1926-2004. For each waterbirdspecies, birds ringed within the study area and recov-ered elsewhere (direct recoveries) were separated fromthose ringed elsewhere and recovered in the study area(indirect recoveries). Data were then separated betweenbirds of different categories and their migratory patternswere compared. Categories considered were age (birdsringed as chicks, juveniles and adults), breeding status(breeding and non-breeding birds), and moulting birds(ducks moulting primary wing feathers). It soon becameclear that it was not practical to present the results forsuch categories on separate maps. In many cases theinformation available appeared insufficient to reliablyseparate the birds into these categories. Clear differ-ences were only found between breeding and moultingducks. These differences, have been explained in thetext.

Maps

The distribution maps are adapted to the informationavailable for a particular species and therefore show dif-ferent geographical areas. The study area, outlined inbold grey, is given as a reference on each map. The fol-lowing types of map are presented:1. Maps showing recoveries of birds ringed in the studyarea. The approximate place of ringing is represented byopen circles and recoveries by solid dots. All symbolsare in red. As it is our aim to study long distance migra-tion, short-distance recoveries within the study area arenot shown.2. Maps showing ringing locations outside the study areaof birds recovered within this area. Ringing places areagain represented by open circles and recoveries bysolid dots. In this case symbols are in black. Figuresnear ringing places indicate the number of birds from

that particular place recovered in the study area.3. Maps showing differences in the distribution of recov-eries within the study area for birds ringed in differentwinter locations. Such maps have only been drawn for anumber of ducks. Winter locations have been separatedon the basis of migration direction relative to the studyarea: west (Europe), southeast (Caspian Sea area,Africa), south (India, Pakistan) and east (Japan).Symbols of various form and colour have been used, toallow ready separation of categories.For a number of species the total number of recoverieswas rather low, which led us to decide to combine type 1and type 2 maps, maintaining colour coding.

Text and interpretation of results

The Results start with an introductory section, showing atabulated overview of breeding status, timing of arrival,breeding habitat, foraging behaviour, migration, moult,and timing of departure of each species. Similarities anddifferences between species are briefly mentioned in theaccompanying text. Species accounts start with the species name in English,Russian and Latin. Ringing data are described in relationto the available distribution maps. For birds ringed in thestudy area and recovered elsewhere the number ofrecoveries, both outside and inside the study area aregiven, as well as the status of the ringed birds, such asage, breeding, moulting, etc. Direction of migration andthe location of wintering areas are described, based onan interpretation of the geographical and temporal distri-bution of the recoveries. For birds recovered in the studyarea but ringed elsewhere, the nature of the ringing sitesis given special attention. The following types are distin-guished: breeding/migration sites, moulting sites, andwintering sites. In most cases the distribution of therecoveries, as shown in the study area, is considered tospeak for itself. However, for a number of duck speciesspecial maps are presented (type 3 maps) showing thedistribution of recoveries within the study area in relationto the direction of the place of ringing. Relationships aredescribed and differences are expressed using “meanposition of recoveries”. Following the species accounts the ringing results areconsidered in the light of flyway populations. A tabulatedoverview is given showing the extent to which the ringrecoveries of each species fit with the geographical areaof the flyway populations of that species distinguished byearlier authors. We have mainly followed Scott and Rose(1996) and Wetlands International (2002) for this pur-pose.

Biases in ring recovery data

Ringing is a powerful tool to study the movements ofindividual birds and to identify relations between breed-ing, staging and wintering areas. Combining the resultsof many recoveries enables specific migratory routes tobe defined. There are, however, many biases affectingthe interpretation of ringing results, which should be keptin mind when reading this atlas. The chance of a ringedbird being recovered within a particular area stronglydepends on factors such as hunting pressure, humanpopulation density, education level, environmental


14

awareness of the population, language spoken and eco-nomic situation. These factors vary greatly between dif-ferent parts of the world and may often lead to differ-ences in recovery rate. Striking examples of theseeffects were found in the data dealt with in this atlas.Most duck species ringed in Southwest Siberia migratein several directions between west and south and somewere also found to migrate to the east. Several birdswere recovered from the Russian side of the Mongolianand Chinese borders, but none of the 4525 recoveriesincluded in our analysis actually came from within thesecountries. A likely explanation is that the population inthese countries has a low awareness of bird ringing andan inability to read latin or cirillic scripts. In this study,recoveries were also strongly affected by the distributionof hunters, with the high number of hunters in Italy, forexample, resulting in relatively high numbers of recover-ies in this country of Garganey (figure 24) and CommonPochard (figure 27). Hunting also affects the recoveryrate of species, so that ducks, which are a prized quarryof hunters in many countries, have a much higher rate ofrecovery than waders.

It follows from this that a Direct Recovery (a bird ringedwithin the study area and recovered outside it) tells ussomething about a bird’s whereabouts, but the absenceof recoveries from a particular area does not provideinformation about the contrary situation. In a similar way,there are problems involved with the interpretation ofIndirect Recoveries (birds ringed outside the study areaand recovered within it). A large number of IndirectRecoveries “proves”, at least to a certain extent, that aparticular area is an important area for the species.However, once again, no conclusions can be drawn onthe basis of the absence of recoveries from a particulararea. Indirect recoveries are most affected by the loca-tion of active ringing schemes. This has resulted in rela-tively large numbers of recoveries in the study area ofbirds ringed in western Europe and in India. Within India,most of the recoveries of ducks in fact originate from thevery active ringing station at Bharatpur in Rajastan.


15

Table 1 gives an overview of some ecological character-istics of the species dealt with in this atlas. Included arespecies of herons (1), geese (3), ducks (10), coots (1),waders (5), gulls (4) and terns (1). There are a number ofcharacteristics which are strikingly similar acrossspecies. Except for two goose species, all species arebreeding in the study area. Nearly all of them appear inthe area in April, except for some wader species and theBlack Tern, which largely depend on invertebrate prey,and which appear in the month of May. Similarly, nearlyall species have left the area in October (some in begin-ning of November), once more with the exception ofsome of the invertebrate feeding species, which departin September. The timing of arrival and departure should be consideredin the light of the climatic conditions of the region.Southwest Siberia has a continental climate. Winters aresevere, with heavy snow fall and open water being com-pletely frozen. Winter temperatures of -300°C are notunusual and -400°C or less occasionally occur. Winterrapidly sets in at the end of October, whereas the meltingof snow and ice starts in April. However, up till the middleof May melting ice (which may reach a thickness of morethan a metre in winter) may cover part over the waterbodies in the area. All species breed in grassland or wetland habitat (wetgrasslands, marshes, in trees and on islands near riversand lakes) with the exception of the Lapwing which mayalso breed in dry grassland and in agricultural fields.Grey Heron, gulls and Black Tern nest in colonies,whereas all other species (ducks, coot and waders) aredispersed nesters. Feeding is also almost exclusivelyrestricted to grassland and wetland habitat.The data on post-breeding dispersal and migrationperiod as given in the table should be regarded as nomore than a rough indication, as no detailed analysis ofthese characteristics has yet been made. The phenomenon of moult aggregations of ducks andgeese in the period June-August deserves special atten-tion. All adult ducks and geese moult their wing feathersin this period. As a result they are temporarily flightlessand thus vulnerable to predation. As a rule wing moult iscompleted in special moulting areas which provide ade-quate cover and feeding conditions for a large number ofducks. Moulting aggregation often consist of a variety ofduck species and concentrations may amount to hun-dreds of thousands of individuals. Within the area largenumbers of moulting ducks have been caught and ringedat Lake Chany (Novosibirsk Region) and lake Mai-Sor(Omsk Region).


16

Ecological characteristics of the species

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Whi

te-fr

onte

d G

oose

See

mig

ratio

nN

on-b

reed

er (b

reed

s in

N

on-b

reed

erG

rass

land

nea

r lak

esU

ncom

mon

mig

rant

See

mig

ratio

nA

nser

alb

ifron

sar

ctic

tund

ra)

May

and

Sep

tem

ber

Gre

ylag

Goo

seE

nd M

arch

-Apr

ilR

eed

beds

Com

mon

(S, F

S, T

)Fi

elds

, gra

ssla

nd, m

arsh

esC

once

ntra

tions

in F

SS

epte

mbe

r-O

ctob

erA

nser

ans

erin

2nd

part

of A

ugus

t

Mal

lard

End

Mar

ch-A

pril

Mea

dow

s, o

ther

Com

mon

(S, F

S, T

)G

rass

land

, mar

shes

, Ju

ly-A

ugus

t mou

ltO

ctob

er-N

ovem

ber

Ana

s pl

atyr

hync

hos

low

veg

etat

ion

open

wat

erag

greg

atio

ns

Gad

wal

lA

pril

Mea

dow

s, o

ther

C

omm

on (S

, FS

, sou

th T

)G

rass

land

, mar

shes

, Ju

ly-A

ugus

t mou

lt O

ctob

erA

nas

stre

pera

low

veg

etat

ion

open

wat

erag

greg

atio

ns

Nor

ther

n P

inta

ilA

pril/

May

Mea

dow

s,U

ncom

mon

(FS

), G

rass

land

, mar

shes

,Ju

ly-A

ugus

t mou

lt O

ctob

erA

nas

acut

alo

w v

eget

atio

nC

omm

on n

orth

T)

open

wat

erag

greg

atio

ns

Nor

ther

n S

hove

ler

Apr

ilW

et m

eado

ws,

mar

shes

,C

omm

on F

S, s

outh

T)

Mar

shes

, ope

n w

ater

July

-Aug

ust m

oult

Oct

ober

Ana

s cl

ypea

talo

w v

eget

atio

nag

greg

atio

ns

Table 1. Ecological characteristics of the waterbird speciesdescribed in this atlas. S = steppe, FS = forest steppe, T=taiga.


