Kazakhstan 2024 - the Ile River Delta

This morning we were allowed a lie-in and were not up until the late hour of 5am. We rechecked the sheep pens for better views of Desert Finch where this time we also had Turkestan Shrike, Blyth's Reed Warbler and Sykes's Warbler (ebird checklist here).

We scoped out several drinking pools (whilst enjoying breakfast in the car) for Black-bellied Sandgrouse (ebird checklist here).

It's not just birds that like the drinking pools

and these horses were very curious of us!

We spent the rest of the morning searching hard for Caspian Plover and I am pleased to say that with time running out we came across 6 birds (3 adults and 3 juveniles)! 

Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat as we found these Caspian Plovers just before we needed to leave the area.

We also enjoyed close views of this rather confiding if not slightly nervous Black-bellied Sandgrouse (not Pallas's Sandgrouse as I previously stated - thanks Yoav Perlman for pointing that one out).

Black-bellied Sandgrouse

We did in fact find a Pallas's Sandgrouse shortly after that - which was nice as the closest I'd come to seeing this species was a stuffed one at the Natural History Museum in Dublin many years ago. That particular specimen had been shot in Drumbeg, Co. Donegal in 1888. Presumably part of the large irruption that year caused possibly by heavy snowfalls and hard snow crust in its central Asian breeding area which led to problems with drinking water and feeding. Thankfully this bird was very much alive and well.

Pallas's Sandgrouse

Plus this very pale large raptor that we just couldn't fathom what it was and as I write it remains unidentified (However - see footnote).

Mystery raptor - suggestions and thoughts are welcome (see footnote)

ebird checklist here

Sadly that was the end of our time in the Taukum desert, we returned to our motel, checked out and were on the road again by 1pm. We spent most of the rest of that day driving towards the Ile River Delta. Within about 30 minutes of our accommodation we stooped  at an area of Turanga Woods to try for White-winged Woodpecker, Yellow-eyed Dove and Turkestan Tit and Saxual Sparrow. ebird checklist here

White-winged Woodpecker

Yellow-eyed Dove

Late that evening we arrived at our rather interesting guesthouse, a pirate themed venue complete with strippers pole!! 

They laid on a sumptuous meal of grilled Carp, salads and dumplings. 

Grilled Carp with all the trimmings

Dumplings, salads, bread - our waistlines were slowly expanding

The toilet was a bit basic so I elected to pee in a bottle that night rather than brave the dark. 

The 'en-suite' loo!

As sunset we had European Nightjar, Common Nightingale and Pallid Scops Owl. 

Pallid Scop's Owl

We left the pirate hotel the next morning but not before I dug out a Shrikra and Common Nightingale in the grounds. ebird checklist here 

As the day progressed we ventured further into the Ile River Delta stopping off at various different spots during the day. Highlights included Pallas's Sandgrouse, a Golden Eagle being chased by a Long-legged Buzzard, Steppe Grey Shrike and halimodendri Lesser Whitethroat.

Golden Eagle accompanied by Long-legged Buzzard

'halimodendri' Lesser Whitethroat - one of the eastern forms of Lesser Whitethroat.

Checklists are here and here.

We reached our camping spot by 5pm and whilst Louis and myself looked for and found Pander's Ground Jay, Anar set up our camp. We had brief views of Pander's Ground Jay and I enjoyed much closer views of an Asian Desert Warbler. After we had pitched tents, inflated the mattresses we settled down for dinner. As we sat eating Nightjars flew over our heads and we watched the moon come up as the sun set. We all went to bed at 8pm but I just lay awake in my tent listening to the sounds and silence of the desert, which from what I could tell was mostly Isabelline Wheatears, Crickets and Nightjars.

Yet another excellent 'field kitchen' meal from Anar

The moon rising over our desert basecamp

The sun sets on another great day of birding

We rose at 4am to search for Pander's Ground Jay, managing to locate a small party of these charismatic birds.

Pander's Ground Jay

We then gathered for breakfast followed by one final bit of birding in the area where I tried for shots of Turkestan Shrike, Asian Desert Warbler and Rufous Bush Chat. I failed with two but got decent shots of Asian Desert Warbler.

Asian Desert Warbler

With that, we packed up our tents, hit the road once more and spent the rest of that day driving towards our next set of digs. I was so tired that evening that I skipped dinner altogether and went to bed early. 

Footnote: Rob Vaughan and Yoav Perlman have both pointed out that this is a Short-toed Eagle - mystery solved!

Kazakhstan 2024 - the Taukum Desert Steppe

My alarm went at insanely early hour of 3:15am! That morning we were going to search for MacQueen's Bustard which meant being out early on the Desert Steppe. We drove 30 kilometers northwards from Kanshangel before turning off the main road and heading along a narrow piste through the desert to a stop where we began scanning for the Bustards. Louis-Philippe got us onto a bird, it was distant and the gradually increasing heat haze made viewing tricky but at least we had found one. 

Louis-Philippe and Nick scan for McQueen's Bustards

There were also plenty of Black-bellied Sandgrouse flying around and looking for safe drinking spots. The air was filled with the sound of larks, mostly Calandra larks, Greater Short-toed Larks and Turkestan Larks. No obvious Bimaculated Larks or Eurasian Sky Larks. We needed to be in more rocky uneven terrain in order to see Bimacuclated - more to follow there. We also flushed another large Aquila and this time it was, to my delight, a Golden Eagle. Golden Eagle has been an obvious gaping hole on my life list so it was great to finally see one. 

