Trip with Gennady and Victoria by the route Kurty - Akchi - Little Sorbulak - Komsomol. Weather of most of day was cloudy, temperature in morning was definitely negative (Celsium), but in evening became quite a warm. We started in Kurty, snow is absolutely absent here, birds are a bit too. In the bushes under the dam we saw Grey-headed Goldfinches, mixed flock of Tits (Great and Turkestan ones), Blackbirds, we expected some other species of little Passerines which are usually numerous here, but nobody was found more. Then we were walking along the river between the bridge in village and the main bridge of highway. From time to time Mallards flew by, the Goshawk followed them, also we saw several White-tailed Sea-Eagles. In the bushes Long-tailed Rosefinches foraged, from the depressiion we flushed the flock of Chukars. Perhaps, the most interesting record is Wallcreeper, three years ago, in 2018, this bird also was watched here. Unfortunately Wallcreeper was so shy, almost immediately it [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Trip to Sorbulak with Gennady Dyakin and Victoria zvyagintseva. Weather forecast was sunny and warm day, in real during all day there was smoke, and temperature probably didn't up over zero. Our rout contained two points located far one from another: the open water of Big Sorbulak and the channel in Komsomol.Firstly we visited open water. We reached it without any troubles, and were happy to see the absence of mist. But the warming not only removed mist but also enlarged the open water. The ice plain of lake now is covered by hummocks and cracks, and though from a coast possible to view the quite fat ice, but ice bacame as thinner as closer to open water. We also heard the gurgling and crackling always. The warm water of channel makes melting the ice much faster as even the sun and warm air. In the open water there are the same birds as in prevoius visit, such as Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Goldeneyes, Goosanders, Smews. But Baraba Gulls appeared. They firstly stay in one dense group of several [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Trip with Gennady Dyakin to sea ​​buckthorn thickets of Chilik river, where the mountain birds from the neighbour ridges Karash and Bokaidyn go down by the gorges in winter time. We started at 8 am, it was very cold. Weather forecast promised -19-20C in night, it looked like true. We drove by the concrete highway, now it is dry and alright. In the road side we saw two Upland Buzzards, one Eastern Buzzard, and White-tailed Sea-Eagle. The trip to east of Almaty usually means many birds of prey.While we drove (about 140 km) sun rised, the wind became easy, so the walking in sea buckhorn thickets already became quite comfortable for us. Not agreeing before, we go birding in opposite directions, and didn't meet about next two hours. Birding in group is useful because the additional eyes, but in birding single Gennady found the preeminence - we will not have the same photos. Thouh we walked not far one from another we have diffrent not just number of birds but even stucture of species of [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Trip to Sorbulak with Alexander Katuntsev. We almost repeated the route of December 22 with Gennady Dyakin. But the weather today was much better than ten days ago, sunny all day, almost windless and mistless, cold (-12C) was not feel us. In the Big Sorbulak the open water was decreased more, so now possible to watch birds much better the in previous visit. Ruddy Shelducks are all desappeared (excluding one pair), now the majority of ducks is formed by Mallards. The latter one reacted to our approaching by the massive moving from one side of open water to another one, several hundreds of Mallards even flew to ice if a distance about 300 meters. Diving Duckas and Swans were more calmer, most of them didn't pay attention to us. Of course we attempted to find Long-tailed Duck, but unseccessfully, though mist was a bit and almost all of ducks were visible. We moved by ice in water direction and, for a while, closed one to another, but immediately scattered when heard the ice cracking. The concetration [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

At 10 am I left my home and was going to visit local park near home, thinking to start birding year right in January 1st (though every year starts same of course), right in the morning, right in closest park, though there is a bit of interesting in this winter, anyway, Mallard, Blackbird, Red-fronted Serin, something else, doesn't matter forme, I just want to start my birding of this year. So I was going to the park but notice the bus number 28, and I immediately changed my plan, got in the bus, and after half an hour I was already in the Ile Alatau National Park watching birds in the sea buckthorn bushes. Since bus was in station in time, why not go to the National Park? Further I backed to home at 4 pm. As I all the time walked in surround of bus final station, and also visited Alma-Arasan, I saw totaly 23 species of birds only, not so much, but more than in urban birding in any case.Birds were not too much, the most numerous one is Red-fronted Serin, the snow under the Birch-trees is [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]