Aksu-Jabagly
Nature Reserve,
By Sander Bot
Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
coturnix
May 12, 19:
2 and 5 birds near Dzhabagly respectively. One bird of the 12th
flushed from a field, my first sighting ever after hearing 100s of birds.
Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
mongolicus
Heard daily
on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly. However, hard to see, the only sightings
were on May 24 and June 5: very light buffish wings obvious, broad white collar
patches at sides of neck.
Black Stork Ciconia nigra
May 13: 1
adult circling above the mountains near Dzhabagly.
Lammergeier Gypaetus
barbatus aureus
May 25,
June 2: immature above the mountains near Dzhabagly.
May 29:
adult above the mountains near Dzhabagly.
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus
June 6: 1
adult near the mountains at Dzhabagly. Happy to see this species just a few
days before we left Dzhabagly, now we have seen 5 speciesа
Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus fulvus
Seen nearly
daily in small numbers in the mountains near Dzhabagly. Maximum of 16 on May
28.
Himalayan Griffon Vulture Gyps himalayensis
May 25, 27,
28: 1 adult in the mountains near Dzhabagly.
Eurasian Black Vulture Aegypius monachus
Seen nearly
daily in small numbers in the mountains near Dzhabagly. Maximum of 5 on May 14.
Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
May 13, 24:
female type near Dzhabagly.
June 2:
adult male calling in forest patch near Dzhabagly.
Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus rufinus
Seen nearly
daily near Dzhabagly, usually 1 bird. On May 12 a dark brown morph was seen and
on May 25 a bird caught a Rose-coloured Starling.
Booted Eagle Aquila pennata
A pair,
both dark morph, was often seen in and around a patch of forest near Dzhabagly,
suggesting breeding there.
June 6: 1
light morph near Dzhabagly.
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos canadensis
May 24, June 1: adult in the mountains near Dzhabagly.
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus
Common around Dzhabagly.
Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo
subbuteo
Common around Dzhabagly.
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax
May 16: 1
male in the fields near Dzhabagly.
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Irregularly seen along streams near Dzhabagly.
Rock Pigeon Columba livia neglecta
Sometimes seen in the
Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus casiotis
Common on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly.
Eurasian
Collared Dove Streptopelia
decaocto decaocto
Common in Dzhabagly village.
а
European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur
May 12: 1 bird in Dzhabagly village was probably a migrant.
Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis meena
Common on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly. Very shy, hard to get good looks.
Laughing
Dove Streptopelia
senegalensis
Common in Dzhabagly village.
Common
Cuckoo Cuculus
canorus
Fairly common around Dzhabagly. Once a brown morph female, on May 14.
European
Nightjar Caprimulgus
europaeus
June 1: 1 bird flushed from a dry riverbed near Dzhabagly.
Common Swift Apus apus pekinensis
May 11: few birds near Almaty train station.
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster
Dzhabagly: often heard, seldom seen.
European Roller Coracias garrulous garrulous
May 11: commonly seen from the train between Almaty and Taraz.
Common at Dzhabagly.
Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops epops
Common in and close to Dzhabagly village.
White-winged Woodpecker Dendrocopus leucopterus
May 13, 22, 25: 1 bird near Dzhabagly.
Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
May 16, 20: singing near Dzhabagly.
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica rustica
Common in Dzhabagly village.
Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica rufula
A breeding pair was present in Dzhabagly village.
Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris
May 28
onwards: male singing in a field near Dzhabagly.
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
trivialis
May 15: 2
birds near Dzhabagly village were probably migrants.
Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola
calcarata
May 13: a
male near the edge of Dzhabagly village was probably a migrant.
Grey Wagtail Motacilla
cinerea cinerea
Fairly
common along the bigger streams near Dzhabagly. During mid May common around
Dzhabagly.
Masked Wagtail. Motacilla
personata
Very common
in Dzhabagly, juveniles from June 6 onwards.
