Lapland state nature biosphere reserve 1 Birds of the Lapland reserve They are the most beautiful and the sweet-voiced. They are being the most significant part of the wildlife as they are ranging everywhere on earth from one pole to another, from the highest Himalayas and the Andes to the impenetrable jungles of the Amazon river, Sahara deserts, rough seas and the most crowded cities, farmlands. From a biological standpoint, birds are generally character- ized, on the one hand, by metabolic rate, intensity of life pro- cesses, and on the other – transportation by air through flight. These two main peculiarities of birds determine significantly their biology. These very features of birds radically distinguish them from the other vertebrates groups and they are basic elements in diversity of unique adaptations of birds. There are birds that have lost an ability to fly, but some of them do perfectly swim and dive, the others run faster than anyone else. And there are those which spend all their lifes in air, landing only for a nest- ing period. With abundance of more than 100 billion they exceed all the other terrestrial vertebrate species! Theoretically, each pair of birds, for example, mallard, can grow about 8 nestlings per season. During 15 years of one pair life, their offspring will reach hundreds of billions. But there are environmental factors Birds of the Lapland reserve Birds are most remarkable among all animals because of diverse and often bright appearance and sounds they make, often due to demonstrative behavior. Singularity of birds let combine them in a special class among the other terrestrial vertebrate species: amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Mallard Within Russia there are 800 species of birds, representing more than 8 % of the world’s avifauna. 214 species are registered in the Lapland reserve.
Transcript
Lapland state nature biosphere reserve
1
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
They are the most beautiful and the sweet-voiced. They are being the most significant part of the wildlife as they are ranging everywhere on earth from one pole to another, from the highest Himalayas and the Andes to the impenetrable jungles of the Amazon river, Sahara deserts, rough seas and the most crowded cities, farmlands.
From a biological standpoint, birds are generally character-ized, on the one hand, by metabolic rate, intensity of life pro-cesses, and on the other – transportation by air through flight. These two main peculiarities of birds determine significantly their biology.
These very features of birds radically distinguish them from the other vertebrates groups and they are basic elements in diversity of unique adaptations of birds. There are birds that have lost an ability to fly, but some of them do perfectly swim and dive, the others run faster than anyone else. And there are those which spend all their lifes in air, landing only for a nest-ing period.
With abundance of more than 100 billion they exceed all the other terrestrial vertebrate species! Theoretically, each pair of birds, for example, mallard, can grow about 8 nestlings per season. During 15 years of one pair life, their offspring will reach hundreds of billions. But there are environmental factors
Birds of the Lapland reserve
Birds are most remarkable among all animals because of diverse and often bright appearance and sounds they make, often due to demonstrative behavior. Singularity of birds let combine them in a special class among the other terrestrial vertebrate species: amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
Mallard
Within Russia there are 800 species of birds, representing more than 8 % of the world’s avifauna. 214 species are registered in the Lapland reserve.
2
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
ABCGheritage – Our common arctic heritage
that regulate the numbers. The main factors are 1) fertility; 2) available feed resources; 3) availability of habitats, including nesting sites; 4) predators; 5) weather; 6) diseases; 7) parasites.
Human activity ever-growing in time specifically affect abundance and inhabitation of birds. Anthropogenic ef-fects are not always negative, and some species prosper next to people.
Since the beginning of technological revolution about a hundred of birds’ species has died off for 300 years. About 200 species of birds are threatened. In the Murmansk region 42 birds species are under a special monitoring and included in a special Red List as rare and endangered species.
General description of Lapland avifaunaWithin Russia there are 800 species of birds, represent-
ing more than 8 % of the world’s avifauna. 214 species are registered in the Lapland reserve, nesting of 123 species is observed. Abundance of species similar to those of the bird population in central Russia is determined by diversity of bio-topes in the reserve. Eurasia mainland is rich in monotonous forests, bogs and mountain ranges stretching for thousands of kilometers. In Lapland mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, val-ley forests, birch crooked-forests, bog and tundra in different forms are represented in miniature along hundreds kilometers of Lapland. Lapland is characterized by a shortage of meadows.
Another reason for the diversity of species – is migration ways of arctic and subarctic birds populations of Eastern Eu-rope, Siberia, the Arctic islands crossing the region. Thus ma-rine and tundra species are typical in a period of migration, rare atypical for the region birds sometimes can be met.
