bird
Little bunting (Emberiza puzilla), Coal Mines, Chukotka, Russia.

Chukotka, part 6: Lowland tundra (continued)

Southern tundras have much more shrubs than typical tundras: in some places you have to make your way through alder, birch and willow forests up to 3 m tall. Just ten years ago they were very local north from Anadyr River, but now they cover extensive areas in river valleys and foothills all over Chukotka, except for the Arctic Coast.

plant
Northern bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), Volchya Valley.
plant
Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), Volchya Valley.
view
Ioanna River Valley.
These shrublands are difficult to cross and full of bugs in summer, but they are a much better place than typical tundras for surviving the winter. A lot of wildlife uses them as shelter. view
Ioanna River Valley.
view
Ioanna River Valley.
view
River delta, Cross Bay, Chukotka.
Rivers of Chukotka flow over permafrost so they erode their banks rather than bottoms. Most of them consist of countless channels, and can be difficult to cross. view
River valley, Cross Bay, Chukotka.
view view
Naleds, Iskaten Range.
bird
Fledgling Arctic redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni), Volchya Valley.
In winter, rivers freeze to the bottom in some places. Water breaks the ice and freezes on top of it. These ice plugs, called naled in Russian, often don't melt until the next winter. bird
Fledgling Arctic redpoll, Volchya Valley.
mushroom
Birch bolete (Leccinum scabrum), Volchya Valley.
mushroom
Mosquitoes, Sbornaya River.
bird
Gray-tailed tattler (Heteroscelus brevipes), Cross Bay.
Tattlers are rare inhabitants of river valleys. Gray-tailed tattler inhabits wet, broad valleys and deltas, while wandering tattler prefers fast foothill rivers with riparian forests, and nests on trees. bird
Gray-tailed tattler, Cross Bay.
bird bird
Wandering tattler (H. incanus), Ioanna River.
nest
Nests of dusky thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Dionisia Mt.
As vegetation zones shift to the north, many southern species increase their ranges. Chukotka is being rapidly colonized by lynxes, forest lemmings, dusky thrushes, magpies, swallows and numerous southern insects and plants. So far, northern species don't seem to be in trouble, but things might change very rapidly. nest
Nest of snowy owl (Bubo scandiaca),
Cape Schmidt.
bird bird
Vega gulls (Larus vegae), Coal Mines.
bird
Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis), Cross Bay.
Warming climate makes it easier for wildlife to cross the Bering Strait. Asian bird species are now colonizing Alaska, and American ones are establishing in Siberia. bird
Sandhill crane, Cross Bay.
squirrel squirrel squirrel squirrel
Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryi), Dionisia Mt.
squirrel
Arctic ground squirrels, Dionisia Mt.
Mammals of lowland tundra are usually difficult to see, but Arctic ground squirrels are very tame and often live in towns. squirrel
Arctic ground squirrel living in a metal pipe, Dionisia Mt.
squirrel
Arctic ground squirrel tracks, Belyaka Spit.
squirrel
Arctic ground squirrel, Cross Bay.
squirrel
Arctic ground squirrel, Belyaka Spit.
squirrel
Arctic ground squirrel, Anadyr Airport.
hare
Alaskan hare (Lepus othus), Sbornaya River.
Hares of Chukotka have been recently found to belong to an Alaskan species, not to mountain hare (L. timidus) of Eurasia. hare
Alaskan hare, Sbornaya River.
view
Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), Volchya River Delta, Chukotka, Russia.

Part 7. Mountain tundra

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