Today at morning the temperature was -35C, but at lunch time (12.20 am) it was -27C, and I went to birding. Birding in frost can’t be very long and I planned to look for Peregrine Falcon on Republic Square during about one hour. I selected this spot for two reasons. Firstly, last time I twice noticed flying Peregrine in vicinity of Square; secondly, here is open area and the flying bird is visible from a far. But down the road to Square I visited Park Zhambyla. Birds in park were a bit, even near bird feeder. Near the exit from park I noticed the flock of Bullfinches on ash-tree. I took some photo of birds and decided to make one more circle in Park. It was the right decision because I found Ural Owl! The snow covered Owl perched on the branch of fir-tree. I didn’t disturb it, took 2-3 photos and go on. I was very happy and didn’t hide camera to bag but went with it in hands. It was the right decision because near Republic Square I noticed the flying Peregrine Falcon. I noticed Falcon, [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Уважаемые пользователи сайта. Добавления новая опция - теперь с любой из страниц вида ( информация , галерея , видео ) можно легко перейти на страницу этого же вида на дружественных сайтах. [...... read more ]

Perfect sunny and frosty (-7C) day. Trip to the snowy city beach and to the dispensary vicinity. There are a bit of birds against expectations. The most interesting spot was the poplar alley near city beach. Here we saw two Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Nuthatches, Tits. Grey-headed Woodpecker regularly made sounds, responded to our records; most of time both Grey-headed Woodpeckers were staying in the high braches of poplars. But once one of them decreased and I could to take photos which I further looked at home. This Woodpecker didn’t knock the tree like other Woodpeckers but cuddled the trunk and poked the bill into the bark slots. On the photo I noticed that Woodpecker poked the language into slots, and cuddled the trunk because it is more convenient to poke language.In Ulba riverside we were feeding Nuthatches by sunflower seeds out of hands. Very nice feeling! As Nataly Kim told the feeding Nuthatches out of hands is the best of antidepressants. [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Today is the fourth day of the snowfall. In some places snow is already knee-high. I can’t wait the end of snowfall, tomorrow forecast is clear and then again four day snowfall and temperature decrease until – 20 degrees at day-time. I think it will until the spring.I went to birding at 11 am, it was snowing but not as dense as at morning. Firstly I visited Park Zhambyl to take photos of heros of the occasion, because today is Tits Day. But the first birds I saw were not Tits but Waxwings; the flock of latter perched to the tree over my head but I couldn’t shoot them because they flew away. I walked in the Park about one hour; it’s a good time taking into account the ongoing snowfall. During this time I saw Great Tits, both species of Crows, Magpies, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, 2 Black-throated Thrushes and 1 Sparrowhawk. Then I moved to Park Kirova, where saw nothing. Not so bad birding for the snowfall day but I wanted to watch any more and went to the Left-riverside Park. [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Short story. Trip to Gerasimovka. There are not so much birds as at last visit. I think because firstly the sunflower field was mowed and secondly snow. Most of the time it had been snowing probably stopping only at half an hour, when birds appeared. The most of birds was finches (Greenfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinches, Hawfinch, Goldfinch) + Yellowhammers + Thrushes (Fieldfares, Black-throated Thrushes, Redwings). I heard the voice of the Grey-headed Woodpecker, and saw Great Grey Shrike.Significant records: two Wood Pigeons, Common Kestrel over the field, 4 Common Starlings feeding on silverberry tree together with Filedfares. [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

Weather is cold (-10 morning, -6 day) but sunny and almost windless. At 8.30 am I visited Park Zhambyla, nothing found, and went to Komsomolsky island where I was about 3 and half very alive hours. I expected to watch the little passerines and my expectations were met. Today main spot is the little pine grove on the Irtysh river’s bank. Here are wintering birds dominated: three species of Tits, Nuthuch, Goldcrest, all this birds were very active. Near pines I saw female Chaffinch, male Baikal Bullfinch, and the flock of Black-throated Thrushes + 1 Fieldfare feeding on aplle-tree. All this birds will stay here next months therefore I tried to find birds of any other species. When I closed to pines I see little orange bird perched to the branch only to one moment and fly to the river direction. I guessed the Red-flanked Bluetail because I expected to see it in migration path from Siberia, but I saw not sure. About half-hour I explored pine-grove and vicinity until found Bluetails. I saw [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

There are rainy days in Ust-Kamenogorsk, last night the rain turned to morning snow. Because morning is without precipitation I made the short walk to next parks. Park of Dzhambul. At 8 am it was very dark, so when I noticed little Warblers under the bush I take photo with ISO 3200 and exposition 1/20 sec. Photos are blurry but the Hume’s Warbler on photo is well identified. When the dark it’s very difficult to find a little brown bird but even more difficult to trace its movement. I noticed the little bird in low spruce-tree and took photos as I could. Then bird quickly flew from one tree to another, I traced it very hard. In the end bird stayed in large spruce-tree, but when I approached bird flys to green fence. I took some photos then bird was again moving between trees and I lost it. It is Taiga Flycatcher in my opinion. Some time I was checking all spruce-trees in park but noticed little bird in high branches. I guessed the Flycatcher but when I shot it in the little spruce-tree [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]

The half-day trip to the mountains to east from Ust-Kamenogorsk with Viktor Kolesnikov. The weather is mostly cloudy and quite windy, but it’s very easy in some downwind gorges. Due to snow we couldn’t go far from the road therefore we watched birds mostly near asphalt. We saw Dipper in Malaya Ulba river; in the roadside thickets we watched Long-tailed Rosefinches, Willow Tits (feeding sunflower seeds directly on the road), Great Tits, Nuthatches, one Jay. No any bird of prey but one Raven soared over us. Over “Altai Alps” we went deep to the mixed forest (most birch and pine trees) where saw the Black Woodpecker's holes in trees but itself was not visible and hearable. We watched at least 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, some flocks of shy Bullfinches feeding on their favorite ash-trees, the large flock of Long-tailed Tits attracting to sound.Viktor, thank you for the trip! [...... read more ]

[more photos ......]