Kanshengel, Taukum, Sorbulak.

Sunny, warm day. Trip with group of birdwatchers to Taukum sands in Southern Trans-Balkhash area. On the wells at Kanshengel we saw a lot of Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouses which fed in stony desert by flocks of hundreds birds. In Kanshengel village we watched the brood of Little Owls, and also found the big pipe in which Owls hid and probably former nested. Also we noticed the Rosy Starlings in flights of hundreds birds, the Black Kites, one Steppe Eagle, Masked Wagtails, Red-headed Buntings, Brown-necked Raven; shorebirds - Temminck's Stints, Black-winged Stilts, Long-toed Stint, Little Stints, Wood Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers, Greater Sand Plover, Terek Sandpiper; Larks - Crested Larks, Short-toed Larks, Calandra Larks.

Taukum sands. In saxaul and tamarisk bushes located on sand hills we watched only single birds - Asian Desert Warbler, Lesser Whitethroats, Red-headed Buntings, Tawny Pipits, Crested and Short-toed Larks, and Isabelline Wheatears.

Sorbulak lake. On Sorbulak the birds are a whole lot, only number of Great Cormorants possibly are thousands, and number of birds of other species are counted by hundreds and tens no doubt. The large birds: Dalmatian and Great White Pelicans, Grey Herons, Great White Egrets, Great Cormorants. The ducks: most numerous Ruddy Shelducks and Mallards, I saw also Common Teals, and once I saw three Goldeneyes flying by. Shorebirds: Pied Avocet, Little Stints, Temminck's Stints, Dunlins, Wood Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers, Common Redshanks, Terek Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers, Ruffs, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwings, Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers. Common Terns, Caspian Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Crested Grebes, Kingfisher, Wagtails, Little Bitterns, Hobbies, Moorhens, Isabelline Wheatears, Rosy Starlings. The birds' species were more than I noticed, but on account of the numerical abundance I didn't of possibility to pay the strengthened attention to notice of the variety of species.

1. Little Owl (Athene noctua bactriana)

2. Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus)

3. Pin-tailed Sandgrouses (Pterocles alchata caudacutus)

4. Black-bellied Sandgrouses (Pterocles orientalis arenarius)

5. Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)

6. Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)

7. Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

8. Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

9. Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

10. Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

11. Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)

12. Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca halimodendri)

13. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

14. Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

15. Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)

16. Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)

17. Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

18. Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

19. Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)

20. Common Redshanks (Tringa totanus)