| Skogsøy | Webshop | Home | Travel | Gullfjell | Contact |
| Tjeldstø | Galleries | Offshore | Equipment | U.K. | Links |
| Øygarden | Services | Articles | Accomodation | Books |
The Russian Black Sea
13-22 April 2012
Map showing the
work area
The job was an inshore survey of two lines crossing the Black Sea from near Samsun in Turkey over to Russia. We stayed in a hotel onshore in the Russian holiday town of Arkipo Osipovka (Архи́по-О́сиповка) - a couple of hours drive from Krashnodar. We worked days on a small survey vessel, travelling to and from this vessel in a Rib.
More links to other pages covering birding the Black Sea:
 |
|
| Black Sea and Mediterranean, March 2010 |
Turkish Black Sea, May 2012 |
Spring was just
starting as we
arrived - most of the trees turned green during our stay in the area.
Bird migration was obviously well underway.
One of the commonest birds on the sea was Black-necked Grebe - with flocks of more than 20 seen at times. They were often quite vocal and were obviously getting prepared for the breeding season. Other grebe species seen were Great-crested Grebe (common) and a single Red-necked Grebe.
One of the commonest birds on the sea was Black-necked Grebe - with flocks of more than 20 seen at times. They were often quite vocal and were obviously getting prepared for the breeding season. Other grebe species seen were Great-crested Grebe (common) and a single Red-necked Grebe.
Black-necked Grebe were very common
Gargany were the most numerous duck identified - some large flocks passed during the first few days of the job. Other duck species included Mallard and Teal. A party of eight Mute Swans rested on the sea briefly one day.
Large flocks of Gargany were seen during the first few days of the job
This picture shows just a small part of a flock of Gargany - obviously migrating
A flock of Little
Egrets flying along the coast - with the cliffs as a spectacular
backdrop, April 2012
Arctic
Skua
chasing Meditteranean Gull, Black Sea, April 2012
Click on picture for more Arctic Skua images
Click on picture for more Arctic Skua images
For some reason I
had not expected
seabirds such as Black-throated
Diver or Arctic Skua. The former was quite common with several seen on
some days. Arctic Skua showed just twice - and I think this is the
first time I have seen them pursuing Mediterranean Gulls.
Black-throated Diver taking off beside a Red-necked Grebe, April 2012
Gull-billed Terns
were seen in some
numbers on a few occasions but only
a single Caspian Tern was seen.
Flock of Gull-billed Terns, Russian Black Sea, April 2012
Herons and egrets
were a common
sight, both overhead and on the shore.
By far the most numerous was Little Egret with large flocks passing
regularly. The next most numerous was Night Heron - singles or small
flocks were seen pretty much daily. Purple Herons, Grey Heron and
Squacco Heron were less common.
Part of a flock of migrating Little Egrets, April 2012
Click on picture for more images of Little Egret
Mediterranean Gulls were common - living up to their much better suited Norwegian name "svartehavsmåke" which means Black Sea Gull
Flock of migrating Night Herons
There were plenty
of gulls to be
seen but disappointingly no Pallas's Gull. Yellow-legged Gull,
Black-headed Gull and Meditteranean Gull were all common and
Slender-billed Gulls were seen on several occasions.
Slender-billed Gull, April 2012
Flocks of Yekouan Shearwaters were quite regular - passing in tight flocks close to shore as often as not. This contrasted starkly with the Turkish side of the Black Sea a couple of weeks later.
Flock of Yelkouan Shearwaters flying past
Onshore
there were also plenty of birds - just no time to see them.
Common Redstart were singing from many of the gardens.
In the evening Scop's Owl were very noticable along with Tawny Owl. Kingfishers were seen a few times both on the river and hovering over the sea along the shoreline.
On our second to last day a Glossy Ibis flew in and landed on a playing field close to the hotel - small flocks were seen flying over on a couple of occasions.
In the evening Scop's Owl were very noticable along with Tawny Owl. Kingfishers were seen a few times both on the river and hovering over the sea along the shoreline.
On our second to last day a Glossy Ibis flew in and landed on a playing field close to the hotel - small flocks were seen flying over on a couple of occasions.
