In spite of the fact that it's some warmer in the city, mountains are still cold. The wind is not strong, but cutting. On such cold weather it's impossible to walk along. Nothing new. Saw only pair Solitary Snipes, three White-bellied Dippers, Wallcreepers, Brown Accentors, Coal Tits, one White-winged Grosbeak. All birds in the same places we saw later. As usually Wallcreepers and Dippers are well noticeable. On the snow I noticed some insects. Here Wallcreepers pecked these insects by the long and thin like tweezers beaks. On some photos little bugs are visible in the opened beak of Wallcreeper. By the way the long and thin tongue is visible also. On other photos of Wallcreeper the ashes from my cigarettes are visible. Probably Wallcreeper took dark specks of ashes as insects. Solitary Snipes as usually well masked. I noticed both Snipes while they took off under my feet only. The most impressing and terrifying today's show is a smoke which rises from the city upwards by gorge and reaches [...... read more ]

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In the apple gardens near Jubileiny always many birds winter. This year there is nobody. I watched more than two hours and saw only several Blackbirds, Magpies and one Upland Buzzard. Probably it is cold and hungry to birds in mountains this year. [...... read more ]

Today is coldest day in January. A little smoke on the morning. On the Bishkek road till the turning to Astana saw only one Upland Buzzard and one Kestrel. Near turning on russian olive tree the mixed flock of Mynahs, Fieldfares and Blackbirds were fed. Further on the roadside Grey-headed Goldfinches, one male Sparrowhawk, several Upland Buzzards, one Common Buzzard occurred. On the Russian olive Greenfinches, Magpies, one Stock Pigeon were fed. On the roadside Crested Larks, Yellowhammers, Chaffinches, Horned Larks were fed. On the frozen marshes twice we saw males of Hen Harrier. One of them has the head clear darker then body.Sorbulak is full frosted. The ice are heavy, on some places we saw on the ice the tracks of passed cars. One only free from ice place is ice-hole on the channel inflow to lake. We found this place not straightway, the help of expert was needed. Thanks to Oleg Belalov told us by cell phone how we can find the ice-hole. Ice-hole is not so large, about 70-80 meters [...... read more ]

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Harvest of berries and probably cones in the mountains is failure. Probably therefore birds are a little in the mountain. Today I decided to go to Ile valley to see birds on the roadside Russian olive thickets. On the valley as usually more cold than in the city. There was little frozen smoke on the air. Some problems to photograph.Tonkeris. Talghar region. Many raptors. Less than one hour we saw 5-6 Upland Buzzards, one White-tailed Sea-Eagle and one Barbary Falcon. Barbary Falcon is probably most interesting bird today. On roadside Grey-headed Goldfinches, Great Tits, Azure Tits occurred. As last years on Russian olive thickets Greenfinches, Blackbirds and Black-throated Thrushes were common. Birds were many but lesser than last year. For a moment saw one Redstart, probably Guldenstadt's Redstart. Yet we saw flock of Black-headed Goldfinches rare in our places. Unfortunately passing car scared birds and we couldn't watched them.Jetigen. Ile region. On the old Kapchagai road birds were [...... read more ]

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The pedestrian walk through a city. The male Sparrowhawk in Samal district near Kazakhtelecom building. Bird was small with a red breast, looked almost like as Bullfinch. On Seifullin and Tole Bi crossroad I saw Goldcrest feeding on thuja. [...... read more ]

Cold, cloudy weather. After-dinner time. It is few birds. It is a lot of Hooded Crows, Rooks and Blackbirds only. Crows arranged strange games on the cloudy sky. Blackbirds pressed close on the branches, some of them were fed with berries. One flock of Siskins on a birch. One Chaffinch on an ash-tree. One Coal Tit on a birch. Two Great Tits. Again I found Robin. As usually Robin was timid, disappeared from me in the refuge - a sewer well. The well cover is half split, and Robin a little having sat on the brink of a well dived inside. Robin doubt a little before to dive inside, so I think a refuge is already habitual to bird. [...... read more ]

This year second trip to Big Almaty Lake. We went by group with Vladilen Karasyov and Javier Pierda. The first birds we saw is the pair of Solitary Snipes. Snipes are timid birds and don't posture to watchers. I went a little along small mountain river to them, but snow was a lot and therefore to pursue them was not so simply. As usually there was a lot of White-bellied and Brown Dippers. Totally today I saw, probably, not less than 20 Dippers. There where in mountains there is a water, there necessarily there will be Dippers. Also Wallcreepers flew. But as today we observed birds by group, that we didn't have free time to observe Wallcreepers. Still onto binoculars saw Brown Accentors. Accentors were fed under fir-trees and on juniper bushes. As a whole birds was a little. We followed almost each bird. In the top part of lake, there where river disgorge into the lake, there is a small ice-hole. On this ice-hole not only Dippers were fed but Mallards also. Totally seventeen Mallards winter [...... read more ]

There were not birds absolutely. More than one hour I heard Raven's sounds but couldn't find it. On the road saw Sparrowhawk run by Hooded Crow. [...... read more ]

All birds were the same. Bramblings, Siskins, Coal and Great Tits. The main food is thuja's nuts. On thuja trees possible to see all today's birds. I again saw Robin. Robin became even more timid, almost all time hid in a crone of fur-trees. It's very difficult to see it. [...... read more ]

Happy New Year! At drains on the Big Almaty Lake I saw only Dippers (two White-bellied and one Brown) and one Wallcreepeer. In fir groves I saw Magpies, Carrion Crows, several Coal Tits and one Goldcrest. Mainly I stayed near the water expecting birds. Dippers were timid. Wallcreeper arrived only from time to time. Wallcreeper arrived to the water to discover insects. Sometimes bird sat down on ice, but more often was fed on concrete constractions and on stones near the water. Probably, insects (I saw few flying flies) are heated on stones, here Wallcreeper tried to discover insects by the long beak. There were many people on the lake, children from time to time blew up pyrotechnics. Probably therefore birds was a little, and presented ones were seemed timid. When I went down to the city I paid attention that there are absolutely no birds in buckthorn thickets. It is quite explainable, this year poor harvest of buckthorn berries, here birds changed them own winter food. [...... read more ]

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