Uzbekistan

25 September – 7 October 2009

Rob Felix robfelix1 {at} gmail.com

The Netherlands

Introduction From 25 September to 7 October 2009 me and my girlfriend Marleen spend a fortnight holiday in Uzbekistan. We booked a tour with the very recommendable travel agency East Line Tour in Bukhara (http://www.eastlinetour.com/). During the first three days Marleen had to be for work in Tashkent and I visited Beldersay and Dalvarzin for birdwatching. After that we went on a tour together to Bukhara, Khiva, Shakrisabz and Samarkand. Time was spend enjoying the beautiful architecture of the Great Silk Road combined with birdwatching along the way and in some natural areas. Uzbekistan the country Uzbekistan is a landlocked Central Asian country bordered by Kazakhstan to the west and north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south and southwest. The general topography of Uzbekistan ranges from the desert flatlands covering almost 80% of the territory to the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains in the east, with peaks reaching about 4.500 m above sea level. The country has a continental climate with hot and dry summers and short, cold winters. In January, the average temperatures range from 2.8°C to –8°C, but the minimum temperature can drop to –38°C. The hottest summer month is July. The average summer temperature is from 25°C to 32°C, although

temperatures of 42°C to 47°C are a common phenomeno n. During our stay we had perfect clear sky weather with daytime temperatures around 30°C. The Amu Darya and the Syr Darya rivers, which originate in the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan respectively, are the main source of water in Uzbekistan. Both rivers used to flow into the country’s biggest water body, the Aral Sea, in the northwest. The Aral Sea lost about 90% of its surface area since the 1960s, due to large-scale irrigation. Outside the deserts, the largest part of Uzbekistan is cultivated for agricultural purposes. In the flatlands the main crop is cotton. The hills and mountains are used for other crops and cattle grazing. Some facts for the visitor In Holland nobody really seemed to know anything about Uzbekistan let alone why we were going there at all. The country appeared to be rather popular with French and German tourists though, interested mainly in the architecture of the old Silk Road cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. The people of Uzbekistan are very friendly and relaxed towards tourists. We felt very safe at all time. Uzbekistan is an easy country to travel around. Crime seems to be very scarce. Issues like car burgling have never been a thing for us to worry about. Even traffic is safe, imposed through many speed controls by policemen with laser guns along the major roads. I have never seen so many laser guns on one day as along the Uzbek roads. Central Asia is known for travellers suffering diarrhoea. Despite I hardly ever suffered that annoyance in several African, American or other Asian countries, it struck me on the first day, getting better only after arrival in Holland. Do be careful with salads with unpeeled fruits and vegetables! Money transfer can easily be arranged at banks or hotels, but better rates can be found on the street. During our trip the best rate we found for 1 US Dollar was 1900 Uzbek Sum, arranged by our driver, while the official rate for 1 USD used by hotels was 1500 UZS. Our mobile phones (T-mobile) could be used almost everywhere, even in the Kyzyl Kum desert. We stayed in very pleasant hotels in Tashkent, Beldersay, Bukhara, Khiva and Shaksirabz varying in rate from 35 to 80 USD for a twin, all arranged by East Line Tour. Getting there We flew from Düsseldorf (Germany) via Moscow to Tashkent, Uzbekistan with Aeroflot. Return flights were booked on the website of the airline for €450,-. Aeroflot appears to be a very modernised company with good service and new Airbus aircrafts on both routes. Incorporated in our tour was a domestic flight from Tashkent to Bukhara with Uzbekistan Airways (50 USD pp one way) in an Antonov 24 aircraft, which was an experience in itself. Arrangements We booked the fortnight tour with East Line Tour (http://www.eastlinetour.com/) at the costs of ap-proximately USD 2100,- for the both of us. Included were transport by car and driver, accommodation including breakfast, city guiding and entrance to the architectural monuments. East Line Tour can arrange invitation letters which are required for obtaining a visa. East Line Tour, located in the heart of the old town of Bukhara, about 5 km from the local airport, is managed by two brothers Timur and Dimitriy Amini. Email contact during prearrangements was pleasant, swift and clear. Both Dimitriy and Timur speak English. Timur got interested in birdwatching some years ago and knows a lot about species and good sites to visit. He himself accompanied us as a driver because of my interest in birdwatching! Timur is a very friendly and relaxed guy and his company was very pleasant indeed, as were his driving skills. East Line Tour was very flexible in changing itineraries several times on our proposal. Books and websites I used the Birds of South Asia – The Ripley Guide (Rasmussen & Anderton 2005) as a field guide during the trip. This book is not covering Uzbekistan, but describes all species present. As an alternative the Birds of the USSR by Flint et al. (1984) will do, containing distribution maps with Uzbekistan as a former Soviet state. The drawings of the latter are of less quality though. At present there are no other field guides for Central Asia available. So Helm, there is a gap to be filled! The only website on birdwatching in Uzbekistan I found is http://www.birdwatching-uzbekistan.com, a website hosted by East Line Tour.

