Degeres. Zhambyl region, Almaty oblast.

Sunny, warm day. Trees are without leaves, but the slopes of foothills already covered by fresh green grass. In roadside thickets we saw Wood Pigeons and in places the Kestrels. Rooks are on nests already. On foothills the most popular bird was Corn Bunting. Buntings perched on bushes and wires, on some wires we counted 5 birds between poles. In some places we also saw already arrived Stonechats. Over Sunkar village on stone meadows The Isabelline Wheatears already formed the pairs and probably build the nests, so one pair were flushed by me from the hole. Larks flew and sang; on little river I saw White-bellied Dipper and this fact surprised me.

On the rocks of Degeres Pass we observed two pairs of Rock Nuthatches near the nests, one female Redstart (probably migrating bird), and Chukar Partridges. One pair of Nuthatches flew off from old nest, but the nest of second pair was broken and birds reconstruct it, because the borders of nest were wet. In the sky three Cinereous Vultures soared, once Long-tailed Buzzard was observed. Also we saw one male Pied Wheatear, one Caspian Gull and Common Starlings.

1. Stonechat (Saxicola torquata maura)

2. Eurasian Dipper (Cinclus cinclus leucogaster)

3. Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus casiotis)

4. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra buturlini)

5. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

6. Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

7. Eastern Rock Nuthatch (Sitta tephronota)

8. Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)

9. Chukar Partridge (Alectoris chukar falki)

10. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris porphyronotus)