Uzbekistan Birding Tour Report May 2024

Day 1; 14th May – Arrival, Tashkent

Arrival at Tashkent International Airport was at around 2pm and after quickly going through immigration and obtaining a local SIM card and some local currency a taxi took me to Grand Art Premium Hotel, a comfortable place to stay in a quiet neighbourhood. From here I took a walk through local parks, alongside a river that ran for a long distance through what proved to be a very leafy city. Common Swifts were very obvious, swooping around above buildings and parks while the song of Eurasian Blackbird could be heard from the foliage of trees in several gardens and parks. Stopping in one overgrown section of one park the subtle calls of Common Rosefinch were coming from dense trees but after a little waiting they revealed themselves for some nice views. One species that was very abundant throughout the city was Blyth’s Reed Warbler; its scratchy song coming from almost every bush and tree.

The numbers of birds were actually fairly low, Collared Dove, Common Myna, Common Magpie and Common Woodpigeon were more or less the only other species I saw before taking a rest and watching a light, music and fountain show in the city centre.

Day 2; 15th May – Tashkent – Chimgan

After an excellent breakfast at the hotel I arranged transport to my hotel at Chimgan, a journey that took almost two hours and took me through farmland scenery, alongside rivers, and gradually into more mountainous country which became ever more spectacular until reaching the village of Chimgan in a valley dominated by a high snowy peak. A stop along the way for fuel gave me the chance to enjoy a couple of White Storks flying over at low altitude and the first Crested Lark of the trip but it was with a lot of expectation that I arrived at the Archazor Mountain Resort in Chimgan with superb views across the valley to spectacular mountains. It was too early to check in but the helpful staff stored my luggage and promised to get a room ready for me as soon as they could so I went birding directly from the hotel lobby. I didn’t get out of the car park before hearing the call of one of the most anticipated birds of the area: Azure Tit.

Previous trips to Central Asia have only taken me to where Azure Tit is at its most fairytale-like, with the its blue and white plumage bit here the yellow-breasted form (flavipectus) turned out to be common, seen frequently throughout the stay in the mountains here. A secluded area of grassy meadows and scrubby trees was a nice place to enjoy the morning sunshine and the persistent song of a Common Nightingale allowed me to track it down within the tangled bush it had chosen as its domain. A Spotted Flycatcher stayed loyal to a perch as it hunted for insects while the song of Blyth’s Reed Warbler was already familiar from the parks of Tashkent. While admiring the general atmosphere of the location and taking a few photos of the snowy mountains I heard a call that I could remember from somewhere and after a few moments of thinking, realised that it was a penduline tit call. With there being only one species likely here I looked up and spotted a nice White-capped Penduline Tit on a treetop but as I watched it, it came closer until it was right in front of me, giving me a great view of it collecting nest material before flying off into the scrub.

Raptors were in evidence here too with a Eurasian Hobby cruising past and at least one Shikra circling high in the sky but there would also be some much larger species to follow. I have seen Himalayan Griffon in several places in Asia but over the course of the next few days I would see more of them than all the rest of my sightings put together. Soaring over the hill close by were a couple of these magnificent birds soon to be joined on their thermal by a Lammergeier and two Cinereous Vultures and after their departure a Eurasian Griffon Vulture would take their place: remarkable. I decided that it was time to take a walk a little further from the hotel so headed along the access road to the “main” road. Neither of these roads had much traffic so it really felt like they were birding routes made especially for me. The song of nightingales was coming from virtually every bush and with them being so abundant I saw several of them over the course of my stay but did not spend ages searching for any of them in their dense hiding places. A large walled compound along the way contained some good habitat and there were several places that I could see into it, with shrubby bushes extending around it. Long-tailed Shrike liked this area and this was my first sighting of it but a bird I would see in more or less the same place on every time I passed through. A pair of Eurasian Greenfinches turned out to be the only ones I would see in Uzbekistan but more Azure Tits ensured that I would see this lovely bird virtually every time I stopped and raised my binoculars. The familiar calls of an old world oriole were keeping me attentive and eventually a couple of Indian Golden Orioles perched out in the open for me to enjoy.

