The last day of winter. The noticeable road events were one soaring White-tailed Sea-eagle, two perched on the poplars Buzzards and the most important two flocks of Common Starlings. The Starlings have arrived! Here the true spring is. The Kapchagai reservoir is almost full frozen. On ice-free place near the dam I again saw five Little Grebes (wintering birds) and unidentifying Ducks sitting on the far ice. One Chukar Partridge was appeared and in a trice hid. The steppe near the lake is almost snow-free but on closing to Malai-Sary ridge the snow increases. In the steppe of Zholaman valley the birds were a bit but the emotions were a lot. The birds were mainly Calandra, Sky Larks and near the foothills the Horned Larks. The emotions were mainly glad, here the spring is. The Larks sing the songs but it is not total singing when the steppe's air is filled by the Larks' songs. But it is answerable, it is still early. Excepting the Larks we saw Long-legged Buzzards and one large flock of the [...... read more ]

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On the road to Sorbulak in the roadside thickets (mainly on russian olive trees) we saw flocks of Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers, Bramblings, some Blackbirds and Black-throated Thrushes. Once two Corn Bunting were occurred and once we saw the flock of Horned Larks. During the entire road the lot of Corvids were observed, mainly Rooks and Magpies, few Hooded and Carrion Crows, a bit of Jackdaws. The raptor was one only Kestrel. Sorbulak has frozen so that fishermen go by cars on ice directly. But nevertheless it is not so cold yet, and the ice-hole on which the waterfowl winter is still big. On this ice-hole it is a lot of birds. First of all the Whooper Swans are evident, there were these birds probably more than one hundred. Swans in separate groups (believable families) kept to all lake, both on an ice edge, and on water. The most appreciable ducks were the Goosanders settled most close to the coast. On the opposite side of the ice-hole it was possible to watch by the binocular the Mallards [...... read more ]

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Last years the thickets on the Vesnovka river pleased by the plenty and the variety of birds. This year the birds are a bit. Probably it is associated with the new constructions near the river, but probably it is consequent of the abnormal warm winter. Birds were Great Tits, Hooded and Carrion Crows, Rooks, Mynahs, that are common background birds of winter Almaty. Except common birds twice I observed Red-fronted Serins, once alone bird hiding in bushes and once two birds on short time perching on tree. Altogether not glad situation was some carried of by the male Sparrowhawk observed on Al-Farabi street. The Sparrowhawk perched on the elm directly above the endless stream of cars and wasn't going to flew out. The bird looked small to me. [...... read more ]

The short trip. I wanted to watch the birds on the russian olive thickets. The russian olive trees are almost full cropped. Nothing interesting were observed, birds were a bit. In the reed thickets I saw the flock of Reed Buntings. [...... read more ]