May 21, 28,
30: A bird with a blackish back in Dzhabagly village, suggesting a hybrid
origin with HodgsonТs Wagtail Motacilla
alboides. The back was blackish, showing nearly now contrast with the head.
The rump however was dark grey. Flanks dark grey.
Common Nightingale Luscinia
megarhynchos hafizi
Common on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly.
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica pallidogularis
May 15: male near Dzhabagly.
May 18: female near Dzhabagly.
Siberian Stonechat Saxicola
maurus maurus
May 20:
Female on a mountain slope near Dzhabagly.
May 26: Female
near the entrance of the Aksu-Jabagly Nature Reserve.
Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka
May 30:
female near Dzhabagly. The only sighting of any wheatear near Dzhabagly.
Blue Whistling Thrush Myophonus
caeruleus
Irregularly
seen along streams near Dzhabagly. A shy species, song heard only once.а
Common Blackbird Turdus merula intermedius
Fairly
common in and around Dzhabagly. A male seen on May 16 in a forest patch
appeared to me clearly bigger than the nominate subspecies.
Common Grasshopper Warbler Locustellaа naevia
May 12, 14:
respectively 7 and 3 individuals flushed from the mountain slopes near
Dzhabagly.
Paddyfield Warbler Acrocephalus agricola
Between mid
May and early June Acrocephalus
warblers were common on the mountain slopes and fields near Dzhabagly.
Identification of these skulkers was difficult, but some were singing: babbling
imitations, softer and less pretty than Marsh Warbler. These birds were warm
brown, sometimes even recalling CettiТs Warbler in colouration, suggesting
these birds were Paddyfield Warblers. However, the long pale supercilium was usually
not obvious, concerning and confusing me a bit. maybe this is less obvious in
adults. Once a dark tip was seen on the lower mandible, excluding Reed Warbler.
After all I think that the most birds during the middle of May were Paddyfield,
and European Reed Warbler took over by the end of the month.
European Reed Warbler Acrocephalus (scirpaceus) fuscus
May 29,
June 6: 1 mist netted and photographed on a mountain slope near Dzhabagly. See
Paddyfield Warbler.а
Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus
schoenobaenus
May 14: 1
flushed from a field near Dzhabagly.
Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca
Common
migrant around Dzhabagly during the middle of May. Identification to
(sub)species level tricky. I think these birds were not minula or althaea, but
either curruca and/or halimodendri types. Short description of
a typical bird, seen in an orchard on May 18: song a whistling melody. Big,
structure of curruca. Flank unmarked, neither grey nor buffy. Ear-coverts
clearly darker grey than crown, accentuated by pale eye-surround. Upperparts
hard to judge on colour, grey-brown, not clearly greyer or lighter than
nominate in
HumeТs Whitethroat Sylvia althaea
Fairly
common on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly, the first sighting on the 20th
of May.
Song fairly
similar to Common Whitethroat, usually clearer and a bit faster.
Compared to
the migrants in the valley: bigger, greyer back and no clear ear-coverts. T6
completely white.
Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis
Fairly
common on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly.
Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides viridanus
During the
middle of May a common migrant around and in Dzhabagly. By the end of May less
common and sometimes seen or heard on the mountain slopes.
HumeТs Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus
humei humei
Common on
the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly.
Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus
collybita tristis
During the
middle of May subspecies tristis was
a fairly common migrant on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly. Latest sighting
on the 26th of May.
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa
striata
Very common
migrant during the middle of May on the mountain slopes near Dzhabagly.
Uncommon by the end of May and not seen in June.
Asian
May 14: a
female in a patch of forest on a mountain slope near Dzhabagly. This patch was
visited nearly daily during May and early June, so this single sighting
suggests a migrant.
June5:
about 4 female type birds near the entrance of the Aksu-Jabagly Nature Reserve.
Yellow-breasted Tit Cyanistes
flavipectus
Fairly
common around Dzhabagly, seen or heard daily in small numbers.