Drawn by the landscape I walked up the road, higher up the valley where a group of Red-rumped Swallows were swooping around and most bushes had a Lesser (Hume’s) Whitethroat singing from within, and sometimes atop them. Apart from ever increasingly good views of the snowy mountain top there was not much more to add so I walked back to the hotel to check in and have some lunch. The views from both my room and the restaurant were superb.

After lunch a taxi took me to the village up the road from which a trail began heading off the road and along a valley towards the snow. The scenery was magnificent but birds not so abundant but it was really weird to see Common Mynas in this setting but they seemed as happy up here as they are in urban areas through much of Asia. Beside the stream a Siberian Stonechat was a nice sight and I added Mistle Thrush to the list once I got among some trees in a little wooded side valley. Also in this area a sweet song coming from low vegetation proved to be the first of several Rock Buntings, with at least one posing for me to enjoy. Further up the valley the birds became rather thin on the ground but it was interesting to see one of those few glaciers around the world that is actually accumulating rather than receding. By this time it was getting quite late so I turned around as there was quite some distance to walk back. A European Turtle Dove perched in a tree was a nice addition to the bird list and much further down the valley a group of Northern House Martins were circling. Almost back to the hotel my legs were feeling quite weary but the sound of a bird song that I was very familiar with made me scan the trees on the other side of the small stream near my accommodation; a Blue Whistlingthrush perched in a low tree, singing as the sun set on a great day.

Day 3; 16th May – Chimgan

I had been anticipating this day for quite some time so it was with a little disappointment to see dark grey skies and a persistent light rain. A walk around close to the hotel was a damp affair but there were still a good number of birds; Great Tit, Spotted Flycatcher, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, White Wagtail and a very obliging pair of Siskins. I decided to have breakfast and then go back to my room to wait for the weather to break a little and by mid-morning it was still cloudy but dry so I bought some snacks and drinks in a local store and summoned a taxi to take me to an area in which many birders find Rufous-naped Tit. My driver knew where to go but as we were nearing the right place we were stopped; the road was blocked for repairs and I was not allowed to walk further! I was not sure what to do but the driver told me he knew of another similar place so I trusted him and off we went, much further away than I had anticipated and I began to wonder how I would get back. However, it turned out that he took me to a ski station and although it was not the season for it, there were still plenty of people visiting. I took off uphill with high expectations but at first there were just more Mistle Thrushes, Lesser Whitethroats and other common birds of the habitat. The clouds began to roll in and visibility was down to a few metres but I plodded on hoping for a break in the weather. A pair of White-capped Buntings were excellent, watching them down to a few metres away through the fog. Any further away and I would not have been able to see them at all.

By now the rain was hammering down and I was getting soaked so I found a route that headed back down towards where I had come from but it was extremely slippery and eventually I took shelter under a beekeeper’s workshop to wait for a break in the weather. Eventually the rain began to stop so I walked a short distance to a lookout. I was beginning to lose hope of seeing anything when I heard the distant call of a small bird. Scanning treetops with my rain-covered binoculars I spotted the origin of the call; a Rufous-naped Tit. With raindrops and fog on my binoculars and this small bird being about one hundred metres away it was hardly the stuff of dreams but perhaps better than not seeing it all. Perhaps. I went closer to try to relocate the bird but instead turned up a Common Raven and a couple of Oriental Turtle Doves. With the clouds breaking up and the sunshine trying to break through many song birds were singing in full force with Lesser Whitethroats, Nightingales and Blyth’s Reed Warblers everywhere. A European Roller provided some colour and a Long-legged Buzzard was my first of the trip. I was utterly soaked, covered in mud and quite tired so I found a place to sit a dn eat my snacks while considering going back to the hotel. However, a pack of chocolate biscuits revitalised me and I decided to give it another go, particularly as birds were now becoming active; a Himalayan Griffon came past at eye level, a couple of Booted Eagles were hunting nearby and a Common Kestrel join the fun too.