17

Eur

asia

n W

igeo

nA

pril

Low

veg

etat

ion

Rar

e (n

orth

FS

)G

rass

land

, mar

shes

,Ju

ly-A

ugus

t mou

ltO

ctob

erA

nas

pene

lope

to C

omm

on (T

)op

en w

ater

aggr

egat

ions

Com

mon

Tea

lA

pril

Den

se g

rass

Rar

e (n

orth

FS

) M

arsh

es, o

pen

wat

erJu

ly m

oult

Oct

ober

Ana

s cr

ecca

to C

omm

on (T

)ag

greg

atio

ns

Gar

gane

yLa

te A

pril-

May

Wet

mea

dow

sC

omm

on (F

S)

Mar

shes

, ope

n w

ater

July

-Aug

ust m

oult

Oct

ober

Ana

s qu

erqu

edul

ato

rare

(sou

th T

)ag

greg

atio

ns

Com

mon

Poc

hard

End

of A

pril

Ree

d be

ds,

Com

mon

(S, F

S)

Ope

n (d

eepe

r) w

ater

June

-Jul

y m

oult

Oct

ober

Ayt

hya

ferin

am

arsh

veg

etat

ion

to ra

re (s

outh

T)

aggr

egat

ions

Tufte

d D

uck

End

of A

pril

Mar

sh v

eget

atio

nC

omm

on (S

, FS

, T)

Ope

n w

ater

June

-Jul

y m

oult

Mid

dle

of O

ctob

erA

ythy

a fu

ligul

aag

greg

atio

ns

Com

mon

Gol

dene

yeA

pril-

May

Tree

hol

low

s ne

arC

omm

on (T

)O

pen

wat

erJu

ne-J

uly

mou

lt B

egin

ning

of

Buc

epha

la c

lang

ula

river

s an

d la

kes

aggr

egat

ions

Nov

embe

r

Com

mon

Coo

tE

nd o

f Apr

ilTh

ick

mar

sh v

eget

atio

nC

omm

on to

num

erou

s M

arsh

es, o

pen

wat

erJu

ly-A

ugus

tO

ctob

erFu

lica

atra

(S, F

S),

or u

ncom

mon

(T)

Nor

ther

n La

pwin

gB

egin

ning

of A

pril

Agr

icul

tura

l fie

lds,

Com

mon

(S, F

S)

Fiel

ds, g

rass

land

, mud

flat

s,Fr

om J

uly

onw

ards

Oct

ober

Vane

llus

vane

llus

gras

slan

ds,

river

ban

ksop

en s

hort

vege

tatio

n

Woo

d S

andp

iper

May

Gra

ssy

mea

dow

s,

Com

mon

(T)

Gra

ssla

nd, m

ud fl

ats,

In M

ay a

nd A

ugus

t-S

epte

mbe

rTr

inga

gla

reol

ala

ke s

hore

sw

ater

edg

eS

epte

mbe

r in

FS

Mar

sh S

andp

iper

May

Wet

gra

ssy

mea

dow

sC

omm

on (T

)S

hallo

w w

ater

End

Jun

e-A

ugus

tB

egin

ning

of

Trin

ga s

tagn

atili

sS

epte

mbe

r

Com

mon

Sni

peM

ayW

et m

eado

ws

and

Com

mon

(nor

th F

S, T

)W

et g

rass

land

s, m

arsh

esFr

om J

uly

onw

ards

Oct

ober

Gal

linag

o ga

llina

gom

arsh

es

Ruf

fM

ayW

et g

rass

land

sR

are

(FS

, T)

Gra

ssla

nds,

wet

mea

dow

s,

Sec

ond

half

of M

ay

Beg

inni

ng o

f P

hilo

mac

hus

pugn

axw

ater

edg

ean

d A

ugus

tO

ctob

er

Bla

ck-h

eade

d G

ull

Apr

ilM

arsh

es,

isla

nds

in

Com

mon

(S, F

S, s

outh

T),

Fiel

ds, g

rass

land

s, m

arsh

es,

July

-Sep

tem

ber

Sep

tem

ber

Laru

s rid

ibun

dus

river

s an

d la

kes

colo

nies

up

tow

ater

bod

ies

thou

sand

s of

pai

rs

Com

mon

Gul

lA

pril

Isla

nds

in la

kes

(FS

) C

omm

on (S

, FS

, T),

Fiel

ds, m

arsh

es,

July

-Sep

tem

ber

Oct

ober

Laru

s ca

nus

and

river

val

leys

(T)

colo

nies

up

to 1

500

pairs

wat

er b

odie

s

Yello

w-le

gged

Gul

lA

pril

Isla

nds

in la

kes

Com

mon

(S, F

S),

colo

nies

Fi

elds

, mar

shes

, Ju

ly-S

epte

mbe

rO

ctob

erLa

rus

cach

inna

nsup

to h

undr

eds

of p

airs

wat

er b

odie

s

Gre

at B

lack

-hea

ded

Gul

lA

pril

Isla

nds

in la

kes,

Rar

e (F

S),

thre

e br

eedi

ng

Riv

er a

nd la

ke s

hore

, Ju

ly-S

epte

mbe

rO

ctob

erLa

rus

icht

hyae

tus

reed

bed

ssi

tes,

col

onie

s up

to 4

00 p

airs

open

wat

er

Bla

ck T

ern

May

Mar

shes

, flo

atin

g C

omm

on (S

, FS

)G

rass

land

s, m

arsh

es,

July

-Aug

ust

Sep

tem

ber

Chl

idon

ias

nige

rve

geta

tion,

in ri

vers

and

open

wat

erla

kes


18

Grey heron – Tseraya TsaplyaArdea cinerea

Ringing dataThere were 12 recoveries of birds ringed as chicks incolonies in the Lake Chany area (figure 3). Three birdswere recovered from the study area in September-October, two of which were adults (3 and 7 years old)which may have returned to the area for breeding.Recoveries from outside the study area (9) were allobtained in the period September-January. They are situ-ated S-SW from the place of ringing, in Kazakhstan, theCaspian Sea area and the south coast of the ArabianPeninsula. Apart from one nine-year old bird found inOctober in Turkmenistan, all recoveries refer to birdskilled or found dead in their first year of age. This meansthat the migratory pattern shown by the figure is basedon a small number of individuals, nearly all being juve-niles.

Conclusion Juvenile Grey Herons born in the study area migrate in aSW direction. Wintering appears to take place along theshores of the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean(Arabian Peninsula). The oldest bird recovered was 9years.

Species accounts

19

Species accounts

Ardea cinerearinging placerecovery

Figure 3. Recoveries of Grey Herons ringed in colonies inthe Lake Chany area

Bean Goose - GumennikAnser fabalis

Ringing dataThere were only five recoveries, all of birds ringed in TheNetherlands (December-January), which were shot inthe study area during spring (1, April) and autumn migra-tion (4, September-November) (figure 4). These birdsprobably all belonged to the sub-species A. f. fabalis,which breeds in the taiga zone north and east of thestudy area. The oldest bird recovered was 11 years.


20

5

Anser fabalis

ringing placerecovery

Figure 4. Recoveries of Bean Geese ringed in the wintering area (The Netherlands)

White-fronted Goose - Beloloby Gus Anser albifrons

Ringing dataThere were four birds recovered in the study area (3,May and 1, September) which were ringed elsewhere(figure 5). One bird was ringed in the breeding area onthe Taimyr peninsula (July), whereas three birds wereringed in the wintering area in The Netherlands (January-February). These data fit with a migratory route whichleads from the high arctic breeding grounds throughSouthwest Siberia and northern Kazakhstan to western(and possibly also central and southern) Europe as sug-gested by Ebbinge & Dekkers (2004). The oldest birdrecovered was 3 years old.

Species accounts

21


3

Anser albifrons1

Taimyr73.83N 99.08E

Figure 5. Recoveries of White-fronted Geese ringed in the breeding (Taimyr) and wintering (The Netherlands) areas.

Greylag Goose - Sery GusAnser anser

Ringing dataThere were eight recoveries of birds ringed in the studyarea in June-August (figure 6). Six of them were recov-ered from the study area in August-September, four inthe year of ringing and two in later years (not depicted infigure). Two birds were recovered in later years in north-ern Kazakhstan and along the eastern shore of theCaspian Sea in April. Twelve birds ringed along thenorthern shore of the Caspian Sea and at various loca-tions in Kazakhstan (all ringed in June-July) were recov-ered from the study area in later years, in March-Mayand September-October. No information is available on the age of the birds andthe ringing situation. This makes the data difficult to inter-pret. Probably, all birds were ringed when flightless, i.e.as goslings, or birds during wing moult (all ringing sitesin Kazakhstan and along the Caspian Sea are importantmoulting areas). A possible explanation of the observedpattern could be that Greylag Geese breeding in thestudy area perform moult migration to lakes inKazakhstan and winter along the Caspian Sea. However,the pattern might be more complex, with birds changingbreeding and/or moulting places between lakes, depend-ent on environmental conditions. It seems apparent thatthis species generally migrates shorter distances thanthe other goose species found in the study area andnone were recovered in Europe or South Asia. All birdswere recorded as having been shot. The oldest birdrecovered was at least 14 years.


22


Anser anser

2

7

1

11


Figure 6. Recoveries of Greylag Geese ringed inside(Novosibirsk region) and outside the study area. Figuresnear symbols refer to the number of birds recovered

Mallard – KryakvaAnas platyrhynchos

Ringing data Figure 7 shows recoveries of Mallards which were ringedwithin the study area as breeding birds (adults and theiryoung) or during wing moult. (The latter need not neces-sarily be local breeding birds, see below.) There were 44recoveries (36 breeding birds and 8 moulting birds)within the study area, which have not been depicted.They refer to individuals recovered in the post-breedingor post-fledging period or to birds which returned to thearea for breeding in later years (period May-October).Recoveries outside the study area showed a more orless similar migration pattern for breeding (16) andmoulting (4) birds, which is in a WSW-SSW direction.Winter recoveries (mainly November-December) comefrom areas south of lat 40o (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,Iran, Afghanistan, India).

Figure 8 shows ringing locations of birds ringed else-where, which have been recovered in the study area.Based upon the period of ringing and additional ringinginformation, three categories of sites can be distin-guished: (1) wintering sites (circles), situated in Europe(Denmark, Italy and Ukraine), along the Caspian Sea,and in India and Pakistan, (2) moulting sites (triangles)situated in Kazakhstan and Russia and (3) sites where

Species accounts

23

Anas platyrhynchosringing placerecovery

Figure 8. Recoveries of Mallards ringed as breeding birds orduring wing moult in the Regions of Kurgan, Omsk, Tomsk,Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Altai, and at Lake Chany.

1

1

1

1

1

4

3

2

1

1

2

2

2

72

2 1

4

1

Anas platyrhynchos ringing place (wintering area)ringing place (moulting area)ringing place (summer/migration period)

Figure 7. Ringing places of Mallards which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to the number of birdsrecovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 9.

the species was ringed in the breeding or migrationperiod (squares). Figure 9 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed in different wintering sites. Thelack of records from western Europe is noteworthy com-pared with all other duck species except Gadwall andGoldeneye, and Mallards breeding in Southwest Siberiaappear to migrate shorter distances than most duckspecies from the region. The number recovered in Indiawas also low compared with all other duck speciesexcept Goldeneye. It appears that, in general, birds win-tering in Europe, the Caspian Sea region, and in Indiaand Pakistan, were recorded from more westerly, centraland easterly positions, respectively, within the study area(see mean positions indicated on map).However, itshould be noted that points are scattered and the num-ber of data few.

ConclusionMallards breeding in Southwest Siberia complete theirwing moult at lakes within the area as well as at severallakes spread over Kazakhstan and along the northernshore of the Caspian Sea. Migration is in a W-S directionand the species migrates shorter distances on averagethan all species except Goldeneye. Wintering sites arelocated in Europe (few records), in Southwest Asia

(Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran,Afghanistan) and in South Asia (India and Pakistan). TheW to E position of wintering places correlates with a simi-lar mean position of recoveries within the study area.The oldest bird recovered was 23 years.


