birding...

Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus ©Alister Benn http://www.pbase.com/alibenn/birds

The Russian Far East is generally considered to consist of The 'Krays' of Khabarovsk and Primorsky along with the 'Oblasts' of Chukotia, Magadan, Amur and the Island of Sakalin and the Kuril Islands.

This region stretches out along the Pacific Ocean shore for thousands of kilometers. It is situated in an area of contrasting natural phenomena. Almost all of the mountain ridges run parallel to the shore. Earthquakes and tsunamis are very frequent here. The North lowlands are covered by tundra, and larch forests cross it along river valleys. To the south is situated the taiga zone, where larch is the dominant tree species. On the rocky shores and islands of the Okhotskoe Sea can be found a lot of rookeries.

But the most unusual landscapes is in the southern part of the region. Inside this territory taiga forest gets mixed up with subtropical woods, making incredible combinations. Spruces are wrapped round by wild grape. Larch forests and lime-tree forests with jasmine in the underbrush can be found just on the same mountainside. Such unusual forests tree species as Manchurian walnut, Cork oak and many others grow here. On the planes, foothills and river valleys broad-leaved forests consists of poplar, elm, hornbeam, maple and ash-tree. Such forest usually has well-developed underbrush of jasmine and honeysuckle, and a lot of vines such as magnolia-vine, wild grape and tara-vine. Ferns and mosses form continuous cover. Up on the mountainsides there are mixed coniferous forests of larch, spruce, cedar-pine and fir. Somewhere on the peaks there is a tundra level with cedar-pine elfin woods and lichens. In the big river valley it’s possible to find plots of wet meadows with high grass. The avifauna of this region is very multifarious.

Together with taiga birds you can see here such specialities as Broad-billed Roller, Mandarin Duck, Little Green Heron, Chestnut Bittern, Harlequin Duck, Scaly-sided Merganser, Siberian Spruce Grouse, Hooded Crane, Australian Curlew, Black-tailed Gull, Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo, Indian Scops Owl, Ashy Minivet, Bull-headed Shrike, Blue Rock Thrush, Parrotbill, Short-tailed Bush Warbler, Japanese Blue Flycatcher, Eastern Blue Magpie and White-eyes.