Walking back towards the location I had seen the Rufous-naped Tit I started sliding around in the mud again but found better footing on a grassy meadow surrounded by a mixture of low coniferous and deciduous trees. I decided to just stand and listen and heard Azure Tit, Great Tit and finally the sound of another tit, it had to be Rufous-naped again. This time I did not spend time scanning the trees from distance but instead I got myself to the origin of the sound as fast as I could.

Being someway up the mountain, around one kilometre up a still slope, this was not exactly fast but as I got to roughly the right place I heard it again and it didn’t take long to spot a nice Rufous-naped Tit, this time with clear binoculars and only around three or four metres away: success! By this time the weather was quite nice and the location was lovely but with it being around 4.30pm I thought I should try and find some transport back, with the possibility of a 25km hike if I couldn’t. Luckily I got a phone signal close to the ski station and was able to use an app to summon a ride back to my hotel. Half an hour of Uzbek pop music later I was taking a warm shower and putting on some dry clothes before heading up to the restaurant for a nice dinner and a relaxing beer.

Day 4; 17th May – Chimgan – Tashkent

I woke up to blue skies and a quick walk around the hotel revealed more Azure Tits, Blackbirds and some soaring Himalayan Griffons overhead before I took a quick break for the excellent breakfast buffet. After this I decided just to take a walk from the hotel before checking out at midday and heading back towards Tashkent.

Above the hotel Himalayan Griffons were still soaring and getting much closer, with at least four birds now present and they persisted in the area throughout the morning. The Long-tailed Shrike was in its normal place and with the bright weather birds were abundant and vocal, although it looked like I had exhausted the number of species that I could see. Common Cuckoo was calling and flew past at close range while chattering little Azure Tits gave me plenty of opportunity to photograph them. A patch of wet mud by the roadside was drawing the attention of both Northern House Martin and Red-rumped Swallow collecting nesting material and allowing me to watch them for quite some time. The weather, the location and the walk were very nice but the only species I added to my list was Eurasian Tree Sparrow and eventually it was time to go back and pack my bags in preparation for my onward journey. Once again, I used an app to summon a taxi for the two hour ride back to Uzbekistan’s capital city.

Arriving in Tashkent the exact location of the flat I was supposed to stay in was hard to locate. My taxi driver dropped me off where Google maps told him to but I could not see any obvious place for me to go in what was a residential block. After much looking around in the heat I eventually found a phone number and things were quickly sorted out. I had a nice little apartment to myself, including a washing machine so I put all my smelly, wet clothes into it and started it before walking to a local supermarket to get some supplies. Back in the apartment I took it easy, caught up with my emails and enjoyed some local food, prepared in the kitchen while I looked out of the window at circling Common Swifts. Later I took a walk to a local market and a mosque, spotting a Eurasian Sparrowhawk along the way as well as many common urban species such as Laughing Dove. With the smell of fresh laundry in the air I had a good night’s sleep here despite the initial problems in find the place.

Day 5; 18th May – Tashkent – Samarkand

After breakfast in my apartment I summoned a taxi to take me to Samarkand, a journey of around four hours. This all went smoothly and there was a stop for fuel during which I was able to photograph some White Storks nesting on concrete posts supporting power cables. There was also a singing Red-headed Bunting and several fly past species; Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron, Little Tern and Western Marsh Harrier. Arriving at my hotel in Samarkand at around 11am I was able to check in shortly after and explore this historic city. Lunch was delicious lamb cooked on skewers with an onion salad, fresh bread and a pot of green tea, all for about $6, before I spent the remainder of the day visiting the main touristic sites of the city. Magnificent mosques and madrasas were amazing, particularly for the fact that there were good numbers of Alpine Swifts flying around them. This big swift is always an exciting sight as it usually comes down low and spends time close to buildings meaning that birders can get really good views.

Other birds really only consisted of common urban species like Magpie, Common Myna, Laughing Dove with a few Hume’s Leaf Warblers and Blyth’s Reed Warblers in the trees in the parks. In late afternoon I spent time photographing the Alpine Swifts and followed this up by watching the light and sound show projected onto the front of the madrasas in Registan Square; very impressive it was too.

