Sorbulak

The last day before the rainy week me and Sanzhar Abdikhalyk uded to go to Sorbulak. The main target of trip is migrating birds. The first stopping we made over the Karaoi village, where he little finches were singing the songs in roadside thickets. I thing we saw more the one hundred Bramblings, Chaffinches, Grey-headed Goldfinches, Linnets. Further we watched these birds many times and numerous in single trees.

In the water of Little Sorbulak there are a lot of Ducks and Coots, in the second reservoir we counted 3-4 thousands of water birds concentrated in the center of reservoir. In the gulf of first reservoir we watched hundreds of Cormorants in breeding plumage. In other spots we saw the breeding games of Great Crested Grebes. Of shorebirds we saw only Little Ringed Plovers which are in flocks yet. The Wagtails were a lot (Masked, White, Cintrines Wagtails), also we saw Water Pipits and Shrikes. In spite of prohibition of hunting we permanently heard the sounds of shots.

When we arrived to tree-belt in southern shore of Big Sorbulak the weather became cloudy. Air from the water was cold because the ice of Sorbulak is not yet melt fully, the large area are covered by ice plates which are rubbed one another. But cold is not problem to birds which are rather much here. We saw Common Redshanks and Pied Avocets, Little Ringed Plovers of the latest migrants. On the ice and shore there are many Ducks, mostly Pintails, three White-tailed Sea-Eagles probably looked for dead fish, we saw Gulls were eating fish. In the Pelican island birds are absent (surprise for us). Saw some Whooper Swans, one of flying by Swan looked like Tundra one but we are not sure.

Savka lake is free from ice but channel is not yet. In the lake there are much of different Ducks, but no Grebes and White-headed Ducks. We saw Ruff, Common Snipe, Redshanks, and one Black Stork flying in Sorbulak direction. Though Black Stork nests in Kurty river not far from this spot I watcher it in Sorbulak first time.

I tried to take photos of large Gulls, almost all of them surprisingly were not Caspian Gulls in my opinion.

Trip list of birds. Total 75 species.

1. breeding dance of Great Crested Grebes

2. Grey-headed Goldfinch

3. Long-legged Buzzard

4. Desert Finch

5. Greenfinch

6. Little Ringed Plover

7. White Wagtail

8. Sparrowhawk

9. Great Cormorant

10. Isabelline Shrike

11. Greater Short-toed Lark

12. Pied Wheatear

13. Isabelline Shrike

14. Black-bellied Sandgrouses

15. Isabelline Wheatear

16. water birds in 2nd reservoir

17. Dalmatian Pelican

18. male Brambling

19. Redshank and Little Ringed Plover

20. ice plates in Big Sorbulak

21. Whooper Swans

22. Common Snipe

23. channel is ice covered yet

24. Black Redstart