Birdwatching Holiday Kazakhstan Uzbekistan

Central Asia: birding the Silk Road

Thursday 13 May to Monday 31 May 2010

Thursday 12 May to Monday 30 May 2011
with Steve Rooke and Victoria Kovshar as leaders.

Cost: £3450 plus about £640 for flights (2010)
Single room supplement: £190

Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown

Maximum group size: 14 with 2 leaders. 2 leaders join this tour regardless of group size.

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'My first birding trip that felt more like a real holiday. Steve was a fabulous leader, so professional and extremely entertaining.' V. Davison 2006

'Organisation was excellent. Ground crew and leaders always did their best to add that little bit extra.' P. Wilson 2006

'Quite simply a wonderful tour. It was an experience that will stay with me always.' B. Leach 2009

The Silk Road, Samarkand and Bukhara – names that conjure up images of fierce Mongol hordes storming out of the east and of dusty camel trains and crowded bazaars where exotic jewels and oriental spices were traded by travellers from far-off lands. Stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Tien Shan mountains, the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are indeed richly endowed with history and culture, a flavour of which we’ll sample on this exciting tour.

The varied traditions and customs of this fascinating region are matched by a wide variety of habitats. We follow the Golden Road to Samarkand, an ancient route that leads to the drifting sand dunes of the Kyzyl-Kum desert, where we’ll look for Pander’s Ground Jay, one of the region’s really special birds. Following the ancient trading routes we’ll find ourselves surrounded by the enormous skies and wormwood-scented breezes of the northern Kazak steppes alive with White-winged and Black Larks and we’ll seek out ancient woodlands where Yellow-eyed Stock Doves and Saxaul Sparrows still breed. Then, turning south, we’ll reach the dramatic splendour of the snow-capped Tien Shan mountains, awash with wild flowers and home to Himalayan Snowcock and Güldenstadt’s Redstart.

Now oil-rich countries in their own right, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are developing fast but still manage to retain an air of mystery and intrigue guaranteed to fire the imagination. The fantastic birds combined with the rich and unique cultural heritage is sure to present a truly memorable birdwatching experience, which Steve, on his thirteenth tour to the region, is keen to share with you.

Day 1: The tour begins with a direct flight to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, arriving in the early morning of Day 2.

Day 2: After arrival we will transfer to a city hotel for the night and then take a morning flight southwest to the Silk Road town of Bukhara. We’ll check in to our hotel located in the heart of the old town and then venture out to the surrounding wetlands to begin our birding. Here we’ll explore reedbeds that are home to Clamorous and Moustached Warblers as well as the Caspian race of Reed Warbler and Bearded Tit. Smart Citrine and Black-headed Wagtails and Bluethroats add splashes of colour while White-tailed Plovers, all in smart breeding plumage, and Kentish Plovers are common. Marbled Duck and Caspian Gulls can usually be found and flights of Pygmy Cormorants skim the water. We’ll see the first of many Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and Pied Bushchats and there is always the chance of a Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, Collared Pratincoles or Oriental Skylark.

Later we’ll return to Bukhara for lunch and to spend the afternoon immersing ourselves in the true splendour of the historic old town. We’ll visit the Ark, where Stoddart and Connolly met their famous demise in 1842, the Kalen Minaret, one of the few building left standing after the visit of Genghis Khan, the trading domes where ancient caravanserai would ply their trade, and many other sights. There will be time to haggle over the price of a Bukaran rug, buy spices or pause for a cold drink at Labi Hauz, and ancient city waterhole surrounded by stunning buildings and mulberry trees that were planted in the 15th century. Night in Bukhara.

Day 3: In contrast to the rich wetlands we saw yesterday, today we’ll venture deep into the dry Kyzyl-Kum Desert to search for the handsome Pander’s Ground Jay, one of the really special birds of Central Asia. These striking grey, black and white birds spend much of their time running over the sand dunes that are dotted with saxual bushes, occasionally flying up to perch in a prominent position. We can also expect to see the local desert race of Little Owl, Stone Curlew, lots of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, Steppe Grey Shrike, Isabelline Wheatear, and Streaked Scrub Warbler, while any small stand of trees can hold migrants from flocks of Rose-coloured Starling and Golden Orioles to Thrush Nightingales and Ortolan Buntings. Night in Bukhara.

Day 4: Venturing out of the town once more we’ll have a morning to look at a mix of dry scrub, reed-fringed pools and open desert steppe. As well as species we have already encountered we’ll be looking for Sykes’s Warbler, and Rufous Bush Robins which can be numerous, and a few pairs of the shy Ménétries’s Warbler. The roadside wires are a good place to see Oriental and European Turtle Doves and Long-tailed Shrikes, while any pool can hold flocks of Red-crested Pochard or migrant Red-necked Phalaropes. We’ll return to Bukhara for lunch and then begin our journey along the Silk Road to the fabled city of Samarkand. Night in Samarkand.

