Falk Huettmann

Dept. of Biological Sciences, 8888 University Drive, Simon Fraser University (SFU) Burnaby/Vancouver B.C. CANADA V5A 1S6, Email: falk.huettmann@ec.gc.ca, Tel. +1 (604) 291 4475, Fax +1 (604) 291 3496

In the year 2000 we were able to carry out investigations of migrating shorebirds in southern Sakhalin Island (spring migration), western Kamchatka and Magadan region (fall migration). We followed-up on last year's work on migration of shorebirds focusing on Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (Calidris canutus) and Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), in the Sea of Okhotsk (SOFO) region along the East-Asian Australian Flyway. The work was previously supported by Wetlands International and Environment Australia, and received this year kind support from the Ralph Brown Award. The project was carried out in collaboration with Russian colleagues (V. Zykov for Sakhalin, Y. Gerasimov for Kamchatka, and I. Dorogoy and A. Andreev for Magadan, and others).

Our trip to Sakhalin Island started from St. Petersburg, where the University of St. Petersburg, the WWF office and the Zoological Museum was visited. The local shorebird collections and libraries were investigated and experts were met. During the following days, the Zoological Museum in Moscow was also investigated for specimen collections of shorebirds, and literature searches in the library. In addition, experts on several issues, e.g. ornithology, conservation and wildlife research, were met.

Domestic planes and trains were used for all long-distance travel within Russia. Transport to all the sites mentioned below was done by truck, jeep, public bus or foot. For studies in mudflats and river deltas, we made extensive use of rubber boats, and hip waders.

After arriving in Yushno-Sakhalinsk via Khabarovsk we started with an investigation of Busse Lake (46 ^o 2' N, 143^o 6' E ) 11 May, 12 May and 19 May. At the Busse Lake region it was very windy, with ice just thawing and snow still laying on the shores. This lake has fresh water and brackish water, extends appr. 4 km, has tidal mudflats and is connected to the Sea of Okhtosk through a narrow and shallow channel (mouth). We did not find any relevant numbers of shorebirds in this region during counts carried out at low tide and at high tide. A typical set-up of species observed as follows (2 km shoreline of Busse Lake on the sand spit towards Sea of Okhotsk):

-250 Ducks (mostly Common Teal Anas crecca, feeding on mudflats)

-120 Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis, only observed from second visit on)

-100 Dunlin (Calidris alpina, only observed from second visit on)

-15 Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla flava)

-2 Black Kites (Milvus migrans)

In addition, the shore of the Sea of Okhtosk was surveyed whenever possible. A typical result of such a beach scan for marine wildlife in the Busse Lake region resulted in 300 Common Gulls (Larus canus), 400 Laughing Gulls (Larus ridibundus), 40 Slaty-backed Gulls (L. schistisagus), 10 Black-tailed Gulls (L. crassirostris), 5 Wigeons (A. penelope), Scaups (Aythia spp.), 15 Common Teals, 90 White-winged (Melanitta fusca) and Surf Scoters (M. perspicillata, flying by), 1 Cormorant (likely Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus), 2 White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) and 30 Crows (Corvus corone). Only very few seals and no other sea mammals were seen. Most gulls were seen near the mouth of the lake, where tidal currents and shallow sandbanks occur.

From May 13 – 22 we surveyed as the main location of our attention the mouth of Aniva Bay (Salmon Bay; 46 ^o 8' N, 142^o 9' E ), which lies app. 150 km further up north than Busse Lake. A typical bird species configuration of migrants for the app. 2.5 km long shoreline of the muddy spit and its tidal mudflats were:

-over 1000 Common Terns (Sterna hirundo, resting on sandbanks)

-350 Dunlins (numbers increased to 1300 towards 20 May, which is likely the week of their first migration peak)

-300 Red-necked Stint (numbers increased to 2100 towards 20 May, which is likely the week of their first migration peak)

-40 Long-toed Stints (C. subminuta, numbers were only slightly increasing towards 21 May)

