This is an article from RAPTOR-LINK - a newsletter on Russian Birds of Prey and
Owls.  Information about the newsletter could be obtained from Eugene Potapov
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
BIRDS OF PREY OF THE MIDDLE BIKIN RIVER (RUSSIAN FAR EAST).
        In May-June of 1992 and 1993 a team of Moscow ornithologists
surveyed 300 km of valley woodlands of the Middle Bikin River (from the
settlement of Verkhniy Pereval to s. Krasniy Yar up to the Rodnikovaya
Meteorological station). This area is the last unfragmented part of the taiga
of Ussuri type in the Russian Far East. Of the owls, the Screech Owl (Otus
sunia) and Ural Owls (Stix uralensis) are the most common. The
BlackistonUs Fish Owl (Ketupa blakistoni) was found in all surveyed regions
and its population is in comparatively good condition. The Collared Scops
Owl (Otus bakkamoena) was not seen; Brown Hawk Owl (Ninox scutulata)
was recorded only once near Verkhniy Pereval settlement. The Crested
Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) and Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
are common in the area. A cluster of nests of Ospreys (Pandion heliaetus)
was found near the Krasny Yar settlement (6 nesting pairs near the
Rodnikovaya Meteorological Station). There were single records of Besra
(Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Hobby (Falco subbuteo)
and Amur Red-footed Falcon (Falco amurensis). The two latter species were
seen in farmlands near the Verkhny Pereval settlement. There were no
sightings of Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle (Butastur indicus), White-tailed Sea
Eagle (Heliaeetus albicilla), ohter Eagles, Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo).
The latter was recorded in the area in 1990.
 
Konstantin E. Mikhailov, Paleontological Institute, Profsoiusnaya st. 123,
Moscow 117647, Russia.
Until August 1994 the address is: Deptartment of Geology, University of
Bristol, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK.