In the last century, the bustard (Latin: Otis tarda) became endangered due to mass hunting and agricultural land expansion. It once had a large population, but since the mid-1960s, the world’s bustard population has declined by more than a 30%.
The bird is now protected by the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and various international conventions. In Buryatia, the Bustard is a consistently rare species, which requires annual monitoring of its numbers not only within specially protected natural areas (SPNAs), but also in border areas where there is no protection regime.
In 2023, Burpriroda received a grant from the Lake Baikal Foundation to study the status of the population of the eastern subspecies of Bustard in the Borgoisky Wildlife Refuge as part of the programme for the conservation of rare, endangered and endemic species of the Baikal Natural Area.
The project solves two problems at once:
- conducting counts of bustard numbers within the Reserve and in border areas during the post-breeding and pre-breeding periods;
- development and publication of a booklet on the bustard in the south of Buryatia with recommendations for its conservation.
Interim results
The first work carried out in October 2023 revealed the departure of the main mass of birds to Mongolia. According to V.E. Kazanov, the Reserve’s Conservation Officer, and local residents, single and small (2-4 individuals) flocks remained in the Reserve.
During the surveys, the main autumn habitats for birds were identified – harvested fields with crop residues, fallow lands overgrown with weeds in the hollows along streams and rivers, and places of annual (permanent) roosts. Conditions of winter 2023, namely low snowfall, in some places complete absence of snow cover, strong winds, did not allow birds to stay here for wintering.
At the same time, the materials on the ‘sinking grounds’ identified in autumn helped to record the bird in spring 2024. On the eve of 11 May, World Migratory Bird Day, state inspectors managed to capture 3 birds on video in the reserve.
At the end of May and beginning of June, it is planned to continue survey work in the pre-breeding period, and in the summer of 2024 – to publish a booklet on the bustard in the south of Buryatia with recommendations for its conservation.
Interesting facts about the project and the bustard:
- The research site – Borgoi Wildlife Refuge – was established in 1979 in fulfilment of the international Convention ‘On the Protection of Migratory Birds and their Habitats’ concluded between the governments of the USSR, USA, India, South Korea, Canada and Japan.
- If a bustard is scared away from its nest, it will never return.
- Adult bustards, which are heavy in weight and heavy in flight, flee in case of danger. During autumn rains, the wings of the bird get wet and freeze, making the bustard an even easier prey.
The project was made possible thanks to the support of Siberian Wellness, the corporate trustee of the World Around You Foundation; the “Need Help” and “Code of Good” Foundations; and the Christmas fundraising fair “Khoroshkola”.