Site Report: Irkutsk - Freeway Swamps
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Male
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) Male
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) Female
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) Juvenile
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Female
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Female
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Male
Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) Male
Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) Female
Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) Juvenile
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
Palla's Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella certhiola)
Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
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Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Male
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) Male
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) Female
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) Juvenile
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Female
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Female
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Male
Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) Male
Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) Female
Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) Juvenile
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
Palla's Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella certhiola)
Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
There are a few swampy areas tucked in between freeways and railroads on the west end of town.
Visits
- 2008-07-19: After some trouble finding accommodation, I was set up with a home stay in the outskirts of Irkutsk. The home was your basic brick shack, but the inside was OK... no worse than my own apartment. The shower, however, was some space age contraption with all kinds of buttons and stereo speakers. The owner of the home took me to the train station the next morning where I was able to meet up with Igor, an ornithology professor in Irkutsk. We went in his car over to some nearby swamps next to the highway and some rail yards. The birding was pretty good, but heavy car and rail traffic made it less than ideal. Igor took me over to the airport where I was to catch a flight to Kyzyl. If you have a chance, the pizza restaurant next to the Irkutsk airport was exceptional.
Species Seen
Kingdom: Animals (25 records)
Phylum: Chordates
(25 records)
Class: Birds
(25 records)
- Order: Anseriformes
(3 records)
- Family: Swans, Geese, and Ducks
- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
- Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
- Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
- Order: Cranes, Rails, and Allies
(1 record)
- Family: Rails, Gallinules, and Allies
- Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
- Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies
(1 record)
- Family: Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
- Order: Hummingbirds and Swifts
(1 record)
- Family: Swifts
- Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus)
- Order: Pelicans (5 records)
- Family: Sandpipers and Allies
- Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
- Order: Perching Birds
(11 records)
- Family: Cardueline Finches and Allies
- Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
- Family: Jays and Crows
- Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
- Family: Old World Buntings
- Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola)
- Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
- Family: Old World Flycatchers
- Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)
- Family: Old World Sparrows
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
- Family: Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers
- Pallas's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes certhiola)
- Family: Swallows
- Siberian House-Martin (Delichon lagopodum)
- Family: Thrushes and Allies
- Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
- Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)
- Family: Wagtails and Pipits
- Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)
- Order: Shorebirds and Allies
(3 records)
- Family: Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
- Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
- Family: Plovers
- Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)