-15 Lesser Sandplover (Charadrius mongolius, slight increase of birds observed during our stay)

-6 Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres)

-2 Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

-2 Common Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus, not always observed)

2 Godwits (likely Bar-tailed, resting far away in the mudflat)

-Swans (max. observation of 80 individuals)

-Whimbrels (Numenius phaenopus, max observation of 20 individuals, most of Whimbrels observed were feeding)

-Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoenciculus, probably pre-breeding birds from the surrounding reed-beds)

Far Eastern Curlews (N. madagascarensis) were only seen occasionally and in pairs. We saw only 1 Great Knot (!); there was speculation about one Spotted Greenshank (Tringa guttifer) sighting (made from 15 m distance), but it could not get confirmed or photographed, nor were any relevant sightings from this area known for this bird in last years. Nevertheless, Aniva Bay is the area where the first historical breeding records were reported from, and typical nesting habitat is currently found there (larch tree Larix dahurica). In addition, the classical area for Spotted Greenshanks north of Sakhalin Island was reported to be delayed in terms of breeding time due to ice coverage when our investigation was carried out.

On every day we saw between 2 and 4 White-tailed Eagle (likely breeding birds), and on 21 May one Peregrine Falcon (Falco pregrinus) was observed. Occurrence of such predators could potentially indicate peak of shorebird migration.

All shorebirds we observed were in breeding plumage already. The weather was often very foggy, and the spring sun just started to warm up the bay. At both locations, Busse Lake and Aniva Bay, strong and managed hunting activities for ducks were observed.

Besides shorebird counts, research on foraging paths of shorebirds in mudflats were carried out, too. Droppings of Red-necked Stints were collected for future investigations, and five specimens were collected for morphometric studies and future stable isotope analysis by the author. Preliminary results indicate that for the time of study female Red-necked Stints differed from males in having no intense red breast and a white forehead. This topic needs future investigations.

Population counts were carried out as surveys for absolute units of shore and beach, but I also I investigated different counting schemes for shorebirds (comparisons of point counts, line transects, scan and absolute counts). For each location visited benthos samples were collected, and soil investigations were made. As mentioned already, scan counts were done at all the locations possible for offshore wildlife. Few harbour seals were found, but no other sea mammals. Also beach debris surveys were carried out at these sites indicating small amount of waste, which normally came from local fishing and hunting activies. However, plastic parts were most dominant.

Driving along the steep and rocky shore of Sea of Okhotsk between Aniva Bay and Busse Lake hardly resulted in any bird and shorebird findings; a few swimming Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus, <20 birds ) and some Scoters were seen.

At each coastal forest of the study sites, distance transects were carried out to investigate the abundance of forest birds in the coastal forests of the Sea of Okhotsk, a so far 'overlooked' habitat type. Most of these forests consisted of larix dahurica trees, and the surveys were dominated by lower numbers of Oriental Greenfinches (Carduelis sinica) sitting in trees, or flying by. When resting Oriental Greenfinches were singing from tree tops they were sometimes accompanied by tits (Parus spp.), Northern Winterwren (Troglodytes troglodytes) and other locals bird species. Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Siberian Rubythroat (Luscinia calliope), Pipits (Anthus spec) and displaying Lathams Snipe (Gallinago hardwickki) were observed, too. Jungle Crows (Corvus macrorhynchus) occurred mostly in affiliation with human settlements.

A trip to the Sea of Okhotsk shore southeastern Sakhalin Island on May 20 showed that the Sea of Ohkotsk still had ice cover and that these sections were hardly used by shorebirds. Except for few Red-necked Stints (20), Sanderlings (C. alba, 15), Dunlins (5) Mergansers (Mergus serrator 2) and gulls, no birds of interest were found during two hours of intense searching of the 3 km long sand beach. However, inshore lakes near by had large numbers (>5000 individuals) of waterfowl, mainly Scaups and Teals, and to a lesser degree Wigeons and Longtailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis).

