Крупные Пернатые хищники Мугоджар, Казахстан
Methods The Mugodzhary mountains are very ancient mountains located in the center of a wide steppe valley. They are located in the watersheds of the Emba, Or and Irgis rivers. We surveyed the Mugodzhary Mountains on 15-24 May 2004 and on 15-22 May 2006. The total length of the survey routes was 2150...
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Общество с ограниченной ответственностью «Сибэкоцентр»
2007
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| Summary: | Methods The Mugodzhary mountains are very ancient mountains located in the center of a wide steppe valley. They are located in the watersheds of the Emba, Or and Irgis rivers. We surveyed the Mugodzhary Mountains on 15-24 May 2004 and on 15-22 May 2006. The total length of the survey routes was 2150 km (1438 km -2004, 712 km 2006). All the breeding territories of raptors that were found were GPSed and mapped using GIS software (ArcView 3.2a, ESRI, CA, USA) for a subsequent calculation of the breeding density. The study areas included all types of rocks, steppes and forests, which are very characteristic for the surveyed territory. All territory of Mugodzhary with an area of 8917 km2 has been divided into natural regions (Fig. 1, Table. 1). A number of species noted as breeding in a study area was extrapolated for the total area of the region with a similar landscape and vegetation conditions. We set 6 study areas with a total area of 1127.96 km2 for the recording of raptors in the Mugodzhary Mountains (Fig. 2). Sizes of study areas were 571.23 km2 in 2004 and 304.98 km2 in 2006, the area of overlaying was 8.6%. The territory of Mugodzhary picked out on the GIS includes 96.5% of the territories of study areas. It is 11,2% of the whole territory of Mugodzhary. Results of studies Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) The single active nest was found on 18 May 2006 (Fig. 3). It was located on a shelf in the middle section of a cliff 30 m high. Two chicks were in the nest. Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) We found 2 active nests at the foot of the western slope in the middle region of Mugodzhary (Fig. 4). An occupied nest was noted on a metal electric pole on 19.05.2006. That nest was occupied by the Steppe Eagle in 2004. The second nest, with a recently laid egg, was found on a large single elm tree in the Kunduzdy river valley on 21.05.2006. The density of the Imperial Eagle in the Mugodzhary Mountains was 0.2 pair per 100 km2. A total of 15-20 pairs are estimated to live in the Mugodzhary Mountains. Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) During surveys we found 48 nests in 47 breeding territories of the Steppe Eagle. Four nests were had clutches of 2 eggs. Four nests had broods. The average brood size was 2.25±0.5 chicks (range 2-3). We didn't visit 17 nests where we suspected hatching to be in progress. Five nests were being built by eagles at the time of the survey. Nine nests were empty because of death by posterity or from electrocution of the adults on power lines located near the nests. Another nest was very old without any signs of breeding. The 58.33% of the nests we found were located on the elevated relief elements such as slopes of a river and creek valleys, ravines, slopes and tops of cliffs and rocks (n=48). Nearly half of these nests (n=28, 53.57%) were built up on scattered stones often under bushes (Spiraea sp., Caragana sp.). Other nests were on bushes (Spiraea, Crataegus) on elm trees (18.75%) at a height of 0.1 3.0 m (on average 2.1±1.0 m), on different cliffs(14.58%), on electric poles and just on the ground at the foot of electric poles (4.17% each respectively). The density was 1.51 pair/100 km2. The distance between the nests was 3.3±1.67 km (n=43; 0.95-8.65 km). A total of 238-298 pairs of Steppe Eagles are estimated to breed in Mugodzhary. Short-Toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) During our surveys we found 10 breeding territories of the Short-Toed Eagle; active nests with clutches that consisted of an egg were found in 7 territories. One nest had a dead clutch, one nest was empty because of unknown reasons, and a pair exhibiting breeding behavior was noted in one breeding territory, although their nest was not found. In total we found 12 nests of the Short-Toed Eagle, 3 of which were old nests in occupied territories. Four nests (44,4%) were located on birch trees, mainly in branch forks on the middle parts of crowns at a height of 3-6 m. Only one nest was located on the top of a birch tree. Three in 4 nests were located on single trees in creek valleys and only one nest was found in the edge of forested flood-lands. Six nests were on river cliffs and located on shelves