Scientists from Yamal and Great Britain inspected nests of gyrfalcons

The participants of the scientific and research expedition on study of the gyrfalcon – a species of the falcon, which is brought into the Red Books of Russia, of Yamal and also to the International Red Book, came back to Labytnangi.

Candidates of biological sciences Alexander Sokolov and Vasiliy Sokolov, the chief of the science division of the International Wildlife Consultants (UK) Ltd Andrew Dixon from Great Britain studied the gyrfalcon. During a week the participants of the expeditions inspected 7 nesting territories of this rare bird of prey, nesting was confirmed on 6 territories. Such high index confirms satisfactory state of population of gyrfalcons on the western hillside of the Polar Urals within borders of Yamal. Also it is a confirmation of close connection of this rare bird of prey with number of its basic victims – partridges. Besides, the researchers marked migration of other species from the Red Book – the white-tailed eagle. The birds flew along the Polar Urals to the north. As the press-service of the governor of Yamal informs, the expedition was the first stage of the integrated project on study of the gyrfalcon. Samples of blood of nestlings will be collected to study the genome within the project. The project on study of the gyrfalcon is financed by the Environment Agency of Abu-Dhabi (the United Arab Emirates) and being fulfilled by researchers from Great Britain, the institute of ecology of plants and animals at the Ural branch of the RAS from Yekaterinburg and also of the branch of the institute in Labytnangi. Besides, the participants of the expedition collected automatic photo-cameras, which had been placed this February in the district of the Yerkuta River in Yamalskiy district. They received more than 90 thousand photographs of polar foxes, wolverines and other predators. The scientific employees from Labytnangi will analyze the data of the automatic photo-cameras.