Day 5: To the south of the town lies a range of low hills where we’ll stroll along a delightful valley alive with Red-headed Buntings. White-throated Robins and Eastern Orphean and Upcher’s Warblers breed among the bushes and Hume’s Short-toed Lark feeds among the rocky outcrops. Isabelline and Lesser Grey Shrikes and Eastern Rock Nuthatch also breed along with a few pairs of European Bee-eaters and, with luck, we may encounter a striking Asian Paradise Flycatcher or a Finsch's Wheatear. Those interested in plants or butterflies will find much to occupy them as this sun-drenched spot is a riot of insects and flowers. For lunch we’ll escape the midday sun to have a barbeque in the shade of a wooded valley before we return to the town in the late afternoon. In the afternoon we’ll return to the city where turquoise-blue domes and towering minarets break the skyline and there will be time for our first visit to some of Samarkand’s buildings with a walk along ‘the street of tombs’, a stunning collection of small buildings that are a riot of coloured tiles. Night in Samarkand.

Day 6: The day will start with a visit to some pools where we should see Shikra, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Turkestan Tit, and White-crowned Penduline Tit among other species. We’ll then spend time visiting more of Samarkand’s treasures including the elaborately decorated mausoleum of Tamerlane, whose vast empire had its centre in Samarkand, the massive Bibi Khanum mosque (once the largest in Central Asia) and of course the world famous Registan. This amazing collection of buildings is one of the most famous sights in Central Asia and we’ll make sure we have plenty of time to explore all it has to offer. After lunch we’ll begin the drive to Tashkent, stopping along the way to look at Pied and Variable Wheatears and a bizarre colony of White Storks nesting on power pylons. Night in Tashkent.

Day 7: Our day will be spent in the Chimgan Hills. The lower slopes are drenched in juniper trees that are home to Hume’s Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow-breasted and Rufous-naped Tits, and White-capped and Rock Buntings. Red-rumped Swallows nest under the balconies of the local buildings while overhead we can expect Eurasian and possibly Himalayan Griffons, Booted Eagle, Oriental and European Honey Buzzards, Hobby and Peregrine Falcon. The songs of ‘Indian’ Golden Orioles, Nightingales and Blyth’s Reed Warblers are everywhere, and this can be a good place for migrants with anything from Waxwing to Hawfinch possible. Later we’ll drop down to lower altitudes, pausing at a stream to look for Blue Whistling Thrush and Brown Dipper, before visiting woodlands where Asian Paradise Flycatchers breed. We’ll return to Tashkent and spend our last night in Uzbekistan at a traditional restaurant in the town. Night in Tashkent.

Days 8-9: An early morning flight will take us to Almaty in Kazakhstan, where we arrive around midday. From the airport we drive east towards China, following the line of the snow-capped Tien Shan mountains. Rollers and Lesser Grey Shrikes will line the roadside wires and we’ll pause in a dramatic gorge where we Golden Eagles nest and Crag Martins swoop around the rocks. Later we reach our comfortable camp with spacious, individual tents, showers and great food. Our camp is located on the shores of a lake with Long-legged Buzzards nesting on a low cliff and Grey-necked Buntings singing all around us.

The scenery in this part of Kazakhstan is truly inspiring with endless desert plains backed by low hills, dramatic gorges and distant snow-capped mountains. These habitats open plains and low hills are home to Demoiselle Cranes, Lesser Kestrels, Shore Larks, Desert Warblers, Rock Sparrow and Mongolian and Asian Crimson-winged Finch. Other raptors could include the mighty Saker, and Imperial and Steppe Eagles. We’ll visit a small breeding colony of Himalayan Griffons and are sure to also see some Black Vultures while elsewhere a quiet valley should give us breeding Pine Buntings. Nights camping.

Day 10: We leave the camp today to return to Almaty and the comfort of a hotel. However before that we spend the morning looking for another of the region’s specialities, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, as they come to drink at a small pool. We are bound to see their more common cousin, Black-bellied Sandgrouse but Pallas’s cannot be relied on to appear as their numbers vary from year to year. Other birds we’ll see in this area include Desert Wheatear, smart Desert Finches and Spanish Sparrows and, with luck, Pale Martins at a breeding colony. Night in Almaty.

