Early in June, my old mate Mick and I were in Kazakhstan. It's a big country. Really big. It has an area of 2,724,900 square kilometres. Add up the area of the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy (basically western Europe) - and you still have an area smaller than Kazakhstan. It is the ninth largest country in the world - the largest without a sea coast. The flag is a wonderful shade of sky blue, and contains an eagle - a good omen.
Most of Kazakhstan is empty desert and steppe. Thus, with a population of 18.3 million, it is only the 236th most densely populated country in the world - out of 255! But empty space is good for Space. The first satellite, Sputnik 1, and the first manned space flight, Vostok (containing Yuri Gagarin), were launched here. And plenty of oil, gas and minerals means plenty of money.
Almaty, in the south, is the largest city in Kazakhstan - and was the capital until 1997. Kazakhstan was the last Soviet republic to declare independence, in 1991, and Soviet monuments still remain - here one to Kazazh soldiers who helped stop the Germans reaching Moscow during WWII.
The Red Army has now been replaced by Red Squirrels, who seem equally set on blocking the path of foreign visitors.
Just after we left Almaty, a 12 metre high squirrel made of straw and wood was put up in one of the squares - designed by English artist Alex Risler (photo courtesy of the BBC). He said it symbolises nature's evolution from rural to urban life: "Squirrels are our urban neighbours. Like us, they adapted to life in the city, and, like us, they need the resources to survive and thrive".
And if it's resources you need, there's no better place than the Green Bazaar.
Our first trip was south up into the Tien Shan mountains that form the border with Kyrgyzstan.
We had a glimpse of them when we flew in to Almaty.
At the end of the mountain road, at around 3,500 metres,
was the Cosmo-station - an old centre for research into cosmic rays.
I'm used to Marmots - we have them in Switzerland. But here it is not the Alpine Marmot (Marmota marmota), but one of the other fourteen species of marmots - the Grey or Altai Marmot (M. baibacina).
In fact, this is the area with the world's greatest Marmot diversity!
There were flocks of Plain Mountain Finches (Leucosticte nemoricola) of the altaica sub-species. (The nominate sub-species is in the Himalayas).
The Red-billed Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) were of the central Asian sub-species centralis.
The Water Pipit (Anthus spinoletta) sub-species up here is blakistoni.
Hiding in the rocks, a Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) of the libanotica sub-species - found from southern Europe to southern Kazakhstan.
And the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) - even common here.
Also passing through on migration, a Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae).
We dropped down to the Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory at around 2,500 metres, looking over Big Almaty Lake. Among the rocks at the end of the lake Ibisbills breed, though it is said their camouflage makes them difficult to see. We didn't try.
Instead we looked around the juniper and spruce woods. Perched on top of a tree, a male Eversmann's Redstart (Phoenicurus erythronotus) - restricted to central Asia.
And here a female.
And for the corvids: the Northern Raven (Corvus corax) of the sub-species laurencei, which extends from south-east Europe to China...
...and a Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) of the Central Asian sub-species bactriana.
The junipers are home to White-winged Grosbeaks (Mycerobas carnipes) of the sub-species merzbacheri. A busy nesting female gazes out.
Close by a Black-throated Accentor (Prunella atrogularis), sub-species huttoni. They build their nests in Spruce.
At ground level we watched the magnificent Red-mantled Rosefinch (Carpodacus rhodochlamys) hopping about.
A Coal Tit (
Periparus ater) of one of the twenty-one sub-species -
rufipectus of Kazakhstan and China.
And another mountain woodland bird, Hume's Leaf Warbler (
Phylloscopus humei) - of the Central Asian nominate sub-species (the other sub-species is found in China).
Our hotel was further down in the valley woods. A walk yielded a noisy Blue-capped Redstart (
Phoenicurus caeruleocephala).
A Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cineria) scuttled across rocks in a small stream, just where it should be.
I guess this must be the 'Siberian Chiffchaff' - that is the
tristis sub-species of the Common Chiffchaff (
Phylloscopus collybita).
Time to warm up. We hired a tent in Almaty and drove north-west into the desert.
I recommend the truck stop on the main road junction for shashlik and a decent pot of tea with friendly folk.
Mick noticed this Ladybird Spider. It's actually the same species found in Europe (and mentioned in my other blogs), Eresus kollari.
The trees around the junction formed a green oasis in the barren landscape, where passing birds could perch or even nest. We saw pink Desert Finches (Rhodospiza obsoleta)...
