Tajikistan. Iskanderkul.

The little forest in the Iskanderdaria gorge. Mixed birch-juniper forest. Correctly birch tree (local birch with brown bark) forest, but nearby on the rocks there is sparse high-body juniper forest. The gorge is placed so the sun rises only at 8 a.m., therefore I more than one hour walked on the morning dusk. At the road I saw one Stonechat. As at another places around Iskanderkul there were a lot of Lesser Whitethroats and Hume's Warblers in the bushes and there were a lot of Chukar Partrdges on the rocks. Sounds of Chukars were hearable allaround, sometimes the loudly sounds of flying Chukars were hearable. On the next slope White-winged Woodpecker drummed. On my apparition in the birch forest Oriental Turtle Doves, Magpies and one Hoopoe disbanded. In juniper forest I observed several Black-breasted Tits and Blackbirds. Tits fed between juniper's branches and loudly called one to another. Also in juniper female Blue-capped Redstart occurred. In the barberry bushes Lesser Whitethroats, Hume's Warblers, Blyth's Reed Warblers fed, but Rock Buntings fed under the bushes. Also in the barberry bush I saw Grasshopper Warbler. Between the branches of birches twice I saw glimpsed raptors. One was light (my opinion is Kestrel I saw later) and one was darkish-grey (my opinion is Sparrowhawk I saw later also). On the back way I saw sitting near the road Black Redstart, feeding flock of Rock Buntings (about ten birds), sitting on the bushes Long-tailed Shrikes, juvenile Turkestan Shrikes and one female Stonechat. Also I saw one flying Wood Pigeon, three birds looked like Streaked Laughingthrush and glimpsed dirty-rosy male of Red-mantled Rosefinch.

At dinner time on the Iskanderkul lake coast I saw one Common Sandpiper.

The Waterfall on Iskanderdaria river. The road to waterfall is between stones aboard the river. There were a lot of Grey Wagtails, one Common Sandpiper, one Brown Dipper. Wagtails alctively flew one after another. It was interesting to view Mallard Duck on the heavy mountain river. In the poplar thickets on the river coast there were a lot of Spotted Flycatchers, Hume's Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats, Long-tailed Shrikes and Turkestan Shrikes. Between stones one Bluethroat run but on the rock female Pied Wheatear sat. In the bushes on the rocks there were a lot of Lesser Whitethroats also. Twice flocks of Grey-headed Goldfinches flew by.

The road to and back Zeravshan-2. On the road I saw flying by Sparrowhawk and soaring Kestrel later sat to the juniper. Also on the road I saw Long-tailed Shrikes (common birds on Iskanderkul locality), Black Redstart, Turkestan Shrikes, Yellow-billed Coughs (three birds, it's interesting that both Yellow-billed and Red-billed Coughs occur here), Wallcreeper. Also I made photos of Chukars and saw Stonechats.

1. Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

2. Black-breasted Tit (Parus rufonuchalis)

3. Blue-capped Redstart (Phoenicurus caeruleocephalus)

4. Western Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia)

5. Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca)

6. Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

7. Turkestan Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides)

8. Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)

9. Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

10. Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)

11. Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

12. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

13. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

14. Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

15. Chukar Partridges (Alectoris chukar)