24

Anas platyrhynchos

NW, C & E Europemean position of recoveries

55.47N-66.90E (n=4)Caspian Sea 55.48N-70.61E (n=7)India, Pakistan 54.71N-76.09E (n=5)

Figure 9. Recoveries of Mallards ringed in different winteringareas (see also figure 8).

Species accounts

25

Anas strepera ringing placerecovery

Figure 10. Recoveries of Gadwalls ringed as breeding birds in the Regions of Kurgan, Omsk and Novosibirsk.

Gadwall – Seraya Utka Anas strepera

Ringing dataFigure 10 shows recoveries of Gadwalls which wereringed within the study area as breeding birds (adultsand their young). There were 9 recoveries within thestudy area (not depicted), which refer to individualsrecovered in the post-breeding or post-fledging period orto birds which returned to the area for breeding in lateryears (period May-October). Recoveries outside thestudy area (8) show migration in a WSW-S direction.Winter recoveries (November-March) come from coun-tries around the Caspian Sea and eastwards to northernIndia. There was one recovery in Italy in October, butthere were fewer recoveries in, or from Europe than forany other species except Mallard and Goldeneye..Figure 11 shows ringing locations of birds ringed else-where, which have been recovered in the study area.Two categories of sites can be distinguished: (1) winter-ing sites (circles), situated in India and Pakistan and (2)moulting sites (triangles) in Kazakhstan and Russia.

ConclusionGadwalls breeding in Southwest Siberia may completetheir wing moult in lakes in northern Kazakhstan as wellas along the northern shore of the Caspian Sea.Migration is in a WSW-S direction and wintering placesare situated along the Caspian Sea shore, inTurkmenistan and Uzbekistan and in India and Pakistan.There was just one recovery from Europe. The oldestbird recovered was 17 years.

42

2

3

38

3

6

5

Anas strepera

ringing place (wintering area)ringing place (moulting area)recovery

Figure 11. Ringing places of Gadwalls which were recoveredin the study area. Recoveries shown only refer to birdsringed in their wintering quarters in India and Pakistan.Figures near symbols refer to the number of birds recovered.


26

Northern Pintail – ShilokhvostAnas acuta

Ringing dataFigure 12 shows recoveries of Northern Pintails whichwere ringed within the study area during wing moult.There were 41 recoveries within the study area, whichhave not been depicted. They refer to individuals recov-ered within the same season, after moult had been com-pleted, or to birds which had returned to the area in lateryears (May-October). Recoveries outside the study area(83) were distributed over a large area. Autumn and win-ter recoveries were situated WSW to S from the studyarea. Most winter records were concentrated south of40o N, especially along the shores of the Mediterranean,Black and Caspian Seas, Iraq and India. Points north ofthe study area refer to birds recovered in the breeding

period (mainly May-August), as far as 1700 km awayfrom the place where they had been ringed as a moultingbird in earlier years. It shows that the Southwest Siberianmoulting sites attract breeding birds from a very largearea. Figure 13 shows locations of birds ringed elsewhere,which were recovered in the study area. Three types ofsites can be distinguished: (1) wintering sites (circles),situated in Northwest Europe, Africa, the south shore ofthe Caspian Sea, in India and Japan, (2) moulting sites(triangles) situated in Kazakhstan and Russia (northernshore of the Caspian Sea) and (3) sites, situated innorthern Europe and Kyrgyzstan, where the species was

Anas acutaringing placerecovery

Figure 12. Recoveries of Northern Pintails ringed during wing moult in the Regions of Omsk and Novosibirsk.

ringed in summer (squares). The importance ofBharatpur, India (125 records) as a wintering site forbirds originating from the study area, and of the VolgaDelta (N Caspian Sea) (119 records) as a moulting areais noteworthy, and a considerable majority of recoveriescame from these two sites. The recovery of a bird ringedin Japan suggests that regular migration may occur tothe east of the study area, assuming extremely low ringrecovery rates in Mongolia and China. Figure 14 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed in different wintering sites. Itappears that, in general, birds wintering in westernEurope, Africa-Iran, and India were, on average,recorded from more westerly, central and easterly posi-tions within the study area respectively (see mean latitu-dinal positions indicated near map).

ConclusionPintails breeding in Southwest Siberia were recovered inhigher numbers and in more directions than any otherspecies. They complete their wing moult at lakes withinthe study area as well as at several lakes in Kazakhstanand along the northern shore of the Caspian Sea.Northwest Siberian breeding birds have been shown tomoult in the study area. Wintering areas are situated inwestern Europe, Africa, along the Mediterranean, Blackand Caspian Seas and in India. There was one winterrecord from Japan. Longitudinal position of winteringplaces correlate with a longitudinal mean position ofrecoveries within the study area. The oldest bird recov-ered was at least 20 years.

Species accounts

27

1

1

5

1

1

1

4

11

1

13

125

2

119

7

219

4

2

2

1

Anas acuta

ringing place (wintering area)ringing place (moulting area)ringing place (summer/migration period)

Figure 13. Ringing places of Northern Pintails which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to the num-ber of birds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 14.

Anas acuta

NW Europemean position of recoveries

55.89N-70.65E (n=7)Africa, Iran 57.15N-77.01E (n=7)India 55.90N-79.50E (n=132)Japan 55.50N-83.83E (n=1)

Figure 14. Recoveries of Northern Pintails ringed in differentwintering areas (see also figure 13).


28

Northern Shoveler – ShirokonoskaAnas clypeata

Ringing dataFigure 15 shows recoveries of Shovelers which wereringed within the study area as breeding birds (adultsand their young) or during wing moult. There were 14recoveries (6 breeding birds and 8 moulting birds) withinthe study area (not depicted), which refer to individualsrecovered in the post-breeding, post-fledging or postmoulting period or to birds returning to the area forbreeding in later years (recoveries May-October).Recoveries outside the study area (25) showed a similarmigration pattern for breeding (4) and moulting birds(21), which is in a SW direction. Winter recoveries

(November-April) are concentrated around the Caspian Sea and there were single records from Uzbekistan, Iraqand Morocco. There were three recoveries (2 May, 1September) north and east of the study area suggestingthat birds moulting within the study area may come frombreeding sites as far as 1470 km away.Figure 16 shows ringing locations of birds ringed else-where, which were recovered in the study area. Threecategories of sites can be distinguished: (1) winteringsites (circles), situated in Western Europe, along theCaspian Sea, in Pakistan and India (2) moulting sites (tri-

Anas clypeata ringing placerecovery

Figure 15. Recoveries of Northern Shovelers ringed as breeding birds or during wing moult in the Regions of Tyumen’, Omsk,Tomsk and Novosibirsk.

angles) situated in Kazakhstan and Russia (northernshore of the Caspian Sea) and (3) a site in Kazakhstanwhere the species was recovered during migration(square). Figure 17 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed on their wintering grounds inEurope and in India and Pakistan. It appears that recov-eries of birds ringed in Europe were all recovered breed-ing in the western part of the study area, whereas thosefrom India and Pakistan were distributed over the wholearea during the breeding season.

ConclusionShovelers breeding in Southwest Siberia complete theirwing moult at lakes within the study area as well as atseveral lakes distributed over Kazakhstan and the north-ern shore of the Caspian Sea. Migration is in a W-Sdirection and wintering sites are situated in Europe, theCaspian Sea region, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan andMorocco. Birds wintering in Europe have been recoveredfrom the western part of the study area, those winteringin India and Pakistan are spread over the whole area.The oldest bird recovered was at least 7 years.

Species accounts

29

12

61

1

1

1

43

37

11

1

1

1

Anas clypeata ringing place (wintering area)ringing place (moulting area)ringing place (summer/migration period)

Figure 16. Ringing places of Northern Shovelers which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to thenumber of birds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 17.

Anas clypeata


55.69N-66.33E (n=5)India, Pakistan 55.63N-79.13E (n=64)

Figure 17. Recoveries of Northern Shovelers ringed in differ-ent wintering areas (see also figure 16).

Eurasian Wigeon – SviyazAnas penelope

Ringing dataFigure 18 shows recoveries of Eurasian Wigeons whichwere ringed within the study area as breeding birds(adults and their young) or during wing moult. There are12 recoveries (9 breeding birds and 3 moulting birds)within the study area, which have not been depicted.They refer to individuals recovered in the post-breedingor post-fledging period or to birds which returned to thearea in later years (period August-October). Recoveriesoutside the study area are few (9) and spread over alarge area with autumn and winter records (September-March) from Italy, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Japan.Two birds were recovered in summer (May), NW of the

study area, as far as 1250 km away from the placewhere they were ringed during wing moult the yearbefore. This suggests that the Southwest Siberian moult-ing sites attract breeding birds from a very large area. Figure 19 shows locations of birds ringed elsewhere,which have been recovered in the study area. Threetypes of sites can be distinguished: (1) wintering sites(circles), situated in western Europe (particularly TheNetherlands and UK), the Caspian Sea region (VolgaDelta) and in India (particularly Bharatpur) and Pakistan,(2) moulting sites (triangles) situated in Kazakhstan andalong the northern shore of the Caspian Sea and (3) asite in Kazakhstan where the species was ringed duringmigration (square).Figure 20 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed in different wintering sites. Itappears that, in general, birds wintering in westernEurope, the Caspian Sea region and in India andPakistan were, on average, recorded from more west-erly, central and easterly positions, respectively, withinthe study area (see mean positions indicated on map).

ConclusionWigeons breeding in Southwest Siberia complete theirwing moult at lakes within the area as well as at severallakes spread over Kazakhstan and along the northernshore of the Caspian Sea. Wintering areas are situatedin western Europe, in the Caspian Sea, in India andPakistan. The recovery of a bird from the study area inJapan suggests that regular migration may occur to theeast, assuming extremely low ring recovery rates inMongolia and China. Longitudinal position of winteringplaces correlate with a longitudinal mean position ofrecoveries within the study area. The oldest bird recov-ered was at least 8 years.


30

Anas penelope ringing placerecovery

Figure 18. Recoveries of Eurasian Wigeons ringed as breeding birds or during wing moult in the Regions of Omsk, Tomsk andNovosibirsk.

Species accounts

31

17

16

13

8

2

2

2

7

21

1

13

332

Anas penelope ringing place (wintering area)ringing place (moulting area)ringing place (summer/migration period)

Figure 19. Ringing places of Eurasian Wigeons which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to thenumber of birds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 20.

Anas penelope


56.71N-75.98E (n=29)Caspian Sea 57.65N-78.35E (n=8)India, Pakistan 56.59N-81.15E (n=34)

Figure 20. Recoveries of Eurasian Wigeons ringed in differ-ent wintering areas (see also figure 19).