Day 6; 19th May – Samarkand

I had planned to go further out of town today to go looking for some really good birds but the weather forecast had been very poor so I delayed things for one day. Indeed, I woke up to heavy rain so took the opportunity to have a nice breakfast in the hotel and do some work on my laptop. By mid-morning the rain has eased off to a trickle so I decided to walk through town to a large area of open land known as Afrasiyab. This is an archaeological area where there had been some sort of ancient settlement. Currently there is nothing really to see but there is a large area of rolling hillocks covered in tufty grasses with areas of small trees and bushes around the boundaries.

Entry to the area wasn’t very obvious, forcing me to walk quite some distance around the walls until suddenly they just stopped and there was a track to follow. Along the way there were some Spotted Flycatchers, a Great Tit and lots of Magpies and Common Mynas but once I had actually entered the area there were quite a lot of Rooks foraging in the wet soil. It was quite overcast and breezy, but by this time the rain had pretty much stopped but bird activity was restricted to Common Woodpigeons and Laughing Doves although I did spot a single Eurasian Jackdaw; a first for my Uzbekistan list! Finding a set of small bushes I noticed some movement within and looking down from a bank I could see four Common Chiffchaffs darting around, looking for insects after a chilly and wet morning. A Shikra passed overhead, looking for prey but it wasn’t having much more luck than I was in finding interesting birds.

However, things were about to change and as I got towards a more overgrown and undulating part of the site I spotted some movement in the grass ahead of me. A call revealed that it was a Chukar Partridge and some scanning of the area revealed parts of the bird’s head through the grasses. After a while, though, it moved and gave me a very nice view. Moving on just a little from this I scanned the muddy patches of a hillock. I had read that many birders had seen Little Owl at this site and without any trees I felt it was probable they would use holes in the muddy banks to roost/nest in. It didn’t take long before I got lucky and had superb views of a damp Little Owl trying to dry out a bit.

The breeze was fairly stiff and this seemed to make a group of Barn Swallows settle on the muddy banks and hunt for insects just over the top of the grass. A few Red-rumped Swallows were also feeding but apart from the Barn Swallows, swooping around the edges of the soil banks. As I walked up a rise to the highest point a small passerine flew up off of the ground and landed a few feet further along, followed by another; a pair of Grey-necked Buntings, very unexpected but a welcome sight. This pair of buntings were very confiding, feeding on fallen seeds, not too bothered by me being nearby until they took off together and flew away into the distance. Presumably these two birds had been buffeted off course a little by the weather system that had brought the rain. Just as I was congratulating myself on finding these birds through persistent trudging along in poor conditions and low activity levels, a Common Quail flushed from my feet and incredibly landed on a patch of bare soil, posing for me to get my binoculars onto it before it ran off into the grass. This sort of view of a quail is rare indeed.

With my stomach reminding me that it was past lunch time already I decided to start heading back, taking a different route from my entry but finding that there was no way out. So, I had to retrace my steps giving me the time to spot a flock of Rosy Starlings being chased, half-heartedly, by a Eurasian Hobby as well as a single Alpine Swift and two Common Swifts overhead. it took a fair time to walk back to my hotel after which I had lunch and did touristy things for the remainder of the day.

Day 7; 20th May – Heart Rock Hills

Having delayed my outing for a day there was nothing for it other than to go out and look for a couple of potential lifers even though things were still fairly cloudy and wet. My driver was pre-arranged and he got to my hotel well before first light and we headed south, out of Samarkand, a journey of around an hour and we arrived near the famed “heart rock” shortly after it had become light. Lots of atmospheric cloud made the landscape look very moody and I found myself in rocky hills with a higher set of mountains in the distance, all draped in cloud formations and short showers remained a feature throughout the morning. At first I walked around some stony hills right next to the road and found disappointingly few birds; Crested Lark and House Sparrows were about all, instead, I crossed the road and began walking into the hills away from the passing traffic. Once over the first ridge I was away from it all and spent the rest of the morning roaming around the hills without seeing anyone else. One of the first birds I saw was a Common Cuckoo perched on a post and very uninclined to move, allowing me to get some nice photos. Crested Larks, Woodpigeons, Magpies and Rooks were pretty much all I saw until I heard a sharp call coming from a rocky outcrop several ridges away. Checking with the calls on my phone I could confirm that this was the sound of Eastern Rock Nuthatch so I began hiking towards the sound.