One of a small group of Squacco Herons, April 2012
Glossy Ibis feeding on a playing field in Arkhipo Osipovka, April 2012
Dolphins were very common in the area, April 2012
Porpoises were very numerous, April 2012
Unfortunately there were four dead on the short stretch of shoreline I walked along
A view along the Black Sea coastline
AA
list
of species seen is
given below:
* = 1-9
** = 10-99
***= 100+
* = 1-9
** = 10-99
***= 100+
| English Name | Norsk navn | Scientific name | Numbers | Comments |
| Mute Swan | Knoppsvane | Cygnus olor | * | A flock of 8 resting on the sea 17.04 |
| Mallard | Stokkand | Anas platyrhynchos | * | |
| Garganey | Knekkand | Anas querquedula | *** | Some large flocks seen 13 & 14.04 |
| Black-throated Diver | Storlom | Gavia arctica | * | Several seen most days |
| Great Crested Grebe | Toppdykker | Podiceps cristatus | ** | Common |
| Red-necked Grebe | Gråstrupedykker | Podiceps grisegena | * | A single bird on 19.04 |
| Black-necked Grebe | Svarthalsdykker | Podiceps nigricollis | *** | Very common along the coast |
| Yelkouan Shearwater | Middelhavslire | Puffinus yelkouan | *** | |
| Great Cormorant | Storskarv | Phalacrocorax carbo | * | Single on 19.04 |
| Squacco Heron | Topphegre | Ardeola ralloides | * | |
| Black-crowned Night Heron | Natthegre | Nycticorax nycticorax | ** | Regular |
| Little Egret | Silkehegre | Egretta garzetta | *** | Large flocks flying along the coast regular |
| Grey Heron | Gråhegre | Ardea cinerea | * | |
| Purple Heron | Purpurhegre | Ardea purpurea | * | |
| Glossy Ibis | Bronseibis | Plegadis falcinellus | * | |
| Western Marsh Harrier | Sivhauk | Circus aeruginosus | * | Seen on the drive from Krashnodar to Arkhipo |
| Common Buzzard | Musvåk | Buteo buteo | * | A pair seen on site |
| Eurasian Coot | Sothøne | Fulica atra | * | Seen in Gelendzik harbour |
| Black-winged Stilt | Stylteløper | Himantopus himantopus | * | A single seen 14.04 |
| Common Sandpiper | Strandsnipe | Actitis hypoleucos | * | 4 on 20.04 |
| Arctic Skua | Tyvjo | Stercorarius parasiticus | * | Singles seen on a few occasions |
| Mediterranean Gull | Svartehavsmåke | Larus melanocephalus | ** | Common |
| Black-headed Gull | Hettemåke | Larus ridibundus | ** | Small numbers regular. 100's in Gelendzik harbour |
| Slender-billed Gull | Smalnebbmåke | Larus | ** | Common |
| Gull-billed Tern | Sandterne | Gelochelidon nilotica | ** | Some large flocks seen |
| Caspian Tern | Rovterne | Hydroprogne caspia | * | Single on 20.04 |
| Eurasian Scops Owl | Dverghornugle | Otus scops | * | Common! |
| Tawny Owl | Kattugle | Strix aluco | * | |
| Common Swift | Tårnseiler | Apus apus | * | |
| Common Kingfisher | Isfugl | Alcedo atthis | * | Singles regular |
| Eurasian Hoopoe | Hærfugl | Upupa epops | * | Small numbers on site |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | Dvergspett | Dendrocopos minor | * | |
| Barn Swallow | Låvesvale | Hirundo rustica | ** | |
| Common House Martin | Taksvale | Delichon urbicum | * | |
| Tree Pipit | Trepiplerke | Anthus trivialis | * | Heard overhead on 14.04 |
| White Wagtail | Linerle | Motacilla alba | * | |
| Common Redstart | Rødstjert | Phoenicurus phoenicurus | * | Common garden bird |
| Common Blackbird | Svarttrost | Turdus merula | * | |
| Eurasian Blackcap | Munk | Sylvia atricapilla | * | |
| Common Chiffchaff | Gransanger | Phylloscopus collybita | * | |
| Great Tit | Kjøttmeis | Parus major | * | |
| Eurasian Jay | Nøtteskrike | Garrulus glandarius | * | Common garden bird in Arkhipo |
| Rook | Kornkråke | Corvus frugilegus | * | |
| Hooded Crow | Kråke | Corvus cornix | * | |
| Northern Raven | Ravn | Corvus corax | * | |
| Common Chaffinch | Bokfink | Fringilla coelebs | ** | |
| European Goldfinch | Stillits | Carduelis carduelis | ** |
All content on this site, including Natural Born Birder logo, is copyright © 2005 - 2012
High resolution versions of most images on this website are available. Please contact me for further details or other enquiries