Sorbulak

Trip to Sorbulak with Gennady Dyakin. The sunny day. Step by step we explored first and second dams on the right side of Karaganda highway, then the little lake (puddle) on the other side or the highway, then the sandy southern coast of Big Sorbulak, the next to road lakes of Little Sorbulak, and then in reverse order - sandy southern coast, lake "on other side", meadow and coast near first dam. On the wet meadow near the first dam and on the "other side" lake there were a lot of shorebirds both local (Lapwings, Stilts, Common Redshanks) and passage migrants which were not last time (Spotted Redshanks, Temminck's Stint, Ruffs). Stints were a lot, in fist time we tried to discern each of them, but after one hour we tired, furthermore all of Stints were Temminck's Stints. On the second dam we watched the male White-headed Duck!

On the sandy southern coast there were a lot of birds: Gulls, Ducks, Shorebirds. We watched quite rare Ruddy Turnstone and very rare Lesser Sand Plover. The flock of Whooper Swans floated near the coast. On the little marsh four nests of Black-winged Stilts were found. On the pelican island the life of colony was very active, the island looked white because of staying on it Pelicans. On Little Sorbulak a lot of birds on the islands, mostly Gulls. Also on the coast we watched three feeding Demoiselle Cranes.

Birds were a lot and all around. It should be noted Spotted Redshanks, Whimbrels, Ruddy Turnstone, Lesser Sand Plover, this year first Temminck's Stints, Ruffs and of course the White-headed Duck.

1. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

2. Garganeys (Anas querquedula)

3. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

4. Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

5. Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus)

6. Eurasian Roller (Coracias garrulus)

7. Common Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

8. Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa)

9. Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)

10. Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

11. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

12. Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

13. Red-crested Pochards (Netta rufina)

14. Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)

15. White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)