in the middle part of cliff at a height of 48 m. Exactly 3 nests were not built up by Short-Toed Eagles but probably by the Long-Legged Buzzards. Two nests of one pair (old and active) that were located were absolutely untypical: they were on the tops of rock ranges amongst hills and were built up on bushes (Caragana sp.) at a height of several centimeters. The average distance between nests of different pairs was 9,42±6,08 km (n=8; 2,22 20,61 km). The average density in the middle part of Mugodzhary was 1.19 pairs/100 km2 (0,69 2,07 pairs/100 km2). A total of 10-16 pairs are estimated to live here. The density of the Short-Toed Eagle in the hilly area of the northern part of the eastern slope was 1,85 pairs/100 km2 (including areas where species was not noted). A total of 25-45 pairs are estimated to live in the territory. We project 70 pairs of the Short-Toed Eagle to breed in the whole territory of the Mugodzhary mountains. Long-Legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) We found 22 nests (12 active) in 19 breeding territories of buzzards: 2 active nests weren't visited, 2 nests were with clutches (3 eggs per each), 8 nests contained broods. The average brood size was 3,0±1,07 chicks (range 2-4 chicks). Five nests were empty by reason of death of chicks (3) or adults (2), one nest was being built by birds at the time of the survey and 7 nests were old. Adult birds were killed from electrocution in one case and were eaten by the Eagle Owl in another. The average brood size was 3,5±1,0 chicks in 2004 (n=4) and 2,5±1,0 chicks in 2006 per successful nest. The biggest portion of the nests was located on cliff-faces (90,9%), 55,0% (n=20) of which was on river cliffs, others on rocks of ranges and canyons. The average height of nest location was 10 m, with a range of 1,5-40 m. Only a nest was found on a concrete electric pole and a nest on an elm-tree in an artificial line-forest. The average distance between nests located on cliffs in the study area 2006/1, where almost all nest of buzzards had been found, was 6,07±3,33 km (n=7; 2,80-11,9 km). In the middle part of Mugodzhary the average density of the Long-legged Buzzard was 1,19 pairs/100 km2 (range 1,03-1,70), in the northern part of the eastern slope2,77 pairs/100 km2, and in the southern part of the eastern slope of Mugodzhary2,08 pairs/100 km2. Two last territories unlike the middle part of mountains were characterized by a distribution of buzzards to be less monotonous. Under the average density of buzzards 1,41 pairs/100 km2 we project 90-140 pairs of the Long-legged Buzzards to breed in the all territory of Mugodzhary, about a half of them breed in cliff-faces in the northern part of the eastern slope of Mugodzhary. Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) Two old nests of the Golden Eagle occupied by sakers several years ago were found on 18 May 2006 in a river valley in the northern part of the eastern slope of Mugodzhary. Both nests were located on shelves of a cliff on high 20 and 30 m accordingly, the distance to the nearest active nest of the Golden Eagle was 810-870 m. Evidently last time the sakers were nesting here in 2005. We found last year's pellets and feathers in one nest, and remains of tail feathers of a chick probably dead in the nest, another nest was more old. However we didn't note the fresh signs of nesting at the time of the survey. Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) The average density was 1,98 breeding pairs/100 km2 (range 1,03-3,41 pairs/100 km2) in the middle part of Mugodzhary. We project 70-110 pairs to breed in the Mugodzhary mountains. During surveys we found 16 breeding territories of the Eagle Owl. Adults were noted in 5 territories: in three cases we observed birds and in 2 cases we heard calls, in one case we found feathers, pellets and remains of various prey. We found 15 nests of the Eagle Owl in 11 territories: 2 Nests contained clutches with 3 and 4 eggs, 4 nests were with chicks, 4 nests were empty by reason of death of clutches (3 cases) or brood (1 case), 5 nest were old in occupied territories. The average brood size was 3,25±0,5 chicks (range 3-4 chicks). In one brood we noted the carcass of youngest chick that had been trampled down by elders, judging the condition of the carcass it had been happened before our visit a day ago. 86,67% of nests were located in niches or grouts of river cliffs. Only 13,33% of nests were found on cliff-faces of mountain slopes. The most part of nests were located in foot of cliffs 46,7% or in niches in the middle part of cliffs40,0%, only 2 nests were found in the upper and bottom parts of cliffs one nest (6,7%) per each. The second half of May in the steppe zone is the period when The Eagle Owl usually has