The third reason – is the northern border of southern spe-cies area in the reserve and the variability of this border due to weather and other factors. Therefore, 91 species (42 % of the avifauna content) appear only sporadically, i.e. fly from southern directions on a migration wave – during overflights for nesting places or back to hibernation. Because of severe environmental conditions in Lapland, bird abundance is still low comparing to density of birds of the same species in more southern similar habitats.
finches – 16, buntings – 8. 1 species from the other families: starling, waxbird, dipper, wren, hedge sparrow, goldcrest, long-tailed tit, nuthatch, creeper, house sparrow) – 90.
From 214 species 17 are non migratory, another 25 species hibernate if feed is available, the other 172 species – migrants. A part of “sedentary” fly out of their winter nesting to areas with bigger choice of feeding located not always away from nesting. Fly off is more typical for young birds as well as for females rather than males. It means birds staying character is not simple, they adequately use a variety of options in re-sponse to the dynamics of habitat conditions. Our northern subarctic species are interesting with their ability not only to survive, but to propagate safely in harsh weather conditions and limited selection of feed.
The most common birds species of LaplandWhooper Swan – CygnuscygnusLappish – nuchtch (adultbird) and yetm (young one with
a gray plumage). In English Whooper Swan.Whooper Swan is one of the symbols of Lapland known to
everyone from childhood. Pure white plumage of a whooper in conjunction with a huge size and a sonorous voice always excite admiration. Swan fidelity – it also attracts and it is not just a romantic fiction, relations of swans pair is everlasting as well as geese, their close relatives. Whooper Swan is our larg-est flying bird, weight of adult swans is 8–12 kg, sometimes up to 14 kg, spread is up to 2.5 meters. Males are much larger than females.
They require run to start from water or ice. A length of a double step on snow is 70 cm, and on a take-off – from 160 to 330 cm by the end of run. Paw print size is 16–17 cm long and 15–16 cm wide.
Whooper Swan
Merlin is flying
Geese
Golden eagle
Wheatear
Whooper Swan is our largest flying bird, weight of adult swans is 8–12 kg, sometimes up to 14 kg, spread is up to 2.5 meters.
Whooper arrives in March – early April. They are not afraid of cold, require open shallow water or small springs for feed-ing. Swans live on aquatic plants, pulling them from a bottom, aided by a long neck.
A bird nests on lakes of forest-tundra and taiga zones, sometimes in tundra, while migration keeps to valleys of ma-jor rivers and sea shores. Nests in form of massive peat piles are arranged on islands of small lakes, hard-to-get coastal areas and occupied repeatedly and by different generations. In laying there are 5–7, rarely 2–9 eggs of a creamy white color. Female is hatching for 31–40 days. A male is protect-ing a nest. They live on a variety of aquatic plants in shallow waters of lakes and rivers. Chicks start flying after 2 months. Breeding birds are mewing at brood and single ones are head-ing to feeding shallow lakes and rivers, some mew by 1–2, at that whooper swans lose the ability to fly like geese and ducks. Swan nestling have a gray plumage during the first year
4
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
ABCGheritage – Our common arctic heritage
of life (“ugly duckling” from the fairy tale of Andersen!). Birds become mature at the age of 4–6 years, but couple earlier in adolescence.
They fly off in October – November when shallows are freezing. More than one thousand individuals hibernate on non freezing water bodies of the southern Russia and Western Europe.
Whooper swan unlike a mute swan is very cautious during a breeding season. When disturbed it tries to leave a nest with a laying and lead away a brood in another pond often located in several kilometers. It is not hard to imagine how endangered are nestlings while crossing taiga!
glukhar, moshnik (cock), kopalla, kopalukha (hen). In English – Capercaillie.
Capercaillie is taiga resident bird. It is called this way as while performing a courtship song loses a hearing ability for a period of time due to ear bone displacement.
The largest representative of galliformes in our region. Cock’s weight reaches 5 kg, hen’s – 2.5 kg. They prefer inhab-iting forests with pines, in summer they live in other forests as well.
In February and March the birds begin gathering at lekking grounds, locating in pine overripe woodlands, ridges and sun scorch, swamps – places with early thaw holes. They start with “drawing” (milling on snow with wings held out and erected neck), performing fragments of area, they lek from end of March up to beginning of June. Hens arrive on courting grounds. The birds don’t make constant pairs.
Nests are located at pine or another tree foot or under fall-en trees or large stone, quite open. This is small pit among vegetation with a thin bed of fallen leaves and needles. Clutch consists of 4–14, often 5–8 eggs, their color is pale, ocher
A pair of whooper staling off from water
A pair of wideon
The Capercaillie’s nest with a full clutch Capercaillie is posing
Capercaillie is taiga resident bird. It is called this way as while performing a courtship song loses a hearing ability for a period of time due to ear bone displacement.
