One of these unique places in Central Asia is the Ubsunur Basin. Enclosed by mountains with a large salt lake, Uvs-Nur is an amazing collection of natural systems representing almost all natural zones of the earth, which makes it a kind of model of the world - a “small biosphere” that lives according to all the laws of the big biosphere of the planet. In the Ubsunur basin, already in ancient times, a “biosphere way of life”, characteristic of Central Asia and preserved to this day, based on grazing cattle breeding, was established. For thousands of years, flocks of sheep roamed the steppe, and the smoke of the hearths of peaceful nomads rose to the sky. At other times, the steppe hummed under the hooves of warlike hordes and clouds of arrows obscured the sun. This land was a great movement of peoples: Scythians, Turks, Mongols - everyone left their memories here. And therefore, ancient burial grounds, mounds and memorial stones became an indispensable element of the landscape of the basin.

It is this unique combination of the richest diversity of landscapes and countless (mostly unexplored) archaeological sites that make it possible to consider the Ubsunur Basin as a most valuable natural monument, as well as an outstanding monument of historical and cultural significance.

The International Cluster Biosphere Reserve, founded in 1984, was included in the list of WORLD HERITAGE MONUMENTS in 2003.

The climatic conditions of the Ubsunur Basin are determined by its geographical location in the center of the huge continent - Central Asia. Continental air masses predominate here throughout the year. The basin is characterized by: sharp, greatest contrasts in annual and daily temperatures on Earth; low precipitation with a pronounced summer maximum; stable and long winter with severe frosts and no thaws; hot summer.

Natural monument of the lake. Tere-Khol is a witness to the traditional attitude of the peoples of Central Asia to nature and the preservation of the natural complex of the lake in ecological balance. There is a legend that in ancient times a dragon fell while flying over the steppe. And now piles of his bones still rise above the plain. This explained the existence of lonely mountains on the plain, composed of bizarre rocks. These are remnants.

The world of the remains is bizarre: the rocks look like an ancient reptile, or like a warrior in a helmet. The remnant is an ark that contains life in all its diversity. Many birds nest in the rocks.

The route count of birds took place in the buffer territory of the Ubsunur Basin Biosphere Reserve within the Erzi Kozhuun. July 2005.

Our route passed through 6 sections: Onchalaan, Kara-Khaya, Kyzyl-Khaya, Unegetti, Kurgalchy and Kezhegelig. We observed birds of prey visually.

Birds of prey are widespread throughout the globe, 32 species of diurnal birds of prey live in the territory of Tyva, 26 species of diurnal predators are found in the Ubsunur Basin Biosphere Reserve, of which 16 species are listed in the Red Book of Russia, 3 species are included in the IUCN Red Book : white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon, balaban falcon (Red Book of Animals 2002).

The work of the scientific team consisted of 4 people included in the group of ornithologists; studies of the habitats of birds of different ranks were carried out. The research was carried out at 6 sites over 10 days. We carried out spot and visual bird counts. As a result of our visual surveys, we received the following data: on Onchalaan we recorded 5 species of birds of prey: steppe eagle, balaban falcon, buzzard, kite, on Unegetti - 3 species of birds of prey: balaban falcon, buzzard, black kite, on Kara-Khaya - two birds of prey: black kite and buzzard. On the outskirts of Kurgalchy - 3 species of birds of prey: black kite, balaban falcon, buzzard and on the last outlier Kezhegelik: - 4 species of birds of prey - balaban falcon, black kite, buzzard and black vulture.

By observing birds of prey for 4-5 hours a day, we found a total of 43 nests, 38 residential nests and 5 non-residential nests.

The main food supply consists of field rodents and wounded animals. Predators save the animal world from the spread of various diseases. Including those that a person can become infected with. Other birds of prey eat carrion and clear forests, rivers and lakes of garbage and corpses.

Feathered predators have a hooked beak and curved claws on their paws. The flight of these birds is magnificent! They hover above the ground for a long time, looking out for prey, and then fall down in a swift dive, folding their wings and putting their sharp claws forward. Few can compare with them in visual acuity.

During the spot count, we observed black kites and buzzards. If you look closely at a kite and a buzzard soaring high in the sky, it can be difficult to distinguish them from each other. But if these birds fly closer, then the kite can be easily distinguished from all other species by the predator by the fork on its tail. They make their nests on rocks and trees; they use various building materials to build the nest; while studying such nests, we also found unconventional building materials - pieces of rags, plastic bags, lamb skins. The kite is a common bird in our republic.

In the Ubsunur Basin, the buzzard is one of the many highland birds. The buzzard has wide wings and a short and rounded tail. The color of the plumage is grayish-brown, with a lighter and mottled lower part of the body, the tail is red. Watching a buzzard soaring in the sky, you can notice that this large bird suddenly lingers in place, stops in the air, hastily shaking its wings, and after a while it falls like a stone and soars into the sky with its prey. The manner of pausing is characteristic of only the buzzard among large predators, which means that he noticed the prey below and paused to examine it. The buzzard hunts for mice, sometimes catches frogs, and occasionally small birds become its prey. He arrives in Tuva in the first half of April. The departure of the buzzard is observed in mid-September.

During our observations, we also discovered nests of balaban falcons, their nests are easy to recognize, as they are very untidy, there is a lot of droppings around the nest, this bird is rare and is listed in the Red Book of Tyv and the Red Book of Russia has the status of category 111 - a rare species . Balaban is a typical predator of mountain-steppe regions. It nests in rocky mountain areas that are difficult for humans to reach. (According to research by Professor A.B. Baranov). The vertical distribution of nesting sites in the Tuva and Ubsunur basins is up to 1300-1400m. Only a few pairs are found at the nesting site (density index 0.1-0.5). He never builds nests. Eggs are usually laid in old nesting structures of the Buzzard, located in the rocks.

Balaban - lives in open spaces with poor and sparse vegetation. When another predator appears near the nest, falcon falcons actively defend their nest, pouncing on the enemy. Its neighbors are the steppe eagle, raven, kestrel and rock pigeon. Usually pairs nest from each other at 7 - 16 km.

The falcon begins nesting in the second year of life, in the second half of April. Nesting sites are permanent and are used for several years in a row. The clutch size is from 2 to 5 eggs.

The balaban mainly feeds on rodents: pikas, gophers, gerbils.

Currently, the balaban falcon has come under the close attention of poachers who are ready to sacrifice their honor and conscience for the sake of profit, removing chicks from their nests and catching adult birds for sale. Many poachers, in pursuit of profit, catch all birds similar to falcons, most of which subsequently die.

The life of the steppe eagle is connected with rodents - the more these animals run across the steppe, the more eagles hover over it. In the spring, the arrival of the first eagles always coincides with the emergence of gophers from their holes after hibernation. The number of ground squirrels is subject to annual fluctuations, and the number of eagles changes accordingly. In years when the number of rodents is low due to epizootics, many adult steppe eagles do not nest; they lead a nomadic lifestyle in search of random sources of food and fly far beyond the breeding range. In years of abundant food, pairs of eagles nest on almost every square kilometer, forming numerous settlements over a large area. The eagle hunts, looking out for prey from the air and falling on it in a gliding throw with half-folded wings and clawed paws stretched far forward.

The steppe eagle nests in unplowed steppes, making its nest right on the ground. Sometimes the nest is symbolically indicated by several dry branches or large bones, brought only to be scattered in disarray near the masonry.

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