Days 11-12: Today we travel north into the wild heart of Kazakhstan to spend two nights camping in the Taukum Desert, a vast area of undulating hills and wormwood covered grasslands. We will stop along the way at a small lake where we can marvel at a colony of around 5000 pairs of Rose-coloured Starlings and as we drive north Long-legged Buzzards, European Rollers and Lesser Grey Shrikes will line the roadside wires. We’ll camp by an artesian well that acts as a magnet for local breeding birds as well as numerous migrants. There is a constant stream of larks coming to drink – Calandra and Bimaculated are the most obvious but Greater, Lesser and Asian Short-toed Larks are also frequent visitors. Other birds we can expect include flocks of Black-bellied Sandgrouse and perhaps some of the scarce resident Greater Sand Plovers or handsome Caspian Plovers in full breeding plumage. This open desert is also home to McQueen’s (Houbara) Bustard and we stand a good chance of finding a pair close to our camp. Further north lies the delta of the Ili River, a strange area of sand dunes interspersed with marshy pools and stands of turanga trees, and it is here that some of the region’s very special birds; Yellow-eyed Stock Dove, White-winged Woodpecker, Azure and Turkestan Tits and the beautiful Saxaul Sparrow, are all easy to see. Nights in desert camp.

Around the camp fire in the Taukum Desert

Day 13: We’ll spend the morning exploring the areas around our camp. Small stands of trees act as magnets for migrants among which we are sure to find Oriental Turtle Doves, Barred and Blyth’s Reed Warblers, Black-throated Thushes, and perhaps a Little Crake or European Nightjar. Later we’ll drive south to the Tamgaly-Tas petroglyphs, an ancient collection of bizarre rock carvings, where we will search the surrounding hills for Chukars and Desert Finch before reaching the comfort of our hotel in Almaty. Night in Almaty.

Day 14: We’ll take an early morning flight to Astana, the new thriving capital city and after checking into our hotel we’ll head straight out into the surrounding steppe. Close to the town are rich wetlands alive with clouds of White-winged Black Terns and displaying Marsh Sandpipers, while Paddyfield Warblers, Little Crakes and Great Bitterns creep around the reedbeds and monotone Booted Warblers and showy Bluethroats sing from the bush tops. We’ll visit a lake that holds Slavonian, Black-necked and Red-necked Grebes, White-headed Ducks and Little Gulls as well as a good selection of passage waders.

Day 15: Further out we enter the ancient steppe with its vast grasslands and lakes of fresh and salt water where bird song will fill the air and the sense of space will be exhilarating. We’ll search the grasslands for Dalmatian Pelican, Pallid Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, Demoiselle Crane, Great Black-headed, 'Baraba' and Slender-billed Gulls, a range of waders including breeding Black-winged Pratincoles, Sociable Plovers, hordes of migrant Red-necked Phalaropes, and handsome Ruffs in full breeding plumage. Passerines should include Citrine Wagtail and two splendid larks – White-winged and Black – steppe birds par excellence. After a full day in the steppe we’ll fly back to Almaty in the late evening for one night.

Day 16-17: The beautiful city of Almaty nestles below the dramatic snow-capped backdrop of the Zailiysky Alatau mountains. It is to these mountains that we next travel, climbing steadily through pristine spruce forests. We’ll pause at a lake beautifully located in a deep valley and scan the stony shoreline for Ibisbills which regularly nest here, although our attention will undoubtedly be drawn to the tinkling song and striking plumage of numerous Red-fronted Serins.

Once we clear the tree line we’ll find ourselves in a crystal clear landscape of dense juniper bushes, flower-strewn alpine meadows, and snow-capped peaks. We’ll be staying in the Almaty Astronomical Observatory and after lunch we’ll drive even higher to a breathtaking pass where handsome Güldenstadt’s Redstarts nest and both Red-billed and Alpine Choughs wheel overhead. We’ll also be looking for some of the mighty Lammergeiers and dainty Altai Accentors that inhabit this mountain wilderness.

At these altitudes the weather can be somewhat fickle so we will allow plenty of time to fully explore this wonderful habitat. Our morning will be spent walking through alpine meadows scattered with juniper bushes. As the first rays of sun hit the mountain tops the eerie calls of Himalayan Snowcock will be heard echoing around the valley and careful searching should reveal these impressive birds. The juniper will be alive with the song of Himalayan Rubythroats, Hume’s Leaf Warblers, Brown and Black-throated Accentors, Red-mantled and Common Rosefinches, Plain Mountain Finches, and White-winged Grosbeaks. The beautifully marked Severtzov’s Tit-Warbler can also be found in this habitat along with the skulking Sulphur-bellied Warbler. If we have a clear night the Observatory staff will open up one of the large telescopes to allow us to view the moon and other planets. Nights in the Observatory.

Day 18: Today we return to Almaty taking all day to wander down through the dense spruce forest where we should find Nutcracker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Songar Tit, and Eversmann’s and Blue-capped Redstarts, while the numerous mountain streams are home to Blue Whistling Thrush and both Brown and White-bellied Dippers. We’ll end the tour with a traditional Kazak meal at one of Almaty’s fine restaurants. Night in Almaty.

Day 19: We take an early morning flight from Almaty back to London, arriving later the same day.