chicks, but the interesting fact that we found nests with fresh and incubated clutches in that period (17 May) in 2006. Most likely the main reasons of such a late breeding were the bad weather in March-April and a low number of prey. Methods The Mugodzhary mountains are very ancient mountains located in the center of a wide steppe valley. They are located in the watersheds of the Emba, Or and Irgis rivers. We surveyed the Mugodzhary Mountains on 15-24 May 2004 and on 15-22 May 2006. The total length of the survey routes was 2150 km (1438 km -2004, 712 km 2006). All the breeding territories of raptors that were found were GPSed and mapped using GIS software (ArcView 3.2a, ESRI, CA, USA) for a subsequent calculation of the breeding density. The study areas included all types of rocks, steppes and forests, which are very characteristic for the surveyed territory. All territory of Mugodzhary with an area of 8917 km2 has been divided into natural regions (Fig. 1, Table. 1). A number of species noted as breeding in a study area was extrapolated for the total area of the region with a similar landscape and vegetation conditions. We set 6 study areas with a total area of 1127.96 km2 for the recording of raptors in the Mugodzhary Mountains (Fig. 2). Sizes of study areas were 571.23 km2 in 2004 and 304.98 km2 in 2006, the area of overlaying was 8.6%. The territory of Mugodzhary picked out on the GIS includes 96.5% of the territories of study areas. It is 11,2% of the whole territory of Mugodzhary. Results of studies Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) The single active nest was found on 18 May 2006 (Fig. 3). It was located on a shelf in the middle section of a cliff 30 m high. Two chicks were in the nest. Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) We found 2 active nests at the foot of the western slope in the middle region of Mugodzhary (Fig. 4). An occupied nest was noted on a metal electric pole on 19.05.2006. That nest was occupied by the Steppe Eagle in 2004. The second nest, with a recently laid egg, was found on a large single elm tree in the Kunduzdy river valley on 21.05.2006. The density of the Imperial Eagle in the Mugodzhary Mountains was 0.2 pair per 100 km2. A total of 15-20 pairs are estimated to live in the Mugodzhary Mountains. Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) During surveys we found 48 nests in 47 breeding territories of the Steppe Eagle. Four nests were had clutches of 2 eggs. Four nests had broods. The average brood size was 2.25±0.5 chicks (range 2-3). We didn't visit 17 nests where we suspected hatching to be in progress. Five nests were being built by eagles at the time of the survey. Nine nests were empty because of death by posterity or from electrocution of the adults on power lines located near the nests. Another nest was very old without any signs of breeding. The 58.33% of the nests we found were located on the elevated relief elements such as slopes of a river and creek valleys, ravines, slopes and tops of cliffs and rocks (n=48). Nearly half of these nests (n=28, 53.57%) were built up on scattered stones often under bushes (Spiraea sp., Caragana sp.). Other nests were on bushes (Spiraea, Crataegus) on elm trees (18.75%) at a height of 0.1 3.0 m (on average 2.1±1.0 m), on different cliffs(14.58%), on electric poles and just on the ground at the foot of electric poles (4.17% each respectively). The density was 1.51 pair/100 km2. The distance between the nests was 3.3±1.67 km (n=43; 0.95-8.65 km). A total of 238-298 pairs of Steppe Eagles are estimated to breed in Mugodzhary. Short-Toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) During our surveys we found 10 breeding territories of the Short-Toed Eagle; active nests with clutches that consisted of an egg were found in 7 territories. One nest had a dead clutch, one nest was empty because of unknown reasons, and a pair exhibiting breeding behavior was noted in one breeding territory, although their nest was not found. In total we found 12 nests of the Short-Toed Eagle, 3 of which were old nests in occupied territories. Four nests (44,4%) were located on birch trees, mainly in branch forks on the middle parts of crowns at a height of 3-6 m. Only one nest was located on the top of a birch tree. Three in 4 nests were located on single trees in creek valleys and only one nest was found in the edge of forested flood-lands. Six nests were on river cliffs and located on shelves in the middle part of cliff at a height of 48 m. Exactly 3 nests were not built up by Short-Toed Eagles but probably by the Long-Legged Buzzards. Two nests of one pair (old and active) that were located were absolutely untypical: they were on the tops of rock ranges amongst hills and were