Состояние колоний морских птиц полуострова Старицкого (Тауйская губа, Охотское море)

Comparison of the 2019 census results with those obtained earlier permits to evaluate changes in the number and distribution of nesting seabird colonies оn the Staritsky Peninsula over the past 10 years. The Staritsky Peninsula coasts and the Gertner and Veselaya bay islands are located in close proximity to the city of Magadan, and therefore are subject to maximum anthropogenic pressure. The total number of breeding seabirds (including the urban population of the Slaty-backed Gull in the city of Magadan) increased from 36 thousand individuals in 2009 to 57.6 thousand individuals in 2019. Simultaneously, the proportion of main species changed in the largest colonies around the city - on the Tri Brata Islands and Cape Ostrovnoy. A very large colony (3,230 birds) of the Pelagic Cormorants near the mouth of the Dukcha River, which appeared in the last 20 years, now became the largest in the Tauy Bay. The colony formation and growth was promoted by the urban wastewaters discharged into the Gertner Bay.