Typically, the grasslands of the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk harboured Stonechats (Saxicola torquata), Larks (e.g. Skylark Alauda arvensis), Pied (M. cinerea) and Yellow Wagtail, soaring Black Kites and few displaying snipes. Some of the coastal grasslands were traditionally burnt down to keep the vegetation short. Occasionally, Oriental Greenfinches were observed in small flocks migrating.

Despite intense surveying and scanning for shorebirds our studies did not result into any sightings of leg flags, nor were any Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Erynorhynchus pygmeus) seen. As an interesting finding, mudflats in a forest near Aniva village contained 80 Woodsandpiper (Tringa glareola, plus 50 Dunlin and 20 Red-necked Stint). At the sewage treatment plant of Yushno-Sakhalinsk a bigger concentration of Wood Sandpiper (appr. 400 birds) and Long-toed Stint (appr. 150) was found, likely on migration passage. Birds were very approachable and this presents opportunities for further studying.

During the time of our trip more and new references were compiled for a literature review on Russian references on the subject of shorebird migration along the flyway in the Sea of Okhotsk region.

A larger section of the Kurile Island Chains are administrated by Sakhalin Island government, and thus would potentially qualify for further studies on shorebird migration, with Yushno and Sakhalin Island as expedition basis. However, most literature references do not suggest that shorebirds use them as a migration flyway in spring and fall migration; although some but few conflicting references exist.

For the fall migration of shorebirds in the year 2000 we were able to visit the Kamchatka and Magadan region. 29 July – 13 August 2000 I stayed in Kamchatka. We were not able to visit the Gulf of Penzhina region. After a three day wait in Petropavlovsk for a helicopter flight to Sobolevo we started finally by car to another but very typical river delta in Southwest Kamchatka on the Sea of Okhotsk called Ust Bolsheretsk (52 ^o 30' N, 156^o 2' E). Due to its long sandspit, appr. 20 km long, and a river delta being appr. 30 km big, it presents a characteristic habitat type for the Sea of Okhotsk. After 3 h by boat ride from the local fishing village downriver we camped at three different sites near the river mouth and the Sea of Okhotsk. There we surveyed different but small sections of the large mudflats, including some sections of the coastal tundra (tundra surveys). For each site mudflat benthos samples and wader droppings were collected; I also investigated foraging patterns of the few Red-necked Stint. Despite very high numbers of mosquitos in the tundra region, the weather was cold, and it rained 4 out of 6 days.

Below a typical species set-up for the region (mudflat and shore of adjacent lake with brackish water):

-70 Whimbrel (flying in flocks, max. 300)

-40 Dunlin (360 max.)

-40 seals (colony)

-15 Red-necked Stint (60 max)

-10 Raven (Corvus corax, max. a flock of 60, all in wing moult)

-10 Common Tern (max 50, breeding, adult and juvenile)

-5 Black-headed Gull (mostly in moult)

-5 Oriental Greenfinch

-4 Slaty-backed Gull (15 max)

-2 Aleutian Tern (Sterna aleutica)

-2 Bar-tailed Godwit (only observed on 9. August)

-2 Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

-2 Long-toed Stint

-2 Parasitic Jaeger

-1 Mew Gull (300 max, mostly in moult)

-1 Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus, observed only once)

Almost all shorebirds encountered were in alternate plumage (towards breeding plumage).

The tundra transects were characterized by the following species:

-Siberian Rubythroat (adults and juveniles)

-Grashopper Warbler (Locustella spp., L. ochotensis and L. lanceolata)

-Yellow Wagtail

-Whimbrel

-Oriental Greenfinch

-Pipit spec. (e.g. Pechora Pipit A. gustavi, Red-throated Pipit A. cervina)

-Reed Bunting

-Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus)

Strong evidence of Brown Bears were found.

On our way back to the fishing village upriver, 3 h by boat, I observed in the river delta appr.

