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Barry Reed and myself decided to sign up for this Naturetrek led birding tour led
by John Ryan and a Russian Ornithologist, Professor Kovshar. From their brouchre…
Kazakhstan, lying at the heart of Central Asia on the Old Silk Road, is a massive country spanning 2,717,300 square kilometres from the Caspian
Sea to western China; an area the size of the whole of western Europe! Yet, with a population of just 17 million, mostly living in the cities,
this is a land of vast open and unpeopled spaces. Great stone and sand deserts, and wide grassy steppes occupy the majority of the country,
interspersed with such great inland lakes as Lake Balkhash and the Aral Sea. In dramatic contrast, along its south-eastern borders stand the
mighty Tien Shan Mountains, the 1,000-mile spine of Central Asia and northern extension of the Himalaya which waters flower-filled alpine meadows,
lush forests of Tien Shan Spruce and lowland Turanga, and feeds the great lakes and inland deltas to the north. It is in these diverse habitats
that you may hope to see such exciting avian specialities as Dalmatian Pelican, Saker Falcon, Himalayan Snowcock, Demoiselle Crane, Houbara
Bustard, Ibisbill, Pallas's Sandgrouse, Eversmann's Stock Dove, White-winged Woodpecker, Himalayan Rubythroat, Eversmann's and Guldenstadt's
Redstarts, Booted Warbler, Desert Warbler, Severtzov's Tit-warbler, Azure Tit, Turkestan Tit, Rose-coloured Starling, Saxaul Sparrow, Red-mantled
Rosefinch, White-winged Grosbeak, White-capped, Grey-necked and Red-headed Bunting.
Weather
Hot and sunny throughout (high 20s), until second evening camping at Kashengol, when… The wind suddenly picked up from nowhere until a minor
sandstorm was blowing. Through the sand, a distant thunder storm could be seen and very soon there was a torrential downfall. The tent was shaking
in the wind and everything inside was wet! The next day was quite chilly, made worse by walking around in wet cloths; fortunately it was the
last day.
Places Visited
Bartogai camp and surrounding area
A lakeside camp east of Almaty in the Sugaty valley. The surrounding area is made up of flat agricultural land fed by water from the Tien Shan
and Ketmen ranges, and hilly semi-desert and Artemesia-scented steppe. The Charyn Yellow river valley is very fertile and an Ash forest was
visited.
Almaty Reserve
Staying just above the treeline, at 2700m in an astronomical observatory in the Tien Shan mountains. Areas above the treeline (to 3400m) and
Big Almaty Lake below were visited. In the evening at the observatory we were able to view Venus, Jupiter and Saturn through the observatory’s
telescopes.
Koshengel camp and surrounding area
North of Almaty, set in flat steppe and desert. Nearby (10km) at Koshengel junction was a small farmstead and being the only lush area of land
for some distance proved a superb migrant trap. The Poplar variegate forest at Turanga was visited for Eversmann's Dove and nearby the
cemetery at Zhelturanga for Saxaul Sparrow.
Tamgaly Tas
On the long drive from Koshengel to Almaty, a detour was made to this rock gorge to look for Eastern Rock Nuthatches and also look at the Bronze
Age engravings.
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