Itinerary date overnight stay 25-9 arrival Tashkent – accompanying Marleen during work preparation, city tour etc. Tashkent 26-9 drive to Beldersay (2 hours) – birdwatching Beldersay Bedersay 27-9 birdwatching Beldersay – drive to Tashkent Tashkent 28-9 drive to Dalvarzin (2 hours) – birdwatching Dalvarzin Tashkent 29-9 flight to Bukhara - city tour Bukhara Bukhara 30-9 Tudakul lake - city tour Bukhara Bukhara 1-10 drive to Khiva through Kyzyl Kum desert, birdwatching on the way – birdwatching Khiva fish ponds Khiva 2-10 city tour Khiva - birdwatching Khiva fish ponds Khiva 3-10 drive to Bukhara through Kyzyl Kum desert, birdwatching on the way Bukhara 4-10 drive to Shakrisabz via Jayran Eco Centre Bukhara – city tour Shakrisabz Shakrisabz 5-10 Kitab Nature Reserve Shakrisabz 6-10 drive to Samarkand via Tahtakaraca pass – city tour Samarkand – drive to Tashkent Tashkent 7-10 flight home

1.1 Beldersay; 1.2 Dalvarzin; 2.1 Tudakul Lake; 2.2 Kyzyl Kum Desert; 2.3 Jayran Eco Centre; 3. Khiva; 4.1 Kitab Nature Reserve; 4.2 Tahtakaraca Pass.