...a Central Asia speciality, the Red-headed Bunting (Emberiza bruniceps)...
...and a Rosy Starling (Pastor roseus).
There are five sub-species of Spotted Flycatcher throughout Europe and Asia. I think this is
sarudnyi.
At the only water source, warblers congregated. I think this is Sykes's Warbler (Iduna rama) - it breeds in this habitat.
A Long-legged Buzzard (
Buteo rufinus) flew over.
On a scrap of weeds at the petrol station crawled a buprestid beetle,
Julodis variolaris.
We headed north on a small and rough desert road, where we avoided a tortoise - a Russian Tortoise, Agrionemys horsfieldii. In September 1968 two Russian tortoises flew to the Moon on Zond 5, circled it, and returned safely to Earth - the first creatures to travel to the Moon.
On the journey we saw Pied Wheatear (
Oenanthe pleschanka)...
...Red-tailed or 'Turkestan Shrike' (Lanius phoenicuroides) - a Central Asian species....
...and Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) of the Central Asian sub-species golzii.
The Yellow Wagtail has been split into the Western (
Motacilla flava) and Eastern (
M. tschutschensis) species. This is the
feldegg race of the Western species, with its characteristic black cap, found from the Balkans to Afghanistan.
...A Common Kestrel (
Falco tinnunculus) of the nominate sub-species.
... and a European Roller (Coracias garrulus). It's a bird I've seen many times in the west, but this was the first time I'd seen the eastern sub-species semenowi.
In the south, the crow is the Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) of the second, non-European, sub-species orientalis.
Despite a blown tyre and a wheel change, we managed to arrive at a small wood on the southern tip of Lake Balkhash near the village of Topar in time put up our tent. There were a few special birds I wanted to see there.
Early morning, I searched the wood for Azure Tit, but instead I found Great Tits (Parus major) of the Central Asian group of sub-species together known as 'Turkestan Tits'. It is the sub-species turkestanicus.
We drove around the wood listening for calling White-winged Woodpeckers (
Dendrocopos leucopterus), another Central Asian species, and finally saw one fly onto a telegraph pole.
I'd heard that Saxaul Sparrows (Passer ammodendri) could be seen in the local cemetery. It's an uncommon species, confined to Haloxylon shrubs (Saxual) in sandy desert pockets in Central Asia.
There were lots of Lesser Whitethroats (Sylvia curruca) flitting around - presumably the halimodendri sub-species of southern Kazakhstan (it is curruca in the north).
Then I saw some sparrows. A quick snap captured a Eurasian Tree Sparrow (
Passer montanus), sub-species
dilutus, on a lower branch. And above it, a male Saxual Sparrow, of the sub-species
nigricans, showing the diagnostic orange eye stripe with black head and bib. I didn't get another view.
Leaving the village we passed a small pond full of damselflies, probably of the genus
Lestes - known as the Spreadwings, because they rest with their wings spread.
And on the ground the unmistakable
Pyrgodera armata grasshopper, with it's high pronotal crest. It flashes red underwings when it flies.
When I told Mick we had driven through the desert for two days, endured life-threatening car damage and slept in a tent in order to see a sparrow in a cemetery - he looked as deflated as our car tyre. So I decided on some R&R to perk him up. And where better to go than wild Shymkent - third largest city in Kazakhstan and former centre of heavy metal mining and bullet supply for the Red Army. We drove back to Almaty and jumped on a plane.
Sure enough, once he'd had his fill of fine dining, fun fares, singing and retail therapy Mick was a new man - ready to get back into the desert. Worth every Tenge!
A slow train took us to Turkistan, home of the famous Mausoleum of the 12th century Turkic poet and Sufi mystic Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi. Timur constructed it during the late 14th century, importing craftsmen from the Persian part of his empire. He died before it was complete.
In the grounds live colonies of Yellow Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus fulvus).
Striking further north, we asked a taxi driver to take us to Sauran. It sounds like somewhere from Lord of the Rings - and looks a bit like it. In its heyday it provided the bricks and tiles for the Yasawi Mausoleum, but with the decline of the Silk Road it returned to the desert.
The town is now home to larks: there are thirty-three sub-species of Crested Larks (
Galerida cristata) recognised by the IOC - I think this is
magna.
...and Bimaculated Larks (
Melanocorypha bimaculata).
Some desert insects: a Grayling butterfly (
Hipparchia spp.)...
...and a Pamphagid grasshopper of the genus
Pezotmethis - there are four species in Central Asia...
