Vankarem lowlands and Kolyuchin bay (16589)
Russia (Asian), Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, A1d, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Vankarem lowlands and Kolyuchin bay
Central coordinates: Latitude: 67.0830, Longitude: -175.2817
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 10457.13535
Protected area coverage (%): 40.98
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This embayment is 56 miles (90 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide along the north coast of the Chukotsky Peninsula in the Chukotka Autonomous District (66° 13' N; 174° 00'W). Shallow waters at the head of the bay, Kolyuchin Island 31 miles (50 km) northwest on the continental shelf, and Belyaka Spit at the bay's entrance constitute the IBA's most outstanding bird concentration areas. The nearest habitation is the Native village of Nutepel'men, 57 miles (91 km) northwest from the bay's entrance.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The bay’s shallow waters and low-lying tussock tundra with its shallow lakes are attractive to a variety of nesting and molting waterbirds. This is an area where the ranges of the North American tundra swan and Asian Bewick’s swan overlap. Pacific and yellowbilled loons are common, along with lesser numbers of Arctic and red-throated loons. Greater white-fronted geese are common nesters, along with northern pintails, long-tailed ducks, common eiders and sandhill cranes. Several thousand each of snow geese, emperor geese and brant arrive annually to molt. The fall season brings aggregations of migrating geese, eiders and shorebirds. Kittlitz's murrelets that are seen in the bay may nest in the nearby mountains. Pacific golden-plovers, Eurasian dotterels, rufous-necked stints, and short-billed dowitchers are typical nesting shorebirds. Northern wheatears, bluethroats, Arctic warblers, red-throated pipits, hoary redpolls, Lapland longspurs and snow buntings are the most common breeding passerines. Kolyuchin Island supports a seabird colony of thousands of common and thick-billed murres and black-legged kittiwakes along with homed puffins and herring gulls. The 447-square-mile (1,144 sq km) Belyaka Spit provides nestmg habitat to two endemic Beringian birds, the emperor goose (5 percent of the Russian population) and spoon-billed sandpiper (3 percent of world population). Other notable wildlife: Pacific walrus and seals inhabit coastal waters, and polar bears range throughout the coastal zone. An endemic species of blackfish can be found in area lakes.
Delineation rationale: Longitude changed from west to east by Gill Bunting in Feb 2013. 2014-08-12 (BL Secretariat): centroid coords adjusted to 67°4'59'N 175°16'54'W and site area changed to (or confirmed as) 1025000 ha (rounded), on basis of refined polygon downloaded from Spatial Database on Important Bird Areas of Russia 2014 (© Russian Bird Conservation Union, © Transparent World).
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Extensive shallow inlets surrounded by vast lake-dotted tussock-tundra plains crossed by several major rivers occur at the head of the bay. Kolyuchin Island is covered with large stones interspersed with scree slopes and patchy tundra. Sea cliffs occur at the northeast and southwest ends. Belyaka Spit has open sand and pebble beaches, sand dunes and dry crowberry tundra backed by shallow lagoons and lake-dotted tussock-tundra alluvial plains.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 33 | |
| Grassland | 33 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 33 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Occasional human disturbance and poaching may occur and there is the danger of fuel spills from ships transiting the offshore Northern Shipping Route.
Additional information
References: Audubon Alaska / BirdLife Asia / RBCU (2004) Important Bird Areas of the Bering Sea ecoregion. Anchorage, USA: Audubon Alaska. 46 pp.
Contributors: The map polygon is provided courtesy of the Spatial Database on Important Bird Areas of Russia 2014 (© Russian Bird Conservation Union, © Transparent World).