Family trip to the mountains. Morning is so overcast and birds are a bit that I thought I can write one paragraph to each bird I saw. To the moment of this think I saw 1 Eastern Buzzard was chased by 1 Carrion Crow, 1 White-bellied Dipper, 2 restless Blackbirds. Further I watched 1 Magpie, 2 Great Tits, 4-5 Coal Tits feeding on birch-tree. But then sun came out and pessimism went out, though only flocks of Red-fronted Serins, female Red-mantled Rosefinch and two Long-tailed Rosefinches are added to the list. So there are a bit of birds in the mountains. [...... read more ]

Trip to Ile river valley with Vassily Fedorenko and Antonina Fokina. Weather was sunny at morning but further became overcast. 1st spot, the turn to Koishibek village. On roadside we three times noticed Great Grey Shrikes (think two different birds), two adult White-tailed Sea-Eagles, Eastern Buzzards, two (couple?) Merlins, two flocks of Goldfinches (first Eurasian ones then Grey-headed ones) near burs; the local dump was without any significant records, but near well we saw Red-mantled Rosefinches (my first record outside the mountains), Eversmann’s Redstart, male Hen Harrier, Barbarian Falcon.2nd spot, silverberry-tree groves near turn to Zhanaashar village. Local groves of silverberry-trees are dense, extensive but impassable in winter time. There are a lot of Black-throated Thrushes and Blackbirds, we saw Mistle Thrush and local rare Redwing too; twice noticed Eversmann’s Redstart, and also White-winged Woodpecker and Sparrowhawk. In the local marsh we saw Great White Egret too. [...... read more ]

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Some days ago I was going to my office and heard the song og Blackbird. Unfortunately I forgot the true date. But today I heard the song of Greenfinch. Recently I changed for myself the linking of monthes to seasons. I think that spring begins in February, summer begins in May, autumn begins in August; and November is the first winter month. It’s possible to move the seasons to the half of month at least. But perhaps this think can related only Almaty city, but may be seasons started everywhere in different ways. [...... read more ]

Yesterday trip to Kimasar gorge was so ineffectual that I didn’t write the post to blog. There were no birds, I tried to find Crossbills but unsuccessfully. I guessed that birds ate all they can to eat and flew down to the city. May be I am right. Today I noticed the flock of about 20-25 Crossbills perching on birch-tree in Square of Journalists near Ramstor in Samal. When I came back with camera birds are not in same place on birch-tree. But flock in one moment appeared and landed on oak. Birds were moving from oak to pine-trees and feeding the seeds from cones. Crossbills are not shy and I approached to them to the short distance. [...... read more ]

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At the beginning I and Gennady Dyakin shot Peregrin Falcon on the City Hall building at morning time. Further Andrei Kovalenko joined to us and we together made the large circle trip in Ili river valley, where we know some spots of watching Waxwings, hoping to find Japanese Waxwing. Day is frosty, misty at morning but sunny after lunch-time. First spot of our trip (more for show) is the dump near chicken factory in Avat. Here the birds are usual: White-tailed Sea Eagles, Eastern Buzzards, and different Corvids. Further we went by Kuldja road until the turn to Kyrbaltabai village. After turn the road was bad, there was many snow and deep slippery track. All trees such as high poplars and low silverberry and elm-trees are frost covering. In spite of feeling absence of birds we began to noticed them almost shortly after turning: first was one Hawfinch, then flock of Hawfinches, then Blackbirds and Black-throated Thrushes, Greenfinches, Eversmann’s Redstart, and of course today the bird #1 [...... read more ]

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We have received reports of flocks of japanese waxwing in the Oleaster (Russian Olive) groves along the Kaskelen river. I suggest the following: 1) Confirm the date and if possible - the time of day when the meeting took place and the approximate numbers of the japanese waxwings. This could help us estimate the probability of second viewing (Although anything could happen of course) 2) To organize a systematic search of the most probable locations where the waxwings could be seen. Therefore to divide into groups and determine who goes where in order not to duplicate each others efforts. Personally, i would be very glad, if at least one of us finds and gets a photo record of the Japonicus [...... read more ]

Подвид есть группа популяций представителей какого-то вида, объединенных определенными отличиями от других популяций того же вида. При этом часто в литературе я видел, что слово подвид заменяется сочетанием географическая раса (н-р у Э.И.Гаврилова и у Майра), а значит, является синонимом последнего. То есть, подразумевается, что одним из отличий подвида является география распространения популяций (популяции должны быть обитать на едином географическом пространстве). Однако в качестве главного отличительного признака подвида все же принимается [...... read more ]

This morning, around 8 am i have come to the Square to shoot the peregrine. Waited for it to show up for almost half an hour. The peregrine moved out of the alcove on the side of the building, sat for a bit on the eavestone, maybe a minute or two, than turned around inside the alcove just like it did last year and after that - left the spot. It flew straight east. I looked at my watch - the time was - 8.27 am. It was a bit cloudy, so the pictures did not turn out as good as they could have. Apart from the peregrine, I have also seen the following in the square: appr. 20 white-winged grosbeaks, which were perching in the trees and vocalizing (I don't even know how to call their sounds). One male from the top of the fir-tree and all the other birds from a high poplar. At the feeder at my work it's all the same species as usual - laughing doves (15-20), tree sparrow and house sparrow, common myna and great tit. [...... read more ]

Day is cloudy at morning, sunny after noon, no precipitation. There is a lot of snow but the road is quite a clear. Trip to east from Almaty with Gennady Dyakin, Andrei Kovalenko and Sanzhar Abdikhalyh. Leaving the city we saw dozen or more Collared Doves. First spot of trip is the large dump. Near dump the Eastern Buzzard was perched on the tree; on the dump there are a lot of birds, and we noticed to binoculars the Daurian Jackdaw, the bird we searched. But dump’s security guard forbad us to take photo. It’s a shame. Further we went to Koishibek village direction to search another dump recommended by the above security guard. Dump wasn’t found, but we saw Great Grey Shrike, White-winged Woodpecker, Reed Buntung and other less rare birds. On the dump near chicken factory (today birding was mostly on dumps areas) there were a lot of birds. All the birds we watched here can be divided into feeding on silverberry-trees (Thrushes, Greenfinches, Tits etc.), feeding on silage bunches (Pigeons, [...... read more ]

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Yesterday night I visited Peregrine Falcon in its sleeping place. Tomorrow I am going to take photo of Falcon, arrived to square at 8am, but there was not Falcon in niche. It was perching on corner of roof turning back to the rising sun. Falcon was perching until 8.30 am at least, when I went to the job.Today I counted the time Peregrine staying on wintering in Almaty. Every year it stay about 4 monthes in Almaty. I noticed it in 2005, eight years ago. So Peregrine spent the night on the City Hall building 960 day at least. If it is the same bird. [...... read more ]