Sorbulak

Trip to Sorbualk. Yesterday weather forecast promised rain and snow of 94% probability, but nobody paniced. Gennady explained his calm by the words that here never be a long time rain, even it will be present just only during two hours. In real the forecast was true, but rain and snow were only during one and half hours.

The weather in morning was cold (-2C), then it became warmer all day. Sky of course was cloudy, but after the snowfall sky was slightly opened, and the sunset was very nice. All day was windy, therefore Sorbulak was heavy stormed. In the way we discussed the wish-list, but it was short due the season, with the Gulls in the top, probably because my Caspian 'lifers' depended to it. Gulls were our first birds in Sorbulak, along the first dam there was a flock of about one and half hundreds birds, which I firstly considered as a Mew Gull due the rounded heads and short bills. But they was not Mew Gulls but one of the former 'argentatus' group, but definitly not Caspian Gulls (but Caspian Gull after all - A.I.) Gulls were shy and quickly dispersed, and then we didn't observe Gull in same big number untill the end of our birding.

Then we noticed Swans, and the first recorded ones were the rare Tundra Swans, the four adult birds. Then we watched the same birds but in bigger group together with first winter birds. Also we two times recorded the single Tundra Swans, in total 11 specimens in day. Mute Swans were in two points totally about ten birds, with a background of five hundreds Whooper Swans.

Big Sorbulak is wholy ice-free, but in Little Sorbulak even the 1st reservoir is frosten in the half far from the channel's mouth. The first lake of the 2nd reservoir also is half frosten, the rest lakes were not checked. There are quite a lot and diverse Ducks, mostly Mallards. Of a dabbling ducks we aslo saw Common Teals and Northern Showelers. The Common Shelducks were in a few number together with Swans. Diving Ducks were quite a lot in moth of channel in Big Sorbulak. That time the strong wind was. Ducks flew back and forward, but resing in water birds looked as dark points, however we noticed many Goldeneyes (main of diving ducks), Tufted Ducks, Common Pochards, Ferrugineus Ducks, Red-crested Pochards, Smews, Goosanders. And of course we were lucky to watch the Long-tailed Duck. We recorded this duck two times with a gap of several hours, perhaps they were the different birds. So there are not one but at least two Long-tailed Ducks in Sorbulak more likely.

In evening we drove to the second dam where commonly Gulls and White-tailed Sea-Eagles gathered. But now the dump is perhaps not work, so the Sea-Eagles were in a bit of number, but the Gulls were almost absent. But we noticed the very large flock (about 3 thousands birds) of Ruddy Shelducks which was enlarged every moment because more and more birds came from the foraging places. It's quite a strange to see so big number of Ruddy Shelducks now in Sorbulak. Even Cormorants left the lake (we saw just three birds), but Ruddy Shelducks still here. But in other hand the fields are still not fully snow covered, means possible to forage. So we may recorded the last days of Ruddy Shelducks in Sorbulak.

Totally we saw 46 species of birds, but the significant ones are just Long-tailed Duck, Tundra Swan and Ruddy Shelduck (because the uncommon number in this season).