-10000 Mew Gulls

-8000 large dark undefined Gulls

-2000 Common Terns

-2000 Slaty-backed Gulls (adult) + 800 juveniles

-80 Dunlin (feeding on rafts of floating seaweed)

-80 Greenshank (T. nebularia)

-50 Whimbrels

-40 Common Sandpipers

-15 Woodsandpipers

A scan count for the narrow sand spit on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk resulted in 500 Mew Gulls, 50 Slaty-backed Gulls and 1000 Black-headed Gulls; likely related to the intense fishing activities. A beach debris count was also carried out, resulting in smaller amounts of fishing related waste.

Later on, Whimbels were seen migrating even 25 km away from the coast, supporting that Whimbrels migrate in fall along a relative broad flyway. This might have implications for the monitoring and population sizes for this species.

From a conservation aspect, I was overwhelmed by the intensity of the local salmon fishing activities (fishing mostly for Pink Salmon) in this region. Due to latest governmental orders it is apparently not allowed anymore to leave dead salmon meat behind after harvesting the fish eggs (Russian Ikra = salmon kaviar).

After leaving Kamchatka via Vladivostok I stayed in Magadan 14 August – 27 August for a repeat of shorebird survey locations as investigated in the previous year. We were not able to visit additional areas this year.

The Ola Lagoon (59^o 30' N, 152 ^o 0' E) was visited at low tides at 15, 17, 18 August (early morning and evening), 19 August (early morning and evening), 21 and 25 August. As in the previous year, we did not see shorebirds in the sky actually migrating. Species assemblages on mudflats were similar to the ones from the year 1999, but many more Great Knots and some more Red Knots were found. This was likely due to the fact that we were able to survey this area two weeks earlier than last year. Another reason could be that the year 2000 was a better year for the productivity of Great Knots in their breeding region (Anadyr river region, Chukotka). However, at the Ola Lagoon the Great Knots and Red Knots were very accessible and allowed good study opportunities.

Benthos samples were taken,droppings of Great Knots were collected. Behaviour scans and pecking rates of Great Knots were carried out in relation to tidal stages. Great Knots were observed feeding very intensely, with an small but increasing percentage of feather ruffling and bathing after high tide. Almost all Great Knots observed were identified as juveniles. For areas surveyed, the Abdominal Profile Indexes (API) of Great Knot ranged between class 2 (5%), class 3 (30%), class 4 (35%), and class 5 (35%) with some fluctuations. Daily observed Great Knot numbers varied between 600 and 1200 individuals, likely due to search effort and survey location.

Within Great Knot flocks we saw few Red Knots, with 40 individuals being the highest observation. Although APIs changed, a high proportion o f birds had an API of class 5. It is possible that fluctuations in APIs and observed bird numbers were caused by a fast turn-over rate of birds. Getting estimates on turn-over rates would deserve more attention in future studies.

In addition, similar species and numbers than last year were observed for the Ola Lagoon:

-Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus), Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), Slaty-backed Gull, Common Tern, Grey-tailed Tattler (Heteroscelus brevipes), Greenshank, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (C. acuminuta), Golden (Pluvialis fulva) and Black Plover (P. squatarola).

On 22 August one trip was carried out to the Yana River Delta (59^o 30' N, 148 ^o 0' E) in order to compare our findings with last year. Due to strong rainfalls in previous days, the mudflats were mostly underwater. However, after some searching we found the following shorebirds appr. 2 km upriver, at identical locations where we saw them last year at several surveys on exposed mudflats (all birds seen where feeding intensively):

-20 Great Knots (mostly juveniles)

-15 Red-necked Stints

-15 Godwits (mostly Bar-tailed)

-1 Terek Sandpiper

-appr. 30 Common Teal flying by

The mouth of Yana river showed some migration of passerines, mostly pipits, larks and to a lesser degree Locustella warblers; ground squirrels were also observed. At high tide Great Knots we seen in three flocks (30+25+40) in the tundra habitat. We expect that these birds were feeding on berries or taking up small stones, which we found in stomachs of collected individuals. Previously, it was a mystery to us where these birds are located at high tides and when not found on the mudflats. Due to our finding of birds in the tundra, we think that the neighbouring tundra might present an important place for resting shorebirds while on southward migration. For future stable isotope analysis, morphometric and feeding studies, six Great Knots were collected; we also collected six Red-necked Stints, one Bar-tailed Godwit and four Black-tailed Godwits for the same purpose.