32

Common Teal – Chirok-svistunokAnas crecca

Ringing dataFigure 21 shows recoveries of Teal ringed within thestudy area during wing moult. There were 18 recoverieswithin the study area, which have not been depicted.They refer to individuals recovered within the same sea-son, after moult had been completed, or to birds whichhad returned to the area in later years (May-October).Recoveries W-S of the study area (39, September-March) represent birds during migration and winter. Mainwintering areas are situated south of 40o N (formerYugoslavia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,Afghanistan, India and Pakistan). Points north of thestudy area refer to birds recovered in the breeding period(May-August), as far as 1400 km away from the moultingplace. It shows that the Southwest Siberian moultingsites attract breeding birds from a large area.

Figure 22 shows locations of birds recovered in the studyarea and ringed elsewhere. Three types of sites can bedistinguished: (1) wintering sites (circles), situated inWestern and Central Europe, the East Mediterranean,the southern Caspian Sea, and in India (where morebirds, a total of 69, originated from Bharatpur than fromall other recoveries combined) and Pakistan; (2) a moult-ing site (triangle) situated on the northern shore of theCaspian Sea (Volga Delta) where 25 birds were ringedthat were subsequently recovered in the study area; and(3) sites in Russia and Kazakhstan, where the specieswas ringed in the breeding or migration period (squares). Figure 23 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed in different wintering areas. Itappears that, in general, birds wintering in western

Anas crecca


Figure 21. Recoveries of Common Teals ringed during wing moult in the Regions of Omsk and Novosibirsk.

Europe, Israel and the southern Caspian Sea shore,were, on average, recorded from more westerly posi-tions, within the study area than those recorded in Indiaand Pakistan (see mean latitudinal positions indicated onmap).

ConclusionTeals breeding in Southwest Siberia complete their wingmoult at lakes within the study area (Lake Chany andLake Mai-Sor) as well as along the northern CaspianSea shore, often at distances of 1400 km or more fromtheir breeding grounds. The absence of recoveries ofbirds ringed in the moulting areas in lakes in northernKazakhstan suggests that these lakes are less importantfor Common Teal as compared to most other duckspecies. Main wintering areas appear to be situated inwestern Europe, the Mediterranean and Caspian Seaarea, and in India and Pakistan. Longitudinal position ofwintering places correlates with the longitudinal meanposition of recoveries within the study area. The oldestbird recovered was at least 19 years.

Species accounts

33

2

69

6

2

1

2

Anas crecca

11

1

1

12

11

2

25

2

41

1

1

1


Figure 22. Ringing places of Common Teals which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to the numberof birds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 23.

Anas crecca

NW & C Europemean position of recoveries

55.07N-66.33E (n=7)Israel, Caspian Sea 55.98N-74.18E (n=6)India, Pakistan 55.80N-80.50E (n=78)

Figure 23. Recoveries of Common Teals ringed in differentwintering areas (see also figure 22).

Garganey – Chirok-treskunokAnas querquedula

Ringing dataFigure 24 shows recoveries of Garganeys ringed withinthe study area as breeding birds (adults and their young)or during wing moult. There are 22 recoveries (9 breed-ing birds and 13 moulting birds) within the study area,which have not been depicted. They refer to individualsrecovered in the post-breeding, post-fledging or postmoulting period or to birds which returned to the area inlater years (period April-October). Recoveries outside thestudy area (6 breeding birds and 31 moulting bird) weresituated W-S of the study area. Winter recoveries(November-February) mainly came from Italy, the south-ern Caspian Sea area, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan andIndia, where 65 recoveries from Bharatpur outnumberedall other recoveries combined. Figure 25 shows locations of birds ringed elsewhere,which were recovered in the study area in summer.Three types of sites can be distinguished: (1) wintering

sites (circles), in India and Africa, (2) moulting sites (tri-angles) in Kazakhstan and (3) sites where the specieswas ringed during summer or migration (squares) inwestern Europe and Iran. Birds ringed in Europe andIran (mainly ringed in March and August) may refer topassage migrants moving between Southwest Siberianbreeding areas and African winter quarters, as sug-gested by Cramp et al. (1977). Figure 26 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed in western Europe, Africa-Caspian Sea, and India. Recoveries of European ringedbirds have an unexpected mean longitudinal positionbetween African and Indian ringed birds (see mean lati-tudinal positions indicated on map).

ConclusionGarganeys breeding in Southwest Siberia complete theirwing moult at lakes within the study area as well as atlakes in Kazakhstan. Main wintering areas are situated inAfrica, the Caspian Sea area and especially in India.Recoveries within the study area of birds ringed in differ-ent migration/wintering places are scattered and longitu-dinal positions of migration/wintering places do not corre-late with longitudinal mean position of the recoveries .The oldest bird recovered was at least 12 years.


34

Anas querquedula ringing placerecovery

Figure 24. Recoveries of Garganeys ringed as breeding birds or during wing moult in the Regions of Omsk, Tomsk andNovosibirsk.

Species accounts

35

11

2

65

2

1

1

2

2

173

43

2

1

4 4

1

1

Anas querquedula ringing place (wintering area)ringing place (moulting area)ringing place (summer/migration period)

Figure 25. Ringing places of Garganeys which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to the number ofbirds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 26.

Anas querquedula

NW, C & S Europemean position of recoveries

55.49N-75.35E (n=21)Africa 55.13N-72.76E (n=10)India 55.53N-78.99E (n=78)

Figure 26. Recoveries of Garganeys ringed in different win-tering areas (see also figure 25).

Common Pochard – Krasnogolovy NyrokAythya ferina

Ringing dataFigure 27 shows recoveries of Pochards which wereringed within the study area as breeding birds (adultsand their young) or during wing moult. There were 269recoveries (214 breeding birds and 55 moulting birds)within the study area, which have not been depicted.They refer to individuals recovered in the post-breeding,post-fledging or post-moulting period or to birds whichreturned to the area for breeding in later years (periodApril-October). Recoveries outside the study area showa more-or-less similar migration pattern for breeding (91)and moulting (48) birds, which is mainly in a W-SWdirection. Winter recoveries (November-March) wereconcentrated along the Mediterranean, Black andCaspian Seas, in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistanand in India and Pakistan. The four birds recovered northof the study area in summer (May-October) were eitherat the border, or far beyond the species’ breeding range.The most northerly point certainly does not refer to a

breeding bird, and may possibly have been taking anortherly route to Europe.Figure 28 shows locations of birds ringed elsewhere,which have been recovered in the study area. Two typesof sites can be distinguished: (1) wintering sites (circles),situated inwestern Europe, the southern shore of the Caspian Sea,Pakistan, India and Japan, and (2) a moulting site inRussia near the Sea of Azov. A total of 110 birds ringedat Bharatpur and 26 from a site in Kashmir show theimportance of India as a wintering area, and 44 birdsringed at one site in Switzerland, and 16 at a site inEastern England were also recovered in the study area.The recovery of four birds ringed in Japan breeding inthe study area suggests that regular migration may occurto the east, assuming extremely low ring recovery ratesin Mongolia and China.Figure 29 shows the distribution of recoveries within thestudy area of birds ringed in the wintering sites shown inFigure 28. It appears that birds wintering in Europe, theCaspian Sea region, the Indian sub-continent and Japan,were, on average, recorded from more westerly, centraland easterly positions within the study area (see meanpositions indicated on map).

ConclusionPochards breeding in Southwest Siberia complete theirwing moult at lakes within the area and near Sea ofAzov. Migration is in a W-S direction and main winteringareas are situated in western Europe, along theMediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas and in Indianand Pakistan. Some birds were recovered from Japan.The W to E position of wintering places correlates with asimilar mean position of recoveries within the study area.The oldest bird recovered was at least 19 years old.


36

Aythya ferina ringing placerecovery

Figure 27. Recoveries of Common Pochards ringed as breeding birds or during wing moult in the Regions of Kurgan, Omsk,Tomsk, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk.

Species accounts

37

16

1

21

2

26

1

110

2

6

4

2

1

84

1

31

44 1

4

Aythya ferina

3


Figure 28. Ringing places of Common Pochards which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to thenumber of birds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 29.

Aythya ferina

NW & C Europemean position of recoveries

55.43N-67.97E (n=88)Caspian Sea 55.27N-70.82E (n=6)India, Pakistan 54.59N-77.45E (n=139)Japan 53.19N-79.56E (n=4)

Figure 29. Recoveries of Common Pochards ringed in differ-ent wintering areas (see also figure 28).

Tufted Duck – Khokhlataya ChernetAythya fuligula

Ringing dataFigure 30 shows recoveries of Tufted Ducks ringedwithin the study area as breeding birds (adults and theiryoung) or during wing moult. There were 37 recoveries(33 breeding birds and 4 moulting birds) within the studyarea, which have not been depicted. They refer to indi-viduals recovered in the post-breeding, post-fledging orpost moulting period or to birds which returned to thearea for breeding in later years (period April-October).Recoveries outside the study area (16 breeding birdsand 4 moulting birds) show migration in a mainly SWdirection. Winter recoveries (November-March) were sit-uated in Greece and along the Caspian Sea shore.Recoveries north of the study area (all May-June) refer

to individuals ringed as breeding birds, which may havechanged breeding places between years.Figure 31 shows ringing locations in the wintering areasfor birds recovered in the study area. Of 12 birds ringedin Europe eight came from Switzerland and, of 38 fromIndia no fewer than 31 were ringed at Bharatpur. Withinthe study area (figure 32) recoveries from Europe have amore westerly mean latitudinal position than those fromIndia (see mean positions on map).

ConclusionTufted Ducks breeding in Southwest Siberia migrate in aW-S direction and main wintering places are situated inwestern Europe, along the Caspian Sea shore and inIndia. The W to E position of wintering places correlateswith a similar mean position of recoveries within thestudy area. The oldest bird recovered was at least 9years.


38

Aythya fuligula ringing placerecovery

Figure 30. Recoveries of Tufted Ducks ringed as breeding birds or during wing moult in the Regions of Kurgan, Omsk andNovosibirsk.

Species accounts

39

3

31

1

1

8

Aythya fuligula

1

2

4


Figure 31. Ringing places of Tufted Ducks which were recovered in the study area. Figures near symbols refer to the number ofbirds recovered. The distribution of recoveries is given in figure 32.

Aythya fuligula


55.51N-67.31E (n=12)India 56.30N-80.17E (n=38)

Figure 32. Recoveries of Tufted Ducks ringed in differentwintering areas (see also figure 31).

Common Goldeneye – GogolBucephala clangula

Ringing dataFigure 33 shows recoveries of Goldeneyes ringed withinthe study area during wing moult. There were 68 recov-eries within the study area, which have not beendepicted. They refer to individuals recovered in the post-moulting period or to birds which returned to the area inlater years (period April-October). Recoveries outside thestudy area (57) are scattered. Autumn migration seemsto be in a SW direction, and recoveries from the Blackand Caspian Sea area all came from late autumn

and winter (October-February). Recoveries west, northand east of the study area were concentrated in theperiod March-September (many in June). They refer tobirds recovered during post-moulting dispersal (withinyear of ringing) or to birds returning to the breeding areain later years. The species appears to migrate shorterdistances than any other duck species found in the studyarea, with no recoveries in or from Europe or South Asia.

