Birding in Uzbekistan Photo Gallery – May 2024

With wide open spaces, varied habitats, clear air, good food and comfortable hotels, birding in Uzbekistan is an absolute pleasure. On our exploratory tour in May 2024 we found all of the target species as well as enjoying a very wide representation of the rest of the region’s avifauna. You can read the full trip report, with a day-by-day account, here – Uzbekistan Birding Tour Report May 2024. On this page we present a wider range of birds from this year’s tour, in this Uzbekistan birds photo gallery, along with some accompanying notes.

Tashkent 14/05/24

The centre of the capital city of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, is full of wide, tree-lined boulevards and a series of parks and micro parks. Indeed, many of these seem to run into each other along a river, making for a surprisingly large area of greenspace. I spent my first afternoon in Uzbekistan walking through many of these areas, enjoying some of the commoner birds of this part of the country while at the same time taking in some of the touristic spots around the city. 

Chimgan 15-17/05/24

With towering snowy peaks looming over a pleasant valley containing villages and willow-lined streams there is a wide variety of birdlife at this location and, additionally, the views are exceptional. Spending two nights at this wonderful location was sufficient to find a high number of species, both regional specialities and more widely distributed birds. Read this blog post – Mountain Birding in Chimgan – for a detailed account and more photographs from the time spent birding.

Samarkand 17-18/05/24

Within the historic city of Samarkand the main attraction are the many fine examples of ancient Islamic architecture, but while enjoying these a there are also a good number of common species to see around their grounds. Alpine Swift is an ornithological highlight here with good numbers nesting on the buildings. The archeological site of Afrasiyob, within the city, encompasses a large area of open land which provides some good birding for a morning; a migrant Grey-necked Bunting was the highlight of this visit.

Beshkal Hills 20/05/24

These stony hills, to the south of Samarkand, are particularly pleasant for those birders who like to walk in scenic places and they are a great place to search for a couple of regional specialities; Finsch’s Wheatear and Eastern Rock Nuthatch. As well as these two much-wanted species a wider range of birds can also be found here including Pied Wheatear, Red-headed Bunting, European Roller and many others. It is a very attractive place to go birding and a rewarding one too, although it does take some effort to walk up and down the hills.

Jeyran Ecocentre 22/05/24

When visiting the city of Bukhara the Jeyran Ecocentre is a must-visit location, when birding in Uzbekistan, for its wide variety of wetland and open-country birds. An hour’s drive from the city a river and several reed-fringed lakes, as well as some associated farmland, create an oasis of life within the wider arid landscape and as such it attracts a lot of birds. In the early morning this is a great place to see birds that spend much of the heat of the day hiding in vegetation. These include Menetrie’s Warbler, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Syke’s Warbler and Streaked Scrub Warbler to mention a few. There is a wide range of the region’s wetland associated species with highlights including White-tailed Lapwing and Marbled Teal.

Kyzylkum Desert 23/05/24

Despite being an arid area, with a generous covering of spindly brush, this is the most accessible location within the global range of Turkestan Ground Jay. This highly sought-after bird is one of the main reasons to go birding in Uzbekistan.  Surprisingly, finding it proved to be fairly easy, indeed, we saw multiple individuals and a small group at various locations throughout the morning here. Additionally, other specialities here include Streaked Scrub Warbler, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Desert Finch. There are great birds but a rather uninspiring landscape here.

Join us on our next birding tour to Central Asia. Full itinerary and links to our booking page here – Central Asia Birding Tour.