Site description 1. Taskent area 1.1 Beldersay Beldersay is the name of a ski area near Chimgan in the western foothills of the Tien Shan, at two hours drive east of Tashkent. It has its own resort called Hotel Beldersay Oromgohi, situated at 1500 m. AMSL. An area of some 50 ha around the resort is fenced and protected against overgrazing by goats and sheep. This makes the resort grounds very well vegetated (Juniper) and rich in birds. I stayed here for two days with one night at the hotel. Be very careful with what you eat here and try to omit salads; my intestines were started protesting heavily from the first morning here! Behind the hotel, opposite of the tennis court there is a path uphill, leading to a gate in the fence. Behind the gate you can climb up, following the ski lift poles. The grounds around the hotel and along the hillsides were full of birds, especially the first day when it was raining lightly (the only clouded day of the trip!). Apparently there had been a fall of migrating Black-throated Thrushes as hundreds of them were flying around. The next day only a handful of them were seen. Hume’s Leaf Warbler and Siberian Chiffchaff were abundant. Rufous-naped, Yellow-breasted (nominate race) and Turkestan Tit were all common around the hotel itself. Also present were Rock Bunting, Grey-headed Goldfinch, Blue-capped Re dstart , Blue Whistling-thrush , White-capped Penduline Tit , Red-fronted Serin , White-winged Woodpecker , Hawfinch , Common Rosefinch and meena Oriental Turtle-dove . A Tawny Owl was heard in front of my balcony at night. Apparently White-crowned Bunting , which is seen regularly in the area in spring and summer, had already left to spend the winter elsewhere. Near Beldersay there is Ugam – Chatkalskiy NP, which is situated at a much higher elevation, but I have no information on how to visit that place. 1.2 Dalvarzin The Dalvarzin Government Forestry and Hunting Concession is situated in the bottomland of the middle reaches of the Syr Darya river, 120 km south of Tashkent. The area consists of some fragments of riverside forest, thickets and a canal system flowing into the Syr Darya. The surrounding grounds are used for rice, wheat and watermelon cultivation. Main species hunted in Dalvarzin are Hare, Wild Boar, Common Pheasant and ducks. I spend one, rather quiet birding day around a small settlement in the centre of this large flat area, along the Syr Darya. The target species here is the Common Pheasant , which showed off very well eventually, after many first brief sighting of flushed birds. The species is abundant here in the woods along the canals, and very shy indeed! Other species seen were Hume’s Leaf Warbler , Siberian Chiffchaff and Turkestan Tit . A dozen of Ferruginous Pochards and some Pygmy Cormorants were on the canals. In the surrounding rice and melon fields were large flocks of both Spanish and Eurasian Tree Sparrows , European Bee-eaters, Rollers (on the wires) and one Long-tailed Shrike . 2. Bukhara area 2.1 Tudakul Lake A short morning visit was brought to this large artificial lake, just southeast of Bukhara, where large flocks of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were feeding together with the ever present Siberian Chiffchaffs on the millions of mosquitoes, which literally filled the Tamarisk bushes on the shores. Some Caspian Terns were in the company of many ‘large white-headed’ Gulls above the lake (probably Steppe Gull ; I never pay attention to this impossible taxa), while Western Marsh Harriers soared above the marshes. 2.2 Kyzyl Kum This desert of which the name means ‘red sands’, lying between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, is the 11th largest desert in the world, covering about 298.000 km². We crossed the Kyzyl Kum on our way from Bukhara to Khiva and again back to Bukhara. The target species in this area is off course the Pander’s Ground-jay , which is quite common along the road. Coming from Bukhara, the suitable habitat for Pander’s Ground-Jay starts around km 70, where low sand dunes with Sauxal bushes start to dominate the landscape. Most of our encounters were with birds feeding on and along the road. Approaching the birds too close makes them run and hide behind

little bushes, or fly short distances which reveals the striking black and white wing pattern. For sure THE bird of the trip! Other birds seen during short stops in the desert are Steppe Eagle , Eastern Imperial Eagle , Streaked Scrub Warbler , Steppe Grey Shrike and Long-legged Buzzard . Scattered along the road are some settlements often set in green, which must be very rewarding during migration. A few short stops at such areas yielded Common Rosefinch , Hume’s Leaf Warbler , Black Redstart and again lots of Siberian Chiffchaffs . A large group of Common Cranes flew overhead during lunch. Another species very high on my wish list was (and still is) Desert Sparrow , or maybe better Zarudny’s Sparrow Passer zarudnyi, as it is a recently proposed spilt from the African taxa (Kirwan et al. 2009. Dutch Birding 31: 139-158). Zarudny’s Sparrow is a rare species known from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Timur, our driver knows this species from a site along the desert road, but we failed to find it. In Uzbekistan it is only known from a very few localities in the Kyzyl Kum, close to the border with Turkmenistan. In the latter country it is more widespread but declining. 2.3 Jayran Nature Reserve Other names of this area, situated 40 km southeast of Bukhara, are Bukhara Nature Reserve or Goitered Gazelle Ecocentre (or Djeyran, Dzheyran or Dzheiran Ecocentre). Is was established in 1977 as a breeding centre for the threatened Goitered Gazelle and is covering 5.126 ha. Besides gazelles there are Wild Ass and Przewalski's Horses in the reserve. The area consists of well vegetated desert with two small salt lakes surrounded by a vegetation of Bullrush, Reed and Tamarisk. On the lakes some ducks were present, mainly Teal, Northern Shoveler, Mallard and Ferruginous Pochard . Four Black-bellied Sandgrouses were drinking on the shore. Isabelline Shrike , Pied Wheatear and some unidentified Lesser Whitethroats were seen in the scrub. The area seems to be a good place to look for Houbara Bustard of which a flock of 70 was seen by the local guards the day before in the northern part of the reserve. 3. Khiva area 3.1 Khiva Fish Ponds Just a few kilometres east of Khiva is a privately owned fish breeding area with several large ponds surrounded by reed and bulrush. The ponds are linked via a system of narrow and broader canals with well vegetated banks. Timur has good contacts with the owner of the place. This is an area which could be very interesting in spring, when the reeds must be full with breeding birds and spring migrants. During two short visits it was rather quiet with birds. Hardly any passerines were seen, apart from Siberian Chiffchaff , one Citrine Wagtail and some Crested Larks . Three calling penduline-tits flew overhead, presumably Black-headed . Ducks were absent as were many other waterbirds. Present were Greater Black-headed Gull , Black-headed Gull , ‘large white-headed’ Gulls, Pygmy Cormorant , Western Marsh Harrier and Common Kingfisher . 4. Samarkand area 4.1 Kitab Nature Reserve This nature reserve lies in the mountains of the Zerafshan Range, southeast of Samarkand. Rocky, steep hills surround the well vegetated valley of the Kashka Darya river, which originates in nearby Tajikistan.The entrance of the reserve, indicated by an iron gate, is located near a picknick spot, where a beautiful Blue Whistling-Thrush was foraging on the banks of the stream. A road follows the river upstream into the rocky hills. The surrounding cliffs were rich in vultures with large groups of Eurasian Griffon, one Cinereous Vulture, two Bearded Vulture and at least three adult Himalayan Griffon , together with two Golden Eagle and a group of Alpine Chough . In the trees and thickets along the river were many Yellow-breasted Tits (race carruthersi), Turkestan Tits , and a Menetries’s Warbler . On our way from Shahrisabz to the Kitab Nature Reserve we passed through an area with low hills covered by steppe-like vegetation and dry agricultural fields, which yielded good numbers of Lesser Kestrel and Common Ravens . The Kestrels were foraging side by side from the wires along the road. A total of 43 birds were seen on a stretch of only a few kilometres long. 4.2 Tahtakaraca Pass (1788 m. AMSL)