ConclusionGoldeneyes breeding in Southwest Siberia migrate in aSW direction. The Caspian Sea appears to be an impor-tant wintering area. The oldest bird recovered was atleast 17 years.


40

Bucephala clangularinging placerecovery

Figure 33. Recoveries of Common Goldeneyes ringed during wing moult in the Region of Kurgan.

Common Coot – LysukhaFulica atra

Ringing dataFigure 34 shows recoveries of Coots ringed within thestudy area as breeding birds (adults and their young).There were 12 recoveries within the study area, whichhave not been depicted. They refer to individuals recov-ered in the post-breeding and post-fledging period or tobirds which returned to the area for breeding in lateryears (period August-October). Recoveries outside thestudy area (13) show migration in a SW direction. Winterrecoveries (3, December-March) come from the CaspianSea shore, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Figure 35 showsringing sites of Coots which were recovered in the studyarea. Along the Caspian Sea, in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz-stan the birds were ringed during autumn migration

(October-November); in India during autumn and(mainly) winter (October-March). Key wintering sites ofbirds breeding in the study area were Bharatpur and asite in Kashmir, where 53 and 28, respectively, birdswere ringed which were subsequently recovered in thestudy area. The species is apparently a shorter-distancemigrant than many of the ducks and none were recov-ered in Europe.

ConclusionCoots breeding in Southwest Siberia migrate in a SW-Sdirection. Wintering areas are situated near the CaspianSea, in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and in India. The oldestbird recovered was at least 8 years.

Species accounts

41

Fulica atraringing placerecovery

Figure 34. Recoveries of Coots ringed as breeding birds inthe Regions of Omsk and Novosibirsk.

4

53

28

2

1

4

Fulica atraringing placerecovery

Figure 35. Recoveries within the study area of CommonCoots ringed elsewhere. Figures near symbols refer to thenumber of birds recovered.

Northern Lapwing – ChibisVanellus vanellus

Ringing dataThere are 3 cases of birds ringed as chicks in the studyarea, which were recovered near the Caspian Sea(October), in Syria (March) and in France (December)(figure 36). Twenty birds ringed in western Europe andone in Finland were recovered in the study area in spring

and summer (late April-September). Most of them wereringed in late autumn or winter. Considering the migra-tion pattern of most Southwest Siberian waterbirds it istempting to conclude that these birds refer to SouthwestSiberian breeding birds wintering in Europe. However,six birds were ringed in Europe in May-September, twoof which as chicks in June. These birds were recovered3-4 years later in June-July in the Siberian study areawhich strongly suggests that there is an exchange ofbreeding birds between western Europe and SouthwestSiberia (distance 4000-5000 km). As a consequence itcannot be excluded that our records refer to Europeanborn birds, which subsequently bred in SouthwestSiberia, thereafter using other wintering areas. Lapwingsare rarely the quarry of hunters and the principal bias inthe distribution of recoveries is towards countries, mostlyin western Europe, where a lot of Lapwings have beenringed.

ConclusionLapwings breeding in Southwest Siberia appear tomigrate in a predominantly WSW direction. WesternEurope might be an important wintering area. However,the nature of the link between Southwest Siberia andEurope is unclear. Two recoveries suggest that theremight be an exchange of breeding birds between west-ern Europe and Southwest Siberia. The oldest birdrecovered was 12 years.


42

ringing placerecoveryringing placerecovery

1

11

22

2

2

6

4

Vanellus vanellus

Figure 36. Recoveries of Northern Lapwings ringed inside (Tomsk and Novosibirsk Regions) and outside the study area.Figures near symbols refer to the number of birds recovered

Wood Sandpiper – FifiTringa glareola

Ringing dataThere were three recoveries of birds ringed as adults(figure 37). One bird ringed in the study area (June) wasrecovered in India (March), whereas two birds ringed inIndia (March) and Kazakhstan (August) were recoveredfrom the taiga zone of the study area (June-July). Thesedata demonstrate that Wood Sandpipers which probablybred in the study area, showed N-S migration, winteringon the Indian sub-continent. These findings are in agree-ment with those of Lebedeva et al. (1985) showing thatthe Indian sub-continent is the main wintering area for

Wood Sandpipers breeding in Central Siberia between60° and 120°E. The oldest bird recovered was at least3 years.

Species accounts

43


1

1

Tringa glareola

Figure 37. Recoveries of Wood Sandpipers ringed inside(Tomsk Region) and outside the study area. Figures nearsymbols refer to the number of birds recovered within thestudy area.

Marsh Sandpiper – PorucheynikTringa stagnatilis

Ringing dataThere were three ring recoveries of birds ringed as fullgrown individuals in Ethiopia (1, date unclear) and inIndia (2, November), which were recovered in May-September in part of the study area where the species isa breeding bird (figure 38). These data show migration ina S and SW direction and suggest wintering on theIndian continent as well as in eastern Africa. Similar datahave been mentioned for Southwest Siberian MarshSandpiper by Dobrynina and Lebedeva (1985). The old-est bird recovered was at least 2 years.

1

1

1

Tringa stagnatilisringing placerecovery

Figure 38. Recoveries within the study area of MarshSandpipers ringed elsewhere. Figures near symbols refer tothe number of birds recovered.

Common Snipe – BekasGallinago gallinago

Ringing dataThere were three records of birds ringed in India asadults in December-March, which were recovered in thestudy area in the post-breeding/migration period(August-September) (figure 39). It shows that CommonSnipe which can be expected to be Siberian breedingbirds (whether they bred in the study area is uncertain)spend the winter on the Indian sub-continent. TheCommon Snipe is a very popular quarry species inEurope, and if there was migration from the study area toEurope on a large scale, recoveries there as a result ofhunting might be expected. The oldest bird recoveredwas at least 3 years.


44

3

Gallinago gallinagoringing placerecovery

Figure 39. Recoveries within the study area of CommonSnipe ringed in India.

Ruff - TurukhtanPhilomachus pugnax

Ringing dataThere were six records, three of birds ringed as adults atBharatpur, India (September-October), Norway (August),Italy (April) and South Africa (November), which wererecovered in the study area in summer and autumn (4 inMay, 2 in September-October) (figure 40). Two birdsringed as adults in the study area in August were recov-ered from central Africa (January) and eastern Siberia(August). Although data are scattered and few, they con-firm earlier analyses of ring recoveries of Ruff (Lebedevaand Dobrydina 1985, Cramp 1983) showing that Siberianbreeding Ruff mainly migrate in directions between Westand South to their wintering areas on the Indian sub-con-tinent, in Africa and, to a lesser extent, southern Europe.The recovery of the Norwegian ringed bird is surprising.This bird was caught in the study area in May, four yearsafter it had been ringed in Norway in August. The Ruff isknown to be a nomadic breeding bird and this recordmight refer to an individual changing breeding placesbetween northern Europe and northern Asia.Southwest Siberia appears to be an important stagingarea, which may be used by birds breeding in a largepart of northern Siberia, as far as 3000 km to the east.The oldest bird recovered was at least 9 years.

Species accounts

45


Philomachus pugnax

1

3

1

South Africa

1

Figure 40. Recoveries of Ruffs ringed inside (Novosibirsk Region) and outside the study area. Figures near symbols refer to thenumber of birds recovered within the study area.

Black-headed Gull – Ozernaya Chayka Larus ridibundus

Ringing dataThere were 96 recoveries, all of birds ringed as chicks incolonies in the Novosibirsk Region. 59 birds were recov-ered from within the study area in the period May-October (figure 41). They either refer to juvenile birds intheir first year of life or to adults, up to 9 years old, whichhad returned to the breeding area in later years (somewere recovered in the natal colony). Recoveries fromoutside the breeding area (38) were nearly all situated S-WSW from the breeding area. In autumn (August-November) most recoveries were concentrated in south-ern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the northern shore ofthe Caspian Sea, whereas most winter records(December-March) were more to the south (Iraq, Iran,Turkmenistan, Tadzjikistan, Afghanistan and India) andto the west (Black Sea coast). Only 5 records are avail-able from April, distributed over the wintering and migra-tion areas. As most birds arrive in the breeding area inthe second half of April, spring migration probably takesplace in a short period of time in the first half of thismonth.

ConclusionBlack-headed gulls breeding in the Novosibirsk Regionmigrate in a predominantly S-SW direction. Main winter-ing areas are situated along the shores of the Black andCaspian Sea, in the Middle East and on the Indian sub-continent. Only one was recovered in Europe. Springmigration probably takes place in a short period (mainlythe beginning of April). The oldest bird recovered was 9years.


46

Larus ridibundusringing placerecovery

Figure 41. Recoveries of Black-headed Gulls ringed aschicks in the Novosibirsk Region.

Common Gull – Sizaya ChaykaLarus canus

Ringing dataThere were 65 recoveries, all of birds ringed as chicks incolonies on islands in Lake Chany (figure 42). 43 recov-eries from inside the study area, all in the period August-October, refer to juvenile birds in their first year of life(post-fledging dispersal) or to adults returning to thebreeding area in later years (some were recovered intheir natal colony). Autumn migration appears to takeplace in a SW direction and most winter recoveries(November-March) were concentrated along and be-tween the Caspian and Black Seas although there wasone winter record of a juvenile bird from Italy. This sug-gests that some birds may be longer-distance migrants.There were no spring records. Two birds were recoveredas sub-adults in May-June from northern Kazakhstan ina region where the species is a breeding bird.

ConclusionCommon Gulls ringed as chicks at Lake Chany migratein a predominantly SW direction. The main winteringarea is between the Black and the Caspian Seas. Thespecies has a more northerly migration route and winterdistribution than the Black-headed gull, and none wererecorded in India, or in Central Asia south of northernKazakhstan. The oldest bird recovered was 14 years.

Species accounts

47

Larus canus ringing placerecovery

Figure 42. Recoveries of Common Gulls ringed as chicks at Lake Chany, Novosibirsk Region.

Yellow-legged Gull – HohotunijLarus cachinnans

Ringing dataThere were 30 recoveries, all of birds ringed as chicks incolonies on islands in Lake Chany and other lakes in theNovosibirsk Region (figure 43). 24 recoveries from insidethe study area, all in the period April-October, refer tojuvenile birds fledged in the same year (11) or to adults(13, age 1-6 years) returning to the breeding area in lateryears (7 birds were recovered in close vicinity of thenatal colony). Autumn migration appears to take place ina SW direction. Recoveries from the Caspian Sea regionwere from August, September and April. No winter recov-eries are available. There were 3 recoveries from the southern part of thestudy area (1 juvenile, 1 sub-adult and 1 adult inSeptember-October) of birds ringed as chicks in a colonyin east Kazakhstan.