Progressing over each ridge the scenery became more pleasant and the ridges slightly steeper and higher with the sound of Eastern Rock Nuthatch getting progressively louder as I got closer. Still some distance away I could see movement and using my binoculars I got my first views of the nuthatches; identifiable but not very satisfying so I climbed on. As I moved on something else caught my attention, a flash of black and white flying up onto some rocks, which turned out to be my other target bird: Finsch’s Wheatear. Again, it wasn’t the closest view but better than the nuthatches and having viewed records by other birders it seemed that refinding the wheatear would be easier than the nuthatches so I focussed on the latter species. Once I was half way up the nuthatch outcrop they revealed themselves to me again, this time a far superior view but over the course of the next forty five minutes I would get ever closer views of a group of four Eastern Rock Nuthatches busily foraging on the rocky outcrops, frequently calling to each other. Eventually they disappeared so I then decided to go and look for Finsch’s Wheatear again, this time assisted by a large shaggy dog that followed me around for the remainder of the morning. It did not take long for me to find another Finsch’s Wheatear, sitting on a pole where rocky mountainland became farmland and I followed it as it flew into a little valley. When I got to the valley I spotted a juvenile Finsch’s Wheatear which turned into two and then the adults arrived. I was able to get really close up views of these lovely, range-restricted birds as well as an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler foraging in low bushes. So far, a very successful morning.

I spent the remainder of the morning wandering around the hills, finding an area of trees and boggy fields where I was able to get superb views of calling Red-headed Buntings, several European Rollers, my first European Bee-eater of the trip, a Hoopoe, a brief view of a Grey-necked Bunting as well as a nice encounter with Pied Wheatear. With my feet soaking wet and the morning getting close to becoming afternoon I was also really hungry so I hiked back to my driver and let him take me back to Samarkand where I had a quick shower, changed my clothes and hurried out for a big lunch of plov (a sort of fried rice dish), lamb kebabs, salad, bread and tea before spending the remainder of the day resting, visiting the tomb of Timur the Great and doing some work on my laptop.

Day 8; 21st May – Samarkand – Bukhara

After a lovely breakfast at the hotel I arranged a taxi to take me to Bukhara, about 5 hours away. The journey was fine, with a fuel stop in a rural area that gave me ten minutes to see what birds I could find. White Storks nesting on every available tree and power cable support were great to see at close quarters while in nearby fields there were a few Purple Herons, a couple of in flight Collared Pratincoles, the ubiquitous White Wagtails and Barn Swallow. After this the journey continued and the taxi driver dropped me at the hotel right in the historic part of Bukhara just as some of the birders I was due to lead for the next days were arriving too. We checked in and arranged to meet for dinner. While the others rested I had a late lunch and took a look around the market before taking a rest in my room. In the evening we all met for dinner in a nice outdoor restaurant and enjoyed dinner, a few drinks and then had an early night ready for an early morning and some good birds the next day.

