Alakol. Day 2.

Morning is sunny and very windy. I made the circle around the hotel territory; saw Kingfisher, flying Pallas' Gulls, Great Cormorants and one Bluethroat in flowerbed near café.

Before the lunch we went to the foreland where Vassily, Tonya and Aibek saw Relict Gull yesterday. Road to the foreland passes through the belt of saline marshes with high tussock sedges. There are a lot of birds here, especially in the spots where marshes bordered with reeds of Alakol bays. To be honest I didn’t watch all birds which we noted in road because I hurried to Relict Gull, the main target of Alakol lake. But it was impossible to miss some of birds: numerous Black-headed Wagtails, Whimbrel, Great Bittern (!), Stonechats, 2 female Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush. Arriving to the foreland we found three Relict Gulls staying in the coast of bay. When we approached to Gulls they float from the coastal border and then twice flew off but not far, not more than one hundred meters. But in the end Gulls flew away perhaps we even so bothered them. In addition to Relict Gulls in the base of foreland we saw three group of resting Caspian Terns of about 20-30 birds each; and also Great Cormorants and Great Egrets in the reeds. One Little and one White-winged Terns joined to the one group of Caspian Terns; unfortunately they were very far to take photo, but the great difference in size would be good viewable in photo. Also we noticed some Waders but a bit. The main bird of the day is Relict Gull.

We came back to hotel to lunch and I noticed two species of Shrikes (Long-tailed and Red-backed), and also some Lesser Whitethroats and Common Cuckoo. In the reeds I tried to find Kingfisher again but watched only Common Whitethroat and Great Reed Warbler.

After lunch we went to Kol-Asu lake located in the highlands. The road to lake passes by very beauty gorge covered by dogrose and other bushes in mouth of gorge and by spruce-forest in highland. Weather in mountains unlike of coast of Alakol is overcast, with the little rain directly in the Kol-Asu lake. Perhaps due the rain birds are a bit; in mouth of gorge we heard Common Nightingales and saw flying in rocks Crag Martins; in spruce-forest near the lake I watched hiding from the rain Grey Wagtails and (probably) Greenish Warblers, and also in the forest-belt we noticed feeding flock of Wood Pigeons, and one Great Tit too. Also we saw one Stonechat, female Rock Bunting, Mistle Thrush, and Magpies which are absent in the coast of Alakol. During back road in dry desert the Isabelline Wheatears and Rollers were numerous as usual.

1. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

2. Pallas's Gull (Larus ichthyaetus)

3. Eurasian Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

4. Turkestan Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides karelini)

5. Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis)

6. Black-headed Wagtail (Motacilla feldegg)

7. Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

8. Relict Gull (Larus relictus)

9. Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia)

10. White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)

11. Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)

12. Tolai Hare (Lepus tolai)

13. Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

14. Red-crested Pochards (Netta rufina)

15. Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)

16. Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

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