Kimasar gorge. Ile-Alatau National Park.

Hike into the gorge with Machiel Valkenburg, Sanjar Abdikhalyk and Vassily Fedorenko. Weather was highly unstable, now strongest wind and rain, now sun and silence. Kimasar gorge once again confirmed the reputation of the main Nutcrackers place in Almaty vicinity, also we watched two Blue-capped Redstarts, Songar Tits; a lot of Red Crossbills, Black-throated Accentors, Chaffinches, Bramblings, Grey-headed Goldfinches in large flocks; the less number of Mistle Thrushes, Carrion Crows; and several Wrens. Predators: Kestrels, Hen Harrier, Goshawk and Sparrowhawk. At the bottom of the gorge, on other side of the river we saw the screaming Blue Whistling Thrush (quite late for it), and in the asphalt part of gorge the pair of Brown Dippers too.

1. Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes)

2. Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)

3. Black-throated Accentor (Prunella atrogularis)

4. Northern Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

5. Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

6. Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii)