Kazakhstan birdwatching - Day VII

 Grey-necked Buntings (Emberiza buchanani)

What followed was the longest day of them all. We got up early in the morning and drove straight to the well in the Great Boguta mountains once again to try our luck for the horned lark and others again. We saw some if the common birds and a sweet young Isabelline Weatear, who was anything but shy. It looked like o new species were going to show for today, so we departed. However, I saw the horned lark from the window of our car. By this time, I was maybe one of the last two people who hadn't seen it yet. So I yelled stop and hopped out of the car. We went in the direction of the bird, but didn't really see it well. I only got a glimpse.

 Juvenile Issabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe Isabellina)

We couldn't do anything but continue on our way to the canyon of the Charyn River. We were nearing the mountains and were driving through grassy plains for quite some time. Along the way, we were stopping the car all the time as there were many birds of prey or songbirds to be seen. So we already fell behind our schedule. No one cared, though, except for maybe Askar or someone who was trying to stick to that schedule. We saw a Pied Wheatear - ssp. vittata, actually sharing a telephone vire with the brown variety of a Common Cuckoo. There were many raptors including Cinereous Vulture, Himalayan Vulture, Lesser Kestrels,  and both black and white variety of Booted Eagle. We also saw endemic marmots, I think Bobak Marmots (Marmota bobak).

Charyn River Canyon

Other than stopping the buses every few hundred meters, we also had one planned stop. The hills we were driving by were steep, not too high, full of bushes and blooming flowers (my allergy kick in) and allegedly also a home of a few species of songbirds, including a Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), which we apparently won't see anywhere else and therefore got a chance to try. The place was nice, we were climbing higher and higher up the hill and saw many interesting species like Red-billed Choughs. Not the Bunting, though. We got our hopes up when we saw a bird looking suspiciously like the bunting, but it turned out to be it close relative - a Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia), being very busy with apparently feeding its young.

Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleshanka ssp. vittata) and a red Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

We moved furtner, now entering the mountains. We got out of the busses again to walk the final kilometer or two to a place our guides were awating us with a lunch :) It took us a while to reach that place, though, as there were beutiful landscapes to také pictures of, Wheatears, even the Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush or the Chukar Partriges along the way.

 Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)

We quickly gulped the food we were given and started to look around for birds again. Our next road led us to the mountain, up to the elevation of around 1300 m above sea level. Or something like that. First thing we saw was a subspecies of a common european Goldfinch - a Grey-headed Goldfinch.

 Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis)

There were grassy plains with horses, cows and goats, with Rosy Starlings among them and even a familiar Sky Lark. We walked for a while, until we reached a beautiful view of the river down in the canyon. We spent some time just enjoying the view, and… trying to see interesting birds, of course. There were Eurasian Linnets, Common Rosefinches, we saw a nest of a Golden Eagle far in the distance.

 Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia)

We later moved to another location - near a dam which wasn't a home of a single bird. The nearby pines, though, hosted a few birds like Red-fronted Serin, which a few people saw, but not me. Unfortunately, none of us were able to find a Pine Bunting, which was the target here. Not much of a chance to meet it anywhere else. We were playing its song - practically identical to our European Yellowhammer, but without success.

 My dad and I walking to a lunch

On our way back down the mountains and through the planes, near the hilly area, we met the Relict Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus relictus) and made one more stop to try again for the Meadow Bunting. On a different hill, though, painted pick with the countless pink flowers blooming there. We had to walk through a meadow already up the hill a bit. The grass was tall, the ground was rocky and tricky, and we were already getting a little tired, so we progressed slower than before.

 Common Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)

Most of us groupped with Askar, who had the device to play the songs. We were rather sure we heard the bird a few times, but couldn't confirme it 100%. We stayed and the place, surveying the land for 20 minutes maybe, before we had to give up for time reasons and return. When we did, the last to arrive was the boss and owned of the Czech travel agency, who as usual went off to take pictures of the marmots or turtles and what have you.

 Hilly meadows

The bus was started and we were about to go, when the boss showed Askar a wonderfull photo worth being published in a bird atlas, of the Meadow Bunting, who was singing just near the marmot nest, which he was taking pictures of. We all went: "What? You must be kidding!".

 Mountainscape

The owner thought we must have seen it, too, since the bird wasn't very shy and all. We were a little angry he didn't let us know when we were there. Such a pity! We were tired, but despite urging us on before, Askar asked whether we wanted to go there again, with the boss showing us the place where the bunting perched. People were unsure, tiredness was creeping over us. Askar however said that we can try to quickly go, since this is a "vážnaja ptica" (serious bird).

 Horses and Rosy Starlings (Sturnus roseus)

So before anyone could think about it and try to say no, I hopped out of the bus. And we were going up the meadow once again. Playing the song. The bird was nowhere to be seen again, but then I saw the colorful and white head and happily shown everyone where the bird was. It wasn't as close anymore, but I think mostly everyone were able to see. Too bad our camera's battery just died….

 Moooo

The sun was already approaching the horizon slowly, and we still had to go a long way ot the Valley of Castles in the Charyn Canyon. It was a dry canyon of sandy reddish rocks in strange shapes, rather similar to the Grand Canyon in the USA.

 Getting closer to the mountains

We weren't here as much for the birds as for the scenery. The sunrays couldn't reach the valley itself anymore and there weren't really any birds to watch. Except for a flock of swifts, includin an Alpine Swift! Anyway, we were told we had about 20 minutes or so to go down the valley where the river was and back to the bus. Considering we didn't walk very slowly and only reached the river after around 40 mins, it was pretty unrealistic. And we weren't in one group anymore, so we were worried how do we all get to the busses at a similar time.

 River Canyon

We took pictures at the river, and me, my dad and a couple of other people went back. We didn't realize before that the way back is quite up the hill. My smartwatch told me we already had over 30000 steps for today and we were up since very early and were getting tired. Since there were still a lot of people from our group at the river, we thought we needn't hurry that much. After a while of tiring walk, we heard a car - the kind of car with seath for turists that pay a fee and can go to the river and back. We didn't meet many of them, though, and unfortunately even left our money at the bus. As soon as I heard the car, though, I had a feeling that it would be packed witht the Czech birdwatchers. And sure it was.

 Road to nowhere

We hardly even waved at it and it stopped to us. The many seats were full, though, so one person had to stand and hold on. The terrain was rather uneven and the driver was going definitely faster than I would in his position.

Relict Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus relictus)

It took us back to the busses in no time, though. Problem was, the last three people we met from our group seemed to have stayed at the river. No way to contact them, and they didn't know we took the car. Only option was to wait before they come so we can go for dinner. We were rather dismayed about it. Luckily, those people weren't stupid and also took the first car they ran into. First and last, too. For the day that is.

 Meadow that was a home to a Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)

We returned back at around 10 pm. I was very, very tired. This is seriously not the type of holiday to get yourself relaxed. But it is awesome nonetheless. Too bad I had no energy left to write any notes about the trip when they were fresh.

 Valley of Castles in the Charyn Canyon

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