built up on bushes (Caragana sp.) at a height of several centimeters. The average distance between nests of different pairs was 9,42±6,08 km (n=8; 2,22 20,61 km). The average density in the middle part of Mugodzhary was 1.19 pairs/100 km2 (0,69 2,07 pairs/100 km2). A total of 10-16 pairs are estimated to live here. The density of the Short-Toed Eagle in the hilly area of the northern part of the eastern slope was 1,85 pairs/100 km2 (including areas where species was not noted). A total of 25-45 pairs are estimated to live in the territory. We project 70 pairs of the Short-Toed Eagle to breed in the whole territory of the Mugodzhary mountains. Long-Legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) We found 22 nests (12 active) in 19 breeding territories of buzzards: 2 active nests weren't visited, 2 nests were with clutches (3 eggs per each), 8 nests contained broods. The average brood size was 3,0±1,07 chicks (range 2-4 chicks). Five nests were empty by reason of death of chicks (3) or adults (2), one nest was being built by birds at the time of the survey and 7 nests were old. Adult birds were killed from electrocution in one case and were eaten by the Eagle Owl in another. The average brood size was 3,5±1,0 chicks in 2004 (n=4) and 2,5±1,0 chicks in 2006 per successful nest. The biggest portion of the nests was located on cliff-faces (90,9%), 55,0% (n=20) of which was on river cliffs, others on rocks of ranges and canyons. The average height of nest location was 10 m, with a range of 1,5-40 m. Only a nest was found on a concrete electric pole and a nest on an elm-tree in an artificial line-forest. The average distance between nests located on cliffs in the study area 2006/1, where almost all nest of buzzards had been found, was 6,07±3,33 km (n=7; 2,80-11,9 km). In the middle part of Mugodzhary the average density of the Long-legged Buzzard was 1,19 pairs/100 km2 (range 1,03-1,70), in the northern part of the eastern slope2,77 pairs/100 km2, and in the southern part of the eastern slope of Mugodzhary2,08 pairs/100 km2. Two last territories unlike the middle part of mountains were characterized by a distribution of buzzards to be less monotonous. Under the average density of buzzards 1,41 pairs/100 km2 we project 90-140 pairs of the Long-legged Buzzards to breed in the all territory of Mugodzhary, about a half of them breed in cliff-faces in the northern part of the eastern slope of Mugodzhary. Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) Two old nests of the Golden Eagle occupied by sakers several years ago were found on 18 May 2006 in a river valley in the northern part of the eastern slope of Mugodzhary. Both nests were located on shelves of a cliff on high 20 and 30 m accordingly, the distance to the nearest active nest of the Golden Eagle was 810-870 m. Evidently last time the sakers were nesting here in 2005. We found last year's pellets and feathers in one nest, and remains of tail feathers of a chick probably dead in the nest, another nest was more old. However we didn't note the fresh signs of nesting at the time of the survey. Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) The average density was 1,98 breeding pairs/100 km2 (range 1,03-3,41 pairs/100 km2) in the middle part of Mugodzhary. We project 70-110 pairs to breed in the Mugodzhary mountains. During surveys we found 16 breeding territories of the Eagle Owl. Adults were noted in 5 territories: in three cases we observed birds and in 2 cases we heard calls, in one case we found feathers, pellets and remains of various prey. We found 15 nests of the Eagle Owl in 11 territories: 2 Nests contained clutches with 3 and 4 eggs, 4 nests were with chicks, 4 nests were empty by reason of death of clutches (3 cases) or brood (1 case), 5 nest were old in occupied territories. The average brood size was 3,25±0,5 chicks (range 3-4 chicks). In one brood we noted the carcass of youngest chick that had been trampled down by elders, judging the condition of the carcass it had been happened before our visit a day ago. 86,67% of nests were located in niches or grouts of river cliffs. Only 13,33% of nests were found on cliff-faces of mountain slopes. The most part of nests were located in foot of cliffs 46,7% or in niches in the middle part of cliffs40,0%, only 2 nests were found in the upper and bottom parts of cliffs one nest (6,7%) per each. The second half of May in the steppe zone is the period when The Eagle Owl usually has chicks, but the interesting fact that we found nests with fresh and incubated clutches in that period (17 May) in 2006. Most likely the main reasons of such a late breeding were the bad weather in March-April and a low number of prey. |
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