ConclusionYellow-legged Gulls ringed as chicks in the Novosibirskregion migrate in a predominantly SW direction. Themain wintering area might be situated in the CaspianSea region but the number of recoveries are few. Nonewere recovered in Europe or Africa. The oldest birdrecovered was 6 years.

Sub-specific statusThe taxonomic status of the Yellow-legged Gulls ringedas chick at Lake Chany is uncertain. According to delHoyo et al. (1996) L. c. cachinnans breeds in the Blackand Caspian Sea area and east Kazakhstan, whereasL. c. barabensis is a breeding bird of the Central Asiansteppes. L. c. mongolicus is mentioned as a breedingbird from the Southeast Altai mountains and eastwards.So, all three sub-species are thought to be present asbreeding birds in a relatively small area. Lake Balkhash

in eastern Kazakhstan in thought to be the borderline forbreeding L. c. cachinnans and L. c . barabensis, the lat-ter being supposed to breed north of this line. However,birds ringed as chicks near Lake Balkhash (Lake Alakol)have been recorded in the breeding colonies at LakeChany, so mixing of breeding populations at the sub-spe-cific level may take place in the area. On the basis of ourpresent knowledge of the breeding distribution of the var-ious sub-species, the Chany breeding population shouldbe regarded as to belong to L. c. barabensis. However,according to Wetlands International (2002) L. c.barabensis (treated as Larus heuglini barabensis bythese authors) winters in Southwest Asia, mainly alongthe shores of the Persian gulf and the Arabian Sea,whereas L. c. cachinnans spends the winter along theBlack & Caspian Seas, SW Asia, NE Africa and SriLanka. The recoveries of the Chany birds, though few innumbers, fit with the latter and not with the first. Sobreeding and wintering distribution suggest different sub-species, which leaves the taxonomic status of Laruscachinnans breeding at lake Chany unknown.


48

ringing placerecoveryringing placerecovery Larus cachinnans

3

Figure 43. Recoveries of Yellow-legged Gulls ringed aschicks inside (Lake Chany, Novosibirsk Region) and outsidethe study area.

Ringing dataThere were 30 recoveries of birds ringed as chicks in thecolonies in Lake Chany (figure 44). Twenty birds wererecovered from inside the study area in July-October,three of which were sub-adult or adult birds which mayhave returned to the area for breeding. One two-year oldsub-adult bird was actually recovered near the natalcolony. All others (17) were juveniles recovered within afew months after fledging. Recoveries from outside thestudy area were situated in a WSW-S direction from theplace of ringing. There were 8 recoveries fromKazakhstan in late summer and autumn (August-October) and one ring recovery is available from the win-ter period (March), along the Indus river in northernPakistan. The number of recoveries are few, but data fitwith presumed wintering along the Caspian Sea and onthe Indian sub-continent (Cramp 1983, Flint et al. 1989).The figure also shows 10 recoveries from within thestudy area of birds (2 adults and 8 juveniles) ringed aschicks in colonies near Astrakhan (1) and in easternKazakhstan (9). One bird was recovered 24 days after ithad been ringed as a chick in Kazakhstan, showing thatdistances of more than 500 km can be covered within afew weeks after fledging. These data suggest that theremight be an exchange of breeding birds between thecolonies in the Novosibirsk Region and the colonies ineastern Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea area.

ConclusionGreat Black-headed Gulls ringed as chicks at LakeChany migrate in a SW direction. The wintering area isapparently situated along the Caspian Sea coast and onthe Indian sub-continent. It is expected that there is anexchange of breeding birds between different colonies.The oldest bird recovered was 7 years.

Species accounts

49

Larus ichthyaetus

1 9


Figure 44. Recoveries of Great Black-headed Gulls ringedinside (Lake Chany, Novosibirsk Region) and outside thestudy area. Figures near symbols refer to the number ofbirds recovered within the study area.

Great Black-headed Gull – Chernogolovy KhokhotunLarus ichthyaetus

Black Tern – Chyornaya KrachkaChlidonias niger

Ringing dataThere were 4 recoveries of birds ringed as chicks incolonies in the Novosibirsk Region (figure 45).Recoveries from the northern Caspian Sea coast andItaly (August-November) fit with the main migration routeof the species which runs through the Caspian, Blackand Mediterranean Seas to the Atlantic coast of West Africa (Cramp 1985). One recovery in southern Iran(found dead January) may refer to an individual followinga migratory route leading to East African winter quarters. Two birds ringed in Italy (age and status unknown) havebeen recorded in summer in the study area, which fitswith the species’ known migration route.

ConclusionsBlack Terns breeding in Southwest Siberia probablymigrate to the species’ main wintering areas along thecoast of West Africa, passing the Caspian, Black andMediterranean Seas. The oldest bird recovered was 6years.


50


Chlidonias niger

2

Figure 45. Recoveries of Black Terns ringed inside (Lake Chany, Novosibirsk Region) and outside the study area.

A thorough discussion of the principles underlying theseparation of flyway populations can be found in Scottand Rose (1996). In their Atlas of Anatidae populations,the following types of “populations” are recognized: (1)the entire population of a species, (2) the entire popula-tion of a recognized subspecies, (3) a discrete migratorypopulation of a species or subspecies which rarely mixeswith other populations of the same species, (4) popula-tions of northern hemisphere birds which spend the win-ter in a relatively discrete area, and (5) a regional groupof sedentary, nomadic or dispersive birds with a rathercontinuous distribution.

Flyway populations are characterised by a clearlydefined range linking breeding, migration and winteringareas. Our Atlas of movements of Southwest SiberianWaterbirds deals with waterbirds migrating through orbreeding in part of Southwest Siberia. As a conse-quence, for most species only a relatively small propor-tion of the area used by each population is covered.Moreover, in most cases the number of recoveries isvery limited. This means, that it is not possible to identifygeographical limits of different flyway populations on thebasis of the material presented. It is, however, possibleto compare the distribution of the ring recoveries of eachspecies with the area covered by different flyway popula-tions as distinguished by earlier authors. A generaloverview of waterbird flyway populations is given byWetlands International 2002, and a detailed atlas for theAnatidae is published by Wetlands International in 1996.Furthermore, valuable information is given in the seriesof migration studies edited by Pavlov (1978, 1982, 1985,1989, 1997). Table 2 summarises the results of such acomparison. The following information is given:

Species: the name of the species (English and Latin)

Flyway population name: the name of the flyway popu-lation as used in the literature. We have followedWetlands International 2002 for all species unless other-wise stated. In two cases the entire population of a sub-species is considered (Larus canus heini and Chlidoniasniger niger). In all other cases the flyway populationsrefer to a more or less discrete part of the recognizedsubspecies, usually distinguished and named after thenon-breeding area. Names referring to non-breeding andbreeding areas are followed by (nb) and (br) respectively.In a few cases a second flyway population name is men-tioned between brackets, including literature reference.This has been done in cases in which a detailed flywaymap can be found in other literature sources underanother name.

Reference: literature reference used for comparing ringrecoveries with flyway descriptions. References markedwith an asterisk provide flyway maps.

Breeding range: Breeding area of the flyway populationaccording to Wetlands International 2002. Names usedfor geographical regions are explained in annex 2.Core non-breeding range: Core non-breeding range ofthe flyway population (usually wintering area) accordingto Wetlands International 2002. Names used for geo-graphical regions are explained in annex 2.

Occurrence: the occurrence within the flyway areabased on ring recoveries presented in this atlas.Occurrence has been given by means of symbols (+, ++or +++) and figures. The number of plusses indicate theextent to which birds ringed in the study area make useof a particular flyway. They should be read as follows:+ a small number of recoveries come from this fly-

way. The flyway is probably unimportant for birds from the study area.

++ a considerable number of recoveries come from this flyway. The flyway is regarded important for birds from the study area .

+++ a relatively large number of recoveries come from this flyway. It is regarded as (one of ) the main fly-way areas for birds from the study area.

The number of plusses given should be seen as a roughindication. They are based on the relative frequency ofoccurrence of the recoveries. As a rule direct recoverieshave been given more weight as compared to indirectrecoveries, because the distribution of the latter is verymuch influenced by ringing activity (see methods sec-tion). For species with less than 10 recoveries (direct +indirect) any indication with respect to the use of flywayswas regarded speculative. In such cases a 0 has beenused instead of a + symbol.

The figures in the last three columns denote the numberof direct recoveries, indirect recoveries and indirectrecoveries of birds ringed in moulting areas, respectively.Recoveries in overlapping parts of two flyways havebeen allocated to the most likely flyway in one the follow-ing ways: if (nearly) all recoveries are in one flyway, arecovery in the area overlapping with a neighbouring fly-way is allocated to the first; if (several) recoveries havebeen obtained from two neighbouring flyways, datapoints in the overlapping area have been split up andallocated to both flyways on the basis of the frequency ofoccurrence of points in the non-overlapping areas.Recoveries close to the study area have not beenincluded if it was not possible to allocate them to a par-ticular flyway. As a consequence, the total number ofrecoveries indicated in the table is not necessarily identi-cal to the total number mentioned in the text of thespecies accounts or depicted on the maps.

From ring recoveries to flyway populations

51



52

Spe

cies

Flyw

ay p

opul

atio

n na

me

Ref

.B

reed

ing

rang

eC

ore

non-

bree

ding

rang

e

Gre

y H

eron

SW

Asi

a (n

b)W

IC

& S

W A

sia

E B

lack

Sea

& W

, SW

Asi

a, C

aspi

an00

09

00

Ard

ea c

iner

ea

Bea

n G

oose

NW

Eur

ope

(nb)

WI

Sca

ndin

avia

, E to

W S

iber

iaN

W E

urop

e00

05

0A

nser

faba

lis

Gre

ater

Whi

te-fr

onte

dB

altic

-Nor

th S

ea (n

b)W

IE

urop

ean

Arc

tic R

ussi

a &

NW

Sib

eria

NW

Eur

ope

000

40

Goo

se A

nser

alb

ifron

s

Gre

ylag

Goo

seC

aspi

an, I

raq

(nb)

WI

W S

iber

ia, C

aspi

anS

Cas

pian

, Ira

q++

+2

120

Ans

er a

nser

Mal

lard

W M

edite

rran

ean

(nb)

SR

*N

Eur

ope

C E

urop

e, W

Med

iterr

anea

n+

02

0A

nas

plat

yrhy

ncho

sE

Med

iterr

anea

n (n

b)S

R*

E E

urop

eB

lack

Sea

, E M

edite

rran

ean

+2

20

SW

Asi

a (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia, S

W A

sia

SW

Asi

a++

+11

776

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

C A

sia

S A

sia

+1

56

Gad

wal

lC

Eur

ope,

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean

SR

*C

& E

Eur

ope,

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean

+1

00

Ana

s st

repe

raS

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia, S

W A

sia

SW

Asi

a, N

E A

frica

+++

60

53S

Asi

a (n

b)W

IC

Asi

aS

Asi

a++

146

0

Nor

ther

n P

inta

ilB

lack

Sea

, Med

iterr

anea

n, W

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

NE

Eur

ope,

W S

iber

iaB

lack

Sea

, Med

iterr

anea

n, W

Afri

ca+

09

0A

nas

acut

aS

W A

sia,

E &

NE

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

iaS

W A

sia,

E &

NE

Afri

ca++

+25

514

7S

Asi

a (n

b)W

IC

Sib

eria

, C A

sia

S A

sia

+++

2313

24

E &

SE

Asi

aW

IE

Sib

eria

E &

SE

Asi

a S

to T

haila

nd+

01

0

Nor

ther

n S

hove

ler

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean,

W A

frica

(nb)

