Kanshegel - Sorbulak.

May be too earlier to visit Kanshengel, not so hot, last week weather was rainy, and waders don't start the spring migration. But I want to do it. Day is sunny but very windy. Firstly we visited the village, looked for Little Owl, but didn't found, then visited the well in village. It's a bit of water, and a bit of birds. We flashed couple of Ruddy Shellducks, took photos of Wagtails and Little Ringed Plovers, that's all. Then we drove in sands. All the time we noticed little passerines – Larks, Wheatears (recorded male Pied Wheatear of vitatta morph), Shrikes; all birds were not far, quite comfortable to photo-shooting. Some times we saw the flocks of Black-throated Thrushes and Bramblings-Chaffinches, the birds not common to desert in all seasons excluding the migration time. It's means the birds are migrating to north. There are no any waders excluding Little Ringed Plovers and Black-winged Stilts. We saw only Black-bellied Sandgrouses. We arrived to Kanshengel at 10 am and recorded about two tens Sandgrouses in total, it is normal. Of birds of prey we saw only Long-legged Buzzards. One only Demoiselle Crane was found laying at a distance about 50 meters from the well. When we approached to 20 meters to it, Crane were discomposedly turning the head. I guessed the bird is either in nest or resting, and I didn't approach closer. We go out, Crane was continuing to lay. We looked for Asian and Greater Sand Plovers in the saline soils, but didn't find them. We watched about ten awaking Tortoises too.

After the lunch we turned to back road to Almaty. Near Bozoi we checked the “miracle tree”, but it is without leaves, we didn't find any migrating birds in it. Near the water we saw only Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Finches. The last stopping was near Savkino lake. As usually the concentration of birds is very high here. Black-headed Gulls and Coots and Grebes are common here, but today there are a lot of ducks (especially Garganeys, but also Pintails, Shovellers, Red-crested, Common Pochards and Ferruginous Ducks. We found couple of White-headed Ducks too. Of waders we watched Black-tailed Godwits, Common Redshanks and Stilts.

Today birding was mostly successful. Probably in case of easy wind we could watch more birds.

1. Black-bellied Sandgrouse

2. Black-headed Wagtail

3. Ruddy Shellduck

4. male Pied Wheatear of vitatta morph

5. Desert Finch

6. female Turkestan Shrike (karelini)

7. Isabelline Wheatear

8. flying to watering Sandgrouses is main target of Kanshengel

9. Little Ringed Plover is most popular wader of wells in desert

10. Hoopoe

11. Long-legged Buzzard

12. Demoiselle Crane

13. female Black Redstart

14. Greater Short-toed Lark

15. awaking Tortoise

16. Turkestan Wood Pigeion (Columba palumbus casiotis)

17. Steppe Grey Shrike

18. Black-tailed Godwit

19. male Garganey

20. Black-winged Stilt