Day 9; 22nd May – Jeyran Ecocentre

Leaving early our hosts gave us a packed breakfast to eat later and with expectations high we headed off towards an area of wetlands and vegetation among the greater arid landscape of this part of Uzbekistan. As it became light we noticed flocks of Pygmy Cormorants flying over the road as we travelled and further along, close to our destination we stopped to look at a Goitered Gazelle browsing on some thorny vegetation. Shortly after this we arrived at the car park of the Jeyran Ecocentre and with nobody around we decided to go birding along a track by the side of a river that overlooked some fields and wet areas. One of the first birds we saw was a nice adult male Indian Golden Oriole calling from some trees close to where we had parked. Along the track birds were waking up with a couple of Great Tits in some willows and a bit of a surprise in a Long-tailed Shrike. In the distance a Common Cuckoo flew by but it was the song of a Common Nightingale that really caught our attention. Such is the nature of these birds that it was hidden in dense undergrowth so we decided to leave that one for later when the habitat gave a better opportunity to see the bird. Scanning across the open country we picked up Grey Heron, Purple Heron and Western Marsh Harrier in flight but the first excitement was reserved for a “little brown job”. Perched in the open, singing from the top of a bush this proved to be our first Sykes’s Warbler of the day and we were able to get really great views of it through the telescope. Shortly after that another brown bird was spotted, perched on some overhead wires. It wasn’t that close and looked very plain apart from a very obvious supercilium. Unfortunately it dropped down into cover but reappeared a few minutes later, a little closer. This time it was obvious that it was a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, a much-desired bird for many of us.

While watching this bird sing for quite song time a rather less melodious call echoed around us; White-tailed Lapwing. Like so many lapwings this noisy character flew around repeatedly, uttering its loud call, presumably it had a nest somewhere nearby. This attractive bird flew around us several times and it is one of those birds that actually looks at its best in flight so this was a nice way to see it; there would be more later.

Another bird that several of us wanted to see was Menetries’s Warbler so when I heard the scratchy call of a bird that sounded something like a Dartford Warbler my attention was drawn. We could see movement within a twiggy bush quite close by and soon we were treated to views of a male singing from the top of this mass of vegetation. It behaved very nicely for more than five minutes before flying off into some low trees. So far so good but just as we were getting going with some good birds here we were approached by one of the Ecocentre’s rangers. Communicating via Google translate we realised he wanted to take us into the main birding area itself and that later we would need to pay for entry. This was all fine so we followed our new friend through a gate and along another track along the river where we soon came across another singing Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin and this time it was a far closer view of one singing from a fence post.

Another Sykes’s Warbler appeared but was soon ignored when the call of a woodpecker was heard. One White-winged Woodpecker then gave flight views followed by a second bird which landed close by on a support for overhead wires. Woodpeckers are always great and this one was a new species for most of the group. This bird allowed the photographers among us to get plenty of pictures before it eventually flew of to join its partner. A high-pitched chattering sound in the bushes behind us was a different sound that I didn’t quite recognise, except that it reminded me of a prinia. Well, it turned out that the call came from a pair of Streaked Scrub Warblers jumping around in the shadows. We spent some time trying to see these birds but none of us got a tickable view, but there would prove to be another, better chance in a few days time.

A raptor flew in and landed on the same post that the woodpecker had been on and viewing it through the telescope and examining the photos obtained, we were able to identify it as a Eurasian Sparrowhawk. Birds were coming thick and fast by this point with some distant Pygmy Cormorants in flight, Common Terns flying along the river and a couple of flyover Collared Pratincoles. In nearby bushes we were back to little brown jobs with, first, an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler emerging and treating us to some great views before an Upcher’s Warbler, with its huge bill obvious for us to see, following shortly afterwards. Aware of the fact that we were overdosing on brown warblers it was time to walk off of the track towards some reedy pools to look for waterbirds.

As we wandered through clumps of reeds a male Common Pheasant ran along in front of us and we were not granted immunity to LBJs with another Sykes’s Warbler performing very well at close range. A second Menetries’s Warbler was a nice sighting but once we got to the lakeside the nature of the birding changed, with a family group of Red-crested Pochard to greet us. They swam off into some vegetation but a commotion drew our attention and we spotted a Marsh Harrier making off with one of the ducklings! A group of half a dozen or so White-tailed Lapwings were a nice sighting and we also found a Kentish Plover here. Nice flight views of Collared Pratincole and Whiskered Tern were good here too with a noisy group of Ruddy Shelduck also flying past while we admired a pair of beautiful Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters both perched and hawking for insects over the water. In the meantime the Marsh Harrier returned to pick off another Red-crested Pochard duckling. A couple of Black-bellied Sandgrouse were spotted in flight and after they did a couple of flights around us they eventually landed quite close by, giving us time to watch them in detail before they crept off into cover.