On our way to Yana River and back, we were not able to investigate other rivers since they mostly were flooded. But we observed at a small tidal mudflat of Siviky River a flock of shorebirds consisting of :

-20 Dunlins

-15 Red-necked Stints

-20 Grey-tailed Tattler

-10 Common Greenshanks

-2 Woodsandpipers

-3 Whimbrels

Close to a fishing village we found 200 seals on the shore, and a raft of 150 White-winged Scoters sitting on the sea.

For all locations visited in the Magadan region we did not locate any leg bands, nor were any Spoon-billed Sandpipers seen.

As a side aspect, we were able to forward two local band recoveries from the Magadan region given to A. Andreev by locals for birds banded in Australia to the Australian banding office (C. Minton for further details).

Clearly, our counts and surveys cover only a small area and a short period of time; they are far from complete. However, for the focal species, Great Knot, Red Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit, they should contribute to a solid overview and identification of selected sites for these species. Our study allows to put the shorebird migration of the Sea of Okhotsk in a spatial, temporal and quantitative context to other East-Asian Australian Flyway studies.

For the sites visited, we did not locate any relevant numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit at all. Southern sections of Sakhalin Island had none of our three focal species during the time that northwards passage would be expected. During fall migration, Red Knot were only encountered in very small numbers at the Ola Lagoon, and juvenile Great Knot were found in the Magadan region in decent numbers , but not in Southwestern Kamchatka. Our findings are still cononsistent with the idea of a non-stop long-distance migration strategy for all three species in spring and fall migration. Major sections of the adult breeding population for each of the focal species during migration in the Sea of Okhotsk region still await discovery. The southern section of Sakhalin Island is either not on the major spring flyway for the focus species, or these species would fly over in a non-stop manner. For fall migration, the same can be concluded for Bar-tailed Godwit in the southern Kamchatka and in the Magadan region. For Great Knot and Red Knot we conclude that the southeastern region of Sea of Okhotsk is not used as a resting or stopover site during fall migration. But according to our findings, to local observation reports and to published information, the northern sections of the Sea of Okhotsk, and also the Amur river appear to be relevant. Alternatively, a non-stop long-distance migration for parts of the population of this species could also explain our findings, and birds leaving certain breeding grounds, or concentrating in the northern sections of the Sea of Okhotsk, would need more investigation in order to address this question.

As pointed out last year, we suggest that likely higher numbers of shorebirds can be found Northwest of Sakhalin Island, Northwest of Kamchatka, westwards and eastwards of Magadan, Gulf of Penzhina, and in the Amur river delta. These areas await further investigations to complement andr improve the picture we currently have on shorebird migration in the Sea of Okhotsk region along the East-Asian Australian Flyway.

Further details of this work are forthcoming as a report and as scientific papers; please contact the author for remaining questions.

FH likes to thank T. Labrum (Ralph Brown Award) for his very pleasant, quick and uncomplicated support of this project. In addition, P. Battley, D. Rogers, M. Barter, D. Watkins, C. Minton and all project collaborators in Russian Far East, Moscow and St. Petersburg were crucial to make this project a success. Besides Y. Gerasimov, I. Dorogoy, A. Andreev, P. Tomkovich, I. Savinitch and S. Resviy, FH likes to thank specifically Yu. Kondratiev, N. Chernetsov, M. Stishov and V. Bocharnikov. Further help and support was kindly given by A.W.Diamond, F. Cooke, R. Butler, G. Kaiser, G. and J. Visram, Linke-Welte family, I. and P. Presse, H. and U. Huettmann, and certainly J. and S. Linke.