The short trip to Sorbulak with Victoria Zvyagintseva. Trip was short, not until sunset but until traffic jam, the target is just watching birds without something special. Route was the driving around lakes of Little Sorbulak, in total aproximally half of possible, then the southern coast of Big Sorbulak, and the Savkino lake in final. There are many Ducks, but if in my last visit the majority of Ducks was formed by Pintails, but today the most popular Duck was the Garganey, the rest Ducks were very diverse (14 species) but in small number. Wader species was increased (Ruff, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit were added), the number of Pied Avoset was enlarged much more, now hundreds of Avocets are everywhere. Birds of prey are a few, it's really well noticable, just Kites are relatively numerous, the rest others are single birds. Caspian Gulls are already in nests. White-headed Ducks arrived and began the breeding games, number of males is two times more than females, one time we wathced [...... read more ]

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Day of a back way. The weather is mostly sunny, the second day (of five) without rain. This snowy and rainy spring we are lucky have a five sunny or a bit rain consecutive days. By the plan we first go to Ters-Achibulak reservoir. There were no the expected flocks of thousands Cranes and Ducks, in total not many birds in water. But in roadside thickets we have a chance to take photos of little passerines, nothing special but Buntings and Bramblings in bright breeding plumage look so nice, unfotunately light was not so good. Than we go to Assa river started from the reservoir. Here in floodland thickets we heard and watched the first in this spring Cetti's Warblers, which usually good attractable to the sound. Also we sa Blackbirds and Chiffchaffs. In a back way we saw the Cranes after all. Fistly the flying along foothills little flock of five Demoiselle Cranes appeared from east. Than we noticed the large flock of several tens birds flying from opposit direction. Cranes started to hum [...... read more ]

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Weather report 100% garanteed the rainy day. Thunder was rattling even in 7 am, it was rainy but horizont was light in all directions, so we hoped weather can become better. Due the rain we first go to the farest point of today trip, using inconvinient for birding rainy time for moving. Dam of Koksarai reservoir is closed by barrier but unlike Shoshkakol it without a lock, as kind of defense of absolutely accidential visitors, I of course agree this mode. All water is ice free, wether is slightly rainy and windy. Fact is special for this trip and probably relating to instable spring, some of species of birds are presented just single specimens, but other ones are definitely counted by hundreds or even thousands birds. Single birds more likely are first migrants, for example today we saw first Barn Swallow. But numerous Red-crested Pochards and Great White Pelicans gathering to huge flocks probably are in pause due the bad weather, before the fly to breeding spots. However the records of [...... read more ]

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One only day of our trip without rainy forecast. We go from Arys to Kyzylkum desert. Driving by Koksarai reservoir we watched flock of Greater White-fronted Geese of about 15 birds, then several flocks of Gulls. Good fact, it's means there are birds in Koksarai, at least we have a hopeness, especially after yesterday's Shashkakol which really disappointed. We crossed Syrdaria river using Bairkum bridge. Landscape in that side of the river is plain desert with Saka's mounds in the beginnig, then after the turn to west it became saxaul forest, which became as denser and higher as we more drive to west. Commonly birding in desert is not in not so rich main habitat, but mostly in tracts, in our case means wells and rocks. We started in well named Les (means 'forest'). There are several high tall Elm trees and corral with a lot of cattle's manure here, which attract birds. Here we recorded Desert Finches, Chaffinch, Black and Eversmann's Redstart, Chiffchaff, Pied Wheatear, Common Starlngs, [...... read more ]

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All around Chulakkurgan is under a snow, the warming and gap between the temperature of air and ground formed the dence mist. That situation is during all road until Karatau ridge. After the pass mist disappeared, snow is absolutely absent, but there is a lot of water in offroad, the side roads either under the puddles or bogged after rains, but impossible to use in any case. In roadside thickets there were the resting birds. Most noticable of them were numerous Eagles, number of them was definitely more then dozen. We saw both Eastern Imperial and Steppe Eagles, some of which was drying wings like a Cormorants. In trees we saw also Corn Buntings, Shrikes, Fieldfires. The migration is of course present, Harriers, Gulls, single birds and little flocks fly from west to east. In the end of Suzak road. in Ekpendy we watched group of Heulgini's and Caspian Gulls. Local man oaid our attention to the broken trees and flexed tower of power line, saying that's result of weighting by ice which is [...... read more ]

