Khakass epics since ancient times tell us about the beauty of the wide-open space of the steppes, pristine lakes, richness and the variety of Khakass nature. Since long ago migrating birds - swans, ducks, cranes, geese, have visited Khakassia lakes as Khakassia is situated in the center of the Central-Asian migratory flyway. Some species of birds travel further to the north, but most of them stay there, build nests, and bring up nestling.
The Central-Asian flyway (or migratory route) crosses the territory of thirty countries, mainly continental, with wide, desert and semi desert spaces. During their flight, birds find a limited number of places suitable for rest stops. And such places are usually lakes, sand bars, creeks and wetlands. Many wetlands are located in regions with high population density and people actively use these territories without considering wildlife need.
In the steppe part of Khakassia, there is a large quantity of lakes and small rivers covered by cane and reed coast - a real paradise for migratory birds. The most popular place for spring and autumn migrations is the lake Ulug-Kol and several small lakes nearby.
The Reserve
"Khakassky" protects the wetlands of four lakes – Bele, Shira, Itkul and Ulug-Kol. In addition, in the space between rivers White Iyus and Black Iyus there is a unique Podzaplotsky Bog – marshes in the valley of Kizilka River. There is also a set of small, oxbow lakes throughout the bog, in varying degrees of plant recovery.
Ruddy shell ducks, large, bright-red ducks, might be the brightest and most appreciated visitors of Khakassia lakes. They arrive early, just as mallards (or wild ducks), in the first thawed patches and the first icy parts of the lakeshores. An interesting feature of these birds is that they build their nests far from water: in the holes of foxes, badgers, in niches and cracks of rocks, in heaps of stones or other shelters.
The most beautiful migratory birds is the crane. Two kinds of cranes come to Khakassia – a grey crane and the Demoiselle crane. The Demoiselle crane is the smallest kind of crane; its weight is only 2-3 kg and it is about 89 cm tall. Unlike other kinds of cranes, Demoiselle cranes are less adapted to marshlands and they prefer living in open areas. They actively feed and sometimes nest on arable and other agricultural grounds near water.
This year the spring migration season is unusually long. The flocks of birds are small. On lake Ulug-Kol, the largest flock of swans is 100-120 individuals, and on Lake Itkul, flocks of waterfowls do not exceed 20-50 individuals. Among the Shirinsky Lakes, the greatest biodiversity is found on Lake Bele. Totally about 20 species were detected at Bele Lake at the beginning of May. There are a lot of IUCN Red listed birds on boggy coast of this lake. Watch the migration in our
Yenisey birding tour.Resource: Elena, Kim, Khakassky Reserve
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