Hazel grouse in winter
Hens on gravel
5
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
Lapland state nature biosphere reserve
or light brown, with dark brown spots. A hen hatches eggs up to 30 days and brings up chicks. Chicks begin to flit starting from the age of 8 days.
Capercaillie lives on leaves, flowers, berries, seeds of various herbaceous plants and shrubs, in snow season – pine needles, cones and twigs, needles and juniper berries. They pick inver-tebrates, especially chicks do.
Like the other species of Tetraonidae Capercaillie digs into snow in winter. In autumn they go on gravels, where they gain quartz stones for milling rough winter feed in a muscular stomach. Cocks and hens form separate flocks, at that cocks keep to more thin areas that is related to their worst take off capabilities due to a large weight. Flocks reach 50 or more individuals.
Birds are mute. Courting song is short, consists of two parts. The first one – “clapping” – “tk... tk... tk ...tk-tk-tk-tktktktktk” passes into the second phase, called “popping”, “grinding” as sounds resemble rasp of metal touching a stone while grind-ing. During a “grinding” phase Capercaillie doesn’t hear, that is why it received such a name. Sometimes it sings in autumn. Disturbed cock produces “ho” sounds sitting on a tree or while taking off. In this situation a hen produces a deep nasal sound “ok, ok...”.
Rough-legged Buzzard – ButeolagopusLappish name – rechp-ougti (rechp – white partridge) and
kemmes-chiihch.Rough-legged Buzzard is a bird of prey. In winter it replaces
a common buzzard in the central part of Russia which migrates to south. Why it is called like this? Other names are – rough-legged hawk and mice-eater reflect Rough-legged Buzzard’s plumage peculiarity and feed specialization. Rough-legged buzzard nests in Lapland during increase of voles and lem-mings population, at this time annoying sounds it produces are audible in every tundra, bog and thin forest. In “mice-less”
A pair of wideon
The Capercaillie’s nest with a full clutch Capercaillie is posing
Hazel grouse in winter A pair of ptarmigan
Hens on gravel
6
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
Siberian Jay Blue headed wagtail
ABCGheritage – Our common arctic heritage
years it roams. The bird has a solid appearance: weight is up to 2 kg, spread – up to 1,5 m and attractive “predatory” look. Top is dark, bottom wings and tail are nearly white with black spots on a wing bend and a wide strip along a tail edge and 1–4 narrower strips.
It comes to Lapland early, when snow is still not melted, but thaw holes are seen in hills and bogs.
to similarity of the plumage color, general appearance with that of a goshawk, but a hawk owl is also similar to a goshawk with its behavior: fast direct flight, can swoop down its kill. Plumage is not soft as owls have, but rough. It is open and curious: can accompany a traveler for kilometers, may suddenly approach a fire and “welcome” by its specific sound. This is where its Lappish names comes from (O.I. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky).
Rough-legged buzzard is flying
Grown up chicks of a rough-legged buzzard
Great gray owl
Similar to all owls, specific rigid feathers form a facial disk; relatively large head; powerful beak, with a sharp, cool curved hook on the end and cutting edges. Head is very mobile, can be rotated on 270°. Large eyes are directed forward. Legs are strong, armed with long hooked claws, two fingers are pointed forward and two fingers – back.
It inhabits forests mainly of taiga and tundra zones. Among all types of in the Kola Peninsula it prefers old fire sites. Hunt-ing rodents they fly in mountain tundra. In spring song of a male is a sonorous fast trill. Nests in “mice” years. Nests are
It inhabits various types of plain and mountain tundra, for-est tundra; in northern taiga inhabits thin forests and open areas – meadows, bogs, fire-sites. Nests within the reserve are organized on trees and The reserve is large enough nest on trees and ledge rocks. Depending on feed conditions from 1 to 7 eggs are laid. Their color is white, slightly bluish. Females are mainly sitting on eggs. Brooding lasts up to 30 days. Chicks remain in nests for about 6 weeks. When feed is abundant, hunting excess is accumulated on a nest margin. In “mice-less” years rough-legged buzzards switch to catching birds, from small passerines to partridges, ducks, sometimes – asp, insects, carrion. After leaving a nest chicks are nourished and taken care by adults. Migrate in September – November with first snow. Birds overwinter not so far away, in forest steppe, steppe.
also choosen vuoppe “spark-owl”; as a legend says that an owl swallows fire sparks). In English – Hawk owl.
