Tajikistan. Takob.

Takob gorge is branch gorge of the big Varzob one. There is mountain skis base in the Takob. The Takob village is a large and follows about five kilometers during the gorge. In the village I saw Tree Sparrows, Grey-headed Goldfinches and one dirty-rose male Rosefinch (probably Red-mantled). Nearby the river there were a big number of juvenile Masked Wagtails, one Blue Whistling Thrush, two flocks of Rock Buntings, flock of Streaked Laughingthrushes, one Lesser Grey Shrike, one Turkestan Tit and a lot of European Bee-eaters and Spotted Flycatchers. One Common Starling searched anyone near the water.

Above the skis base the alpine meadows begin and yet above the rocks change the meadows. According to locals there are Bears which often attend the shepherds camps. A lot of little passerines and raptors. Allaround Barn Swallows flew. On the meadows I saw Stonechats, Linnets, Black Redstarts and one Bluethroat. On the rocks a lot of Isabelline Wheatears, just less number of Pied Wheatears, sometime I saw Rufous-tailed Rock Thrushes. Nearby the garden two Cuckoos played.

Raptors. Some times I saw Kestrels and Hobbies. Large raptors were mostly Long-legged Buzzards (about 4-5 birds), one dark morph Common Buzzard, one Egyptian Vulture, one dark Booted Eagle and one Eurasian Griffon-Vulture. The pair of Carrion Crows run the Egyptian Vulture. Twice I heard the Raven but didn't see it.

1. Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia)

2. Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)

3. Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

4. Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

5. Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

6. Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

7. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

8. Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)

9. Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)

10. Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus)

11. Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus)

12. Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)