SR

*W

Sib

eria

, NE

& E

Eur

ope

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean,

W A

frica

+1

50

Ana

s cl

ypea

taS

W A

sia,

NE

& E

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia, C

Asi

aS

W A

sia,

NE

& E

Afri

ca++

+13

420

S A

sia

(nb)

(Wes

t Sib

eria

/Indo

stan

MH

*)M

H*

C S

iber

ia, C

Asi

aS

. Asi

a++

+0

640

Eur

asia

n W

igeo

nN

W E

urop

e (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia &

NW

, NE

Eur

ope

NW

Eur

ope

+0

290

Ana

s pe

nelo

peB

lack

Sea

, Med

iterr

anea

n (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia, N

E E

urop

eB

lack

Sea

, Med

iterr

anea

n+

10

0S

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

C &

W S

iber

iaS

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca++

+5

865

S A

sia

(nb)

(Eas

t Sib

eria

n by

O*)

O*

C S

iber

iaS

Asi

a++

034

0 E

ast A

sia

WI

E S

iber

ia, N

E C

hina

, Mon

golia

E A

sia

+1

00

Com

mon

Tea

lB

lack

Sea

/Med

iterr

anea

n (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia, N

E E

urop

eB

lack

Sea

, Med

iterr

anea

n, W

Afri

ca++

47

0A

nas

crec

caS

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

iaS

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca++

+12

625

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

W &

Sib

eria

S A

sia

+++

1578

0

Occurrence

Direct Recovery

Indirect Recovery

Recovered inMoulting area

Tab

le 2

.Occ

urre

nce

of r

ecov

erie

s of

bird

s fr

om th

e st

udy

area

in d

iffer

ent f

lyw

ays

as d

istin

guis

hed

by W

etla

nds

Inte

rnat

iona

l 200

2. L

arus

cac

hinn

ans

has

been

om

itted

from

the

tabl

ebe

caus

e its

sub

-spe

cific

sta

tus

is u

nkno

wn.

Exp

lana

tion

in te

xt.


53

Gar

gane

yW

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

Eur

ope,

W. S

iber

iaW

. Afri

ca++

+7

300

Ana

s qu

erqu

edul

aS

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

iaS

W A

sia,

NE

& E

Afri

ca++

+19

35

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

W &

C S

iber

iaS

. Asi

a++

+2

780

Com

mon

Poc

hard

NE

& N

W E

urop

e (n

b)S

R*

Rus

sia,

NE

, NW

Eur

ope

NE

, NW

Eur

ope

++0

350

Ayt

hya

ferin

aC

Eur

ope,

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean

(nb)

SR

*C

& N

E E

urop

eC

Eur

ope,

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean

+++

2050

6S

W A

sia

(nb)

SR

*W

Sib

eria

SW

Asi

a++

+61

60

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

C A

sia

S A

sia

+++

213

90

E A

sia

(nb)

(Eas

tern

/Sou

thea

ster

n A

sia

MM

*)M

M*

Sib

eria

, Sak

halin

, NE

Chi

na, H

okka

ido

(mai

nly

Kor

ea a

nd J

apan

)+

04

0

Tufte

d D

uck

NW

Eur

ope

(nb)

SR

*N

& N

W E

urop

eN

W E

urop

e+

03

0A

ythy

a fu

ligul

aC

Eur

ope,

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean

(nb)

SR

*E

& C

Eur

ope,

Bla

ck S

ea, M

edite

rran

ean

C E

urop

e, B

lack

Sea

, Med

iterr

anea

n++

09

0S

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

ia, S

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

caS

W A

sia,

NE

Afri

ca++

+6

10

C &

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

W &

C S

iber

iaC

& S

Asi

a++

+1

380

Com

mon

Gol

dene

yeB

lack

Sea

(nb)

SR

*W

Sib

eria

, NE

Eur

ope

Bla

ck S

ea++

22

0B

ucep

hala

cla

ngul

aC

aspi

an S

ea (n

b)S

R*

W S

iber

iaC

aspi

an S

ea++

+6

00

Com

mon

Coo

tS

W A

sia

(nb)

(Cas

pian

-W S

iber

ian

BL*

)W

IW

& C

Asi

aS

W A

sia

++2

20

Fulic

a at

raS

Asi

a (n

b) (W

Sib

eria

n-K

azak

hsta

n B

L*)

WI

C &

S A

sia

S A

sia

+++

075

0

Nor

ther

n La

pwin

gE

urop

e (b

r)W

IE

urop

eE

urop

e, A

sia

min

or, N

orth

Afri

ca++

+1

210

Vane

llus

vane

llus

W A

sia

(br)

WI

W A

sia

SW

Asi

a, C

aspi

an+

20

0

Woo

d sa

ndpi

per

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

C &

E S

iber

ia to

Kam

chat

kaS

Asi

a00

12

0Tr

inga

gla

reol

a

Mar

sh S

andp

iper

SW

Asi

a, E

& S

Afri

ca (n

b)W

IS

iber

iaS

W A

sia,

E &

S A

frica

00

10

Trin

ga s

tagn

atili

sS

Asi

a (n

b)W

IS

iber

iaS

Asi

a00

02

0

Com

mon

Sni

peS

Asi

a (n

b)W

IN

C A

sia

to K

amch

atka

S A

sia

000

30

Gal

linag

o ga

llina

go

Ruf

fW

Afri

ca (n

b)W

IN

&C

Eur

ope,

NW

Rus

sia,

W&

C S

iber

iaW

Afri

ca00

12

0P

hilo

mac

hus

pugn

axS

W A

sia

& S

Afri

ca (n

b)W

IW

, C &

E S

iber

iaE

& S

Afri

ca, S

W A

sia

00

10

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

W, C

& E

Sib

eria

S A

sia

000

30

Bla

ck-h

eade

d G

ull

SW

Asi

a, E

Afri

ca (n

b)W

IW

Rus

sia,

C A

sia

SW

Asi

a, E

Afri

ca++

+31

00

Laru

s rid

ibun

dus

S A

sia

(nb)

WI

Rus

sia,

C A

sia

S A

sia

++9

00

Com

mon

Gul

lhe

ini

WI

NW

Rus

sia,

W&

C S

iber

ia E

to L

ena

RS

E E

urop

e, B

lack

& C

aspi

an S

eas

+++

170

0La

rus

canu

s

Gre

at B

lack

-h. G

ull

E E

urop

e, W

Asi

a (b

r)W

IB

lack

and

Cas

pian

Sea

sS

Cas

pian

, E M

ed, A

rabi

an P

en, E

Afri

ca++

81

0La

rus

ichh

tyae

tus

C A

sia

(br)

WI

C A

sia

E to

LB

alka

sh, S

to T

ibet

S A

sia,

Mya

nmar

+1

9?0

Bla

ck T

ern

nige

rW

IW

, C &

S E

urop

e, W

&C

Asi

a, E

to A

ltai

Coa

stal

W &

C A

frica

to N

amib

ia00

03

20

Chl

idon

ias

nige

r


54

Crossroads of flyways

This atlas deals with the movements of 25 species ofmigratory waterbirds, occurring in a 1700x1200 km“study area”, situated in Southwest Siberia. It depictsand analyses data from birds ringed in the area andrecovered elsewhere as well as of birds ringed in otherparts of the world which were recovered in the studyarea.

Ringing data have been related to flyway populations asthese have been described in the literature (see table 2).In order to have a general overview of the extent towhich the various species make use of different flyways,part of the data presented in table 2 have been sum-marised in table 3. To this end the following, somewhatgeneralised flyway regions have been distinguished,each of them named after the main staging and/or win-tering areas: (1) Northwest and Central Europe, (2)Black Sea, Mediterranean, West Africa, (3) Caspian Sea,Southwest Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, (4) SouthAsia and (5) East Asia. The symbols in the figure denotethe extent to which a particular species ringed or recov-ered in the study area appears to use a particular flyway.(Symbols have the same meaning as those in column 6of table 2.) It should be stressed that the symbols do notgive any information about what part of the flyway isused by the species. For instance, a species using theCaspian Sea, Southwest Asian, Eastern African Flywayarea may either winter along the Caspian Sea or moveas far south as Southern Africa.

The table shows that nearly all species analysed makeuse of a number of flyways. Exceptions are Grey Heron,Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, GreylagGoose and Wood Sandpiper, though it should bestressed that only few data are available for most ofthese species. Bean Goose and Greater White-frontedGoose are difficult to relate to one of the flyways distin-guished. These species seem to migrate from the studyarea to the west, traversing different flyways ending up inNW Europe. Good data are available for the ducks, asmany recoveries have been obtained for these heavilyhunted species. It appears that Mallard, Gadwall,Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, European Wigeon,Common Teal, Garganey, Common Pochard and TuftedDuck use three to five different flyways. By far the mostimportant are the Caspian Sea, Southwest Asia, Easternand Southern Africa Flyway and the South Asia Flyway.The Common Goldeneye is an exception among theducks as it travels less far, almost exclusively makinguse of the Caspian Sea, Southwest Asia, Eastern andSouthern Africa Flyway. For most wader species thenumber of data available is very small. All speciesappear to migrate along the South Asia Flyway with theexception of the Northern Lapwing. Moreover, it is likelythat at least some species make use of the Caspian Sea,Southwest Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa Flyway,migrating to the African continent, as far as its southerntip (Marsh Sandpiper and Ruff). All gull species and

Common Coot migrate less far than most ducks and thewaders and recoveries mainly come from the northernparts of the Caspian Sea, Southwest Asia, Eastern andSouthern Africa Flyway and the South Asia Flyway, withthe Common Gull wintering further north on averagethan the other species.. The Black Tern does not really fitwithin the scheme as it roughly migrates from east towest, passing the Caspian, Black and MediterraneanSeas to the Atlantic coast of West Africa, where it wintersin an area belonging to the East Atlantic Flyway which isnot included in our table (but see figure 45).

Our data show that the Southwest Siberian study area issituated on a crossroads of flyways and that most water-bird species ringed in the area use several of these fly-ways. This raises the question to what extent birdsbreeding in or migrating through different parts of thestudy area may migrate in different directions. This hasbeen studied in some detail in eight duck species forwhich maps have been drawn showing the locationwithin the study area of recoveries for birds ringed in thewintering areas (see figures 9, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29,32). These data have been summarised in figure 46showing the mean positions of recoveries for birds beingringed in the following directions relative to the studyarea: west (Northwest and Central Europe), southwest(Caspian Sea area, Africa), south (South Asia) and east(Japan).