Another birding spot in the Zerafshan Range is the Tahtakaraca Pass (1788 m.), traversing the mountains between the cities of Samarkand and Shahrisabz. The vegetated hills had any Black Redstarts (race phoenicuroides), Grey-headed Goldfinches and a Finsch’s Wheatear , while on the rocks Eastern Rock Nuthatches were very vocal and easy to see. A Chukar showed himself well along the road. This place yielded the last White-winged Woodpecker and Blue Whistling-Thrush of the trip. Final thoughts Uzbekistan is a pleasant and easy country to travel around and has some very good bird species to offer. A birdwatching trip combines perfectly with enjoying the astonishing architecture. It must be the easiest country to see Pander’s Ground-Jay . Apart from Turkmenistan, which is difficult to visit, it is the only country with Zarudny’s Sparrow , though very rare. The foothills of the Tien Shan in the east really have some nice target species as Yellow-breasted Tit, Rufous-naped Tit, Blue-capped Redstart and White-crowned Bunting . By far the best months for birdwatching are May and June, when the country green and alive with summer visitors and spring migrants. During our visit the hillsides had turned yellow and brown and almost all summer visitors had gone south. As a result many Central Asian target species were out of reach for me, and I missed White-capped Bunting , Red-headed Bunting , Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin , White-throated Robin , Hume’s Lark and Hume’s Whitethroat among others. Despite those few gaps on the list, I had two wonderful weeks and really got interested in (birding in) Central Asia!

Beldersay area seen from several hundreds of meters uphill

Entrance of Dalvarzin Government Forestry and Hunting Concession

Kyzyl Kum desert, the place for Pander’s Ground-jay

Amu Darya flowing from the mountains in Tajikistan through the vast deserts of the Kyzyl Kum and Kara Kum to the Aral Sea

The Khiva Fish Ponds must be a good site in spring for breeding birds and migrants.

Birding around one of the two salt lakes in the Jayran Nature Reserve

The green valley of Kashka Darya river in Kitab Nature Reserve

Registan Square in Samarkand, one of the architectural highlights of the Silk Road

Those with trained Silk Road eyes can see that the roofs in Khiva are green instead of blue, as they are in Samarkand. For birdwatchers this must be a piece of cake!