A few Common Swifts flew overhead but by this time it was mid-morning and getting very hot indeed with no shade available in this area so we allowed ourselves to be led back towards the Ecocentre where trees would give shade and we could have an early lunch, having eaten breakfast so early. Along the way we came across a nice Little Owl perched on a post, watching us as we watched it and a Spotted Flycatcher flitting around in the shade too. After refreshments we asked our driver to take us just the other side of the river, along another track where there were a series of irrigated fields as well as some pools of standing water. Here we would walk a stretch of track, followed by our bus and then jump back in to go a little further along, getting ourselves a few moments to cool down and take a cool drink before birding in the sun. A distant Oriental Skylark could be heard singing and I got a few long range views of it flying around low over the grasses but our attention was drawn to large numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes on one of the pools and further along some wet rice fields held a few Wood Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts as well as a group of Common Terns resting on some soil. Although the habitat looked good, there were not as many birds in this area as we had expected, perhaps earlier in the morning would have been better without the human disturbance of a few people working in the fields. One surprise was a Steppe Gull (Larus fuscus barabensis) flying past but a few Little Terns were more in keeping with the location.

We decided to move on to another area, much closer to Bukhara, to see if a different location would produce different birds and forty minutes or so later we reached a really desperate landscape of stony ground with seemingly shallow man-made pits littering the place, many of which had reeds and water within them. We spent the remainder of the afternoon making a series of birding stops along this road where Pied Bushchat proved to be fairly common with plenty of both European and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters perched on the roadside wires. Many of the commoner birds that we had seen earlier were seen again along here but a nice area of reeds and pools gave us nice views of a few Clamorous Reed Warblers singing from the reed tops as well as a few White-tailed Lapwings wading around in shallow water. We also added Citrine Wagtail to our list here before heading back to Bukhara for a shower before meeting again for dinner.

Day 10; 23rd May – Bukhara

This was scheduled as a rest/tourism day to accommodate the fact that some additional members of the party were arriving at around midday; all of whom were joining the group for the following day’s excursion to look for Turkestan Ground Jay before moving on to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for a longer birding adventure.

An excellent breakfast was provided at our accommodation and most of us took the opportunity to take a closer look at the ancient buildings and markets around the city of Bukhara. It also provided some time to catch up with emails and enjoy some local food, snacks and drink.

Bird sightings were largely restricted to common urban birds such as Laughing Dove, Common Myna, White Wagtail and suchlike, although some people visited an urban park finding species including Hume’s Warbler and Blyth’s Reed Warbler. In the evening we all got together for dinner in a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city with Common Swifts whizzing around overhead while we enjoyed a very nice local meal before going to bed early to prepare for a very early start the next day.

Day 11; 24th May – Kyzylkum Desert

For all of us this was the most anticipated day of anyone’s stay in Uzbekistan with a target bird that is extremely range-restricted: Turkestan Ground Jay. Restricted to parts of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan this iconic bird inhabits arid semi desert that contains little but low, shrubby vegetation and the area to the northeast of Bukhara is by far the easiest place for birders to connect with this species.

We had to get up extremely early in order to arrive at the right location as early as possible because, as might be expected, things get hot very quickly in the desert area and bird activity dies down early too. Most of us dozed in the van for much of the journey but as the sun began to rise so did the expectation levels. Our local knowledge for the day was supplied by Ghani and shortly after it became properly light he called to stop the bus as a flash of movement caught his attention. Jumping out of the bus the habitat held no distinctive features, just a random collection of small bushes but a pleasant temperature at this point. No activity at all was visible but we walked out into the desert to see if we could track down what was seen. A little call playback elicited an immediate response so we headed towards the origin of the call and we were all delighted to spot a Turkestan Ground Jay perched on top of a tall bush. Finding a target species this quickly is what birders always hope for but does not always happen, so for it to happen on this occasion was a wonderful way to start the day. A second bird soon appeared nearby and we were able to enjoy watching them flutter from bush to bush and forage on the ground for half an hour or so.

