XinJiang. Birding in Shihezi.

Two days in Shihezi the city at two hours road from Urumqi. Shihezi is is a sub-prefecture-level city. Population of Shihezi is about 600 thousands people, very large city in our understanding. In Shihezi there are birdwatchers very well knowing and photographing birds. We had two-days birding with Xu Jie and Lu Min.

August 11. First day we visited Moguhu and Daquangou Lakes. Moguhu is known as the place where Glaucous Gull was recorded first time in XinJiang. By the way this record was followed the series of records in Southern and South-Eastern Kazakhstan: Chardara reservoir, Chimkent, Sorbulak reservoir. There are many birds in Moguhu, we visited some sites and added more and more birds to our trip list of birds. Common species: Caspian and Pallas’s Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Great Egrets and Grey Herons, some Ducks, Northern Lapwings, Common Redshanks, Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plovers, once the flock of Common Snipes. Near the coastal line and in lake vicinity we recorded Rollers, European Bee-eaters, Turkestan Shrikes, and twice Reed Warblers in the reed thickets. Most interesting records were Caspian Terns (2 birds) and Collared Pratincole (flock, including juveniles). On the muddy fish pond the mixed flock of little shorebirds was feeding. We saw Little and Temminck’s Stints, Common Redshanks, one Terek Sandpiper and one bird which I suggested as Red-necked Stint. After the lunch we went to Daquangou lake. As on other reservoirs in XinJiang there is a asphalt road with parapet along the costal line. It’s very pleasure to walk; possible to sit on concrete seat and watch birds by binocular. We watched many Pallas’s Gulls, Crested Grebes, one Kingfisher (first and one only I saw in XinJiang); on the ground near reservoir we saw Northern Lapwings, flock of Pacific Golden Plovers, Oriental Turtle Doves. Generally, birds were much but weather was cloudy; and we mostly walked and talk and birds. Xu Jie interested birds which can expand range from Kazakhstan to XinJiang or can wander from Kazakhstan; for example, Egyptian Vulture, White-throated Robin, Menetries Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Pygmy Cormorant. We talked about ranges, habitats, food, distance from the Kazakhstan-XinJiang border etc.

August 12. Montains. We couldn’t visit Tien Shan highlands because the road was washes away. So we went along the Qinghe river to the rest place in the spruce-trees forest. The habitat is same to our Trans-Ili Alatau ridge. Birds are not much too, especially given off-season and mid-day time. Watched Nutcrackers, Common Rosefinches, Black Kites, Goshawk, White and Grey Wagtails. Water in the river is muddy, may be it is cause of absence of Dippers. Xu Jie told he last year watched some males Common Rosefinches voiced unusual song. Also there are Red-fronted Serins and all the species of mountain (Blue-capped, Eversmann’s and Guldenstadt’s) in this ridge. One more interesting information: the migration path of Saker Falcon via XinJiang probably most important of the world. Xu Jie watched more than 400 birds during two days. While the talks and lunch in the open air the time is quickly came to the evening; which meant for us the time to come back to Urumqi. In the villages of foothills we watched some Mynahs and one Booted Eagle. We would like to express my gratitude to Xu Jie and Lu Min our friends in Shihezi.