This is a northern species, probably it is so active in a day-time, as well as a snowy owl. The name was given thanks
Rough-legged buzzard nests in Lapland during increase of voles and lemmings population.
7
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
Lapland state nature biosphere reserve
to similarity of the plumage color, general appearance with that of a goshawk, but a hawk owl is also similar to a goshawk with its behavior: fast direct flight, can swoop down its kill. Plumage is not soft as owls have, but rough. It is open and curious: can accompany a traveler for kilometers, may suddenly approach a fire and “welcome” by its specific sound. This is where its Lappish names comes from (O.I. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky).
Rough-legged buzzard is flying
Hawk owl chick has left the nest
Grown up chicks of a rough-legged buzzard
located insemi-hollows of high stumps, hollows, sometimes in old nests of corvids, bullheads. Nest location and clutch depend on feeding conditions. Laying consists of 3–9 eggs, occasionally – 13 eggs. Incubation – 25–30 days. Сhicks are of a different age, leave a nest approximately in one month before they start flying, are fed by parents for a long time not far from a nest. Prey are predominantly voles, mice, lemmings. Birds don’t nest in case lack of them. Can catch squirrels, small birds, sometimes successfully attack hazel grouses, partridges and even Capercaillie, and this is with a hawk owl’s weight of 300–400 grams! They are the bravest and most aggres-sive of our owls. While the author of this paper was inspecting the nest of a hawk owl, a hen attacked him in the back of the head and also pulled a hat. In winter they live permanent-ly around a nesting area or undertake migrations, sometimes distant ones, moving mainly to the south, to the forest and steppe pine forests.
Siberian Tit – Parus Cinctus Lappish – avvkyadzintch or avi-kyadzintch. In English – Si-
berian Tit.Siberian Tit is the most northerly representative of the vast
family of tits. The most familiar large tit of Lapland lives next to the humans, is encountered in nests only in a breeding sea-
Great gray owl
Hawk owl is the bravest and most aggressive of our owls. In winter they live permanently around a nesting area or undertake migrations.
Similar to all owls, specific rigid feathers form a facial disk; relatively large head; powerful beak, with a sharp, cool curved hook on the end and cutting edges. Head is very mobile, can be rotated on 270°. Large eyes are directed forward. Legs are strong, armed with long hooked claws, two fingers are pointed forward and two fingers – back.
It inhabits forests mainly of taiga and tundra zones. Among all types of in the Kola Peninsula it prefers old fire sites. Hunt-ing rodents they fly in mountain tundra. In spring song of a male is a sonorous fast trill. Nests in “mice” years. Nests are
ABCGheritage – Our common arctic heritage
8
Bird
s of
the
Lapl
and
rese
rve
son. They are quite similar with their ways of life, behavior, a Siberian Tit is of a smaller size and more trusting. It always flies up when meets someone, cheerfully greets or vice ve rsa, grumbles. Siberian Tit is frequently encountered while search-ing for feed with the other birds: crossbill, redpoll, Siberian Jay. One of the few resident birds of the region. In dead of winter taiga is a place where one can most likely encounter a crow, Siberian Tit, white grouse, capercaillie, Siberian Jay. Part of the population, mostly young birds, fly away in winter to the south.
Siberian Tit with its nest
Siberian Tit’s chicks are asking to be fed
Siberian Tit lives on both animal and plant feed. In summer it is mainly insectivores.
It nests preferably in mature coniferous forests with an ad-mixture of birches along major rivers and lakes valleys. During non-breeding season they are encountered virtually in all types of forests, including young growth in fire sites and clearings, wetlands and mountain thin forests. In natural conditions tits usually occupy hollows of a three-toed or great spotted wood-pecker, sometimes nests are placed in cavities in place of a fall-en aspen or birch branch. Unlike a willow Tit it doesn’t make hollows. In laying there are 6–10 eggs of a white color, with rare small red-brown spots. Female hatches for 13–16 days. Chicks leave a hollow aged 15–16 days. Siberian Tit lives on both animal and plant feed. In summer it is mainly insecti-vores. Vegetation food prevails in snowy period and consists of seeds of spruce, pine, birch, juniper berries cow-wheat seeds including those stocked in autumn. In winter animal feed consists of spiders and their cocoons, aphids, beetles, wasps, butterfly caterpillars. They feed on remains of dead animals or killed by predators. In bird feeders they peck meat, bacon, flour products. The maximum known age is 7 years.
