Fauna and bird population of the basin of the middle reaches of the Kara River (Polar Urals, Bolshezemelskaya tundra) based on to the results of expedition studies in 2017 and 2023

Abstract

The article presents the results of ornithological studies carried out in the basin of the middle reaches of the Kara River on the border of the Polar Urals and the Bolshezemelskaya tundra in the field seasons of 2017 and 2023. The routes covered a part of the valley of the middle reaches of the Kara River, sections of the valleys of the Halmershor 2nd, Lyadheyakha, Nyarmayakha, Yunyakha, Nerusaveyakha, Silovayakha, Halmer-Yu rivers and adjacent sections of the plakors. The relevance of the work is due to the fragmentary study of the territory and the need for monitoring to better identify the avifauna of a relatively inaccessible area of the Subarctic. During the research, 70 species of birds were recorded, 53 of which were breeding or likely to breed. The results of the work made it possible to carry out an inventory of the avifauna of the middle reaches of the Kara River basin, which had not previously been fully surveyed. Regular nesting in the tundra zone was confirmed down to the subzone of typical tundra, the steppe arrier Circus macrourus and the Siberian curlew Prunella montanella. The stability of the populations of the species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation is demonstrated: the peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus and the little swan Cygnus bewickii. The revealed difference in the fauna and population of birds in the same area in different years with similar weather conditions confirms the necessity of monitoring these indicators in the Arctic and Subarctic.