On June 1 a
nest was found with at least 5 nestlings, about 10 days old. The nest was in
the open top of a sign bordering the Akzu-Dzhabagly Nature Reserve. One bird of
the pair was mist netted and photographed.
Turkestan Tit Parus bokharensis
ferghanensis
Fairly
common in and around Dzhabagly. However, by the end of May the species was very
silent, and only seldom heard or seen. Thick bill compared to Great Tit.
According
to Wassink (2007) hybrids with Great Tit occur in this region, but all birds
seen looked like pure Turkestan Tits.
Great Tit Parus major major
May 11: 1
bird near Almaty train station.
White-crowned Penduline Tit Remiz
coronatus
The
nominate was our study species near Dzhabagly. 4 Small streams from mountain
slopes were monitored. In this habitat the species is common, we found 25
nests.
Indian Golden Oriole Oriolus (oriolus) kundoo
Very common
in and around Dzhabagly.
Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio
collurio
May 13: 1
singing male on a mountain slope near Dzhabagly was a migrant.
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius
schach
Common in
Dzhabagly, but not seen outside the village.
Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius
minor
Common in
and around Dzhabagly, also in the mountains.
Eurasian Magpie Pica
pica bactriana
Common in
and around Dzhabagly.
Rook Corvus
frugilegus frugilegus
May 11: commonly seen from the train between Almaty and Taraz.
Not seen near Dzhabagly.
Carrion Crow Corvus
corone orientalis
Common around
Dzhabagly, sometimes in groups.
Common Raven Corvus corax
May 17:
pair flying over head and calling on a mountain slope near Dzhabagly.
Subspecies unknown.
а
Common Starling Sturnus
vulgaris porphyronotus
Common
breeding bird in Dzhabagly village.
Rose-coloured Starling Sturnis roseus Sound recorded
May 11:
huge groups seen from the train between Almaty and Taraz.а
In
Dzhabagly, the first sighting only on the 21st of May, abundant
there from the 23rd on.
In June, at
dawn (
Common Myna Acridotheres
tristis tristis
Very common
in and around Dzhabagly. During the day they follow cattle in the fields, often
sitting on the back of horses or sheep. By the end of the day they come back to
the village, like the cattle. A pair was building a nest near our bed room,
waking us up every morning.
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
I think the
nominate subspecies is a common breeding bird in Dzhabagly. However, a House
Sparrow photographed in Dzhabagly on June 6 looks like a bactrianus (Indian Sparrow).
May 12, 13
and 31: A group or respectively about 30, 20 and 10 birds migrating over the
mountain slope in Southern direction. They fly very fast in a straight
direction. The group of the 13th landed in a small bush and could be
identified as the subspecies bactrianus.
I expect the other groups to be bactrianus
as well, because of their migratory behavior.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus dilutus
Very common
in Dzhabagly.
Common Linnet Carduelis cannabina
bella
A few
sightings near Dzhabagly village.
Desert Finch Rhodospiza
obsoleta
May 15: a
pair in very fresh plumage feeding on the ground along the main street in
Dzhabagly village.
Common Rosefinch Carpodacus
erythrinus ferghanensis Sound recorded
Common on
the higher mountain slopes near Dzhabagly. The red in males extends further on
the underparts and upperparts than the nominate subspecies.
June 7:
female flew in a mist net, while using it for trapping Penduline Tits. Released
after photographing.
White-capped Bunting Emberiza stewarti
June 1:
Song heard on a mountain slope near the entrance of the Aksu-Jabagly Nature
Reserve.
Grey-necked Bunting Emberiza buchanani neobscura
May13: 2
birds at the edge of Dzhabagly village gave great views and must have been
migrants.
Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps
Very common
around Dzhabagly. Female seen only twice!
Corn Bunting Emberiza
calandra buturlini
Abundant in
the fields around Dzhabagly.
For any
questions, corrections or whatsoever: feel free to email me on
sanderbot@yahoo.co.uk
greetings,
Sander