Golden Eagle - a long overdue 'lifer'.

We also had 4 Monty's that morning and a little later we managed to find up to 6 Greater Sand Plovers (2 sets of juveniles, 2 quite well-grown and 2 recently fledged).

Greater Sand Plover

The insanely early start and the lack of a proper sleep was really hitting me at this stage and if I'm honest I struggled throughout the entire trip with fatigue. It was a combination of the early starts, lack of sleep on the flight over, the heat, long intense days of birding and poor sleep in the hotels and guesthouses. However, I didn't want to let that stop me enjoying my time in Kazakhstan and I just had to keep telling myself that I could rest when I got home because for now I might never be back again and might miss some incredible birds.

We got back to the hotel at 11am and thankfully gave ourselves until 3pm before heading back out. To be fair, once the heat picks up and the haze appears there is not much birding or bird activity until late afternoon when the temperatures start to fall back a bit.

In the afternoon we headed back out, this time heading towards the foothills of what eventually becomes the mountain range separating Kazakhstan from neighbouring Krygyztan. We stopped to view some 2000 year old Hieroglyphs on a raised rocky outcrop which gave 360 degree views of the surrounding desert steppe. 

2000 year old hieroglyphs on an area of raised rock

This photo doesn't do justice to the panoramic views of the surrounding desert

We flushed hundreds of Calandra and Greater Short-toed Larks from the roadside but as the terrain became more undulating and rocky it started to suit Bimaculated Lark a lot more and it was in one of these rocky areas that it we managed to find three Bimaculated Larks. They afforded much better views than the single bird we'd seen in Armenia the previous year and the structural differences between them and Calandra Larks became much clearer We also had several Pied Wheatears and Red-headed Bunting in this area.

Calandra Lark - one of the many

ebird checklist here

We finished the day by checking the sheep pens on the opposite side of the road from the hotel for Desert Finch. We saw two but views weren't great. We also had Turkestan Shrike, a family party of Hoopoes and bird of the day (for me) Long-tailed Shrike. ebird checklist here

Long-tailed Shrike - possibly at the most northern edge of their wintering range in southern Kazakhstan

Desert Finch

And that was it for another day!

Sun sets on the Taukum Desert

Kazakhstan 2024 - Almaty and start of the Desert Steppe

We arrived late evening in old capital of Almaty and stayed in an airport hotel. We were picked up at 6am the next morning by Louis-Philippe and Anar who were to be our guide and driver/cook for the rest of our trip. We made our way out of Almaty through the morning rush hour traffic, our eventual destination by the end of the day was the Taukum desert steppe north-west of Almaty.  However before reaching there we birded a series of ponds, lakes and canals en route. We started our birding that day at an area of suburban lakes and reedbeds where we enjoyed a lovely picnic breakfast and did some light birding with plenty of Black Terns, Black-necked Grebes, Black-crowned Night Herons and Little Bitterns. 

One of many excellent meals from Anar's 'field' kitchen - we never once went hungry!

We searched the nearby reedbeds for Clamorous Reed Warblers managing to find one singing bird along with a supporting duo of Cuckoo and Lesser Grey Shrike. 

Clamorous Reed Warbler

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon birding these more of these areas. Highlights included White-headed Duck, Azure Tit, Caspian Gull, Kentish Plover, Garganey, Ferruginous Duck and Collared Pratincole, Greenish Warbler, Clamorous Reed Warbler and a very busy Rosy Starling colony. 

Azure Tit

Rosy Starling - plenty of food for hungry youngsters1

We made a brief roadside stop to ID a large Aquila spp. which turned out to be Steppe Eagle.

Steppe Eagle heading in the long grass.

By late afternoon we arrived in the area of desert steppe where we were going to spend the next few days birding. We did a late afternoon search for Caspian Plover and Greater Sand Plover but failed to locate either. However, with the sun dipping the evening light was perfect. I spent the last hour or so of that watching a Syke's Warbler feeding its young and noted carefully the differences between it and the Booted Warblers we'd been watching only a few days earlier on the northern steppe. A pair of Rufous-tailed Robins and a Little Owl added to the entertainment.

Rufous Bush Robin

Syke's Warbler

We checked into our hotel which was effectively a large roadside motel. 

Kanshengel Motel and Cafe

We were stationed along the main south to north Almaty to Astana road. 

Most of fellow guests were I'm told either long distance truck drivers (some coming from China and going on to Russia in the north) or shepherds moving livestock long distances. The rooms were basic, the noise all night from the trucks running their fridges in the carpark and the stifling heat made sleep difficult despite being shattered. On the plus side, the motel had a large canteen style restaurant and we were well fed during our stay, not sure about the green cola drink though!!

The motel 'restaurant'.

Dinner - another 'meat-fest' washed down with a bottle of 'Green Stuff'!!

The 'chai' was excellent though and very refreshing after a hot day's birding.

A cuppa o' Chai at the end of a busy and hot morning's birding was always refreshing.

More birding to follow in the next instalment!