...and an Ant-lion.
Around the telegraph poles on the road House Sparrows (
Passer domesticus) fed on the abundant grasshoppers. They belong to the sub-species
bactrianus, with brighter white plumage on the cheeks, breast and wing. They migrate in from the south each summer into the deserts, whereas the nominate sub-species is resident closer to settlements. Some people regard them as a separate species, the 'Indian Sparrow' (
Passer indicus), but not the IOC.
We cooled off with lunch in Turkistan station.
Next, the big flight north to the famous Steppes. We drove south-west of the capital, Astana, to
Korgalzhyn village - gateway to the Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve and Lake Tengiz.
We stayed with Marat and his family. He entertained us on his electric piano, and took us to the `Russian' sauna built in his sister's garden. For no extra charge he flogged us with tree branches and plied us with vodka and sausage. The mayor joined us, and showed us his Soviet submarine crew tattoo. In 1982 he was circling the Falklands Islands, observing the war. Marat was a paratrooper in Uzbekistan.
In the garden, a lady spent every day sitting on a blue stool looking after the ducklings.
One of the biggest challenges when travelling is getting a decent cup of tea. We were very impressed with the tea in the local cafe, and Kazakhstan in general - strong and milky.
A quick visit to the visitor's centre before driving into the reserve.
In the lakes, plenty of Greater Flamingos (
Phoenicopterus roseus)...
...and Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus).
A selection of gulls, with pride of place going to Pallas's Gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus).
The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) of the Central Asian sub-species barabensis, known as the 'Steppe' Gull.
The Common (or Mew) Gull (Larus canus), sub-species heinei.
And a plain old Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus).
Some big Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) checking each other out.
A Hooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus).
A Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) flew in.
The
ussuriensis sub-species of the Common Redshank (
Tringa totanus).
Out into the Steppe.
The hardy Edilbay sheep were bred in north Kazazhstan in the 19th century, as a cross between Kazakh fat-tailed sheep and Kalmyk/Astrakhan coarse-wooled sheep. They store fat in their behinds, as camels do in their humps. The fat, known as kurdyuk, is used for food and cooking.
Pigeons are my favourite birds. Here is a Rock Dove (Columba livia).
A Black kite (Milvus migrans), probably of the sub-species lineatus.
The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) here is the porphyronotus sub-species.
Corvids: The Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) here is the soemmerringii sub-species, which extends from eastern Europe. The side of the head is very pale, creating a black cap...
...the Rook (Corvus frugilegus) of the nominate sub-species as found in Europe. The other sub-species, pastinator, is found east of Kazakhstan. Note the gular pouch under the beak, extended from feeding...
...and in the north the Hooded Crow (
Corvus cornix) replaces the Carrion Crow. Here the
sharpii sub-species.
The Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) is darker above and paler below than the western European Stonechat - their ancestors having separated two million years ago at the onset of the Quarternary Glaciation. It is the nominate sub-species.
And this is the most easterly sub-species of the Western Yellow Wagtail, beema - known as 'Syke's Wagtail`.
This is the nominate sub-species of the Northern Wheatear, found from northern Europe to northern Kazakhstan.
A leggy Tawny Pipit (
Anthus campestris).
The Black Lark (
Melanocorypha yeltoniensis), found only in Kazakhstan and southern Russia, is a real Steppe bird. It's a Lark, but not as we know it. We disturbed small flocks in the road.
But my favourite was this little chap, the White-winged Lark (
Alauda leucoptera) - also a speciality of the Steppes. Jumping from hillock to hillock and singing with wings outstretched - and occasionally showing its bright reddish-brown crest.
We spent some time in Astana before flying home. The capital was moved here from Almaty in the south in 1997 - a shrewd move to protect the north from Russian influence. We went out with some Kazakh ex-students of Mick, who plied us with fermented horses milk and other local goodies. The National Museum of Kazakhstan was opened in 2014. It provides the stories that are being told to forge a nation.
Central to the stories (literally here) is the 'Leader of the Nation' for the past 29 years, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Outside paratroopers were lined up to gaze at the statues of their ancestors, with the mosque behind, in Independence Square.
On our last evening we went to the funfair in Astana Park. I walked away from the hustle and bustle to inspect the surrounding trees, and heard a very tit-like chirping. And there above me, Azure Tit (
Cyanistes cyanus) - the
hyperrhiphaeus sub-speices. My cup runneth over!
Thanks Mick for nearly 40 years of travelling together - a good friend to me and badgers everywhere.