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In 2013 and 2014 birdwatchers of Almaty in a long holidays of Nauryz visited Zhabagly village to meet spring. First visit was very emotional, but not become regular because repeating of watching birds in same places was so bored. However the five days holidays of this year Nauryz should be used for birding exactly, but having last experience we decided to make center of birding not Zhabagly but Kyzylkol salty lake in Suzak district of Turkestan oblast. Lake is interesting for birding ecpecially in migrating season, also in a quite short distance of the lake there are Karatau mountains and Betpakdala and Moinkum deserts. The team of the expedition is formed by Gennady Dyakin, Alexander Belyaev, Victoria Zvyagintseva, Olga and Marina Sivokons, Robert and Krishanti Parkers, and me, in total eight persons in three cars. Due the very unstable weather I before the tour regularly checked weather report which was changed several times a day, but closer to the tour it became more or less good, [...... read more ]

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Four-days birding around Almaty with Kirill Tanayev. Now is inter-season, difficult to find birds, comparatively many be only in water (migrating ducks in Sorbulak lake), but only Himalayan Vulture, White-winged Woodpecker, and Saxaul Sparrow may be comparatively garanteed ticks for Kiril. We decided to look for them in east of Almaty. Weather forecast was the rain in all days of trip.March 8th. As our birding started after lunch time, and weather forecast was a rain, we tried to take something before the rain. The option to go to Sorbulak was rejected, as all other trips out of city. We went to Sairan reservoir where quickly took photos of both species of Dippers and Masked Wagtials. While we were taking photos I understood that our city is probably one of a littile number of birding spots where birders have opportunity to watch and take photos of two species of Dippers, and even from a short distance. After Sairan we immediately went to Kulja road, then to BAK road, and slowly drived [...... read more ]

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Уважаемые пользователи сайта, прошу оказать поддержку в оплате хостинга. Стоимость хостинга 2300 долларов в год. Если поделить общую сумму, необходимую для оплаты хостинга пропорционально объему, то на сайт birds.kz приходится 676 долларов. На сегодняшний день объем материала сайта birds.kz составляет 86.31 Гб информации.Дружескую поддержку сайту оказал Кирилл Танаев из Москвы на сумму 150 долларов, остается собрать 526 долларов, или 221 500 тенге. Можно перечислить на Каспи Голд + 7 (707) 312-02-11, можно также отправить деньги на яндекс-кошелек на главной странице.Отдельное [...... read more ]

Вчера в предгорьях мы с Викторией Звягинцевой нашли первый в этом году шафран алатавский, или, как его у нас называют, подснежник, который является в наших краях одним из символов 8 марта (это он ниже на фото). Международный женский день появился как день солидарности за права женщин, для того, чтобы обратить внимание общества на проблемы женщин. С тех пор много что изменилось в лучшую сторону, но и сейчас ООН использует праздник 8 марта, чтобы обратить внимание международного сообщества на какие-то важные моменты, в частности, в этом году темой [...... read more ]

I go to silverberry grove behind Uzunagach again. Target bird is a Thrush with red squares in flacks and breast which I saw twice by biniculars in previous visit but didn't take photos.I departed city at about 10 am, and after one hour driving reached the point of birding. I took the rubber boots to cross river everywhere. I worried to be cold when go in rubber boots by snow, but snow melted almost all around. By this reason the behavoir of birds was also changed. Thrushes and Greenfinches were foraging on the ground, they ate solverberries, and probably worms in the wet land. Thrushes paid specially attention to the puddles in depressions where thay can both drink and look for food in wet soil. I walked during 7 hours. After lunch time Thrushes were not acive, not fly a lot. But close to sunset they became active, they gathered together in the tops of trees, and flew down to silverberyy to forage. In the watching time I saw the couple of Sparrowhawks which probably will be nesting here, [...... read more ]

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