I walked to Baiserke to test the long focus lens with manual focus. The water in pond is still much, I saw about two tens Crested Grebes, Red-crested Pochards (male and female) and pair of Garganeys. [...... read more ]

The first Scops Owl arrived in Samal. Today evening I heard this year first Scops Owl. [...... read more ]

The House Martins round over the nest, probably they will nest here. I saw one only nest but about six Martins. Probably other nests aren't visible to me. Some years ago in Tajikistan I saw that arrived House Martins two day flew around old nests but later flew off. I thought that in Samal the story may occur again. Also I saw Chaffinches flying by in flocks, it means they didn't finish spring migration. [...... read more ]

Sunny, warm day. Trees are without leaves, but the slopes of foothills already covered by fresh green grass. In roadside thickets we saw Wood Pigeons and in places the Kestrels. Rooks are on nests already. On foothills the most popular bird was Corn Bunting. Buntings perched on bushes and wires, on some wires we counted 5 birds between poles. In some places we also saw already arrived Stonechats. Over Sunkar village on stone meadows The Isabelline Wheatears already formed the pairs and probably build the nests, so one pair were flushed by me from the hole. Larks flew and sang; on little river I saw White-bellied Dipper and this fact surprised me.On the rocks of Degeres Pass we observed two pairs of Rock Nuthatches near the nests, one female Redstart (probably migrating bird), and Chukar Partridges. One pair of Nuthatches flew off from old nest, but the nest of second pair was broken and birds reconstruct it, because the borders of nest were wet. In the sky three Cinereous Vultures soared, [...... read more ]

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The Chiffchaffs were arrived in a large number. They fed on the birch-trees and on the flowered apricot trees. Also I saw one Bluethroat. Greenfinches and Blackbirds were singing the songs. [...... read more ]

Sunny morning. The outing to the same places were I was in Sunday with the intent to shot the male Blue-capped Redstart. Redstart was in same place when I saw it two day ago. Probably this place will be comfortable to nesting; there are three high spruce-trees, thickets, river and stones. But unfortunately my attempts to close to Redstart were unsuccessful, bird didn't allow me to close less that 15 meters. On my oncoming Redstart flew in spruce tree, perched on attitude about 5-6 meters and sang his song. So I couldn't make good shots.The most popular today's bird is Black-throated Accentor. It is most visible and hearable too. It is interesting that Black-throated Accentors sing only perched on branch of tree or bush but never on stone. Grey-headed Goldfinches formed pairs and run one to another, but some of them fly with fuzz in beak, possibly to nest building. Today I saw Blackbirds, so I was right when I proposed that I heard them songs. Blackbirds both male and female flew in one [...... read more ]

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Murky and some times very murky day. Not spring but almost summer is in the city, but in the mountains there are still a lot of snow. But the spring is come in, the birds sing the song. I heard Tits, probably Great Tits and Coal Tits. The Black-throated Accentors sing a lot too. I saw singing Accentors on archa (juniper-bushes) and on spruce-trees. Other observed birds: one Wren, many Magpies, pair of Carrion Crow, flock of Grey-headed Goldfinches, one Kestrel, several Red-mantled Rosefinches (but one only very beauty pinkish male), one Grey Wagtail, one Tit-Warbler (?), and very unruffled Nutcracker. I heard the singing similar to singing of Blackbird. In the stones I noted the male of Blue-capped Redstart, and in the gorge's exit the large mixed flock of Chaffinches and Bramblings was occurred. Males of Chaffinhes and Bramblings already have bright breeding plumage. Unfortunately murky weather didn't have possibility to make good photo shots. [...... read more ]

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The Chaffinches still didn't fly off, today I saw two tens of them, only females. New bird: female Black Redstart. In Samal the House Martins build the nest under the roof of nine-floor building. I saw Mynah visited the Martin's nest, but I waited Martins about five minutes but without success. [...... read more ]

Trip with Andrey Kovalenko, Raufael Bairashev and Gennady Dyakin. Weather forecast was contrary, but in morning there was little rain only and we wait the sunny weather at dinner time. But at 8 am the snow started, and snowfall increased each time. First item of our trip was the nest of Black Stork on Kurty river. We found both nest and Stork but had not possibility to shot it on account of dense snowfall. On roadsides we saw quite much Black Kites which flew under the rain but hid in trees at snowfall time.The back road from Kurty to Sorbulak was under bold cover of snow. Snow covered the steppe too. But air and ground were warm, so snow thawed very quickly. At dinner time first open areas appeared. Birds appeared too. In the steppe zone there were a lot of Larks (Calandra and Greater Short-toed), some times Northern Wheatears, Corn Buntings were observed, once we saw flock of Eurasian Goldfinches. On lakes there were a lot of birds, mostly Coots and Ducks (Mallards, Wigeons, Pintails, [...... read more ]

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This spring first Kites, Hoopoes and Demoiselle Cranes. [...... read more ]