Pier winged Armada
Concepts like "Bird bazaar", "Bird colony" and more general "kingdom", reveal only when you get into these places. Swan Edge on Chukotka, Bird Bazaars of the Arctic, Colonies in the Volga Delta, in the south of the Crimean Peninsula – in the summer there is nowhere to fall here. But in winter, real bird kingdoms can be seen only in two corners of the Caspian. One of them is a Kyzhalaghajsky reserve, which in winter becomes a house for hundreds of thousands of feathery.
Kyzylaghajsky Reserve is located on the south-west shore of the Caspian Sea, in Azerbaijan. Created in 1929, he immediately became one of the most important in the country, and since 1975 he was included in the number of reserves with international importance for the preservation of waterfowl and chain birds. Its territory extending at 88, 4 thousand. ha, includes the waters of the Great Kyzylaghajsky Bay, the northern part of the Small Kyzylagazh Bay and land adjacent to these reservoirs. "Specialization" The reserve is determined by the above status – protection and reproduction of migratory, waterfowl, swamp and steppe birds in wintering.
Now in the reserve lives more than two hundred species of birds, including Sultanskaya Chicken, Turaka, Strept, Drop, Caparage, Kolkuitsa, Egyptian and Yellow Herons, Quakva, Swan, Flamingo, Gray and Belolaki Geese, Red Country Camera, Sokol-Sapsan, Steppe Eagle other. They arrive here literally from all edges: from Siberia, Kazakhstan, from the Southern Urals, from Northern Europe, India, Africa. Twenty types of feathered, including those living in the reserve, Sultanka and Turai, are listed in the Red Book. All year round here is dominated by Chomga and a small loyalty, which multiply on all surrounding reservoirs. When, from freshwater spills and estuary, water leaves, these birds fly to small and large bay, where and winter. As for the ceremony, only in the Kumbashinsky Plus of the Small Gulf during the winterings there are more than 2,000. At the same time, in winter, Sleeping and black-hungry joined. It is noteworthy that these small and rather modest waterfowl paint have quite unusual "voice" – They pour a tele, which is very similar to the sounds of the flute.
Winter flamingos look here, of course, more exotic other. Their favorite places – shallow water of the big bay. 50 years ago, the number of these birds reached the reserve to 20,000, now they are ten times less. True, the number of flamingos can heavily fluctuate depending on the year and even the month. Most of all, they are flown in shallow water in December-January.
The bird-symbol of the reserve is unlawfully considered Lyshukh, that very lyshukh, which "wears" on the head white leathery bloxt-"Cap", perfectly dives, but bad floats under water. In recent decades, the number of Lyshuch in the reserve was noticeably doused. This is due primarily with the activities of a person who shot a bird, and dragged the land, depriving her feed.
Sultanka, or Sultanskaya chicken, living here settled, belongs to the endangered species of birds in Russia. Learn it very simple: Nature endowed this chicken with long legs and very long fingers, which it can easily bring food to the beak. Noteworthy and painting birds – blue-green, bright, iridescent. Sultanka walks, nodding head at every step. Her favorite habitat is dense thickets in which she moves surprisingly deftly and quickly. With the same speed bird can climb and trees.
In general, the birds of Armada Kyzylagazhsky reserve coexist peacefully, without interfering with each other. For example, in the summer in these parts, you can observe mixed nest colonies of galleries and weary birds. Both, and others here live freely, satisfying, because the main square of the reserve is a water surface, and the rest of the sushi is represented by thickets of shrubs, mostly juniper, and very dry plots, so that the feed is enough in water, and on land. As for the plants, there are more than 350 species in the reserve, among which there are absolutely unique: Caucasus endemics – Poplar hybrid, plantain Nitevoid and dandelion Grossheim. Endemic for Azerbaijan is and radish is nicked. A special role in the flora of the reserve is played by reed communities, they "Fielded" almost a quarter of its square. Solid cane attitudes are found at the Akushinsky Gulf and in the north of the Small Bay. And along the coast of the Bolshoi Bay, the reed wall is three kilometer width. High Tamarix grows on the Lopatin Railing and Kalinovsky Liman. The coastal areas of the Bolshoi Bay – the real feeding plant of waterfowl – completely covered with thickets of the cheer and rupee spiral. More than 50 species of fish are found in local reservoirs: Herring, Sazan, Sudak, Kefal, are salmon and sturgeon. Mammals are represented by 23 species of 7 detachments. Many predators: wolves, jackals, foxes, reed cats, caress, wipes, and in cane thickets live "hordes" Kabanov.
The territory of the reserve, which is a seaside lowland, dwells in constant change, as well as its entire natural environment. This is primarily due to a change in the level of the Caspian Sea. The difference in landscape heights here does not exceed 4.5 m. The average annual temperature in the local edges ranges between + 13 ° and 14.5 °. Winter is usually -1 ° -3 °, snowfalls are rare and short-term. Frost at 15 ° happens once every ten years, as well as snow cover up to 1 meter high. In such a cold, the number of individual species of birds, of course, decreases. At the hottest time – in July-August – the average temperature is usually not lower than + 23 ° and not higher than 26 °, but sometimes it can rise to + 43 °.
In general, the dry subtropical climate of the semi-desert, which is peculiar to hot, dry summer and soft winter, is most pronounced in the north of the reserve, and in the south, in the Lenkran lowland, the climate of wet subtropics prevails.
Winter landscape of Kyzylagazhsky Reserve It is impossible to confuse with any other: in constant motion of thousands of feathers represent one huge dynamic picture that nature paints … Dark on the background of gray-blue water clusters and lycuch, pose flocks of flamingo, lonely sadness over water white herons and light wind plays thickets of dry cane.
