From Zhabagly to Almaty

Go home from Zhabagly. Today is sunny, almost windless weather, but Black Kites are migrating via Chokpak Pass. Kites fly alone but regularly. In the roadside thickets we take photos of Tits at sunny light at last. Feeling that there are no one thoroughbred Great Tit and no one thoroughbred Turkestan Tit, but only different Hybrids.

When you are near Zhualy village you must visit Ters-Ashybulak reservoir. Near Ters-Ashybulak always can to see flying birds. Probably each time can see either lfocks of Cranes or birds of prey or flying groups of little passerines. Today we saw some large flocks of both Common and Demoiselle Cranes, also Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Black Stork.

In Aspara we stopped to lunch not far from the nest of White Storks (we watched both Black and White Storks during one day!). The distance to the nest of Storks was so large that birds didn’t shy us. It was very surprisingly to view the third Stork. When latter appeared, the couple on the nest begins snapping beaks. Stranger some time soared nearby and then flew away in west direction. Means must be other nests of White Storks in this area.

Between Aspara and kainar villages we observed two little lakes looking for Pygmy Cormorants. The first lake is near Aspara, birds were a bit, mostly Coots, Gulls and Lapwings. Significant records here are the Oystercatchers and two large flocks of Demoiselle Cranes (more than 1000 birds in total). The second lake is near Chu river, perhaps it is the part of old stream of the river. There is we saw more birds and noticed Pygmy Cormorants. Also it was interesting to watch the migration of Wagtails. Latters were flying by continuous flow during several minutes. Andrei estimated number od birds as thousands, but I guess hundreds. Of the some Citrine Wagtails feeding in reeda one was with black mantle (calcarata). In sunset birds looked very nice especially Great Egrets.

1. Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)

2. Yellow-breasted Tit (Parus flavipectus)

3. Turkestan Tit (Parus bokharensis)

4. Turkestan Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides)

5. Demoiselle Cranes (Anthropoides virgo)

6. Common Crane (Grus grus)

7. Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

8. Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka)

9. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

10. Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

11. Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

12. White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

13. Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

14. Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus)

15. Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus)

16. Great White Egret (Egretta alba)