Eventually these birds disappeared off into the desert so we took a walk around, in the general direction of the van, birding along the way. A couple of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were a nice sight and there were several Crested Larks singing and flying around. However, a high-pitched giggling sound coming from some low undergrowth took our attention and as we got closer we could see a few tiny Streaked Scrub Warblers playing around in dense shrubbery. We were patient and after a short wait we all got nice views of this interesting little bird; it was a lifer for all of us.

Back in the van we continued along the road, stopping when we spotted another Turkestan Ground Jay by the roadside. Again, we got out to enjoy more of this smart bird and this time one turned into three as we watched these birds gathering food a short distance away. On closer examination it proved that one of these birds was a juvenile and it spent a fair amount of time noisily calling its parents to feed it. We were hoping for Desert Finch here but instead there were more Crested Larks and improved views of Streaked Scrub Warbler as well as a couple of Sykes’s Warblers. We took a break here for a late breakfast, having been supplied with a breakfast box by our hosts while at the same time enjoying the remote, if somewhat otherworldly, atmosphere.

With such amazing encounters with our main target species we travelled further up the road hoping to find some Desert Finches at a waterhole. Apart from big gangs of House (Indian) Sparrows and a few more Sykes’s Warblers there wasn’t much around, not even much water so we decided on a couple of other stops in the general direction of heading back the way we had come. The first of these stops immediately revealed Spotted Flycatcher and a Hume’s Warbler in a tiny cluster of trees but behind this copse was an area with a little standing water and a lot of birds that included some singing Crested Larks, a few smart Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, European Roller and a few Desert Finches; exactly what we had been hoping for! Along the way we stopped briefly for our first Isabelline Wheatear and a Steppe Grey Shrike which flew away before anyone got much of a view of it – never to be refound!

Our next stop was at a similar place, a very small area of human habitation surrounded by a few trees and a pool of water for livestock to drink from. This tiny oasis predictably attracted a good number of birds, with a few Marsh Harriers overhead. Calling from the undergrowth was a Bluethroat, only giving us a few glimpses, but a Clamorous Reed Warbler was very obliging as was an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. More Crested Larks, a couple of handsome Pied Bushchats and a Spotted Flycatcher were here too but by this time things were getting hot so a little rest in the bus as we travelled back towards Bukhara was welcome before stopping at an area of pools and lakes.

This area was perhaps unexpected to most of us within an area of semi desert but very welcome because it had attracted a variety of waders. Most obvious were a few Ruddy Shelduck and the flotilla of Red-necked Phalaropes, many of which were in breeding plumage as well as good numbers of Little Stint feeding on the shallow edges of a large pool. A more thorough look through the shorebirds revealed greater variety with five Greater Sand Plovers, a couple of Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers, two Terek Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilt and a Green Sandpiper. A group of eight Common Terns arrived, looking for fish in the shallows and a Black-crowned Night Heron was stalking prey from a tree stump too. All nice additions to the list but by this time lunch was calling and it was time to get out of the sun with no shade available for wader-watching. Lunch was in a nice roadside stop, cool, tasty food, a nice rest before moving further towards Bukhara. We had driven quite some way out of town so it took a good amount of time to retrace our steps but we had time to visit an area of fish ponds. Unfortunately, access was limited but we added Common Kingfisher and European Reed Warbler to our list as well as some great views of European Bee-eater. Eventually we got back to Bukhara in time for a shower before another nice dinner.

Day 12; 25th May – Bukhara – Tashkent – Almaty

This somewhat elongated and leisurely trip through Uzbekistan came to an end today. This recce trip was enjoyable and informative and a more succinct and purely bird-oriented version of it will be offered as an extension to our Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Central Asia birding trips in the future. For this time we were up at 3am to be driven to Bukhara station where we boarded a very nice high speed train to Tashkent where we transferred to the airport before taking a short flight to Almaty, in Kazakhstan, and eventually reaching our hotel where we met the rest of the group for the next part of the trip.