Big Boguty, Toraigyr, Sogety.

In this hot day I and Gennady Dyakin planned to visit well known spring in the foothills of Big Boguty mountains. In this year Vassily and Tonya were there, and took many good photos. We arrived to the final destination rather early about 9 am; birds were a lot, immediately came flocks of Mongolian Finches, and singles of Grey-necked Buntings, Rosy Pastors, Horned and Greater Short-toed Larks, only some times we saw juvenile Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (perhaps same bird photographed by Vassily), male and female Linnets, Tawny Pipit and Isabelline Wheatear. Latters probably came to the spring to drink the water some times during the day (2-5 times before the mid-day), but how many times Mongolian Finches and Grey-necked Buntings drink the water impossible to count because impossible to count the number of these birds. I don’t know is it same or different birds permanently drink the water from the spring. I think that Buntings often drink water because in the far edge of the pool only Buntings drink; it is their place in my opinion. Crimson-winged came to pool once only and didn’t posture to us. Black-bellied Sandgrouse flew to well but didn’t stay. Of three Barn Swallows soaring over the pool one was with reddish underwings and belly. In midday the heat came and we departed the spring.

Next spot of our trip is gorges of Toraigyr ridge where we expected to find Rock Sparrow and some more significant birds if we are lucky. In one gorge we saw only Isabelline and Pied Wheatears, Grey-necked Buntings, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrushes (several specimen of each species), and also juvenile Long-legged Buzzard and the free nest of latter. Adult Long-legged Buzzard and Steppe Eagle were observed in the mouth of gorge. In another gorge we saw only Hoopoe and Little Owl which ran on foot from us to the hole. Also in Toraigyr we observed two colonies of Rosy Starlings.

In Kokpek large groups of Rosy Starling were flying too; aslo we twice heard sounds of White-capped Buntings, one of Buntings I watched by binocular but in the midday heat we couldn’t take photos. No other birds in Kokpek. In malybai we watched the mix colony of Pale Sand Martins and Indian Sparrows, with some couples of Tree Sparrows and Eurasian Bee-eaters. Probably there are no nestlings in holes because Martins left the hole for a long time and didn’t rush to come back. Bee-eaters were very careful. In the vicinity of Kyzylsharyk village near Big Almaty channel we saw brood of Ruddy Shellduck (8 chicks and 2 adult), and in the road to Chilik also the brood of Hoopoes (6 birds).

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2. Grey-necked Bunting | Emberiza buchanani

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4. Mongolian Finch | Bucanetes mongolicus

5. Isabelline Wheatear | Oenanthe isabellina

6. Juv. Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush | Monticola saxatilis

7. Eurasian Linnet | Acanthis cannabina

8. Horned Lark | Eremophila alpestris

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10. Rosy Starling | Sturnus roseus

11. Juv. Little Owl | Athene noctua

12. Pale Sand Martin | Riparia diluta

13. Juvenile Ruddy Shelducks | Tadorna ferruginea