Bakanas. Southern Trans-Balkhash area.

The sunny and frosty day. In the Kapchagai town as usually in winter the Crested Larks are occurred on road side. The Kapchagai reservoir is not frozen yet. Near the dam three Little Grebes were floating and two ones were floating a little bit further. As soon as the three closed Grebes saw me smartly dipped in water and appeared five meters further. So together dipping all three birds permanently floated out from me. Two last Little Grebes started floating out too but without dipping. From Kapchagai till Malai-Sary ridge the road goes through the feather-grass/wormwood steppe but now the steppe is not seen under the snow. Till the pass I observed the Horned Larks about seven times, twice I saw Upland Buzzards. Once on the road-side elms I saw the resting flock (about 70-80 birds) of the Linnets. But already on the pass I observed sitting on the tree Great Grey (or probably Steppe) Shrike. The desert country starts already over the pass. Here in the sands till the evening I observed only one sitting on the pole the Rough-legged Buzzard.