A trip for 4 days to Ossetia. Steppe and mountains. Thursday, July 14. The time we arrived to Vladikavkaz the rain started and continued to the night. Though I was going to go to Chmi, I should walk in the town in order not to stay at hotel. Friday. Trip to Balta and Chmi. As buses don't go there in suitable time for me, I arrived there by taxi. At first, and after that to Chmi. In Balta, I walked to meadow, forest and Terek floodplain asking Dmitry about birds that can be met. I hadn't much time for Chmi, and there is a long way to rock martin, so more interesting place was just undiscovered... Saturday and sunday. Went to Cey walley, near Abaytikau. There is a nice pine forest, and higher alpine meadow. Possible to get to Aday-hoh by cable car, after that going on foot higher till the altitude of 2500 meters. On Sunday evening we went back to airport. Great thanks to Dmitry for answers about where, when and which birds can be met. [...... read more ]

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I went to Leningrad region for June, 18 and 19. During the first day I watched birds on south coast of Finnish bay, and during the second day I was on the northern coast. In spring and autumn hundreds and thousands of geese, ducks, loons and other waterbirds migrate along coasts of Finnish bay. But I met only one dark-bellied Brent goose, which is not bad for June because a little part of population spend summer on islands in Viipuri bay. Now I want to visit these places in october or may. [...... read more ]

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In the beginning of may, I went to Murmansk area for the second time in my life. Again for three days. Again the most significant birding hotspot was in Teriberka that is located in 120 km north-eastbound from Murmansk. The half way, so called Serebryanka path, is comfortable, one of the best in Murmansk area. Clearly because it takes to a touristic place. But the second part of the way is just terrible, you can move forward on it only using a combine... Though it had been repaired one-and-half year ago, I can see no success in this business. [...... read more ]

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Предлагаю рассмотреть вопрос о добавлении новой функции на сайт: добавлении категорий пола и возраста птиц. Это полезно для того, чтобы в галереях вида можно было фильтровать фотографии по этим критериям. По умолчанию или для случая, если пол определить невозможно, можно установить опцию неопределённого. P. S. Я не программист, так что хочется получить комментарии разработчиков сайта, насколько возможно добавить такую функцию. И комментарии пользователей, насколько это было бы полезно. [...... read more ]

This trip in august combined as touristic purposes as birdwatching purposes. Anyway I found some lifers there. The timetable was easy:06.08 (Friday evening) arrive,07.08 the whole day for Curonic spit examination,08.08 Svetlogorsk examination and departure back to Moscow in the evening. The departures in both directions were delayed for some hours.Telling about Curonic spit, it is a place where you can observe both 'northern' and 'southern' bird species. Here are arctic and sandwich terns, brambling and tawny pipit, common shelduck and black scoter. [...... read more ]

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Поездил по Приморскому краю на майских праздниках. Как-то лично у меня Приморье не ассоциировалось с какими-то горами, но перепады высот здесь довольно значительные. Конечно, начало мая не лучшее время для посещения этого региона с точки зрения наблюдений за птицами, но другой возможности у меня в этот весенний период не оказалось. Конечно, чтобы увидеть большее количество птиц, необходимо больше времени, как минимум, две недели.Опишу наш маршрут:1 мая. Прилет, переезд в Рисовую Падь.2 мая. Окрестности пос. Хасан.3 мая. Из Рисовой Пади едем в Спасск-Дальний.4 [...... read more ]

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I had an old wish to go to the Russian North, to look beautiful northern nature, and some birds a little. So, there were a little birds, I don't even know why, maybe I've watched inattentively, or October isn't the best time for birdwatching in Murmansk. Nevertheless, I have not more lifers than ten, despite the fact I've been there for the first time. .I couldn't take photo of one of the lifers, it was a rock ptarmigan Lagopus mutus, I frightened it but was without camera..I say thank you to Anna Golubeva and Victor Moiseikin for the consultations..P.S. Very likely that I missed some bird in triplist. [...... read more ]

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In the second part of July, in the conditions of coronavirus pandemic, I was travelling to the south of Russia, to Krasnodar kray. Despite the fact that birdwatching wasn't planned, I took a binocular and camera with me. I found little lifers, there wasn't a lot, but they were rather interesting for me. The first part of the trip, I spent in Black sea coast. Once I went to Yew&Boxwood trees grove and some times visited Mzymta river mouth finding birds. Then, I spent two days in mountains near Krasnaya Polyana and Esto-sadok. As I haven't been to mountains after I had begun doing birdwatching, more interesting species of birds were there in the mountains. And more lifer birds.P. S. Not all photos are put in chronological sequence. P. P. S. I couldn't take photo of caucasian subspecies of mountain chiffchaff. Heard only the voice. [...... read more ]

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For few last days I could watch ducklings of three species of ducks. As usually, the guide was female, mom, and the ducklings followed her.Mallard and ruddy shelduck ducklings were watched on 2020-06-13 in Terletsky park (Moscow). These species are usual in Moscow, so, it's likely that the ducks had nests on those ponds and in their environments.In Lotoshino fish farm (Moscow area, Lotoshino distr.) I watched common goldeneye ducklings on 2020-06-06. The ducklings were sailing and even tried to dive. But experienced mom took them to the center of the pond. It's likely that the goldeneyes had nest infish farm environments. [...... read more ]

It's well-known, that when there are a lot of berries in winter, thrushes can be wintering in these places. The most of them is fieldfares (Turdus pilaris), but in smaller numbers another species can be wintering. Annually in one of parks in Moscow eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) are watched, and this year they're going to winter in number of 2 till 5 males. But the most unusual winterer is redwing (Turdus iliacus). I haven't found anything about redwing wintering in the Internet, but Anna Golubeva sais that she had taken photos of redwing in winter 2013. In 2020 one bird was watched twice in one plce, with an interval of 1 week (01.12 and 01.19). [...... read more ]