It is probably easier for shorebirds to get to Siberia than it is for Australian bird banders, but one way to try is via the Russian Academy of Science. Since 1988 they have run research expeditions to the Russian Arctic to conduct bird inventories and monitor threatened species and each year self-paying volunteers are able to join the expedition (if they are able to wait for the visa paperwork to arrive at the last moment).

Chukotka (capital Anadyr) is a province in far-eastern Siberia. The 2007 Expedition focused on the south Chukotkan tundra between the latitudes of 62 and 65 degrees N.  The team consisted of 6 Russian scientists and 4 volunteers.  The major foci of the 2007 expedition were Great Knots and Spoon-billed Sandpiper.  My ambition was to experience the tundra and band whatever birds came my way.

An early task of the expedition was to search for Great Knot nests, not an easy task as the birds choose to breed on the top or upper slopes of hills 300-500 metres above sea level rather than on the coast or in the valleys.  In early June snow still covers at least 50% of the tundra so travel is only possible on foot or using a ‘caterpillar’, a vehicle rather like a tank that can travel over most terrains.  For 8 days in early to mid June eight people searched south-facing mountain slopes and windswept plateaux tops in the Golden Ridge Mountains about 30kms to the north-east of Anadyr.  However, the nests are incredibly hard to find.  The birds’ breeding plumage camouflages them wonderfully well in the lichen and prostrate shrubs of the alpine vegetation found on the hilltops, and they remain motionless on the nest until searchers are within 4 or 5 metres of their spot.  The only strategy is to walk and walk (and walk). After 8 days of searching only 2 nests had been found, each with 4 eggs that seemed to be half way through their 3 week incubation period.   No attempt was made to catch the birds.

The next phase involved a visit to a sandy coastal spit.  This is spoon-billed sandpiper country where, in 2006, the Russians had found 4 nests. After much careful observation 2 nests were found and one bird was banded after being caught using a spring trap fitted over its nest that worked like a mousetrap.  I actually had the opportunity to hold this gorgeous bird in my hand while it was photographed.   The other bird proved to be already banded and flagged.   Several other nests of Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Grey Plover and Turnstone were found, but for all species it was too early for chicks to have hatched.

10 days after finding the nest, with 90% of the snow now melted, 2 of us were dropped near to the site of one of the Great Knot nests.  The bird and nest contents had disappeared, so the fate of that breeding attempt is not known.  However, the next two weeks were spent searching the surrounding hills and 6 separate broods were found.  A lot of walking was still involved, although this time the adults helped by making loud alarm calls when we were within 100 metres of their chicks.  Despite this assistance actually finding the chicks proved very difficult.  The broken rocky terrain prevented long distance viewing and provided numerous hiding places for the cryptically-coloured chicks.  In the end I only succeeded in catching and banding one chick.  This is how I described it in our bird log:

……a chick was sighted standing motionless on a low lichen area.  The parent continued the alarm calls every few seconds all the time I was present.  The chick remained absolutely motionless - not even moving its head for the next 30 minutes.    The chick was 50 metres from me, with the adult 25 metres from the chick and me (in a triangle situation).  A slow walking-upright approach to the chick was made.  The parent’s call became more strident but it did not move.  The chick remained motionless and I walked up and picked it up.  Unbelievable! 

Sadly catching other chicks did not prove so easy.   There were several broods of red-necked stints in the swampy valley near our camp each with 2 or 3 chicks.  It was wonderful to watch the families feeding in the flowers and grasses through my telescope – but very very difficult to get your hands on them.  The parent bird was always extremely vigilant, giving the alarm at between 25 and 50 metres, and by the time we’d dashed to the spot where the chicks had been sighted they had generally de-materialised into the vegetation.  After much effort 4 chicks were caught, banded and flagged.   And, if red-necked stint proved a challenge, golden plover were impossible!  Unlike stints or knots both birds remained with the chicks, always with one on guard many metres away from the feeding chicks  and, once you’d been spotted, their alarm calls went on and on so there was no further hope of catching the chicks unawares.

 On our journey back to Anadyr in the caterpillar we found an easier way of catching chicks.  By coincidence some birds were walking in the tracks made by the vehicle as it came to pick us up.  When startled by the noise of the approaching vehicle their instinct was to run but the easiest place to run was along the track.  Thanks to the speed of others, who could leap off the roof quicker than I, four golden plover chicks were caught and banded and a young whimbrel was caught but not banded as we didn’t have the right band size. 

Our last efforts at chick-chasing were made on Ringed Plover chicks.  They live on the pebbly banks and islands of streams near the coast.  They look like pebbles and they can run very fast.  But by working in pairs with one person tracking them with binoculars while the other one ran around chasing them it was possible to catch those that were not very old, and we managed to get our hands on 4 chicks.  But once nearly fledged, they were far too quick for us!

 The bands we used had a Russian return address.  The leg flags were pale green – not a good colour in our view as they will probably fade and be indistinguishable from stained New Zealand flags, but apparently the only colour that the Russians could be allocated.    Please keep an eye out for those flagged and banded chicks – particularly the Great Knot – as we believe it’s the first south Chukotkan-born bird to wear a leg flag.  And if you’d like to know more about this wonderful adventure, I’d be happy to regale you with stories.