For all species, the west to east position of winteringsites appears to be correlated with a west to east meanposition of recoveries in the study area, respectively. In

55

Conclusions and discussion

MallardAnas platyrhynchos

Northern PintailAnas acuta

Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata

Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope

Common TealAnas crecca

GarganeyAnas querquedula

Common PochardAythya ferina

Tufted DuckAythya fuligula

60°30' 70° 70°30' 80° 80°30'

west (Europe)

southwest (Caspian Sea, Africa)

south (India, Pakistan)

east (Japan)

Figure 46. Mean longitudinal positions of recoveries withinthe study area of ducks ringed in different wintering areas.



56

NW & C Europe Black Sea Caspian Sea South Asia East AsiaMediterranean SW Asia

West Africa E & S Africa

Grey Heron 000Ardea cinerea

Bean Goose 00Anser fabalis

Greater White-fronted Goose 00Anser albifrons

Greylag Goose +++Anser anser

Mallard + + +++ +Anas platyrhynchos

Gadwal + +++ ++lAnas strepera

Northern Pintail + +++ +++ +Anas acuta

Northern Shoveler + +++ +++Anas clypeata

Eurasian Wigeon + + +++ ++ +Anas penelope

Common Teal ++ +++ +++Anas crecca

Garganey +++ +++ +++Anas querquedula

Common Pochard ++ +++ +++ +++ +Aythya ferina

Tufted Duck + ++ +++ +++Aythya fuligula

Common Goldeneye ++ +++Bucephala clangula

Common Coot ++ +++Fulica atra

Northern Lapwing +Vanellus vanellus

Wood Sandpiper 00Tringa glareola

Marsh Sandpiper 0 00Tringa stagnatilis

Common Snipe 00Gallinago gallinago

Ruff 00 0 00Philomachus pugnax

Black-headed Gull +++ ++Larus ridibundus

Common GullLarus canus

Yellow-legged Gull 00Larus cachinnans

Great black-headed Gull ++ +Larus ichthyaetus

Black Tern 000Chlidonias niger

Legend+ flyway rarely used++ flyway regularly used+++ flyway often used0, 00, 000 as + symbols, but highly speculative (for species with a total of less than 10 recoveries)

Table 3. The extent to which waterbird species from the Southwest Siberian study area make use of different flyways, based onring recoveries analysed in this study. For details see table 2.

+++

+++

two species (Northern Shoveler and Tufted Duck, seefigure 17 and 32) the recoveries of birds ringed inNorthwest and Central Europe are quite well separatedfrom those ringed in South Asia. However, in all otherspecies, recoveries from different wintering areas,although having a different position on average, arespread over the whole study area. This is especially thecase for recoveries of birds coming from the southwest(Caspian Sea, Africa). Considering that the study areameasures about 1700 km from west to east, the enor-mous mixing of birds using different flyways is a remark-able feature, which raises the question of what deter-mines the migratory direction in individual birds.

The importance of the area for moultingducks

The period of moult, especially wing moult, is a criticaltime in the annual cycle of ducks. Food requirements arehigh because of energy demand for moult feathergrowth and there is an increased risk of predationbecause of decreased manoeuvrability or even completeflightlessness. It is therefore likely that most species willhave particular habitat requirements during the moultingperiod relating to feeding conditions and safety frompredators. In a number of duck species, huge numbersof birds concentrate at a few favoured localities for wingmoult. At this time, the birds are extremely vulnerable todisturbance, over-exploitation and man-made catastro-phes. Thus, sites with large concentrations of moultingducks are of special importance.

Within the study area nearly all ducks ringed during wingmoult, originate from two important moulting areas: Mai-Sor Lake (Omsk Region) and Lake Chany (NovosibirskRegion). No information on species, numbers and trendsare available for Mai-Sor Lake. In case of Lake Chanyextremely large numbers have been reported from thefirst half of the twentieth century. No data are availableon the species composition of these moulting concentra-tions, but ringing records make it likely that Mallard,Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon,Garganey and Common Pochard must have all beenpresent in large numbers, Northern Pintail and CommonTeal being especially abundant. The ducks moulting inthe study area were heavily exploited and an uncon-firmed record mentions that 500,000 ducks were har-vested in the area and sold for consumption in 1933(Yurlov, pers com.). If this is a realistic figure the actualnumber of moulting ducks must have been enormous.The number of ducks has strongly decreased over time.At Lake Chany, in 1969, numbers had decreased toabout 200,000, whereas in 1992 no more than 60-80,000individuals were estimated (Yurlov pers. com.). Despitethis decrease, Lake Chany still qualifies as a cruciallyimportant area for ducks. The reasons for the strongdecline are said to be unknown. However, one canhardly imagine that the extraordinary toll taken by mandid not have an influence on the negative trend in num-bers observed.

The question arises whether the decrease in numbers ofmoulting ducks coincided with a decline of populations orwith a switch to other moulting areas (or both). On the

one hand it should be noted that several authors havesuggested that the Russian duck populations havedecreased enormously in the course of the twentiethcentury. Despite the fact that no reliable estimates of thepopulations are available, this factor may have played asignificant role. On the other hand, large concentrationsof moulting ducks have also been recorded at lakes inthe Regions Aktubinsk, Kustanay, Akmolinsk andPavlodar in northern Kazakhstan, at a relatively shortdistance from the Russian border, as well as along thenorthern shore of the Caspian Sea. This makes it possi-ble that other wetlands have (partly) taken over theregional function of Lake Mai-Sor and Lake Chany asmoulting areas.

Moulting areas are of special importance because theyare unusual. They often attract breeding birds from avery wide geographical area. Ducks moulting at LakeMai-Sor and Lake Chany could be linked to breedingsites in the taiga and tundra zones up to between 1250and 1750 km away (see recoveries of Northern Pintail,Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon and Common Teal).Similar observations are known from other moultingsites, e.g. those from northern Kazakhstan and thenorthern Caspian Sea. An analysis of data of NorthernPintails ringed during wing moult along the northernCaspian Sea shore shows several recoveries from theSiberian breeding grounds as far as 2000-3000 km tothe NW, N and NE (Ostapenko et al. 1997). The area of‘mass recoveries’ as defined by these authors rangesfrom about 40°– 85° E and 47°–70° N, showing thatmoulting sites may attract ducks breeding in an enor-mous area.

Policy implications

The conservation of long-distance migrant birds is aninternational matter which depends on proper co-ordina-tion of conservation activities and co-operation betweencountries. A range of inter-governmental Agreementshave been put in place in order to achieve this goal. Allof the species dealt with in this atlas are protected by theAfrican-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement(AEWA) under the Convention on Migratory Species(Bonn Convention). The Agreement area covers Europe,Africa and part of Asia with eastern boundaries runningfrom the delta of the Lena River in Northeast Siberia, viathe most westerly border of Mongolia and the southeastborder of Afghanistan to the western tip of the ArabianPeninsula. The Southwest Siberian study area coveredin this atlas lies within the AEWA region at its far easternborder. This study has shown that waterbirds breeding inor migrating through Southwest Siberia winter to a largeextent to the south (Indian sub-continent) and the south-west (SW Asia and Africa) and to a lesser extent to thewest (W, C & E Europe). This suggests that the areapresently considered as the Central Asian Flyway (CAF)area for which an inter-governmental Action Plan isbeing developed, forms an integral part of the flywaysystems used by waterbirds which are the focus of theAEWA. The findings of this study, therefore, reinforce thesuggestion of including the Central Asian Flyway withinthe AEWA.


57

Blums, P.N., & H. Litzbarski 1982. Coot, Fulica atra.In: Pavlov, D.S. (ed). Migrations of birds of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Falconiformes – Gruiformes. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow (in Russian).

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References

Annex I

59

Annex I

Species Ringed Recovered

Date Place Co-ordinates Date Place Co-ordinates

Pluvialis apricaria 22-03-72 Belgium 51.03-02.95 28-05-73 SW Siberia 58.93-81.58Tringa totanus 06-10-65 India 27.25-77.53 03-05-66 SW Siberia 52.83-79.88Limosa lapponica 07-11-77 Great Britain 55.68-01.63 25-05-79 SW Siberia 61.10-80.25Calidris minuta 15-01-65 South Africa 34.08-18.52 17-08-65 SW Siberia 54.95-72.67Calidris ferruginea 26-08-76 SW Siberia 54.57-78.12 08-08-80 India 10.30-79.85Calidris alba 13-09-84 SW Siberia 54.57-78.12 24-11-84 Thailand 13.45-100.20

Table 4. Waterbird species occurring in Southwest Siberia for which fewer than three ring recoveries have been obtained. Onlylong-distance recoveries have been included.

Geographical regions in Europe, Asia and Africa,as defined by Wetlands International (2002) fordescribing the ranges of waterbird populations

North Africa – Algeria, Egypt, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,Morocco, Tunisia.

West Africa – Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, CapeVerde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana,Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.

Eastern Africa – Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia,Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, UnitedRepublic of Tanzania.

North-east Africa – Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,Somalia, Sudan.

Southern Africa – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho,Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, SouthAfrica, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Central Africa – Cameroon, Central African Republic,Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, EquatorialGuinea, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe.

Sub-Saharan Africa – All African states excluding NorthAfrica as defined above.

Tropical Africa – Sub-Saharan Africa excludingLesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

North-west Europe – Belgium, Denmark, Finland,France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, TheNetherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United king-dom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

North-east Europe – The northern part of the RussianFederation west of the Urals.

Central Europe – Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia,Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,Poland, the Russian Federation around the Gulf ofFinland and Kaliningrad, Slovakia, Switzerland.

Eastern Europe – Belarus, the Russian Federation westof the Urals and Ukraine.

Western Siberia – The Russian Federation from theUrals to the Yenisey River and south to the Kazakhstanborder.

Central Siberia – The Russian Federation from theYenisey River to the Lena River and south to the AltaiMountains.

West Mediterranean – Algeria, France, Italy, Malta,Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia.

East Mediterranean – Albania, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel,Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Slovenia, Syrian ArabRepublic, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Turkey, Yugoslavia.

Black Sea – Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Republic ofMoldavia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey,Ukraine.

Caspian – Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran,Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan.

South-west Asia – Bahrein, Islamic Republic of Iran,Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon,Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic,eastern Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates,Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Western Asia – The western part of the RussianFederation east of the Urals and the states bordering theCaspian Sea.

Central Asia – Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

Eastern Asia – China (Mainland and Taiwan Island),Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan,Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation fromthe eastern edge of the Taimyr to the Sea of Okhotskand the Bering Sea.

South-east Asia – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic republic, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.


60

Annex II

Documents

An Atlas of Movements of Southwest Siberian Waterbirds