Ile-Alatau National Park.

Ozernoye gorge. Unfortunately, we did not reach the Big Almaty Lake because of slippery road. But in half a day we managed to visit two more neighboring gorges. Carrion Crows, Magpies and Great Tits could be seen more often than other birds. Rock Bunting and Black-throated Accentor sang their songs in low sea-buckthorn brushwood. We also met a small flock of Grey-headed Goldfinches in fir grove, and heard Goldfinches' voices a couple of times. Yet the first birds we saw in the gorge were a screaming Goshawk making off several Crows. It carried a bloodstained pray in its claws, supposedly a Magpie. Sadly, the scene was too short to permit taking pictures.

In Prohodnoye gorge the berries at sea-buckthorn shrubs are still in abundance. It seems that besides Great Tits no other birds eat it. At least I did not see any other birds in the shrubs. Several Chaffinches fed at thawed patches among the sea-buckthorn bushes. Carrion Crows made circles above the western slope that was already free of snow. Some birds flying higher behaved like Red-billed Choughs but I could not tell for sure. The Crows chased a Sparrowhawk for a while. At a distance, we saw a large circling bird of prey, apparently a Golden Eagle.

In the left side branch of the Ozernoye gorge, Blackbirds and Great Tits fed at thawed patches among the apricot trees. We also met one White-bellied Dipper at the river, but I guess there were more of them around. When the day turned to the afternoon we saw more birds of prey. First, a Golden Eagle, later, a Goshawk (apparently the same we met in the morning), then a mature Lammergeier, and later – two Golden Eagles and one Long-legged Buzzard. The latter circled very high in the sky.

While coming down the gorge we noticed the first in this year Masked Wagtail, who is not only the real sign of the spring have come, but also indicates that there will be no more late frosts.

Butakovka. There were many people in Butakovka as usual during weekends, and respectively, less birds. Great Tits in pairs were flying here and there. Nobody pays attention to a White-bellied Dipper's quiet unpretentious singing.

Kamenskoye Plateau. Tall weeds along the road attract many small birds, Red-fronted Serins first of all. Serins, who usually occur in small flocks, were found one by one today. Their low singing could be heard in the background all the time. Among other birds, we also saw several Black-throated Accentors, Chaffinches, Grey-headed Goldfinches and one unidentified Accentor. One Upland Buzzard was sitting in a tree, and two others circled above the foothills later.

1. Masked Wagtail (Motacilla personata)

2. Eurasian Dipper (Cinclus cinclus leucogaster)

3. Eurasian Dipper (Cinclus cinclus leucogaster)

4. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)